33^ Mentor ial of George Brown Goode. 



their merit; but it is the encoiirager and depositary of all nautical and geographical 

 discoveries; and, in conjunction with the school of astronomy and that of natural 

 history, it directs and superintends such voyages of discovery as the government 

 chooses to undertake. 



i6. The last public establishment for liberal instruction, that I shall mention in 

 the capital, though not the only remaining one that might be named, is the Poly- 

 technic Sclwol. This, for the variety of sciences taught, the degree of previous 

 attainment necessary for admission, the eminent talents of the professors, and the 

 high state of erudition to which the pupils are carried, is doubtless the first institu- 

 tion in the world. 



The Prytaneum, the Polytechnic School, the Museum of Arts, the Conservatory of 

 Arts, and the Veterinary School, are new institutions, established during the revolu. 

 tion. The others existed before; but most of them have been much improved" 

 There were likewise erected during the same period, a great number of provincial 

 colleges. The general provision was to have one in each county, or department, of 

 which there are upwards of a hundred in France. The provision likewise extended 

 to what are called primary schools, to be erected and multiplied in everv town and 

 village. This is also executed in part, but not completel}'. 



On the whole, the business of education in France is on a much better footing at 

 present than it ever was before the revolution. The clamor that was raised by the 

 emigrants against the convention, reproaching them with having destroyed educa- 

 tion, were unfounded; and, we may almost say, the reverse of truth. Their plans 

 on this subject were great, and in general good; much good, indeed, has grown out 

 of them; though they have not been pursued by the government during its subse- 

 quent changes, in the manner contemplated by the projectors. 



Besides the public foundations, established and partly supported by the govern- 

 ment, there is a variety of private associations for collecting and diffusing informa- 

 tion; such as agricultural societies, a society for the encouragement of arts and 

 manufactures; and another which, though neither scientific nor literary, is a great 

 encourager of literature. It is a charitable fund for giving relief to indigent authors, 

 and to their widows and orphans. 



The Lyceum of Arts, as a private society, merits a distinguished jDlace in this 

 hasty review of the liberal establishments in Paris. This foundation belongs to a 

 number of proprietors, who draw no other advantage from it than the right of 

 attending the lectures, and of using the laboratory, reading rooms, library, and 

 philosophical apparatus. It employs able professors in all the sciences, in tech- 

 nology, in literature, and in several modern languages. It admits annual subscrib- 

 ers, who enjoy these advantages during the year; and it is particularly useful to 

 strangers and to young men from the provinces, who might otherwise emplo)' their 

 leisure hours in less profitable amusements. 



If, in speaking of the state of public instruction in England, we are less particu- 

 lar than in those of her neighbors, it will not be for want of respect for her institu- 

 tions; but because most of them are better known in this country, and some of them 

 similar to those we have described. Her imiversities and colleges, her numerous 

 agricultural societies, her society of arts and manufactures, her royal society, royal 

 academy, royal observatory, British museum, marine and military academies, her 

 society for exploring the interior of Africa, her missionary society, and her board of 

 longitude, are probably familiar to most of the readers of this Prospectus. We shall 

 particularise only two or three others; which, being of recent date, are probably less 

 known. 



The Literary Fund, for the relief of indigent authors and their families, is an 

 institution of extensive and increasing beneficence. It is not merely a charitable, 

 but a patriotic endowment; and its influence must extend to other nations, and to 

 posterity. For an author of merit belongs to the world at large ; his genius is not 



