a capital speculation: and it was left to the energy and good sense of a Mr. Archer to establish the first school for boys, in this City of Palaces, before the year 1800. His great success attracted others to the same field; and two institutions speedily took the lead. Mr. Farrell's Seminary, and the Durrumtollah Academy, were the two rival institutions. There was also a school conducted by Mr. Halifax, another by Mr. Lindstedt, and a third by Mr. Draper; but these were of less note, and did not attract so much attention.

In all these institutions, a plain English education was given; and, what must on no account be overlooked, the principles of navigation and book-keeping were made objects of special study. At that time, through the exertions of Mr. Kidd, the founder of the Kidderpore Dock Yard, the country trade had received a great impetus. Ships were being built; and young men, who had acquired a superficial knowledge of the theory of navigation, soon found employment. The study of navigation is now nearly banished from our schools; and it is sometimes only, when the boys are sent to the schools in Calcutta from the eastward, that a special request is made for the study of navigation. This occurs so rarely, that, when the request is made, some such surprise is felt as if an echo of an ante-diluvian period fell upon our ears.

In order to give our readers an idea of what these private seminaries were, we shall quote at length a passage from the memoir of Mr. David Drummond, which most graphically describes the state of things at that period :

"Mr. Drummond has himself declared, that he was the first person, who introduced the study of Grammar and the use of the Globes, in the Durrumtollah Academy. This ⚫ seminary was, at that period, in the most flourishing condition. Receipts were large, and the profits, which the proprietors realized, handsome; and yet we perceive how lamentably 'low was the tone of education in it: in truth, people looked for no higher qualification, than that comprised in the three Rs.'-Reading, Writing, Arithmetic. A knowledge of these branches of learning was a passport to the subordi'nate offices under Government. No other sphere of ex'tended usefulness was demanded at the hands of the uncovenanted branch of the service.-Merchants themselves required no high scale of qualification. It is matter of surprise to know how little was then required at the hands of school-masters: but then we must not omit that the Government of the country was satisfied with that little, at the time to which we have made reference. There were men of

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brilliant talents among us-a Malcolm, a Munro, and others: but the duties which devolved on them were not so onerous, as to demand so complicated and expensive a machinery, as the covenanted and uncovenanted service of the Hon'ble Company now is.

"How widely things are altered now! The studies of schools are adapted to present circumstances; nothing is left untried ' which will develope the energies of men, refine their feelings, ⚫ establish their morals, and make them fit instruments for employment in the service of a Government, whose responsi ⚫bilities are daily increasing.

"We are happy to observe that Mr. Drummond was mainly instrumental in introducing two studies of such importance. They are not however the only two, he introduced. English literature, and the study of the Latin classics, were also taught in his school, through his recommendation. But we must not overlook another important change, which he effected. Every individual is become so familiar with it, that we are assured that it will occasion surprise, when we mention ⚫ that Annual Examinations were first held by Mr. Drummond. As at present, so was it formerly, a big day for boys. It was a day of fear, of trembling, and of joy. The prospect of a de'feat a discomfiture-was appalling to the lads; while the uncertain prospect of a prize, and the too certain prospect of the 'joyful holidays, were indeed soul-enlivening and soul-thrilling. Could one but realize the day, as it came off under the auspices of the late Mr. Drummond! The beauty and wealth of the city were assembled there, and the curious gaze of the humble ⚫ clerks, and the eager faces of the teachers and the school-boys ⚫ of other institutions-all were there. But the most prominent figure was Mr. Drummond. He was the life and the soul of the assembly. All eyes were bent on him, and with a smile he graciously repaid their kindness. Light and elastic, with the vigour of youth, a pleasing countenance, and brilliant blue eyes, Mr. Drummond was the hero of the day.-As each ⚫ class was called up, he detailed minutely the studies and the progress of the lads, and passed a high eulogium on their assiduity and application; and lastly, who can forget the book-keeping class? The boys in their Sunday clothes, with their slates in their hands, ready to journalize and post with the ledger the most intricate mercantile calculation-Mr. Drummond throwing his gauntlet to the assembly to puzzle his lads, 'cunning in workmanship'- a question pompously and slowly falling from the lips of the late Mr. Halifax-the answer after awhile correctly given, a burst of applause

announcing the success; Derozio receiving his medal with a descant on his merits from his admiring master:-all these combined to present a scene, which, while we write, warms our heart, and makes us live over those days again.

"The first examination of this kind gave the death-blow to Mr. Farrel's seminary. Mr. Drummond knew the power of (what the French appropriately call) éclat. He felt also that an examination without ladies was a nonentity. He therefore called upon a lady-friend of influence and respectability, and, making known to her his intention, he promised her a grand ball and supper, and conveyances for her friends to boot, if they would honour the examination with their presence. Could such arts ever fail? The bait took. The hall was crowded; and Mr. Drummond became, in the opinion of the ladies, a great man, a famous man!'

Besides the institutions, which we have already mentioned, as public institutions for the sole benefit of private individuals, there were private seminaries, conducted by Reverend Gentlemen of the various denominations then in Calcutta. That conducted by the late Rev. Doctor Yates was the most flourishing. These seminaries were opened for the purpose of support; and, as more permanent employment was obtained, they were abandoned. For this reason we had a number of private seminaries in succession,-some very excellent in their way but they were all evanescent. Either some employment, which relieved a sensitive mind from anxious dependence on public patronage, drew the conductors away, or death removed them from the scene of their labours.

We would feel ourselves guilty of an unpardonable omission, if we did not at this place make prominent mention of the schools for young ladies, which were also established in this city. The earliest was that of a Mrs. Pitts; and soon after many others were founded by private enterprize and public encouragement. That, which enjoyed the most extensive support however, was Mrs. Durrell's seminary. It was of great repute: and there are many ladies, yet alive, who received the rudiments of their education, and their finish also, in this seminary.

There were some features of the society of that period, which rendered these seminaries for ladies very popular. There were no hotels and large boarding-houses, to which strangers, on their arrival in the City of Palaces, could repair. The only places of resort for young ladies, whose friends and relatives were at a distance from Calcutta, were these schools and hence the seminaries for young ladies were at once seminaries for

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learning, and boarding houses for young ladies, who had taken their farewell of the school.

These seminaries also afforded an excellent opportunity for forming matrimonial alliances. Young men and old-civilians and military gentlemen-merchants and indigo-planters, met here with a capital mart for sweet-hearts and wives. To enliven the ennui of Ditch society, and to hasten the approach of an establishment,' a grand ball and supper were given almost every month. Friends were invited, who introduced other friends and it was no uncommon circumstance to find that many a young man most miraculously found his lost rib, and many a young woman discovered from whose side she had been taken.

Much cannot be said of the pabulum mentis, which was given in these seminaries. Accomplishments were abundantly supplied; and there were not wanting stimulants for acquiring them. But that knowledge, which enlightens, invigorates, and dignifies the character, was a sealed font.

We must however make an exception in favour of one school, which was conducted by the late Rev. Mr. Lawson. Those alone, who enjoyed the good fortune of his acquaintance, knew the worth of that man. As a Baptist minister, he pursued his ministry, noiselessly and without ostentation; but he possessed a mind, which would have adorned the highest station, and shed a grace on the loftiest eminence of preferment. He is still remembered by some as a poet; nor was he less distinguished in this walk, than in others. His "Maniac" best shews his poetical powers; and his minor pieces display great delicacy and tenderness of sentiment, combined with a light and playful fancy, and a wit as harmless and as brightly keen, as that of Addison's. He was moreover no mean sculptor, a tolerable painter, and an excellent musician. His school for young ladies could not but progress under such an able conductor. He bestowed great care on English composition-a great, aye almost indispensable, requisite in this as well as in all other lands: and there are ladies living, who are remarkable for their easy and graceful writing, and who received their lessons in grammar and style from the accomplished mind of the Rev. Mr. Lawson. Having now performed our duty to one, who well merits a more permanent notice than these pages can afford, we turn our attention to the second division of our subject the exertions made by classes of men.

II. Various reasons urge the different classes of men in every society to establish institutions for their independent advantage. It is well that it should be so. For if all men were

actuated by the same views, and adopted the same plan, a flat and uninteresting monotony would be the inevitable result. The British in Calcutta early felt the necessity of those institutions, which are flourishing in their native land; and which, being the offspring of benevolence, serve in a great measure to alleviate distress and relieve poverty, to check crime and improve society.

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Actuated doubtless by these views, Major General Kirkpatrick, in August 1782, circulated proposals for the establishment of an Orphan Society. Not a single exception was to be found, so cheerfully and cordially did the officers respond to the appeal of the gallant Major General. In the month of March following, the Society was formed. The objects of the Society "are to provide funds, or resources, for the maintenance of the children of officers dying in indigent circumstances; to relieve officers from the burden of contributing to private subscriptions, in behalf of the orphans of individuals; and, in the hour of sickness and danger, to yield them the consolation that, in the event of their dying poor, a certain pension will be secured to their offspring."

The Military Orphan Society is divided into two schoolsthe Upper and Lower. The former contains the children of officers; the latter, of soldiers. These schools are again divided into two departments, for boys and girls respectively: and the education imparted is of a practical nature, designed to qualify the children for the situations they are likely to occupy in this land.

The Orphan Society has been productive of manifold advantages. Some of the most eminent East Indians, both male and female, having been educated in the schools connected with the Society. For reasons of economy it was found necessary to abolish the boys' department of the Upper-school, and to amalgamate it with Saint Paul's School. This arrangement was carried out in 1846.

A Society, that has existed so long, and which is an honour to the Company's Military Service, should not be allowed to have a mere passing notice. There were urgent reasons for a wise and benevolent provision of this nature for the offspring of the military gentlemen of the Company's Service. So early as the year 1770, various propositions were made, and various plans floated in the atmosphere of society, for making some kind of provision for the children of officers born out of the pale of wedlock. Young men, heedless and improvident, on their entering into the service, and arriving at Calcutta, too early contracted fatal intimacy with the women of the soil, and were totally