Mr. Kay thus speaks of the public schools of Leipsic and Dresden.

It was delightful to enter one of these well classified German schools, in which all the children are divided according to their acquirements, into as many classes as the school contains rooms; one educated teacher is placed over each class, and by having only children of the same degree of knowledge under his care, he is able to give his class-lessons to all his children at one time, without being obliged to divide them, and his thoughts and attention also. Every thing showed us, that all the details of instruction had been thoroughly and carefully considered. The size, careful ventilation, and cleanliness of the rooms; their arrangement and furniture, and the character of the apparatus, with which they were filled, all told us, that the Saxon people and the Saxon government understood the importance of the great work of the people's education, and knew that its perfection depended on a scientific regulation of all the details of school management. I visited, also, several of the primary schools in Dresden, and found them equally admirable for their classification, for the number, size, cleanliness, ventilation, and good arrangement of their class-rooms; for the character and numbers of the teachers connected with them; for the scientific character of the instruction given in them; for the order, quiet, and excellent discipline of the class-rooms; for the suggestive and awakening nature of the methods of instruction pursued in the classes; for the gentlemanly and intelligent bearing of the teachers; for the cleanly, healthy, and comfortable appearance of the children, and for the friendly relations of scholars and teachers.

SECONDARY EDUCATION

IN

SAXONY.

WE are indebted for the following account of the gymnasium or school for secondary instruction in Saxony, mainly, to Dr. Hermann Wimmer, of Dresden. Dr. Wimmer* was educated in the common school, gymnasium, and university of his native country; was trained for a classical teacher in the philological seminary of Hermann and Klotz, at Leipsic, and was for several years professor in the Fitzhum gymnasium or Blochmann college at Dresden, one of the best classical schools in Germany.

The gymnasia of Saxony are partly boarding and partly day schools. The most celebrated of the former at Meissen, Grimma, and Schulpforte, were established at the date of the Reformation by the electors of Saxony on the foundation of the old monasteries or cloisters, the buildings and funds being thus diverted from ecclesiastical to educational purposes. These schools are known as Fürstenschulen, or Prince schools, or Klosterschulen, or Cloister school, from the circumstances of their foundation. These old boarding gymnasia are called, by Dr. Wimmer, the hearths of classical learning in Germany. The gymnasium of Pforta, (schola Portensis,) was opened for pupils in 1543, the funds of the old monastery having been sequestered by the electoral Prince Maurice, on the advice of Luther, for this purpose. In 1815, the school passed with the province in which it is located into the dominions of Prussia. The foundation yielded, in 1838, a revenue of $30,000, on which one hundred and seventy beneficiaries (intraners) were lodged, boarded, and instructed. In most of the boarding gymnasia there are a class of pupils, (extraners,) whose tuition is free, but who board, at their own expense, with the professors. Besides the Fursten, or Prince schools, there were in all the large cities, a gymnasia supported by municipal taxation and private tuition, and managed by the municipal authorities. But within the last few years most of the gymnasia have been merged in the burgher or higher elementary school, leaving eight or ten to be aided and controlled by the government, and which are continued as classical schools. These are open day schools, and are situated in the larger cities, where the parents of most of the pupils reside.

Between the Fursten, or strictly boarding schools, and the open or day gymnasia, there are two of a peculiar character-the Thomas school at Leipsic, and the Blochmann-vizthum gymnasium at Dresden. The

* Dr. Wimmer is now (1852) engaged in preparing for the press in Dresden, his observations on "Education and Religion in the United States"-the results of his visit to this country in 1850-51 The work will be sold by B. Westermann & Co., 290 Broadway, New York.

Thomas school is partly a classical and partly a musical institution; more than half of its students form the great vocal choir of the Thomas church, and is celebrated for its performances on Saturday's and Sunday's. Those students called alumni, have their tuition and board free, and in the latter part of their college life earn some money by their occasional singing. A similar musical class exists in connection with other city gymnasia, but the musical instruction is not carried so far. We give a more particular account of the Blochmann institution.

BLOCHMANN-VIZTHUM GYMNASIUM AT DRESDEN.

The Blochmann-vizthum gymnasium combines within itself a classical, and a real or scientific school, and a preparatory school, or progymnasium. It is both a boarding and day school, and partakes of a public and private character, being under the direction of the government authorities as a public school, and supported in part out of funds left by Count Vizthum at the beginning of the 17th century, for the education of children of the Vizthum and other noble families, and for a number of poor boys who are clothed, boarded, and educated as companions of the young nobles to stimulate them by their zeal and diligence.

All the boarding students, about eighty, are distributed into nine rooms. The occupants of a room are under the special care of one of the teachers, who has generally an adjoining dwelling-room. He is interested in their moral and intelIctual welfare, is applied to by the teachers who see any thing in their pupils to commend or to blame, and by the parents who wish to hear something about their physical or spiritual health; he gives the allowance of money for buying books, clothes, or whatever they want; briefly, he is the representative of the absent parent, and enjoys usually the respect, confidence, and love of his pupils. They come but occasionally and for a few moments to their room, to get books or something else out of their secretaries, or in stormy days they are allowed to pass a leisure hour there; but the neighboring teacher has no oversight of them, unless he is disturbed in his studies by their noise, and then he gives them to understand, by knocking at the door, that he is at home, which generally suffices to prevent any further interference. The order of the day is exclusively committed to the Inspectors of the day. For every day two professors are intrusted with this responsible office, so that every officer has the ambiguous honor and the tiresome task of sharing with a colleague for one day of the week the command over the whole. On that day he must see that the students rise (at 5 o'clock in the summer, at 6 in the winter,) must be present at the first breakfast, superintend the study hours from 53 A. M. to 8 P. M. (all study in four adjoining class-rooms,) lead singing and praying in the chapel, keep order before the lessons begin, ascertain whether all the teachers in the nine classes are present before he leaves for his recitation or lodging-room, must be in the garden at the time of second breakfast from 93 to 101, in stormy days go over the classes and rooms, and so again froom 11 or 12 till 3, when the lessons commence again and continue till 43; and again from 5 till 8 are study hours, in which he must be every where and nowhere, and on Wednesdays and Saturdays he must be the walking or bathing-companion of half the section. At 8 is supper time; at 9, the great mass must go to bed, and only such students of the superior classes as are to be trusted, are permitted to study until 10, when the tired inspectors take their last round through the bedrooms, to ascertain whether all are asleep or are likely to be in good order, and then, unless something extraordinary has happened during the day, satisfied with themselves and their day's work, they retire to their rooms. Except the day scholars, no pupil is allowed to leave the house to make a social visit without a ticket of permission from his special tutor, signed likewise by the director, where the time of leaving is mentioned and the statement of the time of arriving and leaving again is expected from the hand of the visited person.

Besides the three or four study hours, under the superintendence of the two inspectors, which are considered sufficient for the necessary preparation and repetition, the students are bound to be in the garden, walking, running, playing, or exercising in some way. It is in this free time, also, that lessons on the piano, in

singing, gymnastics, fencing, dancing, and riding, are given. Only the last hour of the evening is allowed to the older students for staying in their rooms. In this respect the Vizthum gymnasium takes the extreme view, and, for aught we know, the practice of studying in the room, adopted by the other colleges, seems to be generally preferable to that of studying in full classes. But it is the authority of the older students, on which the practicability and the success of studying in common rooms, without the inspection of quite as many tutors, chiefly depends, and the character of the institution as well as the demand of rational supervision, seem to have been the causes of an arrangement not sufficiently comfortable to make studying the great pleasure of life, as one might experience in the common rooms of the Fürstenschool, or in the private chambers of students in city gymnasia. There is a conference of the twelve chief teachers on Saturdays, the Director being Chairman and the youngest professor secretary, in which the events of the week are spoken of and disciplinary measures taken. The private teachers have no access but in cases where they are particularly concerned. Every professor has the right of punishing, and the private teachers may apply for it to the inspector. To make use of that painful right, the teacher as such is but rarely forced, oftener in the quality of inspector, and it will be understood, almost never as special tutor. Corporeal punishment is forbidden. The common penalty is deprivation of one of the meals; the highest is imprisonment. It happens in the Blochmann institution, that to malefactors of inveterate habits flogging is applied, but only to those of the two preparatory classes, and by decree of the conference, and in presence of the directors. In the common gymnasia, where professors and students meet with each other only in the recitation rooms, there is less chance of transgressing laws, the law of the class-room being but one, and that every moment impressed upon the mind of the would-be-transgressor by the presence of the law-giver and judge, but habitual indolence and laziness will meet with something more than a sermon on diligence, which would be like casting a brilliant pearl before a swine; a few involuntary study-hours for making a Latin ode appeals better and more successfully to the stubborn heart. It is never too late to mend; hence expulsion from the college is and ought to be a rare case, and such a victim has usually gone, before, through the dark hole called carcer, which is known to ninety-nine per cent. of the gymnasiasts more by name than by sight. There is generally speaking, in the German gymnasia, a strict discipline, without any Spartan severity and without Basedow's philanthropical sweetness. course, there have been a great many students who never, in their college life, heard a harsh word nor saw a stern look; but others, who are not well prepared, or are inattentive, or noisy, or have written their compositions carelessly, or committed a misdemeanor that comes to the ears of professors, are generally dealt with in good, plain German, and "without gloves," and a repetition may lead, by a long graduation, or rather degradation, to the hole. In the common gymnasia, the professors do not interfere with the private life of the students, unless some charge is brought against them by a citizen.

Of

A gymnasium ordinarily consists of four classes, called Prima, (the highest, or seniors,) Secunda, Tartia, and Quarta, (lowest, or freshman,) and each of these classes are usually divided into two parts, upper and lower. In this institution there are six classes, including the progymnasium.

Pupils are received into the progymnasium at nine or ten years of age, and with the attainments of the elementary period. In this school, which has two classes, they remain until from thirteen to fourteen. Its courses are the following: Bible history, and religion, the German language, the Latin, French, history, arithmetic, knowledge of forms, geography, natural history, drawing, and writing. From the upper class of the progymnasium, the pupils pass to the gymnasium, in which there are four classes. The courses are of religion, Latin, Greek, German language and literature, French, mathematics, history, geography, natural philosophy, natural history, music, and drawing. From the fourth or lowest class of the gymnasium, the pupil who is not intended to go to the university enters the "real gymnasium," or scientific school, in which there are two classes, and the duration of the studies of which is one year less than that of the classical gymnasium. In this the French and English, and the scientific studies, replace the classics, except a portion of Latin, which is still kept up. The courses consist of religion, German language and literature, Latin, French, English, mathematics,

physics, chemistry, natural history, mechanics, history, geography, drawing, and music. The distribution of the time of study in the principal branches agrees entirely with that of the two upper classes of the Royal Real School at Berlin, already described.

The arrangements for the superintendence of the pupils in this institution are, in the main, like those of Pforta. Pupils called inspectors are selected, and superintend their fellows when in the play-ground and at study, and there are two masters always on duty as superintendents. The physical education of the pupils is very well attended to, and the alterations of exercise and study have a very good effect. These alterations will appear by the following order of the day:

The boarders rise at six o'clock, and breakfast at a quarter to seven. From a quarter to seven to a quarter to eight, study under the superintendence of the two teachers on duty. Pupils living out of the house join in this study hour. Prayers. From eight to a quarter to ten, instruction. Quarter to ten to quarter after ten, play in the garden, and a light second breakfast. Quarter after ten to twelve, instruction. Twelve to one, instruction in instrumental and vocal music, gymnastic exercises, dancing, or free to play in the grounds under the charge of the two superintendents. At one, the day scholars leave the institution. Quarter after one to two, dinner. Two to three, play under charge of the inspectors. Three to quarter of five, instruction. On Wednesday and Saturday, walks. Quarter to five to quarter after five, lunch and recreation. Quarter after five to eight, study under charge and aided by the inspectors. Eight, supper. At nine the younger pupils retire, the older ones study until ten.

The mathematical instruction in this school is continued, even in the higher branches, upon the inductive plan, and is the most effective which I have ever seen. It consists of a mixture of explanation and question, and of oral and written exercises in the class-room. The recitations are upon the previous lessons, and upon questions given to be solved out of the class-room, and the written exercises are solutions of questions and notes of the explanation of the previous lesson. The collections in natural history are superior to those possessed by any other gymnasium which I visited. Both this and the physical apparatus afford very considerable means of illustration in these departments. The chemical laboratory, in a building apart from the house, is very conveniently arranged, both for instruction and experiments by the pupils.

The time of a gymnasium life varies with the progress of the student in literary acquirements. There are generally semi-annual transfers from one division to the other, and in very rare cases it might happen that an excellent student would finish his course in four years, remaining in each division but half a year, and on the other hand, a first-rate idler might stay as long as eight years. Hence, the average number of college years is six. The student, advancing from one class to another, finds there a remaining stock of students superior to himself, if not in talents, at least in acquaintance with the studies and with the professor of the class. After a three months' study and experience, the able student may leap over that boundary and put himself on a level with his older companions; and then he will be transferred with them to the next class. It is easier to do so in the inferior classes (lower gymnasium, IV. and III.,) where the order of the students is arranged according to their studies in the class, but in the upper gymnasium more respect is paid to the time and common order, though some capital scholar will break through, while some sluggard will be left behind. There is, also, a good deal of difference in this respect between the different schools, some having only annual translations, while only a part of the classes are divided; however, the way of advancement is in all the same, except only in the Blochmann gymnasium, where four regular courses of one year and a half each, carry the student in six years through the four undivided classes.

History flourishes in the German colleges to a high degree, not only the history of ancient Greece and Rome learned by reading the various authors, but also the universal history of the civilized world. The professor of history may be sure to have an attentive class, eager to hear of old German liberty beside the Roman despotism, of the Teutonic race conquering the Roman Europe, first running wild in their bravery, then grafting Christian civilization on the healthy stems of the great empire under Charles the Great, or Charlemagne, and under the Hohenstaufen, of the Franks and Normanns in Gallia, of the Saxons and Angles in