EDUCATION IN RUSSIA.

Dr. Theodore Vetter of Germany delivered a lecture on Education in Russia, on Thursday evening in Sever 11. The lecturer, speaking from personal experience, displayed great knowledge of his subject and held the close attention of his audience to the end of his address. Dr. Vetter passed four years in Russia. He was first engaged as tutor to a young Russian nobleman but was afterwards connected with the Imperial University of Moscow and the Lyceum of Nicholas. He spoke in substance as follows. The children of the lower orders in Russia grow up in about the same manner as the children of other nations of Europe. They are taught to reverence all sacred things and to take off their hats to churches and to the monks and priests whom they meet in the streets. The children of the upper classes have somewhat more attention paid to their education. It is generally supposed that the Russians are peculiarly talented as linguists. This is not the case. Although the higher classes of Russians are able to speak two or more languages in addition to their own this arises from the manner of their training rather than from any in-born talent. According to the present system of instruction the study of Latin is far more difficult to the Russian mind than the study of Greek; the literary Russian must necessarily have acquaintance with one or more European languages and the dearth in literati among the Russians results rather from a lack of power of expression than any other special reason. The boys of the higher classes enter the gymnasia or military schools when they are from twelve to fifteen years of age where they remain for six years of age where they remain for six years of classical study.

Public education is carried on under the management of the Minister of Public Instruction, who, with his assistant, is appointed by the Czar. Russia was formerly divided into twelve educational districts over each of which a curator was placed as the representative of the Czar. In these twelve districts certain parts of Russia were not included, notably Finland, having charge of their own education. In 1863 Alexander II greatly improved the school system. In 1835 public education was under ecclesiastical rule but little was accomplished. In 1847 there were 2,500 schools, 27,000 teachers, 125,000 scholars. In 1864 Russia was divided in thirty-five educational divisions and in 1871 there were 60,700 schools and 675,000 scholars. There is a great need of better teaching. In 1866 there were only nine seminaries for teachers, and although in 1876 the number had increased to sixty there is still a great demand. The course of the universities is four years and they are modeled after the German universities. In 1811 Greek was introduced as an elective. The gymnasia carry the scholars about as far as the sophomore class of our better American colleges. The course in Greek and Latin during the last year is, Cicero's Tusculanian Disputations, Odes and Satires of Horace, selections from Demosthenes and Thucydides, at least two tragedies of Sophocles, and Plato's Apology and Crito. Most examinations are oral both in the gymnasia and the universities. The universities comprise four departments, the law, medicine, historical philological, and the physical, mathematical. The degree of magistri is very difficult to obtain, and is seldom gained before the candidate has reached thirty. Education is a means of liberation from military service and hence is eagerly sought. Although the gymnasia and universities are very superior schools the common school system of Russia is greatly neglected.