500 A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



piactical illustration and experiment; its professors do not 

 yet seem to understand that it is impossible to teach any 

 of the physical sciences wholly or mainly from text-books. 

 The facilities granted to pupils in this school, and perhaps 

 still mere in the military school, are very great. The in- 

 struction is entirely gratuitous, and in the military school 

 the students are not only fed and clothed, etc. ; they are 

 even paid for their attendance, being considered as belong- 

 ing to the army from the time they enter the school. 



The Dom Pedro Segundo College is the best school of 

 that class I have seen in Brazil. It may be compared to 

 our New England high schools, and fully deserves the 

 reputation it enjoys. 



Of the common schools I saw little. Of course, in a 

 country where the population is sparsely scattered over 

 very extensive districts, it must be difficult to gather the 

 children in schools, outside of the large cities. Where such 

 schools have been organized the instruction is gratuitous ; 

 but competent teachers are few, the education very lim- 

 ited, and the means of instruction scanty. Reading, writ- 

 ing, and ciphering, with the least possible smattering of 

 geography, form the groundwork of all these schools. The 

 teachers labor under great difficulties, because they have 

 not the strong support of the community. There is little 

 general appreciation of the importance of education as the 

 basis without which all higher civilization is impossible. 

 I have, however, noticed throughout Brazil a disposition to 

 give a practical education, a training in some trade, to the 

 poor children. Establishments of this kind exist in almost 

 all the larger cities. This is a good sign ; it shows that 

 they attach a proper value to labor, at least for the lower 

 classes, and aim at raising a working population. In these 



