suffered a decline. It was preserved in part by the one learned profession, that of divinity, but even in this profession the standard of classical attainments sank lamentably low. Near the middle of the eighteenth century a better day began to dawn. In particular, the founding of the Dummer School, at Byfield, Mass., in 1763, and the coming of Samuel Moody as master, mark a new era in American classical instruction.

The long and successful career of Master Moody at Byfield directly led to the establishment, near the close of the Revolution, of what may be termed the three oldest academies, the. Phillips Academy at Andover, Mass., the Phillips Exeter Academy at Exeter, N. H., and Leicester Academy in the Massachusetts town of the same name. Each of these originated as foundation schools established by eminent civilians; but they differed from the grammar schools in granting no special advantage to the towns in which they were located. This distinction seems to have been at first the leading one separating the ancient grammar school from the New England academy, but there was a further difference in that the academy was not of necessity a preparatory school for college. Professor Boone. is of the opinion that these academies were modeled upon the English academies established by the Dissenters after the passage of the Act of Toleration (1689), in compliance with a suggestion of Milton in his Tractate on Education. They certainly. were independent institutions, unlike the grammar schools, and had extended courses. They rapidly multiplied, especially in New England and the Middle States, and by the beginning of the present century were to be found in almost every State in the Union. The British academies were framed after the pattern of the great public schools,-Eton, Rugby, and the like, -where the children of the aristocracy were trained; but their American successors soon became closely adapted to the needs of the democratic communities which created them. They were kept near to the people, breathing the spirit of the time. They flourished during the last quarter of the eighteenth century, and well into the nineteenth. At first, we have seen, they were founded by endowments. Later, schools of the same.

name, and supplying an English education of the same high grade, sprang up in many of the important towns of the East, relying solely upon tuition fees and having a somewhat intermittent existence. Their patronage depended mainly upon the local popularity of the teacher. In general, the teachers of the academies in their palmiest days were among the finest scholars and ablest instructors in the land. These institutions were, and are, well adapted to serve as agents of secondary education for sparsely settled communities. But after population began to assemble in the large towns and cities, they, too, suffered a decline, and were replaced in great measure by pub-. lic High Schools. Not all have disappeared, however, but some are thriving as preparatory schools, others as denominational schools, and still others are the main dependence of rural communities for the supplementing of elementary education. It is evident, however, that the academy can never resume its old place as the chief secondary school for the American people.

The High School is one of the many products of the seething conflict of ideas which prevailed in the first third of the present century. For this period was one of great change and abundant growth. In the four decades following the adoption of the Federal constitution, population had trebled. The cities had increased from six to twenty-six, and now (1830) contained one-sixteenth of all the people. The original thirteen States had become twenty-four, and their original area had expanded five-fold. Commerce and manufactures were feeling the impulse forward. Canals threaded the country for sixteen hundred miles, and railroads grew from the four miles at Quincy in 1826 to a thousand miles in 1835. In intellectual aspects, also, the nation was experiencing a renaissance. Some thirty colleges had their origin in this period, and in older institutions new departments, as of medicine, law, and modern languages, were added. Where there were but thirty-five newspapers in 1775; not less than a thousand existed in 1830. Professor Boone well says, "In the atmosphere of the Revolution were born and reared statesmen and soldiers; not less

did the years following give scholars and authors and teachers, tradesmen and benefactors, professional and scientific men."

These were days of great diversity of opinion on many points relating to social, political, and commercial progress; but on one point all agreed-that intelligence is necessary to citizenship in a free nation. "In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion," said Washington, "it is necessary that public opinion should be enlightened." Jefferson held that "the diffusion of light and education are the resources most to be relied on for ameliorating the condition, promoting the virtue, and advancing the happiness of man." Men in public life and in humbler stations alike cherished such views. It was a doctrine of common belief, not a personal opinion alone, which Chancellor Kent expressed when he said that "the parent who sends his son into the world uneducated defrauds the community of a useful citizen and bequeaths to it a nuisance." It was out of such elevated sentiments that by natural evolution sprang the idea of universal, liberal, and public education. In the consequent enthusiasm for popular education, old agencies were made more efficient and new ones were devised, discussed, and put in operation. During these years multitudes of the educational, benevolent, and literary institutions that are now so flourishing, had their beginning.

One marked result of the agitation of these times was the better organization of the State systems of public education. which had been established earlier, and the extension of them. to meet the demands of the densely populated centers. It was easily seen that to the elementary schools there might well be added larger opportunities for learning, when the number who could avail themselves of such advantages was sufficient to warrant the increased expense. The academies and other private schools of like grade were reaching but a favored few, for tuition fees and boarding expenses shut out the masses. Moreover, the control of such schools was not in public hands. The school officers, elected by the people, preferred to expend the people's money on schools whose

courses and methods of instruction they themselves could shape, instead of strengthening by their gifts establishments controlled by close corporations on previous foundations. Hence sprung up here and there in the cities free public. schools, similar to the academies in courses and in actual work, but having an organic connection with the public schools below them. These soon received the name of High Schools. Doubtless the academies were the models on which they were formed, but they were also an expansion of the elementary schools to meet the popular demand for secondary education. They were free in the fullest sense to all; there was no fee to be paid, no social bar across the door. Intellectual fitness was the sole requisite for entrance. They were also public in the broadest meaning of the term, being supported by taxation and controlled by the people through officials especially chosen for the purpose. Such they have ever continued to be.

Allusion has previously been made to the first of these High Schools in Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Providence. From these urban centers they gradually spread in every direction over the Northern States, and particularly through New England and the regions whither New Englanders had gone. Massachusetts is the only commonwealth which has mandatory legislation relating to the establishment of High Schools. This measure, initiated in 1647, assumed nearly its present form in 1826. It calls for a High School of a certain kind in all towns of 500 families or more, and one of a higher grade in every town of 4000 or more inhabitants. These schools are to be kept ten months or longer each year, exclusive of vacations. The appreciation in which this sort of school is held in the State which gave it birth is shown by one significant fact: all the towns thus required to maintain High Schools are found to have them, and also more than forty others. Of the entire population of the State more than nine-tenths live in the towns and cities maintaining High Schools, and half the remainder, at least, within easy reach of such schools.

Many States have permissive legislation under which the number of High Schools is constantly growing. The policy of certain States, of which Massachusetts and Maine are examples, seems to be to encourage the several towns to create a large number of High Schools, some of them of low grade, and thus to bring these schools within reach of all or nearly all their population. In Massachusetts alone there are 236 schools called High Schools. Ohio has nearly twice as many. Other States, like Michigan and Minnesota, which support by public funds a State University, have legislation which aims to secure the creation by local communities of a smaller number of High Schools, each able to give adequate preparation for entrance to college. More than half the State Constitutions specify High Schools as objects of legislative and general interest. In one State (Georgia) on the contrary, there is a constitutional provision forbidding any except the elementary branches being taught in the public schools at the charge of the public funds. In the North Atlantic States (New Eng. land, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania), sixty-four out of every thousand pupils in public schools are in the High Schools. As one goes westward the ratio decreases, and in the South, High Schools are not numerous. There seem to be no statistics at present available by which to determine how many High Schools there are in this country, but there are indications that the number is regularly increasing. One difficulty in the way of exact statistics on this point is the lack, in many States, of any well-defined line, outside of the cities, separating High Schools from those of a lower grade. In numerous rural districts, schools, and even the studies of individ uals, are of a mixed primary and secondary character.

THE PUPILS AND THEIR PREPARATION.

The High School in America draws its pupils from all classes of society. In some communities it is the only secondary school, and there is demand for no other. In other localities private schools of similar grade exist, to which for social or denominational reasons the boys and girls of certain fami