more systematic shape than elsewhere, and to retain more of its old roughness and severity.

The right to fag belongs at every school to a portion of the senior boys; the liability to be fagged attaches commonly to a portion only of the juniors. The duties of a fag are at some schools much lighter and more limited than at others; in their largest extent they embrace some special personal services to the boy to whom the fag is assigned, and some general services which he may be called on to render to the whole body of the masters, with "fielding," when required, at cricket, and compulsory attendance at some other games. Some of the services are such as would at the present day be performed by servants, had not the custom grown up of allowing them to be performed by fags. In some instances the compulsory attendance at games, which is far from being always an evil, is so enforced as to trench upon the fag's opportunities for play. But on the whole, and with some exceptions, we are satisfied that fagging, mitigated as it has been, and that considerably, by the altered habits and manners of the present day, is not degrading to the juniors, is not enforced tyrannically, and makes no exorbitant demand upon their time, that it has no injurious effect upon the character of the seniors. The master and fag is generally friendly, and to a certain though ne of patronage and protection, and it sometimes

is

dergo in the great world of business and society. The liberty, however, which is suited for a boy is a liberty regulated by definite restraints; and his world, the chief temptations of which arise from thoughtlessness, must be a world pervaded by powerful disciplinary influences, and in which rewards as well as punishments are both prompt and certain. The principle of governing boys mainly through their own sense of what is right and honorable is undoubtedly the only true principle; but it requires much watchfulness, and a firm, temperate, and judicious administration, to keep up the tone and standard of opinion, which are very liaable to fluctuate, and the decline of which speedily turns a good school into a bad one. This system is one which is adapted for boys and not for children, and which should not be entered upon, as a general rule, till the age of childhood is past; neither perhaps is it universally wholesome for boys of every temperament and character, though we believe the cases to which it is unsuited are not very numerous. But we are satisfied, on the whole, both that it has been eminently successful, and that it has been greatly improved during the last thirty or forty years, partly by causes of a general kind, partly by the personal influence and exertion of Dr. Arnold and other great schoolmasters.

Religious Teaching and Influences.—At every school the boys are instructed in Scripture history and those who are advanced enough, in the Greek Testament. Time is given to religious teaching on Sundays, and to relieve them from the temptation to do other work upon that day, the first lesson at least on Monday morning is uniformly on a religious subject. At Westminster the whole forenoon of Monday is given to lessons on religious subjects, and at Winchester the Head Master reads the Greek Testament with his own classes on every morning. Questions testing Scriptural knowledge enter into the school examinations, and appear to have a fair amount of weight generally assigned to them. There is apparently a general feeling that religious instruction, though a matter eminently requiring to be handled with judgment and caution, should not be confined to the mere learning by heart of passages of Scripture and facts of sacred history, nor to the critical study of the Greek text of the New Testament, and an anxiety that the time given to this subject should not be employed listlessly nor mechanically.

The boys appear, generally speaking, to be very carefully prepared for confirmation and to receive this rite with becoming seriousness. Their attendance at the Holy Communion is almost universally left to their own sense of religious duty, and the proportion who attend from those wh: have been confirmed, is everywhere considerable. It is the general custom to have prayers in the boarding-houses-and we have the satisfaction of believing not only that boys are not disturbed or ridiculed whilst saying their private prayers, but that the omission to do this is the exception-probably a rare exception-not the rule. Yet it is at home even more than at school (because at home it may be done earlier and more effectually than at school) that religious motives and feelings should be implanted and a knowledge of the truths of religion acquired.

Financial Condition. Fees and Charges, &c.—The expenses of these schools consist chiefly in the maintenance, repair, and enlargement of the necessary buildings and accommodations, the sustenance of foundation scholars, and the support of the staff of teachers; and they are defrayed principally from payments made out of the foundation revenues, and from the charges for board and instruction. The principle apparently recognized as the measure of the school charges, though not perhaps consistently observed in practice, is that of raising, not as much money as parents can be induced to pay, but as much as will maintain an adequate staff of highly qualified teachers, beside defraying other expenses. The amount derived from the foundation is everywhere small compared with what is received from the parents of non-foundationers. The charges for board are sometimes separate from, but commonly blended with those for instruction; the charge for instruction has been added to, as fresh subjects or modes of teaching have been introduced, and is often broken into separate sums, to which different teachers are entitled. The total receipts of a Master who has a boarding-house are generally adequate, and often very ample, while others have often not sufficient for a fair remuneration. The gross receipts of the Head Masters have, from increase of numbers, become in some cases extremely large, subject to miscellaneous deductions and charges, more or less discretionary and ill-defined, while his net income does not always bear a just proportion to either the numbers or wealth of the school. The subject of the charges made to parents and the emoluments of the Masters needs revision, that both may be put upon a more simple and equitable footing. At several of the schools the Assistant Masters as a body, and in some cases the Head Masters, are underpaid. The total emoluments of the five Masters, forming the classical and mathematical staff at Shrewsbury, hardly amount altogether to the annual salary of a young classical assistant at Eton, and this is nearly half as much again as the whole income of the Head Master of Westminster or the Charter-house. It has been customary for the Head Master to engage such assistants as he required and to make his own terms with them and to fix the amount of their emoluments-usually consisting of sums paid out of his own pocket, such shares as he might assign to them of the tuition fees, and a portion of the profits of boarding-houses which they had his permission to open-while he reserved to himself such proportion of the school charges as he thought fit. While the Head Master should retain the power of appointing and dismissing his subordinates, it is deemed advisable that the power and responsibility of fixing their emoluments and his own should be held by the Governing Body.

Domestic and Sanitary Arrangements.-The school buildings themselves, even at the wealthier schools, are by no means all that could be desired. There is not unfrequently a want of suitable class-rooms, though this want is being gradually supplied. In the boys' bed-rooins there appears generally, with some exceptions, to be no want of space,

air, and appliances for cleanliness and comfort. At Eton it is usual for each boy to have a room to himself, in which he sleeps at night and sits by day, his small bedstead being folded up during the daytime. The rooms at Harrow contain sometimes one bed, sometimes two to five, the boys using the rooms by day as studies. At Rugby from two to sixteen boys sleep in a room, but every boy has assigned him a little study or a portion of one, no study holding more than three. The system of large bedrooms is generally in use at the other schools, the privilege of a study being given to a limited number of the upper boys. At each school the Masters are satisfied with the system actually adopted there, and the boys seem to be satisfied with it likewise. Each system has in fact its advantages.

The boarding-houses are as a rule kept by the Masters only. At Eton, however, nine of the thirty houses are still in the hands of the "dames." The scale of diet does not differ greatly at the different schools, though at some the boys have meat once and at some twice a day; and the boys seem to be generally satisfied with the quantity and quality of their food. Excellent and comfortable sanatoria, for the reception of boys so unwell as to require special care, different food, and quiet, have been built at Eton and Rugby. The boarding-houses which have been newly built are very carefully constructed and the internal arrangements of the old ones have in many instances been much improved. On the whole it may be said that as respects their domestic and sanitary arrangements, and the appliances for the health and comfort of the boys, these schools have fairly kept pace with the general advance which has been made in this matter within the last quarter of a century. But it is chiefly, no doubt, to the habits of hardy exercise which are encouraged everywhere that we have to attribute the fact that sickness appears to be rare everywhere and the general health of the boys to be good.

Holidays.-Except in two London schools, the whole time during which boys are at home, whether they go home twice or three times in the year, varies only from 14 to 16 weeks. The dates of the holidays differ materially in the different schools.

The London Schools. Four of these schools, Westminster, the Charterhouse, St. Paul's, and Merchant Taylors', are situated in the metropolis. Their number of pupils is 690, of whom 188 are boarders. In point of endowment, in the provision made for instruction, and in the results of the teaching, these schools will bear comparison with any of the rest. In one respect, however, they stand at an obvious disadvantage. It is impossible for them to offer the same facilities for recreation and exercise as the schools situated in the country. Indeed, the boys at St. Paul's and Merchant Taylors' have no play-grounds at all. Again, the high value of land throws a great difficulty in the way of providing for the additional accommodation which boys now require and compels the managers to restrict their improvements within a narrow compass. It is generally thought, too, that a London school can not be so healthy as

one in the country, though the evidence does not appear to confirm this view. Owing to these causes the popularity of the London schools as boarding-schools has declined, and the Westminster and Charter-house schools, which are especially boarding-schools, have felt the adverse influences most strongly. It has been proposed to remove these institutions into the country, and it might be done with great advantage in many respects, but there are financial and other difficulties which may prevent the realization of the idea.

Summary of General Recommendations.

I. The Governing Bodies of the several colleges and schools should be reformed, so far as may be necessary, in order to render them thoroughly suitable and efficient for the purposes and duties which they are designed to fulfill.

II. The subsisting statutes and laws of the several colleges and schools, by which they respectively are, or legally ought to be, governed, should be revised under competent authority; rules and obligations which it is inexpedient to retain should be abrogated; new regulations should be introduced where they are required; and the Governing Bodies of each college and school should be empowered, where they do not already possess the power, to amend its statutes from time to time. The approval of some superior authority, such as the Queen in Council or the Visitor, may be required where the character of the foundation renders this desirable.

III. The Governing Body of each college and school should have the general management of the property and endowments of the college and school. They should have the appointment and dismissal of the Head Master, and should retain, where they now possess them, the same powers in respect of the second Master. They should be authorized to make general regulations for the government and administration of the whole school, including both foundation boys and boys not on the foundation, except in matters specially reserved to the Head Master. They should be especially empowered and charged to make such regulations as may from time to time be required on the following subjects:— a. The terms of admission and the number of the school.

b. The general treatment of the foundation boys.

c. Boarding-houses; the rates of charge for boarding, the conditions on which leave to keep a boarding-house should be given, and any other matters which may appear to need regulation under this head.

d. Fees and charges of all kinds, and the application of money to be derived from these sources.

e. Attendance at divine service; chapel services and sermons, where the school possesses a chapel of its own.

f. The sanitary condition of the school, and of all places connected with it. g. The times and length of the holidays.

h. The introduction of new branches of study, and the suppression of old ones, and the relative importance to be assigned to each branch of study.

It should be incumbent, however, on the Governing Body, before making regulations upon any of these subjects, or upon any subject affecting the management or instruction of the school, not only to consider attentively any represen tations which the Head Master may address to them, but to consult him in such a manner as to give ample opportunity for the expression of his views.

IV. The Governing Body should hold stated general meetings, one at least half-yearly, and special meetings when required. Provision should be made for summoning special meetings. Sufficient notice of every special meeting should be given to every member, and a notice sent of all business to be transacted. Minutes should be kept of the proceedings of every stated and special meeting. If any member absents himself from three-fourths of all the meetings in any two successive years, his office should be deemed vacant and his place filled up. The Governing Body should be empowered to defray out of the school fund the expenses of the meetings, including the traveling expenses of the governors attending them.