yceums being on a somewhat
parsimonious scale, every kind of economy is practiced. The food,
without being unwholesome, is far from being agreeable. The lighting of
the buildings by oil lamps, not by gas, is often insufficient, and may
possibly explain the fact of so many Frenchmen being short-sighted. The
rooms are warmed in winter by small stoves, which send out noxious
vapors.

At the head of every lyceum is a provost (_proviseur_), who is assisted
by a _censeur_ or superintendent of instruction, by an inspector of
studies, and by a bursar (_econome_), who controls the finances of the
establishment. Toward the end of each scholastic year, about July, ten
or a dozen of the brightest youths are selected from each of the classes
in the lyceums of Paris, and are made to undergo an examination in
composition at the Sorbonne. At its close prizes and _accessits_ are
awarded, and these are distributed about the 15th of August in the
amphitheatre of the Sorbonne, and in presence of a distinguished
assemblage under the presidency of the Minister of Public Instruction.
The minister, having opened the proceedings with a speech in French, is
followed by one of the professors, who, in accordance with a custom more
than a century old, makes a speech in Latin. Since 1865 the provincial
lyceums have competed among themselves, and as the subjects of
composition are the same as those in the Paris lyceums, an opportunity
is afforded for observing how very much farther advanced are the
Parisian establishments than those in the interior. Not only has Paris
the best professors, but also the best boys, many having been sent
thither by their parents from the provincial lyceums on their displaying
marked ability and intelligence. Thus the standard of the Paris lyceums
is raised. Upon the result of the general examination undergone by the
pupils of a public or private school depends the estimation in which
that institution is held by the public. The more prizes taken by a
lyceum or by an institution sending its pupils to the lyceum
examinations, the greater will be the number of parents sending their
children thither. The successful participants who have carried off the
prizes of honor in special mathematics, philosophy and Latin are exempt
from military service, while the professors of the class to which they
belonged are often rewarded with the cross of the Legion of Honor. It
will therefore be apparent that the heads of the educational
est