into which, if not strongly supported by local attachments, or the force of opinion, they will be apt to fall. With regard to the school of Philadelphia, it may, indeed, be said, that the regulation alluded to had been introduced at its origin, and had been maintained during its greatest prosperity. But at that early period, there was comparatively little competition to encounter; novelty itself afforded no moderate stimulus to exertion; and, in the instability and immaturity of the infant establishment, there was, in fact, a strong inducement held out to the professors to spare no efforts which might tend to fix it on a more elevated and firmer basis, and thus render their own situation more honourable and secure. That afterwards, when age had given it stability, and its continued existence was secured by its own internal strength, the system of compensation by fixed salaries became highly injurious to its interests, cannot be reasonably doubted. The fact, indeed, was so obvious, that it at length attracted the notice and interference of the trustees, who, in the spring of 1800,

came to a resolution, that the professors, in addition to their regular salaries, which at that time varied from two hundred and fifty to three hundred and fifty pounds per annum, should be entitled to the tuition money of their respective schools, thus giving them a motive for exertion which could not but be productive of favourable results.

These results, however, were not immediate. There were yet some radical errors, the injurious influence of which, so long as they were allowed to remain, no industry nor talent in the teachers could wholly counteract. But by their late resolve the trustees had brought a principle into action, which never rests till all its purposes are accomplished. The interests. of the professors having become identical with those of the seminary, there now existed, in the faculty of arts, a body of men watchful over its concerns, quick-sighted in detecting all the weak parts of its structure, sagacious in discovering remedies for present evils and sources of new vigour, and eager to bring their views into practi

cal application. The Board of Trustees, which, though composed of some of the wisest and best men in the community, is naturally slow in the formation of opinions, and still slower in its decisions, was quickened by this spirit of its own creation into clearer views and more energetic action. The subsequent changes may therefore be said to have grown out of that first regulation, which, planted in the principles of our nature, could not but spring up into vigorous and fruitful increase

The system of the seminary was fundamentally wrong. In the first place, the professors had no sufficient bond of union. by which, in the business of instruction, their efforts might harmonize, and their strength operate to the greatest advantage by being exerted in one direction. With the exception of the professors of moral and natural philosophy, who divided the philosophical classes between them, each had his distinct school, which he managed at his own discretion, and the pupils of which had no other connection with the University than such as arose from the

office held by their teacher. With such an organization, the pursuit of any systematic course of instruction, if possible at all, must have been liable to continual interruptions, alike injurious to the scholar and derogatory to the credit of the school.

Another evil existed in the want of proper classification among the students. The distinction between the collegiate and academical parts of the institution, which had never been sufficiently marked, was now scarcely perceptible. Almost every branch of knowledge considered essential in a course of education, from the lowest to the highest, was included in its scheme; and if we except the two philosophical classes, the students of every grade were mingled together, not only under the same roof, but in the same apartment, and under the same teachers; so that the boy learning the simplest rules of arithmetic, or the first lesson in grammar, was neighbour to the young man engaged in the highest mathematical and classical studies. In this absence of discrimination, an impolitic

disregard was exhibited to that strongest feeling of the youthful breast, the desire of distinction; which gives to the priority of a few years in age, or a slight superiority of attainment, a degree of importance, the influence of which we are apt, in manhood, to forget or undervalue. To be associated as pupils in the same establishment, even to be seen coming out of the same door with children but just out of their petticoats, was to the elder students, who began to look upon themselves as young men, a highly disagreeable necessity; but to be mingled in the close fellowship of schoolroom, was a degradation to which only the force of parental authority could induce. them to submit. All whose own inclinations were consulted were naturally induced to prefer some other seminary, where their claims to a proper consideration would be respected; and numbers were thus directed away from the school of Philadelphia, whom the advantages of proximity, united with their local attachments, would otherwise have connected with it.