The Online Library of Liberty

A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

• Travels In Germany.
• Chapter I.: Courts For the Administration of Justice.
• Chapter II.: Hannover—civil Laws and Processes.
• Chapter III.: Criminal Laws—processes and Punishments.
• Chapter IV.: Hannover.—appropriation of Landed Property.
• Chapter V.: Hannover—agriculture.
• Chapter VI.: Hannover.—manufactories.
• Chapter VII.: Hannover.—commerce.
• Chapter VIII.: Hannover—schools.
• Chapter IX.: University of GÖttingen.
• Chapter X.: On the German Language.
• Chapter XI.: Literature.
• Chapter XII.: Influence of the Situation of the Germans On Their Literature.
• Chapter XIII.: Private Life and Morals.
• Chapter XIV.: Alteration of Morals.
• Chapter XV.: Cassel and Frankfort.
• Appendix.
• Appendix.: No. I.
• No. II. Persons Composing the States of Hannover.
• No. III.: Translation. Regulations For the Meeting of the General States At Hannover, the 15 Th December 1814.
• No. IV. List of the Public Lectures Given In One Year At Göttingen, For the Half Year Beginning In April 1818.
• No. V. Measures, Weights, and Monies, Mentioned In This Work.

CHAPTER VIII.

hannover—schools.

Venturini has remarked, that “the Reformation in the northern parts of Germany came not from the princes, but from the people, and that no persons followed and promoted the new doctrines with greater readiness than the inferior orders of the clergy. They saw themselves poor and despised by the higher orders, who revelled in superfluity, and who, possessing wealth and political power, could only be successfully attacked by the aid of the people.”∗ To bring them to support the new doctrine, it was necessary to convince them of its value. Hence numerous preachings, and hence it was in the towns, where the people had knowledge sufficient to judge of the reasonings which were presented to them, that the Reformation made the most rapid progress. It was soon discovered, that many of the people to whom it was necessary to appeal, were unable to read. The clergy laboured earnestly to instruct them, and so early as the year 1559, the church ordinances for the principality of Kalenberg, enacted by the influence of the clergy, contain directions for the establishment and support of schools throughout the country. It is said to have been at a later period that the princes first became thoroughly sensible how much education promoted that obedience which they are accustomed to regard as the first of virtues. Certainly the clergy of the north of Germany began the business of educating the people, and were afterwards supported in it by the governments.

Were it not a well-known truth, that nearly all the founders and reformers of religious systems have been always, in part, incited to their exertions by the love of worldly dominion, it might be invidious to remark, that we owe one of the great improvements of modern society to this passion. The reformers struggled for influence or for empire over the minds of their countrymen, and to change the form of the church government. To effect this, they needed the support of the people, and were obliged to teach them to enable them to judge of the claims which the reformers made for their support. This was the origin of the labours of the clergy to educate the people, not only in the provinces which now compose the kingdom of Hannover, but in all the north of Germany; and since then they have prosecuted this good work with constant attention, and a considerable degree of zeal. This is a fact which seems to justify all the praise which can be bestowed on the simplicity and efficacy of the government of the church in Hannover.

According to existing regulations, every person is obliged, before the age of eighteen years, to undergo the church ceremony of confirmation, the examinations previous to which are very strict. They suppose an acquaintance with the church catechism, and to become acquainted with this it is necessary to read. Consistency demands, that when a service of any kind is required, the power to perform it should either be possessed or be given, and care has therefore been taken to supply the population of Hannover with the means of instruction. No village of any consequence is destitute of a school, and several, such as Langenhagen, not far from the town of Hannover, have more schools than churches. Some resemblance to Scotland will be found in regulations which compel the inhabitants of two or more villages, one not being populous enough to support a schoolmaster, to unite for this purpose. When no dwelling-house is provided for him, he lives and feeds with the inhabitants in turns, according to fixed regulations; though I believe no instance of an itinerant schoolmaster is at present to be found, as formerly, who has no other school-house than the village inn.

In order to ensure support to the schoolmasters, all the inhabitants of every village who are capable are obliged to pay for the instruction of their children, from the time they are six till they are fourteen years old. And so rigid is this regulation, that people have sometimes been obliged to pay the schoolmaster of their parish for the children they have had instructed by some other person. These payments, though small, together with a house and garden, which the parish is obliged to provide, are generally the only support of the schoolmaster. It belongs to the clergyman to decide if any of the people are so poor as to be unable to pay for the instruction of their children, in which case, in conjunction with the head men of the parish, when there is no specific charity, he provides out of the common fund for their instruction.

There is also a law which subjects those parents who neglect to send their children to school to a trifling punishment, at the discretion of the magistrates. Fortunately, however, parents are becoming sensible of the value of instruction, for there is now much less necessity to enforce this law than formerly. It is so old as 1681, and, in compliance with it, lists are kept by the schoolmaster of the children who attend, and these lists are submitted to the inspection of the magistrates.

When people are compelled to pay a schoolmaster, it is right he should be qualified to instruct them, and no person is, therefore, allowed to take this office on himself who has not previously been examined and found qualified. Generally village schoolmasters are educated at the Seminary, an institution to be afterwards described, and they are selected from there, and appointed to the different parishes by whoever is the patron of the school. Sometimes a nobleman is patron, but more generally the patron is the consistorium.

Schools for the poorest of the people, in which the teachers, though appointed by the consistoriums, are paid by the scholars, are found in all the towns as well as in the villages, and there is no town of the least importance in the whole kingdom in which better schools are not found. These are known by the name of Lyceums, or high-schools, and in general they have been established by the citizens and magistrates, in whose hands, at present, the control and the appointment of the masters remain. Here the classical languages are taught to a certain extent, and the first foundation of that education is laid which is afterwards to be completed at the university.

In the towns of Celle and Hannover there are medical schools, in which regular professors give instruction in medicine, surgery, and anatomy. Dissection is performed. With these schools are combined institutions for the instruction of midwives. None of the latter are allowed to practise without having studied at such an institution for six months. This regulation seems likely to ensure something like a decent one to every considerable part of the country.∗ There are schools for the instruction of veterinary surgeons; and care is even taken to give a regular and systematic education to gardeners. The celebrated university of Göttingen, which is in the kingdom of Hannover, completes the means of education. It deserves also to be mentioned, that many young women, of genteel families, and but little wealth, go into other families as boarders, for the purpose of learning house-keeping, of which they afterwards make their account by superintending the house-keeping of more wealthy people. There may be even said to be a sort of mania for schools. They have been instituted in some parts of Germany under the direction of the government, to instruct in all sorts of arts; from cooking to making shoes, and from rearing bees to jumping with skill and grace. People, who may be classed almost as poor, have private teachers for their children. Music is almost invariably taught. As I have sometimes seen fingers that contrasted finely, from the dirt imbedded in them, with the ivory of the piano-forte, I have wondered at the strange combination of ragged clothes, naked feet, and want of cleanliness, with so elegant an accomplishment as music. Most of the innkeepers, who, with their families, are generally dirty, may be called accomplished people. A learned landlord whom I met at a village called Mehly, may be quoted as an example. He addressed himself to us in French, to his children he spoke Latin, and to his dog Russian, or something we did not comprehend. He gravely assured us, and appeared inclined to prove, that a miserable close room was a very elegant apartment, and when we could find nothing to eat but eggs and beersoup, that every thing was to be had at his house. He then retired to another apartment, and, apparently unwilling that we should go away ignorant of any of his accomplishments, he sang a song, and accompanied himself on the piano-forte.

Sufficient means are therefore employed to educate the people throughout the kingdom, but a more correct idea will be obtained of the present state of education, if that of the town of Hannover be more fully described, and taken as a criterion for judging of the whole. When the number of children instructed can be calculated,—when the population of the town is known,—when what is taught, and the manner of teaching, are described,—then a tolerable correct judgment may be formed of the general state of education in the whole country. It is probable, from a variety of little circumstances which may be easily imagined, that the number of children educated in Hannover is somewhat greater than may be found in other towns not capital towns; but it is still certain, that in all the other towns the children educated bear a large proportion to the whole population.

The Lyceum, or high-school of the old town of Hannover, dates from the year 1500, and was one of those schools in which the instruction was regulated after three principal heads. “It was commanded, first, that piety should be taught, next knowledge and art, and, lastly, politeness and manners;”—a mode of proceeding directly the reverse of modern boarding-schools. This school was established by the citizens and magistrates for the education of their sons; the funds which support it,—the regulations of the school,—the appointment of the masters, and its entire control,—all belong to the magistrates of the old town. It has before been shewn in what manner the government influences and controls them, and, connected as they are with the government and with the consistoriums, one of these magistrates being actually a consistorial counsellor, this school, though nominally under the control of the magistrates, may be considered as under the control of government. Although it was founded so long since, as it has not the privileges of a corporate body, and is subjected entirely to the living magistrates, it has been constantly altered so as to keep pace with modern improvements, and it is not behind the knowledge of the day.

Two hundred and fifty boys are educated here, who are not exclusively sons of the citizens. Some few come from the country, and five out of the whole were children of noble parents, but generally their parents occupy the middle ranks of society, and they are chiefly intended for the learned professions. They were generally between the ages of seven and eighteen years. The course of instruction which is here followed is considered as preparatory to going to the university, and consists in the Latin, Greek, French, and English languages, mathematics, history; literature,∗ declamation, religion, and music.

The expences of this school are, for boys of the first class, about L.3 Sterling per year, and there are gradations between this and L.1, 6s. which is paid by the youngest scholars. The regular salary of the director is about L. 200 per annum, and there are several gradations for the other instructors, till the lowest is reached, which is not above L. 60. There are ten different teachers at this school.

The parents of the boys are subject to another little expence, and the masters receive some more profit; but as this is made and received as a voluntary offering, it is not mentioned as salary. The scholars of each class subscribe a small sum, and thus make up a purse of money, which is then presented to the teacher of their class on his birth-day, in rather a solemn manner. They collect in the evening at the school, and, having previously provided a band of music, march in procession to his house, and compliment him on the day. Their offering is accompanied by a suitable address, and accepted with suitable thanks. If the teacher is not the director, the whole procession goes first to his house, and the music is played under his window, and he also must come forth and return thanks for the honour conferred on him. Such little ceremonies and pleasures appear well calculated to smooth the rugged paths of instruction. Parties so different in age and pursuits as scholars and teachers, and who so often regard each other as instruments of annoyance, are thus united by mutual pleasure. The youngsters are pleased with the music, with the procession, and with the public thanks of the master; the master receives a handsome present, and is honoured in the minds of his fellow-citizens by the respect of his scholars; and by such means, trifling as they may appear, the necessity of coercion, and the feelings of hatred for instruction, are entirely banished. This custom of making presents, and going with music and torches to salute the masters, is common to most German schools, and certainly deserves the praise of being a very useful custom.

There is another little custom which appears to me to be full of all that is endearing and good. On the anniversary of the burial of one of the former teachers, the teacher who had supplied his place, accompanied by all the young men who had attended the instructions of the former, visited his grave, crowned it with garlands, and the teacher spoke an eulogium on his predecessor. This honour is only paid to those gentlemen who behave well, and he, therefore, who pronounced the eulogium, must find in his own act the strongest hope of a similar honour, and the strongest incitement to deserve it. There can be no doubt that such little ceremonies are much superior to the commemoration dinners of English schools.

There is also a better sort of school for boys, in the new town, in which about 200 are instructed. This has not been founded more than thirty years. It is supported by the funds of the new town, and is placed under the control of its magistrates, and of the consistorium. It has been already mentioned, that the magistrates of the two towns of Hannover are distinct, and that those of the new town are appointed by the crown. The members of the consistorium are also appointed by it; in fact, the chief magistrate of the new town is also a consistorial counsellor, and this school, therefore, is entirely under the control of the government. The boys are between the ages of five and fourteen years; they are divided into four classes, and are taught the Latin language, history, geography, grammar, reading, writing, arithmetic, religion, and singing. It costs for each boy from 10s. to 15s. per year for instruction, books, &c. The money is paid to the rector, on account of the magistrates, who pay all the expences. It has four instructors, none of whose salaries exceed L.70 per year, with a house to live in. Three out of the four have, however, other employments, and the fourth, the rector himself, receives children to board, to whom he gives private instruction.

The palace-school was founded about twenty years ago, by Mr Salfeld, the present Abbot of Loccum, and has gradually increased, from very small beginnings, till it is capable of educating 200 children of both sexes. Actually 180 boys and 74 girls receive instruction here. The sexes are placed in different apartments; a mistress presides over each of the rooms in which the girls are taught, though the instructors are often the same for both sexes. They are both taught the French and the German languages grammatically, reading and writing accurately, arithmetic, geography, the outlines of natural history, drawing, religion, and singing. The boys learn English, Latin, and mathematics; the girls knitting, sewing, and other useful arts proper to females. Some few children are educated free of expence, and it costs the others, for the first class, about L. 4, 3s. per year; for the second class about L. 2, 10s.; for the third class about L. 1, 10s.; and for the fourth, or youngest class, nearly L. 1 Sterling per year. The money is paid on account of government, which provides a building, and otherwise pays all the expences.

The inspector of this school is an amiable and venerable old gentleman, whom I have before mentioned as royal librarian, and to whose politeness I believe every stranger who visits Hannover is indebted. Chance rather made me known to him. If the character of nations can only be known from the character of individuals, and if no man should judge but from his proper experience, I might say there are no people with which I am acquainted, who exceed the inhabitants of Hannover in politeness of heart; and I might quote the venerable Hofrath Feder as one of the best specimens of his countrymen. He is known among his compatriots by the epithet of Noble, and the tribute of respect which I am here allowed to pay him does me far more honour than him.

The instructors of the palace-school have all some other means of subsistence than their salaries, which are therefore not great. They depend on the quantity of lessons they give, and seldom amount to more than L. 30 per year.

The children instructed are from seven to fourteen-years of age, and they are generally of the middling and better classes; they are, however, of all descriptions, and some Christians might possibly be edified by contemplating the mixture with the children of Jews. In all these schools, children of all the religious denominations which are in Hannover are indiscriminately mixed. Even the Catholics and the Jews attend what is called the religious instruction of the Protestants.

In a school for girls, in the old town, 400, divided into five classes, are educated. They are between the ages of four and fourteen years; women teachers preside in each room, and teach female work, while masters give instruction in those branches of knowledge which have been mentioned as taught in the palace-school. This school is for children of the middling classes of citizens, and its expences are not more than thirty shillings per year, for children in the upper classes, and fifteen shillings for those in the under ones. The school-house was built in 1802, at which time also this school was first established. It was both an instructive and pleasing spectacle to see so many young girls collected in large airy rooms, and the whole attentively occupied with learning. This school is under the superintendence of the magistrates, who also pay, out of the funds of the town, all extra expences.

There is a school for girls also in the new town, similar to that of the old town. It educates 350 children, who are generally of the middling and poorer classes. It costs, for each child, from twelve to eighteen shillings per year, and they are taught all those things which are taught in the palace-school. The inspector, who very politely gave me all the information I wished, informed me, “that formerly the girls learnt embroidery, but he thought it rather unfitted them for plain work;” and our aim, said he, and the same aim characterizes the whole instruction of Hannover, “is to make the children fit for good mothers and good housewives. They are taught nothing beyond their sphere; but as I know a constant use of words alone is not good for the young mind, I introduce plants and flowers into their school-room, whose names and qualities are explained to them, and which they must cultivate and attend. This familiarises them with nature, and teaches them what no books can teach them.” The person who thus spoke was a consistorial counsellor, and superintendent of the new town of Hannover. Of course he was the judge of what was the proper sphere of all the children of the school. It is pleasant to see age and dignity at the good work of instructing children in so delightful a manner. These large schools for girls seem a peculiar part of the education of this country.

Schools where the expence does not amount to more than about five shillings a-year, and in which the children are taught reading, writing, grammar, arithmetic, outlines of geography, and natural history, and religion, are found at each of the five parishes into which the town of Hannover is divided.

There is an orphan-house which educates sixty children, and even the few either idle, depraved, or neglected beings, who are found in the workhouse, are formed into classes, and receive instruction.

There is a school, also, where young men are taught, on Sundays, the elements of mathematics, and of design, with reading, writing, arithmetic, &c.

A military school is established for persons, either intended to enter the army, or already serving in it. All the officers, even the non-commissioned officers, are obliged to attend this school, and it is open to all the private soldiers who please to seek it. To frequent it recommends a soldier to his superiors. This school is perfectly unlike the pompous institutions which are called military schools in other countries. The teachers, with the exception of the language-masters, are all officers, who have few other emoluments than their pay. The whole expence does not exceed L. 200 per year. The French language, mathematics, fortification, military and civil architecture, with chemistry and natural philosophy, as far as they are connected with the military profession, are taught or explained.

If report may be relied on, some Hannoverian officers who were educated here, although the expence is so small, were amongst the most useful of any in the whole army of the Duke of Wellington. It certainly puts our stupendous establishments to shame; and, while the officers are obliged to learn, that they may obtain the honour of teaching, it proves that economy in forming institutions is valuable for other things besides the mere saving of money.

There is also a garrison-school, supported by the government, in which the children of soldiers are educated.

By far the most important, however, of all the institutions of Hannover for the purposes of education, is that which is called the Seminary, and which deserves a more detailed description. Ernest Christopher Böttcher, a retail tradesman of the town of Hannover, was the founder of this institution, as the funds which he bequeathed to it continue to be one of its principal supports. He was born at Great Lafferde, in the bishopric of Hildesheim, in the year 1697; he is described to have been a very pious noble-minded man; and he died at Hannover in the year 1766. He had projected something like the seminary so early as the year 1746, and from that time till his death he was constantly engaged, in conjunction with several good men, in endeavouring to realise and give value to his project.

He was assisted in his labours by a Dr Goetten, at that time a consistorial counsellor and first court chaplain. In fact, he was the intelligent man, whose knowledge and activity carried into effect the views and wishes of the other. The original regulations for the masters of the seminary were of his writing. Teaching was first commenced in the year 1751. Many changes have been made in the modes of instruction since then, but the main principle which distinguishes the seminary, namely, that of combining a school for schoolmasters with a school for children, remains unchanged. Various and considerable improvements have been suggested and carried into effect by some of the most distinguished members of the Hannoverian church, who have been either teachers or inspectors of this school. Among them the name of Koppe may be mentioned, who, while he was animated by a sort of ambition to make himself, as his contemporaries said, the Pope of the North of Germany, did not disdain the humble and useful labours of inspecting the instruction of the seminary, and suggesting methods to improve it.

It consists of two distinct parts, a school for children and a school for schoolmasters. In the first 500 boys and girls of different ages, divided into classes, are taught reading, writing, grammar, arithmetic, church-music, knitting, sewing, &c. &c. It is optional with the parents of the children if they pay for this instruction or not, and it does equal honour to the goodness of the instruction, and to the judgment of the people, that many who are able, do pay for their children, and send them to the seminary to be educated. The whole sum, however, which has been so contributed in any one year, has not exceeded L. 20, and generally has not amounted to more than the half of that sum.

The persons who are instructed so as to qualify them to teach others, are divided into two classes. The first is composed of young men who wish to become teachers; the second of the best of these young men, selected after some months examination and study, and now destined to be the future schoolmasters of Hannover.

The first are called Preparandi, and are very generally the sons of schoolmasters, who desire to follow their father’s employment, or of small tradesmen. In the spring of 1818 thirty-three of these received instruction. Each one pays, on entering, one pistole, about 16s. 8d. and for this sum they have food, lodging, and instruction, given them for six months, which are always the six winter months. The best amongst them are selected, at the end of this period, to fill any vacancies there may be in the other class, and the remainder return to their homes, or seek employment in parish schools. As the greater part of the schools for the poorer classes are provided with masters from this establishment, such a manner of selecting only intelligent lads, appears likely to secure a constant supply of clever schoolmasters. In summer, the children of the poorer people are allowed to remain from school in order that they may assist in the labours of the field; and during this period the village schools are not unfrequently committed to the care of these young men, while the masters repair to Hannover to improve themselves in the Seminary.

The second, or superior class, amounting to thirty, selected as mentioned, are called Seminarists. They dwell constantly in the house, and have lodging, food, and bed-linen found them, and when any of them are employed, as the oldest and best amongst them are, in instructing the children of the Seminary, of whom they are in fact the only teachers, they receive a small gratuity of 1s. 8d. per week. They are allowed by the inspector to teach in private houses, when this can be done without interrupting the lessons they are obliged to attend. They are much sought after for this purpose, and many of them fill the stations of subordinate teachers at all the schools I have before described.

Both these classes of young men are taught those things which they are afterwards to teach to others, and they are taught, and severely, and much practised in the best known methods of teaching. They are taught reading and writing correctly, grammar, arithmetic as far as algebra, geography, natural history, Latin, church-music, singing, both vocal and instrumental, particularly organ-playing, calculating by the head, or without the help of slates or books; they receive some instruction, in a little compendium which has been published, of the laws most useful to the countryman, and, above all things, they are perfected in what is called religious instruction. A great opportunity is also afforded them of acquiring more knowledge, but the aim of the institution is strictly confined to make them good schoolmasters for the people. A piece of ground belongs to the Seminary, and here they not only raise the greater part of the vegetables they consume, but they are taught to graft trees, to cultivate a garden, and such other similar things as may be useful to themselves and others.

One practice which is very good, is the manner adopted of making each of them in turn play the master’s-part with the others. One of the lessons selected for this is religious instruction, which, as it is a sort of catechism, necessarily demands a great attention to the use of words, and great accuracy of thought. Each one in his turn has to teach, or rather question the others. He gives to the inspector, the night before, an abstract of the questions he means to ask, and informs him what part of the catechism he proposes to talk about, and explain, and the manner in which he intends to explain and enforce it. This allows the inspector to know before-hand what faults he is likely to commit. The whole of both classes assemble in presence of the inspector, and the young man whose turn it is begins catechising, and when he has finished, he sits down, and is informed by the inspector, in the presence of the whole, in what he has erred, either in his matter or in his manner, and thus the whole, by questioning, teach one another, and from the lecture of the superior, which was well given, each profit by the excellencies so well as by the faults of all.

This is a frugal establishment. The young men learn and practise economy; a complete system of superintendence is established; and every attention is paid to forming their minds for their situation, and to make them moral good men.

There is an instructor for arithmetic—another for singing and organ-playing; and these, with two inspectors, are the only instructors who are paid both for the schoolmasters and for the children, except the trifling gratuities which are given to the elder seminarists. The two inspectors must have been educated for the church; and some of the most respectable members of the church have filled these situations. The present curator of the seminary (a person who, without receiving any salary, is the chief of the establishment, who examines the accounts, and answers for the conduct of all the inferior parties to the consistorium, and who is the first dignitary of the church of Hannover) once filled the place of inspector of the seminary, and rose to eminence, like many of his brethren, by the useful labours of teaching charity children. In fact, whatever opinion may be formed of the education of the north of Germany, the clergy of that country deserve most of the praise or of the censure which may be thought to belong to it. They have needed no rich bishopricks to stimulate them to do their duties, and they afford a shining proof that large money emoluments are not necessary to make a set of men either useful or dignified. The salary of the inspectors is about L.60 per year, and apartments—a very small sum to support a gentleman, which the inspector is considered to be. Yet such a salary, and few of the teachers in the whole town have more, seems quite large enough to encourage in the gentlemen who are employed in teaching a great deal of zeal.

The seminarists remain three years to study. The inspectors have a power to recommend them into families as private teachers, and to retard or promote their advancement. Joined with occasional reproof, this power is sufficient to produce perfect obedience. The first inspector keeps a regular journal of what the young men do, and notes their progress or their neglect; which enables him to know how every one has conducted himself during his residence in the seminary. When any school vacancy occurs throughout the kingdom, an application is generally made to him for some person to fill it, and he recommends those who are most deserving to the best places. This journal also is shewn the curator, and from it he forms his judgment of the character of the young men, and of the management of the institution. He may be appealed to by any scholar who thinks himself injured by the inspector, and he can lend the whole weight of his authority to support the decisions of this gentleman.

Since the establishment of the seminary, it has educated, or improved the education of, more than 2000 persons, who have been employed in teaching others; and, during the same period, it has probably educated 10,000 children. There is no better method for improving a whole people than this of instructing schoolmasters, and the good is therefore incalculable which has been accomplished by this establishment of the illustrious Böttcher. The whole people appear to have but one opinion of its utility, and perhaps no stronger proof can be given of the improvement which it has effected in schoolmasters than this. As a stranger I could always distinguish the moment I heard any teachers whether they were educated in the seminary or not. What made them conspicuous was a clearness of method, a great gentleness of manner, precision in all their words, and a great extent of useful knowledge. They almost merit the title of perfect teachers for common schools. I may quote as an example the teacher of the common school at Göttingen. This gentleman taught or explained to a class of 200 girls, for the purpose of shewing their progress to some gentlemen, in the space of two hours, reading and writing correctly and grammatically, natural history, geography, arithmetic, and calculation by the head, all in a precise neat manner. Then he pitched the time, and joined the whole school in singing a psalm.

To effect all this good, the whole funds of the seminary, bequeathed to it by Böttcher, enlarged by the gifts of the government and of several well-disposed persons, amount only to a capital of 40,000 thalers, or at five per cent. an annual income of L.1333, 4s.∗ —a sum that would not suffice to pay one of the teachers of some of the charities of Great Britain. So much good in the way of instruction has rarely been effected by such small means, and it is only to be regretted that the general state of the country does not allow the seminary to be used as a means of spreading accurate political knowledge;—that the good it already does should not be enlarged by the young men being taught those sciences whose truths have been methodised and made the property of the race by Smith, Say, Malthus, Paley, and Bentham.

This institution has been the parent and the model of many similar ones in many parts of Germany. There is scarcely a capital town, and certainly no kingdom or country of any part of the north of Germany, which has not at present a seminary for schoolmasters; and certainly the plan of uniting a school for masters with a school for children, carried into effect as it is here, deserves, from its utility, to be as well known throughout Europe as any institution it contains. But admirable as it is, and much as the names of Böttcher and Goetten deserve to be celebrated, they are little, if at all, known beyond the confines of their own country; while those of Bell and Lancaster are every where heard of. It is the daily and free press of Britain which, recording all our actions, has made the names of our countrymen known; which has added to the value of our literature, and made its stores be examined by every other people. Without a free press, therefore, even virtue and utility remain concealed, and lose much of their efficacy, because nobody is encouraged to imitate them. The governors of the world, and the makers of laws, illustrious as they are, will never have their names transmitted to posterity but by means of a free press. There is no foreigner of the least political reading who is ignorant of the names of the conspicuous members of our House of Commons; and Maddison, Jefferson, Monroe, are known all over Europe. But who has ever heard of Claus von der Decken, or Frederick Franz Dieterich Bremer, the ministers of the mighty kingdom of Hannover? And there is nobody perhaps who is not sensible that if the names of its sovereigns descend to posterity, it will only be as kings of a country in which the press was free.

The present curator of this establishment is the chief of the consistorium of Hannover, and one of this body is always appointed by it to this office. This institution, therefore, and, with it, from the influence which it exercises over schoolmasters, prescribing what is to be taught and what must not be taught to them, the education of the whole of the poorer people is placed under the direction of the church, and under the control of the government.

The institutions for education in the town of Hannover, independent of boarding-schools, provide means of instruction to at least 2100 children, the great mass of which are between the ages of six and fourteen years, and belong to the middling and poorer classes of people. The whole population of the town does not exceed 21,000, and certainly, therefore, the means of instruction are abundant and cheap. In fact, there are very few children to be found who do not go to school, and hardly any grown-up person who is unable to read and write. I have heard it remarked by a clergyman who had been catechising all the children of his parish, that he was surprised to have found a very few who hardly knew how to read. This was for him a singular circumstance, and proves the extent of instruction. Girls share in all the advantages of these schools, and they are by no means behind boys in their acquirements.

The whole of these are day-schools. The children live with their parents, but go regularly to school for instruction. Boarding-schools are only used by the children of the upper classes. The children acquire book-knowledge from their teachers, but their habits of action are learned from their parents. They do not grow up unlike them from living with strangers. For the destruction of all the love of children for their parents, which is the basis of so many virtues, no system of education, except that of Sparta, was ever so well calculated as our present system. And among the causes for the immorality of our people must be enumerated our plan of educating children in boarding-schools. Parents cannot be surprised when children are undutiful, for they allow strangers to perform all their duties; and they wilfully separate themselves from their children during all that part of the life of the latter, in which their character and opinions are indestructibly formed. The whole of the school buildings are good, and all the rooms airy and healthy; and care is taken of the health of the children, by allowing them a short time to jump about between the hour of entering the school and returning home.

From the trifling expence of these schools, it may be imagined that they are something like the preparatory schools of England—a cheap method of amusing infants; but the quality of the education which they supply is of a superior kind. I visited nearly all these schools with a wish to observe them. I was every where politely received, and nothing left me to desire but a better memory to retain all the information that was cheerfully given me. One scheme of instruction, one sort of method, more or less perfect, according to the talents of the master, prevails in them all.

It has already been mentioned what the children are taught at the different schools, and it may here be repeated, that, in the meanest of them, reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, and the outlines of geography, are taught. Singing is never neglected, and many of the younger boys, and all the girls, are taught knitting, and the latter are also taught sewing, shirt-making, &c.

The children are all divided into classes according to their age, and the time they have been at school; and each of these classes has a different employment for every hour; consequently, no lesson lasts more than one hour without interruption. In the better schools each class has a different master, and different instructors for the different branches of learning, or at least only two or three similar ones are taught by the same master. In the minor schools, however, there is but one instructor to the whole school.

When what is to be taught is any thing which can be learned alone, such as the rules of grammar, a portion of the catechism, or the facts of geography, the teacher selects a portion of it, which he reads to the class; and they often write it down after his dictation, and this they are obliged to learn when they are out of school. On the following day the instructor examines the whole class to know if they have learned the lesson. The examination is promiscuous, or made in such a manner that no one is sure he will not be questioned, although but few are. The probability of being questioned, and the reproof which the children receive if they are not capable of answering, obliges them all to learn; and the frequent repetition which even those who are not asked hear made by others; even the mistakes of the inattentive, when rectified by the master, serve to inform the whole class, and fix all that has been taught in the memory of all. In fact, a great part of the teaching is examination; the pupils learn alone. Very often the master proposes the question, and allows volunteers to answer. Now begins a struggle for distinction: The volunteer rises from the seat, or stretches forth the little hand as a signal of readiness; often the whole class are on their legs, or their little hands are extended with an earnest prayer, Ich bitte bitte,—to be selected to answer; and nothing gratifies them more than this favour, except the praise bestowed on their success. Here the first seeds of emulation are sown, and all struggle to reach the goal of honour without unfairly jostling their neighbours. Hundreds of little children, with blue eyes and fair hair, who appeared almost too timid to speak, struggled through the whole hour for a good word, or to be thought well of by the stranger. If the men who doubt the efficacy of instruction and honour on man,—who drawing from their own polluted bosoms continue to affirm he is made to sin,—who desperately persevere in the use of whips, prisons, and the gallows, as the only means of making him righteous, were frequently to see such scenes as these of the schools of Hannover, they might probably mistrust their barbarous institutions; and acknowledge that they themselves were the exceptions to the human race, not the criterion by which it was to be judged.

What is very good in this method is the precision which belongs to the plan of question and answer. Grammar is one of the things thus taught, and those who know how complicated the German grammar is, must be aware that he who has learned it perfectly has made no inconsiderable progress in the knowledge of words. By this method all the children acquire such a knowledge, which is undoubtedly one cause why the Germans in after life learn foreign languages so readily. A great degree of precision pervades all the descriptions which this people give. I have noticed this quality repeatedly in the conversation of all classes, particularly when I have been visiting their institutions; and have, in general, found the description so accurate as almost to render seeing them of little or no service. This quality is derived from their education. Precision, in a very high degree, is the characteristic of the instruction given at the seminary, and may therefore be described as common to the instruction of the whole kingdom.

The question and answer method also gives the scholar the use of his knowledge; it gives constant practice. Boys and girls repeat them to each other. It gives fluency and ease in the use of words, and seems altogether much better than the mere learning long pieces and passages by heart, which are repeated to the master.

Most of the schools for the poorer people are called Arbeit or Industrie-schule,—work schools. They are so named, because the females are taught hand-work, as well as instructed in books. The mistresses shew them what they are to do, and they do this while they are listening to the instructor, or answering his questions. This has the great merit of calling many useful talents into employment in very early life, of keeping the children quiet, of fitting them to earn a livelihood, and of reconciling the poorest parents to sending their children to school. They are not only able to make something useful to themselves, but oftentimes of earning so much by their little labours in school as they could do by going on errands, herding cattle, &c. What the children gained by their outdoor labours was always the excuse made by the parents, if not the real motive, for not sending them to school.

Two brothers of the name of Wagemann, in Göttingen, and the consistorial Rath Sextro of Hannover, have been the means of introducing this plan into practice. I was assured by many people, as well as by Mr Superintendent Wagemann himself, that this method has done a great deal to improve the industrious habits and morals of the people.

What I have called calculating with the head (Kopf-rechnung) deserves to be further noticed for its utility. The master proposes questions, complicated in proportion to the previous knowledge of the pupils. In the earlier stages of instruction the children are obliged to repeat aloud all the steps of the calculation till they find the answer; afterwards they merely think over them themselves. The questions are generally something suited to life; and the children, particularly the females, acquire a great dexterity in answering them. They find this of very great utility in shopping, as they are able to calculate oftentimes quicker than the tradesman with his slate.

Singing, and the elemental parts of music, are also taught to classes; and this deserves notice from its obvious utility. It seems possible that much, even of the practical part of music, such as placing the fingers on instruments, so as to produce certain sounds, may be taught to several persons at one time. And it is certain, that when any part of it is taught to one person in the presence of others, and when several are taught the elemental parts together, the power of audible perception is improved in all, and the acquisition of any part is facilitated to all. There can be little doubt that the quantity of music, and of musical instruction which exists in Germany, refines the ear and the taste of the whole people, and facilitates to them the acquisition of the power to play on any instrument. This may deserve the consideration of those persons who are engaged in teaching music. There is possibly no one but wishes the knowledge of it was more general in our country than it is, and that the present very expensive method of teaching it by one master to only one pupil at a time could be improved and made cheaper.

There is also a method of teaching to read, which deserves, from its philosophical accuracy and efficacy in practice, to be mentioned and explained. Men spoke before they wrote, and though the first inventors of an alphabet might have made a separate written sign to correspond with each simple sound of their own language, yet these signs at present, or modern alphabets, do not stand for the most simple sounds into which any European language can be reduced. Many signs for simple sounds also stand for other sounds. Some vowels have several sounds; and no consonant, though each is a distinct sign, stands for a simple distinct sound. The name we give to single letters is not that sound which they have when they are combined into words. Any person who pronounces the letters of any word separately, and afterwards pronounces the word, must immediately perceive that no one word is composed of, or has even much resemblance to the sounds or names of the separate letters with which it is written. Written words are composed of letters, but spoken words are never composed of the names of the letters. Hence, when we have, with labour to ourselves, and sometimes torture to our children, taught them to read and pronounce our alphabets, they have to unlearn this pronunciation before they can read and pronounce words.

The method here mentioned, divested of all its tabular forms, and all the nonsense which has been employed to give extra importance to what is of itself a very simple and valuable scheme, proceeds on this principle. The children are taught to pronounce consonants only when they stand in conjunction with vowels. When standing by themselves, they are considered as inarticulations, which cannot be expressed by any other written signs. When children have learned to know the letters by sight, and, from hearing words, have learned to pronounce them as they are combined, they know ever afterwards, when they meet these letters so combined, how to pronounce them. In neglecting, therefore, to teach a distinct articulation for consonants, it was necessary to supply some abstract of the general manner of pronouncing them, both before and after vowels.

A Mr Oliver, of Dessau, has been at the pains to make such an abstract for the German language, or, in fact, to teach a new series of simple sounds as the component parts of spoken words. Clearly the abstract of the simple sounds of any one language can never be adopted in any other. It is the principle only which may be transplanted; and each nation must endeavour to find out and classify the most simple sounds of its own language for itself. These alone ought to have a separate sign; or an alphabet of any spoken language should consist of a distinct and separate sign for each and for all the most simple sounds which can be found in it. As the whole spoken language is made up of these simple sounds, every word could also be written with the corresponding signs. It is certain that the present alphabets of Europe, borrowed from the languages of other people, though they serve the purpose of writing, are by no means correct; and this principle, followed out, would dictate to each nation an endeavour accurately to classify all the sounds of its language, and employ a more correct set of written signs to signify them.

The rector of the boys’ school in the new town of Hannover, Mr Fromm, has improved Oliver’s method, and continues to teach it with great success. Children of four years of age learn by it to read in four or six weeks. The method meets with opposition; though it is widely spread. I met it both in Dresden and Hannover; and the inventor continues to employ it at Dessau. It is said to impede the children in learning to spell and write correctly. But this is owing much less to the method itself than to the circumstance of its not being universally adopted. The writing-masters continue to follow the old plan of spelling, and as the children do not learn this, they of course find some difficulty in writing correctly.

In all the schools something is taught under the name of religion, and this term signifies so many different things, that what is taught under this name requires further explanation. It is that part of the instruction of this country on which the teachers lay the greatest stress. It is united with the severest censure and the warmest praise. They describe it “as forming the heart.” It must have a great influence on the moral character of the Germans, and it therefore deserves to be explained.

The Lutheran religion consists less of an exposition of incomprehensible dogmas than almost any other, and, therefore, what is taught the children under the term religion is very generally morality. It is found principally in the catechism, and a variety of books called the Children’s Friend. Of course, the commonly received principles of Christianity are taught; but as these are not susceptible of continued exposition to children, much of the catechism illustrates the duties of life. I transcribe a portion from where chance has led me to open it.

“Instructor.—The world must have an author, by whom it has been created; why do you judge so?

Pupil.—The smallest house must have a builder; how then can the world, this great and beautiful dwelling-house for innumerable creatures, exist without a wise and powerful author?”

Another place, p. 94, treats of attention to the body, of a good name, &c.

“I.—Can we promote the perfection and felicity of the soul when we take no care of our body?

P.—No; God has so united soul and body, that, through a careful attention to the body, the perfection and felicity of the soul is promoted.

I.—What sort of care are we indebted to the body?

P.—The care for life and health, and a proper use of its members.

I.—Why for our life?

P.—Because God has given it to promote our own and our neighbour’s welfare. 1 Pet. iv. 10.

I.—May we not freely destroy life?

P.—To destroy life, when the understanding is sound, is a great sin, because God is the lord of our life.

I.—Does the Christian judge those who, in folly, or in deep melancholy, destroy themselves?

P.—No; but he guards himself more carefully, that he may not fall into such an unsettled state of mind.

I.—Why must we be careful of our health?

P.—To keep us free from pain, and preserve us fit for our occupations, and to continue our life.

I.—How must we take care of our health?

P.—By using good food and drink; by moderation in eating, drinking, and sleeping; by tempering the violent and effervescing emotions of the mind; by labour, foresight, and cleanliness, which are also necessary to our being received in the society of other men.

I.—Why must we keep the members of our body in a certain state and fitness for useful labours?

P.—We make, by these means, our business light. They enable us to move better, and make us more agreeable to others.

I.—What do we want to support life, and to keep us healthy?

P.—A sufficient quantity of nourishment, dwelling, and clothes.

I.—By what means must we seek to obtain and preserve these?

P.—By labour and economy without avarice.

I.—Can we, through our own works and cares, obtain and keep a sufficient degree of nourishment?

P.—No; we must also have the blessing of God, and must unite industry with piety and prayer.

I.—What is opposed to industry and economy?

P.—Idleness, extravagance, and avarice.

I.—Are idleness and extravagance pernicious?

P.—They bring want and contempt, and, at the end, induce to steal and to cheat.

I.—What is avarice?

P.—An immoderate desire for riches without properly using them.

I.—Does avarice make people unhappy?

P.—Yes, very unhappy; for the miser vexes and pains himself, troubles his neighbour where he can, and makes riches his god.”

From the Children’s Friend, I extract the following:

“A mother was once going on a small country excursion. The journey was not long, but she had to pass through a few villages. Her little daughter Regine was with her. In the first village the road was narrow and dirty. Mother and daughter wore shoes and stockings, which they did not wish to soil. The mother could pass without much dirtying herself; but she was unable to do this, and carry over the child. Near at hand was a maiden keeping cows. As soon as she saw the travellers, she ran to them, took little Regine in her arms, and carried her safe into the dry.—Question. Do you not think that this action was worth friendly thanks?”

Such is the spirit of the two principal elementary books used in Hannover and in Germany, to teach that most important of all things for the happiness of man—the proper manner to conduct himself.

They would be scarcely worth mentioning, if, like our own catechism, they were only occasionally employed; but they are used at least for the younger branches of both sexes twice every day, and must have a great influence on their character.

The reader cannot have failed to remark how many of the motives which these books inculcate for virtuous conduct depend on that tangible and powerful reason—the worldly advantages to the virtuous person. Nor is the instruction, as carried into effect, at all different from this. I select two specimens from many lessons I have heard.

A miser was described by the instructor, and then he asked, “What did he feel when he was obliged to give money for the necessaries of life?

“P.—He was troubled.

I.—When people made just demands on him, he quarrelled with them, what ensued?

P.—He made himself enemies.

I.—What did he lose by not being charitable?

P.—The greatest joy; hence people ought not to be miserly.”

Second example.

“I.—Why should people not sin?

P.—It was forbidden.

I.—What was the consequence of sin?

P.—Pain here, and punishment hereafter.

I.—A father promised his daughter a nice garden, with all that was good. She, however, told a lie, and when she had received the garden, she was troubled, and could not enjoy it; why?

P.—She could think of nothing but the sin she had committed.

I.—A man with a small garden, in which he had to work, enjoyed it; why?

P.—He was good.

I.—When virtue produced such good effects, what was it?

P.—A great good equal to health, and next to life.”

In this manner most of the duties of life are illustrated and enforced. The catechism supplies but few examples, but the instructors, who are generally men from the same class of persons as the children, know what will be useful to them, and very often furnish excellent illustrations. The children learn answers from the catechism, but also find, according to the principles of that book, answers for themselves, and thus they are not only taught principles of conduct, but learn very early in life to practise their understanding. They are compelled to find out accurate reasons for every line of conduct, and the best is every hour enforced on them. I have thought it particularly necessary to mention the important place which this sort of teaching holds in the schools of Germany; because we appear in Britain to be rather in the habit of imagining that morality is neglected in every other country but our own. In fact, we have been in general taught to believe, that in Germany both religion and morality were totally neglected. At the same time I am doubtful as to the effects of teaching morality as a science; it seems better to let children learn it in the common course of events, from the example and instructions of parents.

What is taught in the higher schools, under the name of religion, is different from what has been already described. This consists in reading and expounding, with such critical remarks as the teacher pleases, portions of the Bible, and of biblical history;—in detailing such events as were connected with the establishment and progress of Christianity, and in teaching rather a history of religion than religion itself. As the first mentioned course of instruction makes moral good men, so this may probably make what are called irreligious men. “Religion,” said a German, “is taught in our schools, but neglected in the world.” It is taught there unconnected with all those persuasions to belief with which it is usually combined; it is made a matter of reason, and of cool instruction: it is treated like one of the sciences, and becomes, like them, destitute of all influence, but what it may derive from its truth. This sort of instruction, which is very general in Germany, probably causes some of that unbelief which is so generally attributed to the well educated Germans.∗

The punishments employed in all these schools are trifling, are never corporeal, and all, of every description, are very rare. It is enough not to be selected to answer for having made mistakes;—to be selected to answer for having before answered well; it is enough to be pointed out as intelligent and good, to make all the children attentive and industrious. Public examinations∗ take place every year, which also promote good conduct. Entering the school at improper hours is repressed by the disapprobation of the scholars themselves, and regular attendance appeared to be secured by the value of the instruction, or, at most, by the punishment of being placed in a corner, and by not being allowed to participate with the others in the lesson. The severest of all punishment is a total expulsion from the school.

Excellent as the school education of Hannover is, it is lamentable to connect it with the progress which the people have made in the arts and comforts of life. These have been, or will be, in other places more minutely described, and here it can only be remembered, that a large portion of their country is waste,—that its trade is as nothing,—that all machines, beyond the most common ones, for abridging labour, are unknown,—its literature is at best trifling,—the people read little more than novels, or employ themselves in the classification and arrangement of insects,—and its government and laws are by no means good. Scarcely a great man is found in the country; and when this education sows the seeds of greatness, they must be nursed into life by a warmer sun and a freer air. Its army is brave, but mercenary, and the people, though kind-hearted and amiable, are in general destitute of all that noble spirit of enterprise which is one of the best qualities of man.

It has been mentioned, when the various schools were described, in what degree the government controls the education. In fact, the consistoriums are part of the government, and, in one manner or other, their members have an unlimited control over the whole education of the country.

A national education, under the sort of control which has been here specified, is good inasmuch as it models the whole community according to the wish of the controllers. Where the nation is entirely excluded from communication with other nations, it produces a certain uniformity of manners, a quiet submission, and a most perfect contentment. But it almost excludes improvement in all the great arts of life, and limits the attainments of the society by the attainments of its rulers. It may prevent all the party-spirit tumults, factions, and disorders, which arise in countries partially free, from different political opinions; but it at the same time prevents the people knowing when they are badly governed, how much knowledge they want, and how much they might obtain; it prevents originality of genius, and the growth of individual talent. A national education under the control of governments may fit men for their priests, their soldiers, their lords of the bed-chamber,∗ for their judges, and for their slaves. But until the benevolent Creator of the world shall depute a ministering angel to rule over every nation, it may well be doubted if an education so controlled is useful to mankind.

The subject of a national education, provided by a government, and controlled by it, is one of very great importance, but which appears not to be thoroughly understood. I do not mean to discuss it, but only to remind the reader, that when a government is allowed to interfere, it never knows when to stop, and the people have never power enough to resist it without causing confusion. The following fact is a proof of the extent to which governments are disposed to go, and it shews how jealous we ought to be of giving them any power over education. The Elector of Hesse, in the latter end of 1818, ordered that no person in his dominions, beneath the rank of a counsellor, should give their children a learned education, or send them to his university; and that no clergyman should give his sons, except his eldest son, a learned education. Such a fact speaks volumes against allowing princes to control education. They will only control it to educate men for slaves. It is unfortunate, that in Germany clever men profusely praise the sovereigns for their cares on this point. If they be encouraged to patronise education, they will assuredly control it, and if this be wrong, they ought not to be supplicated for their bounties.

The seminaries for the instruction of schoolmasters which have been established in Germany, and most of the methods I have mentioned as followed in the schools of Hannover, have all been either established, invented, or improved, at comparatively recent periods. The practice of instructing young men, while they instruct children under the inspection of a master,—of making them teach and examine each other,—and the general plan of questioning some scholars of a whole class, so that all may in turn, and in the course of some few lessons, be examined, and all profit by every examination, make this method of education, though not the same as the Lancasterian method, resemble it very much, and equal it in wisdom. Neither of these methods was copied from the other, but in both countries a want of something better was felt, and in both countries improvements were the consequence. Their simultaneous origin proves that they were the natural consequences of the state of society, and that something of the same kind would have taken place even if the illustrious individuals whose names they bear had never existed. It is consolatory thus to see the improvements of the species depending on general laws, and that they are not subject to the accidents of time, nor submitted to the control of any individual.

The education of the other parts of Germany resembles the education of Hannover. Schools similar to those described, similar school-books, similar methods, with some little alterations, and even the schoolmasters, for they often change from one country to another, are common to the whole of Northern Germany. Each town has its Latin school, and each town has other schools, in which all the poorer children are taught at little or no expence. If the education of Bavaria resembles that of Hannover,—and I believe it does,—there may be some reason for the states of that country having decided, as they are said recently to have done, that there was no occasion to disturb the existing establishments to introduce the improvements of Lancaster and Bell.

[∗]Handbuch der Väterlandischen Geschichte, Vol. III. p.72.

[∗]Something of this sort appears at one time to have been much wanted. “Julius, the sovereign,” says Spittler, speaking of the period between 1570–1580, “had, as his yet unprinted police-regulations prove, provided for midwives and nurses. Till then there were no others in the principality of Kalenberg, at least in the country, but shepherds,—Schäfer knechten,—and oxen men,—Ochsenjungen, —who, from the experience they had acquired with their herds, were called to the help of women when nature denied her more certain succour.”—Geschichte des Fürstenthums, Hannover, Vol. I. p. 276.

[∗]This consisted in observations on different celebrated poets, illustrating their works by geographical and chronological remarks.

[∗]The sum here stated to be the funds of the seminary is what the inspector very politely informed me, and it includes their buildings, ground, and every thing that belongs to it. In the history of the seminary, published by the present curator. Abbot Salfeld, in the year 1800, the whole income is stated at only 2201 thalers, 21 grosschens, and 4 pfennige, and the expences at 2500 thalers, or L.416, 13s. 4d.—a sum that, allowing for the augmentation of prices since that period, cannot, even including the capital vested in buildings, &c. equal the sum stated in the text as the funds of the seminary. There is, however, some reason to think that the Abbot has made a mistake, because the various sums he mentions as forming the funds of this institution do amount to more than 40,000 thalers.

[∗]Goethe says in his Memoirs, “Aus meinem Leben,”—Vol. I. p. 60,—that, as a boy, the New Testament was become, through preaching and religious instruction, trifling and without interest to him.

[∗]I saw the venerable Hofrath Feder, after an examination was concluded, at which he had presided, seat himself at the piano-forte and play a tune. This gentleman was formerly professor of moral philosophy at Göttingen, and I do not know any thing which appears more characteristic of a general amiableness of manners, than such a man possessing and using for his own enjoyment, and the enjoyment of others, so elegant an accomplishment.

[∗]These are a much more insignificant race of beings in Germany than in England, and many of them are known by the almost contemptible appellations of Hofjunker, Cammerjunker, &c.