The ancient university of Wilno was re-organised in 1801. It is the only Catholic university in the Russian empire. Its funds, which are considerable, have arisen from ancient endowments, and have been increased by the government. The annual revenues amounted to 160,000 silver roubles, or nearly 26,000l. sterling, and they might have been nearly doubled but for the corruption that has pervaded this as well as other branches of the public administration. Wilno was frequented by the youth of all that part of Poland which was incorporated into the Russian empire-viz. the governments of Grodno, Wilno, Minsk, Mohilew, Witepsk, all Volhynia, Podolia, and the Polish Ukraine, with a population amounting to nine millions. A spirit of independence prevailed both among the professors and students, which could not be repressed either by a cruel system of police nor the removal of the ablest professors, nor by the arbitrary measures of the government in more recent times. The scheme of annihilating every trace of Polish nationality, and even the language of nine millions of people, could have no chance of success, as long as a man like Prince Adam Czartorisky was at the head of the national instruction; consequently he was removed, and his place supplied by a Russian senator, Norosilzoff, whose name figures also in the history of the Russian administration at Warsaw.

The university of Wilno exercised a powerful influence on the education of the whole country, by giving an impulse to the gymnasia and schools; and this was increased by all the young nobility coming to the university, and going through a regular course of three years' study. The libraries and collections of every kind are still very valuable, and were freely open, a few years ago, for the use of the students; but during the last six years the government imposed numerous and vexatious restrictions with respect to them. No student was permitted to enter the libraries, to read in them, or to have a single book out for the purpose of study.

An unfortunate event, that happened in 1822, was the cause of the complete ruin of the university. A youth, belonging to Keidani, the capital of one of the divisions in the government of Wilno, was foolish enough to write on the walls of the class-room long live the constitution of 1791 !' One of the masters observing this laid an information, and forthwith a special commission was formed at Wilno by order of the Grand Duke Constantine, to examine into this affair. All the boys of the school were imprisoned and whipped. till they acknowledged the existence of a political association. The same measures were soon put in force at Wilno also.

OCT.-JAN. 1832.

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Some hundreds of students were imprisoned, and others, who had gone home, were arrested and dragged back to Warsaw to be examined. The conclusion was, that the school of Keidani was closed, four professors of Wilno were expelled (among them was Mr. Lelewell, member of the late government of Warsaw), forty youths of the most distinguished families were sent as common soldiers to the most remote garrisons in Russia for life, and others in chains to the mines of Siberia; fathers of families, too, were arrested in their beds, brought before military tribunals, and exiled to the horrid colonies of Siberia; in fine, all Poland was declared to be suspected, and was subjected to the command of Constantine, with the power of a generalissimo in all the provinces which were occupied by a military force.

The university suffered more than the rest of the country. In place of the expelled professors, Russians were introduced who gave their lectures in their own language, which was almost unintelligible to the young Poles.

During the last six years the students were compelled to attend the classes that were prescribed to them. They were forbidden to study together, or to visit one another. Agents of the police regularly went to the lecture-rooms to see that all were in attendance, and also to the lodging-houses, to ascertain that there were never two together. The poor

youths no longer had the privilege of going out of the towns without a regular pass, nor could they ever visit their parents without the permission of the rector given on stamped paper.

If any one neglected attendance at the church, or ventured beyond the barriers, he was confined for three days on bread and water at the guard-house. Corporal punishment even was inflicted in some cases. At last the university of Wilno ceased to exist: it was converted into a house of correction.

The university of Wilno possessed considerable funds from the ancient endowments of noble families, which were designed to assist young students of medicine who were not rich enough to pay all their expenses. More than a hundred young men received this annual allowance conformably to the intention of the original benefactors. But the Russian administration changed the application of these funds. The allowances were taken from the young men, and they were all lodged in one house, where they were fed by a person who contracted to supply them: they were also put into the Russian uniform. When they had completed their studies, they were compelled to enter the Russian regiments as surgeons, whatever might be the station of the regiment; or, if they refused, they were required to pay back the expense of

their maintenance. All the Russian Universities possess funds that were designed to aid young men who were too poor to go through their course of studies. Accordingly, when the Universities first opened, they had regular correspondents in the principal Universities of Europe, who received allowances almost equal to those of the professors. But for the last fifteen years the government has discontinued this system of correspondents, from a jealousy of the introduction of foreign notions. If we read the original plan and the statutes of the Universities, at their first organization, we cannot refrain from admiring the noble policy of the administration; but if we compare these fine words on paper with the real facts and workings of the system, we must lament that such ample means have only produced such trifling results.

The method of instruction is not entirely the same in all the Universities; yet, as it cannot vary much from the course originally laid down, we shall briefly describe the general nature of it.

The year is divided into two sémestres of six months' each, five months for study, and one for vacation. Before the courses commence, a printed programme appears, in which each professor announces what course he intends to give during the semestre, and what text-book he will make use of; or else he announces that he will only use his own papers. In the first case, the students must purchase the work, and in the second, the professor gives in writing the paragraphs which he will explain during the week, and the students copy them. For example, the professor of Roman law announces that he will follow the arrangement laid down by Hugo, in his system of Roman law, and the students of course purchase this book; or, he gives notice that he will follow an arrangement which he has formed himself, and then he gives his papers in parts to the students, who copy them. The professor reads one paragraph or more: then he developes and explains the subject matter, and the students take notes. At Wilno the students were forbidden to write during the lecture; their duty was to listen, and to make their notes at home. Every week the students assemble once or twice at the house of the professor whom they attend, or in the lecture-room, to hold conversations on the subjects which have been treated during the week. On these occasions they produce short dissertations, which are criticised before the professor, and they make debates on the subject.

As soon as a student has completed his course, he is examined before the Dean of the Faculty, and a commission of

professors, and if he is deserving, he receives the certificates which give him the title of candidate. This qualification enables him to enter the civil and military service, with the rank of the fourteenth class, which puts him on an equal footing with the officers. This is a great encouragement to those who do not belong to noble families, for if they have not the degree of candidate, they are obliged, in the one case, to serve from three to four years in the offices, without rank and without pay-or, in the other, from four to twelve years as subaltern officers in the regiments, before they can attain the rank of officer.

If they wish to enter the service with a higher rank, they must attain the degree of magister, or that of doctor. To accomplish this, they must write a dissertation and defend it publicly in the great hall of the University, where every person is admitted, and may get up to dispute with them or oppose their thesis. The dissertations are printed four weeks before, and distributed generally, that every person who wishes may have sufficient time to prepare himself. The choice of the subject is free, but of course restricted to such matters as belong respectively to the four faculties, in one of which the candidate aspires to the degree of magister or doctor.

To become a doctor in medicine, a student therefore chooses a medical subject for his dissertation. If the candidate comes off victorious in this contest, he obtains his degree, and is admissible to the service of government, with the rank of the tenth class, if he is magister, or that of the eighth class, if he is doctor; which are respectively equivalent to the degrees of captains and majors in the army. These advantages are a great stimulus to the students, for if they succeed they see that their fortune is half made. Besides these encouragements, the Universities offer prizes for the best essays on given subjects, which are open for competition only to the students of the universities.

In the university of Wilno a different system was introduced by the ordonnances. The students were subjected to a public examination at the close of each semestre. Each professor gave notice of the day of examination, on which occasion all the other professors attended, and he also distributed beforehand about forty questions among the students who had attended his course. On the day of examination he put these questions to the students, who were required to answer and develope the subject matter of them.

The students can leave the university when they please, and they can then receive certificates of good conduct and

ability. When provided with such certificates they can enter the civil and military service, but they are obliged to go through all the inferior grades of the service, just like any other person who has not been at the university. They can only avoid passing through the inferior grades, by obtaining the degree of candidate, magister, or doctor, as we have already explained.

We shall now notice the primary and elementary schools. Before the reign of Catherine II. there were scarcely any good schools in Russia, except those at St. Petersburg, Moscow, and in the provinces of the Baltic. Catherine, wishing to give a kind of constitution to her empire, about the year 1764 summoned the notables of the empire to a general diet, in order to make certain propositions to them, and to hear their opinions on improvements to be introduced into the general administration. This diet was composed of deputies from among the nobility, the clergy, the citizens of the towns, and of other enlightened persons who were expressly summoned. But the empress soon perceived that the majority of the diet were in a state of the profoundest ignorance, and deficient even in the elements of such branches of knowledge as were essential for the labours which they were undertaking. On inquiry, she found that this deplorable ignorance, so manifest even in the highest classes, was owing to the want of good primary schools. From this time she formed the project of a complete re-organization of the public instruction; and she commenced by the establishment of lyceums and elementary schools in every capital town of a government, and in the principal towns of the smaller divisions of the governments. As these lyceums were formed on the models of the schools already existing in the Baltic provinces, we shall give a short account of the school of the ancient Abbey of Riga, called the cathedral school.

This school was established soon after the introduction of Luther's reformation into Livonia, about the beginning of the seventeenth century, on the site of the ancient chapter, and was endowed with sufficient funds for the wants of that period. It was divided into five classes, under the care of a rector, and the superintendence of two inspectors, elected from among the citizens of the towns. Each class had its professor; also, there was an assistant who aided the professors, a professor of music, a drawing-master, and a master of the Russian language. The professors were paid out of the school funds; the pupils paid nothing. But it was the custom for each pupil to make a small present to the rector and the professor of his class. Pupils to be admitted were