r knowledge of the elementary principles of physiology and
hygiene, and their ability to give instructions in the same."

The School Committee consists of two members from each of the twelve
wards of the city, chosen annually, and assisted by the Mayor and
President of the Common Council. The average expense of each scholar at
the primary schools is 25s. per annum, at the higher schools three
guineas. Under the foregoing system, 12,000 children are instructed
annually at the primary schools, and 10,000 at the higher schools, which
aggregate of 22,000 will give an attendance of nearly 70 per cent. upon
all children between the ages of five and fifteen, to whom the avenues
of knowledge, from the lisping letters of infancy to the highest
branches of philosophy, are freely opened.

Through the kindness of Mr. B. Seaver, the Mayor of Boston, I was
enabled to visit several of these schools, the cleanliness of which, as
well as their good ventilation, was most satisfactory. The plan adopted
here, of having the stools made of iron and screwed on to the floor,
with a wooden seat fixed on the top for each pupil, and a separate desk
for every two, struck me as admirably calculated to improve ventilation
and check sky-larking and noise. The number of public schools in the
whole State is 4056, which are open for seven months and a half in the
year, and the average attendance of scholars is 145,000; besides which,
there are 749 private schools, with 16,000 scholars. It is a curious
fact, and bears strong testimony to the efficiency of the public
schools, that while they have increased by 69 during the year, the
private schools have decreased by 36. The foregoing sketch is from the
official Reports, printed at Boston in 1853.

In addition to these schools, there are four colleges, three theological
seminaries, and two medical schools. Of these I shall only notice one of
the colleges, which I visited, and which enjoys a high reputation--viz.,
Harvard College, or Cambridge, as it is sometimes called, from the
village where it is situated. The history of this college is a wholesome
proof how a small institution, if duly fostered by a nation, may
eventually repay future generations with liberal interest. Established
in 1636, by a vote of 400l., it obtained the name of Harvard, from the
bequeathment by a reverend gentleman of that name, A.D. 1638, of the sum
of 780l. and 300 volumes. Its property now amounts to upwards of
100,000l., and