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the English missionaries whom he had met in the east.-"While he," he said, "had to maintain himself, a horse, and two or three attendants, for about fifty francs a month; they received handsome stipends for themselves, their wives, and children, and enjoyed all the luxuries of life."

Thursday, Aug. 8.-Went to-day, with M. Gondon, to the great ecclesiastical Seminary, or clerical College of St. Sulpice; on the way thither, he gave me an account of the constitution of the French University, Université Royale de France, and its relations to the Government, the Church, and the country. The University is a creation of Napoleon, 1806 -1810; and it may be described as existing every where and yet no where, for it has no one special locale like our Universities, and yet it exercises a domineering influence over the whole of France, which is divided, in all matters connected with edu cation, into twenty-seven Academies, that of Paris being the principal, on which the others depend. The University has the sole power of conferring degrees, and exercises the right of inspection and controul over almost all the schools of France, with the exception of those specially destined for Ecclesiastics, and called seminaries, which, however, have no power of conferring degrees, even in theology. The Univer

› Il sera formé (said the Emperor) sous le nom d'Université un corps chargé exclusivement de l'enseignement et de l'éducation publics dans toute la France.

sity is entirely under the controul of the Government, that is, of the Minister of public instruction, now M. Villemain, peer of France, and Grand Maitre de l'Université, who appoints all the professors, and delivers all the diplomas for degrees. Such being its constitution the result is, that of its five faculties, theology, law, medicine, sciences, and letters, that of theology has almost ceased to exist. The professors of theology being nominated by the minister, (approved, however, by the archbishop,) and the clergy having no confidence in the instruction given by the university, few ecclesiastics resort to it for theological study; and no theological decrees are now, therefore, conferred in France o.

I have said that the University has no special locale, but it has a kind of domicile at the Sorbonne, where examinations are held for degrees, and which is, as it were, the centre or chef lieu of the University. The Ecoles de Droit and de Médecine are distinct buildings, but belong to the University; and amphitheatres for lectures, &c., are contained in them.

• Les ecclésiastiques ont toute confiance dans l'enseignement théologique des facultés, vu que cet enseignement ne peut être confié qu'à des membres du clergé désignés par l'évêque du diocèse. La véritable raison de la décadence des facultés de théologie, c'est que les évêques préfèrent faire instruire les aspirants au sacerdoce dans les grands séminaires que de les envoyer suivre des cours au dehors. Les grands séminaires remplacent les facultés de théologie, mais ne peuvent pas donner des grades aux étudiants. Les facultés de théologie n'ont été reconstituées que dans un très-petit nombre du diocèses.

Here, to-day, at the Sorbonne, we found in one of the upper rooms a considerable number of persons seated on benches, listening to the examination of a youth of about nineteen, for the degree of Bachelor of Letters (Bachelierès Lettres). In front of the audience was a long table, covered with green cloth, with a great number of small volumes upon it, at which were sitting four Examiners with their faces towards the audience; and on the other side of it the examinee, with his back to them, and his face to the Examiners. The Examiners wore no gowns, nor other academic badge, nor did the examinee; he was seated as well as they. The examination was vivá voce.

One of the Examiners was M. St. Marc-Girardin, professor of French poetry at the University, and member of the Chamber of Deputies, and of the French Academy; another was M. Victor Le Clerc, dean of the Faculty of Letters, and member of the Institute. The first-named Examiner, with a little book in his hand, which was a manual of the heads of the subjects for examination, was inquiring of the youth, "Who were the principal dramatic poets of Greece?" next, quoting Horace, Eupolis atque Cratinus Aristophanesque Poëta, Atque alii, &c., he asked the student the difference between the New and Old Attic Comedy: to which the youth replied that "one came after the other;" on which the Examiner rejoined, "On conçoit bien que Mardi vient après Lundi," which made the audience laugh.

He then proceeded to ask him some questions in French geography, and Cæsar's invasion of Gaul; then about Henri III. of France; and then the youth was delivered over to another Examiner, who interrogated him concerning the Divine attributes, and how man came to know them, which he said was "by reason;" and immediately after a third Examiner took him in hand with some questions on decimal fractions.

I procured the little book containing the programme of all that a young man ought to know in order to become Bachelor of Letters, which shows that he should be possessed of a smattering of an infinite number of things; and I saw a small thick volume in its thirteenth or fourteenth edition, which contains short answers to all the possible questions proposed by the University, and presents the most perfect specimen I ever met with of what we at Cambridge should call cram.

The degree of Bachelor of Letters is the first in the French course; every candidate for it must be at least sixteen years of age, (some are much more,) and must bring a certificate that he has studied rhetoric and philosophy, for a year at least, in one of the Colleges authorized by the State. The only exception to this is when the candidate has been educated in the house of his father, uncle, or brother, or in a clerical seminary; but in this latter case the degree is of no use except as a stepping-stone to theological degrees, and not to literary or scientific ones. Be

sides the vivá voce examination, which we witnessed, there are two previous ones, one consisting of transla tion into Latin (Latin Dictionaries are allowed to the candidates), the other of explication, as it is called, of different passages of Greek, Latin, and French authors. Two hours are allowed for the Latin version, and three quarters of an hour only for the explication vivá voce, respectively.

Each candidate pays to the University twenty-four francs for the right of being examined, and if he is approved, thirty-six more for his diploma. There is a very complicated process for drawing lots for the questions of examination, and a great variety of formalities are gone through to prevent collusion between the examiners and the candidates, and to obviate fraud on the part of the competitors; which does not impress one very favourably with respect to the moral dignity and sense of honour of the parties concerned.

We afterwards visited the great Ecclesiastical Seminary belonging to the Congregation of St. Sulpice. The building is very spacious and regular, but not venerable. In the parloir, as it is called, we were met by two of the Professors, one of moral theology, the other of oriental languages, who conducted us, in the first instance, to the apartment of one of them, a simple and modest chamber tolerably well supplied with ecclesiastical books,

There was

a considerable number of Students

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