nderstanding what he reads. Since the reforms of 1872 the
pupils read Latin with not less facility than before; which seems to
show that Latin verse was not indispensable. It should also be mentioned
that under M. Simon's auspices a law was made in 1872 requiring every
pupil to pass an examination before being promoted from a lower to a
higher class in the lycee. Those who fail in this examination, and who
do not care to return to the lower class, are transferred to the
so-called _classes de science_, where the subjects of study are
mathematics, geometry, physics, chemistry and natural history.

M. Jules Simon retired from his post as Minister of Public Instruction
under M. Thiers on the 24th of May, 1873, and the reforms he had
instituted were overthrown by the clerical ministry which followed. The
Republican elections of the 20th of February, 1876, having been the
means of once more placing the government in the hands of M. Simon's
friends, he himself was on the 12th of December last made president of
the Council of Ministers, while M. Waddington resumed the portfolio of
Public Instruction. M. Waddington, who besides being a Rugby and
Cambridge man, has, like M. Simon, taken the doctor's degree at the
Sorbonne, at once took measures to carry out the liberal and progressive
reforms we have spoken of. His efforts were, however, frustrated by the
enforced retirement of the Jules Simon ministry on the 16th of May,
1877, and the accession of the conservatives to power. There can be
little doubt that the new ministry will set aside all the reforms
planned and executed, and will return to the old paths until the seesaw
of public opinion in France shall once more re-establish the
Simon-Waddington reforms.

As has been shown, the progress made in the system of secondary
instruction in France is but slow: indeed, it may be compared to that of
certain pilgrims, who in fulfillment of their vows take three steps
forward and two backward. Nevertheless, these party struggles and
tentative efforts cannot fail in the end to result in a marked
definitive improvement in the educational system. Before all things, it
was necessary that the fallibility of the old system and of the
antiquated shibboleths of instruction, which had hitherto exercised
undisputed sway, be recognized. The rest will follow in due time.
Whether minister or not, M. Jules Simon may justly claim the credit of
having brought about a salutary educational crisis, the e