part of the men who conquered under Lord Wellington in the Peninsula and at Waterloo, were trained under the conjoint influences of the kirk and the school. The British lines were not a mere aggregation of brute force. It was intelligence, and, in some degree, moral principle, which made their onset so often irresistible. The benefits of this general education may be seen, somewhat, in softening the rigidity of the Scottish character; in polishing, in a degree, its roughnesses; and in imparting some show of reason, even where physical obstinacy was the predominating element. The two and a half millions of North Britain enjoy a reputation, and exert an influence, to which no other six millions of the population of the empire can make any pretension. One main ground of this distinction is the early education in the one case, and the want of it in the other. What a blessing beyond all computation would it have been to Ireland, if a parochial school-system had been, for two centuries, transforming her wretched potato-diggers into intelligent and independent yeomanry!

This system, however, was found, at an early period, insufficient to meet the wants of the people. The grand object of the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge, as described in the patent in 1709, was, and it still is, "the increase of piety and virtue, within Scotland, especially in the Highlands, islands and remote corners thereof, where error, idolatry, superstition and ignorance do mostly abound, by reason of the largeness of the parishes, and the scarcity of schools." The society has accumulated a capital of about £100,000. Of the 340 functionaries of the society, all are stationed in the Highlands and islands, with the exception of six teachers and one missionary. When the society was instituted, neither the Bible, nor any religious book, had been translated into the Gaelic language. This great deficiency is now supplied.

Notwithstanding the labors of this society, much ignorance still remained. In 1824, a committee of the General Assembly discovered, that in the northwest parts of Scotland, there were not fewer than 10,500 children, under fifteen years of age, destitute of the means of education, and that not less than 250 additional schools were necessary; and they have since ascertained, that the total number of persons of both sexes, of six years of age and upwards, in all the parishes of the Highlands and islands, unable to read either in the English or Gaelic languages, amounts to 83,397. The Rev. Dr. Gordon stated at the last meeting of the Assembly, that there were 90,000 per

sons in Scotland who were unable to read. The Rev. Dr. Paterson of Glasgow testified at the same meeting, that there were 80,000 persons in the limits of one synod, who could not read the Bible, and that Glasgow has a population of 60,000 persons, and Edinburgh of 50,000, not one of whom has any connection with the public worship of God, and among whom there is no reading of the Bible at home, and no catechetical instruction of children. It was also mentioned that the town of Peterhead, with 6000 inhabitants, had no place until recently for parochial education, except a single small apartment. From the report of the committee, it appears that there are now, (May, 1840,) 120 schools, with 12,000 pupils, all of whom are instructed in English, and more than 2,500 in Gaelic. The annual income is between five and six thousand pounds sterling. A majority of the committee were in favor of accepting the government-grants on the conditions annexed by the privy council. The resolution of the committee was approved by the General Assembly, with the additional clause, that nothing shall be done by the government inspectors, prejudicial to the interests of the established church.

The Secession church has, like the establishment, shown an interest in the cause of education. The number of schools, owing their origin to this church, exceeds 100. They are established, on a large scale, in the great cities, and form models of good tuition. The number of Sunday schools in Scotland is about 600, two-thirds of which belong to the Dissenters. The whole number of schools in Scotland may be estimated at about 4,600, of which 3000 are private, or voluntary schools. It is supposed that about one ninth part of the population are in the process of education.

There is a species of school established within the last thirtyfive years, called academies, in the larger burghs, such as Edinburgh, Dundee, Perth, etc. They are under the direct care, either of the subscribers by whom they have been founded, or of the magistrates. These academies, and the ancient burgh schools, such as the High School of Edinburgh, are regarded as the best seminaries in Scotland, embracing all the necessary and ornamental branches of education, each taught by a separate master.*

* See Macculloch's British Empire, II. 488, and Edinburgh

Almanac for 1840.

Our account of the state of the schools in Scotland, and our estimate of the influence of education in the formation of the national character would be incomplete, without some notice of the Universities. And here we are glad to avail ourselves of the very voluminous and enlightened report, made to king William IV., by a royal commission of inquiry into the state of the universities of Scotland. These universities are not now of an ecclesiastical character, or, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, ecclesiastical bodies. They are connected, indeed, with the established church of Scotland, the standards of which the professors are required to acknowledge, though this is now, often, practically set aside. Like other seminaries of education, they may be subject to the inspection of the church in relation to any religious opinions which are taught in - them. The professors of divinity, whose instructions are intended for those connected with the established church, are, in their character of professors, members of the presbytery of the bounds; and each university returns a representative to the General Assembly. But in other respects, these universities are not ecclesiastical institutions, not being more connected with the church, than with law or medicine. They are intended for the general education of the country.* All the classes may be taught by laymen, with the exception of those of divinity; and in no part of the system, except in theology, is any distinction observed with reference to the views or pursuits of those intended for the church. It is also very important to observe, that they have, in no respect, been framed or modified, with reference to the means, or pursuits, or habits of the aristocracy. The system is that of a general plan of education, by which persons of all ranks may be equally benefited. It is the peculiar and beneficent character of the Scottish universities, that they are intended to place the means of the highest education in science and philosophy within the reach of persons in humble ranks of life, while, at the same time, they are equally fitted to educate and enlighten the youth of the highest class in society. The Scottish universities have always embraced students of every variety and description. Men advanced in life, who attend some of the classes for amusement, or in order to recall the studies of early years, or to improve themselves in

Not a few of the dissenting ministers of England have been educated at the Scottish universities.

professional education, originally interrupted; or persons engaged in the actual occupations of business, who expect to derive aid in their pursuits from the new applications of science to the arts; or young men not intended for any of the learned professions, or meaning to go through any regular course of university education, but sent for one or more years to college, in order to carry their education farther than they could prosecute it in the parochial schools, before they are engaged in the pursuits of trade or commerce. And all persons may attend any of the classes, in whatever order or manner it may suit their convenience. The system of instruction by a course of elaborate lectures on the different branches of science and philosophy, continued daily for a period of six months, is admirably calculated to answer all the objects which such persons may have in view, as well as to afford much useful instruction. to regular students.

The remuneration of the professors depends, in the larger universities, mainly, and in Edinburgh, it may be said, entirely, upon the fees paid by the students, or, in other words, upon the number of students. From the fact that the reputation of the professors must be greatly increased by the number of persons attending upon them, especially those who have just been alluded to, there is danger, that in proportion to the increase of auditors of this description, the important and primary object of the regular education of youth may be overlooked, examinations and exercises being gradually given up, the professor being entirely confined to lecturing. The students in the Scotch universities do not reside within the walls of the college, or in any place subject to the inspection of the university authorities. They reside wherever they choose; and after they leave the class-room, their studies and occupations are not necessarily under the inspection of the professors. In Edinburgh and Glasgow, it may be safely said, that the professors do not generally know much more of the students, (except when in their class-rooms,) than of the other youths of these great cities.

There are no endowments or establishments connected with the Scotch universities, such as fellowships for the maintenance of literary men, after their own education is finished, and who do not necessarily take any share in the business of instruction. There is no encouragement, therefore, to prosecute, to any great extent, those branches of literature which do not directly tend to useful objects in life. Without the strongest natural

inclination, it is in vain to hope, that many persons will devote themselves to classical literature as their peculiar pursuit, with the zeal exhibited in other countries, when they cannot thereby attain any immediate honor or future advantage.

The medical department of education in the universities of Scotland is evidently of the greatest importance. During a long period, a large proportion of the persons who have practised medicine throughout the country, and who have occupied the medical stations in the army and navy, have been educated for their profession in one or other of those universities. The medical school of Edinburgh has long possessed high celebrity, and that of Glasgow has, of late years, risen into great eminence; and there is reason to believe that this branch of academical instruction may soon attain an important rank in the university of Aberdeen. Much less attention has been paid to the study of the law. A full course does not seem to have been established at either of the universities, unless that at Edinburgh is an exception. The session for the study of divinity in the university of Aberdeen is three months; in St. Andrews, four; in Edinburgh, though nominally longer, it is not so practically; while in Glasgow it is six months. Divinity is studied almost exclusively by persons intending to become ministers of the established church; and the General Assembly has, by various acts, prescribed the course of study, and the period of attendance at the divinity-hall, which shall be sufficient to qualify candidates for obtaining a license to preach the gospel, as the means of entitling them to hold parochial livings.*

* We subjoin, in a note, some more particular information in regard to the universities, as they exist at the present time, 1840. The oldest of the universities is that of St. Andrews, which was founded in May, 1410, by Bishop Henry Wardlaw, and confirmed by a papal bull in 1411. The college of St. Salvator was erected in 1456; that of St. Leonard in 1512; and that of St. Mary in 1537; the first two were united by parliamentary statute in 1747. In the united college there is a principal (Sir David Brewster) and 8 professors; in St. Mary's, a principal (Robert Haldane, D. D.) and three professors. In the three colleges there are 29 charitable foundations, called bursaries, of the aggregate value of about £1100 per annum, whose benefits are extended to 92 individuals. The university of Glasgow was founded in 1571, by a papal bull,