ill. The whole school, thus divided into eight companies, constitutes

one battalion.

The establishment for conducting the school consists of--

A General as Commandant.

A Second in Command (a Colonel of Infantry.)

A Major, 4 Captains, 12 Lieutenants, and 5 Second Lieutenants of Infantry; the Major holding the office of Commandant of the Battalion.

A Major, 1 Captain, 34 Lieutenants, and 3 Second Lieutenants of Cavalry to superintend the exercises, the riding, &c.

A Director of Studies (at present a Lieutenant-Colonel of Engineers.)

Two Assistant Directors.

Six Examiners for Admission.

One Professor of Artillery.

One Assistant ditto.

One Professor of Topography and Mathematics.

One Professor of Military Administration, Military Art, and Military History.

One Professor of Fortification.

One Professor of Military Literature.

Two Professors of History and Geography.

One Professor of Descriptive Geometry.

One Professor of Physics and Chemistry.

Three Professors of Drawing,

One Professor of German.

Eleven Military and six Civilian Assistant Teachers (_Répétiteurs_.)

There is also a Quartermaster, a Treasurer, a Steward, a Secretary of the Archives, who is also Librarian, an Almoner (a clergyman,) four or five Surgeons, a Veterinary Surgeon, who gives lessons on the subject, and twelve Fencing Masters.

The professors and teachers are almost entirely military men. Some difficulty appears to be found by civilians in keeping sufficient order in the large classes; and it has been found useful to have as _répétiteurs_ persons who could also be employed in maintaining discipline in the house. Among the professors at present there are several officers of the engineers and of the artillery, and of the staff corps.

There is a board or council of instruction, composed of the commandant, the second in command, one of the field officers of the school staff, the director of studies, one of the assistant directors, and four professors.

So, again, the commandant, the second in command, one of the field officers, two captains, and two lieutenants, the last four changing every year, compose the board or council of discipline.

St. Cyr is a little village about three miles beyond the town of Versailles, and but a short distance from the boundary of the park. The buildings occupied by the school are those formerly used by Madame de Maintenon, and the school which she superintended. Her garden has given place for the parade and exercise grounds; the chapel still remains in use; and her portrait is preserved in the apartments of the commandant. The buildings form several courts or quadrangles; the Court of Rivoli, occupied chiefly by the apartments and bureaux of the officers of the establishment, and terminated by the chapel; the Courts of Austerlitz, and Marengo, more particularly devoted to the young soldiers themselves; and that of Wagram, which is incomplete, and opens into the parade grounds. These, with the large stables, the new riding school, the exercising ground for the cavalry, and the polygon for artillery practice, extend to some little distance beyond the limit of the old gardens into the open arable land which descends northwards from the school, the small village of St. Cyr lying adjacent to it on the south.

The ground floor of the buildings forming the Courts of Marengo, Austerlitz, and Wagram appeared to be occupied by the two refectories, by the lecture-rooms or amphitheaters, each holding two hundred pupils, and by the chambers in which the ordinary questionings, similar to those already described in the account of the Polytechnic School, under the name of _interrogations particulières_, are conducted.

On the first floor are the _salles d’étude_ and the _salle des collections_ the museum or repertory of plans, instruments, models and machines, and the library; on the second floor the ordinary dormitories; and on the third (the attics,) supplementary dormitories to accommodate the extra number of pupils who have been admitted since the commencement of the war.

The commission, when visiting the school, was conducted on leaving the apartments of the commandant to the nearest of the two refectories. It was after one o’clock, and the long room was in the full possession of the whole first or junior division. A crowd of active and spirited-looking young soldiers, four hundred at least in number, were ranged at two long rows of small tables, each large enough, perhaps, for twelve; while in the narrow passage extending up and down the room, between the two rows, stood the officers on duty for the maintenance of order. On passing back to the corridor, the stream of the second year cadets was issuing from their opposite refectory. In the adjoining buttery, the loaf was produced, one kilogramme in weight, which constitutes the daily allowance. It is divided into four parts, eaten at breakfast, dinner, the afternoon lunch or _gouter_, and the supper. The daily cost of each pupil’s food is estimated at 1f. 80c.

The lecture rooms and museums offer nothing for special remark. In the library containing 12,000 books and a fine collection of maps, there were a few of the young men, who are admitted during one hour every day.

The _salles d’étude_ on the first floor are, in contrast to those at the Polytechnic, large rooms, containing, under the present circumstances of the school, no less than two hundred young men. There are, in all, four such rooms, furnished with rows of desks on each side and overlooked in time of study by an officer posted in each to preserve order, and, so far as possible, prevent any idleness.

From these another staircase conducts to the dormitories, containing one hundred each, and named after the battles of the present war--Alma, Inkerman, Balaclava, Bomarsund. They were much in the style of those in ordinary barracks, occupied by rows of small iron beds, each with a shelf over it, and a box at the side. The young men make their own beds, clean their own boots, and sweep out the dormitories themselves. Their clothing, some portions of which we here had the opportunity of noticing, is that of the common soldier, the cloth being merely a little finer.

Above these ordinary dormitories are the attics, now applied to the use of the additional three hundred whom the school has latterly received.

The young men, who had been seen hurrying with their muskets to the parade ground, were now visible from the upper windows, assembled, and commencing their exercises. And when, after passing downwards and visiting the stables, which contain three hundred and sixty horses, attended to by two hundred cavalry soldiers, we found ourselves on the exercising ground, the cavalry cadets were at drill, part mounted, the others going through the lance exercise on foot. In the riding-school a squad of infantry cadets were receiving their weekly riding lesson. The cavalry cadets ride three hours a-day; those of the infantry about one hour a week. The exercising ground communicates with the parade ground; here the greater number of the young men were at infantry drill, under arms. A small squad was at field-gun drill in an adjoining square. Beyond this and the exercising ground is the practice ground, where musket and artillery practice is carried on during the summer. Returning to the parade ground we found the cadets united into a battalion; they formed line and went through the manual exercise, and afterwards marched past; they did their exercise remarkably well. Some had been only three months at the school. The marching past was satisfactory; it was in three ranks, in the usual French manner.

Young men intended for the cavalry are instructed in infantry and artillery movements and drill; just as those intended for the infantry are taught riding, and receive instruction in cavalry, as well as artillery drill and movements.

It is during the second year of their stay they receive most instruction in the arms of the service to which they are not destined, and this, it is said, is a most important part of their instruction. “It is this,” said the General Commandant, “that made it practicable, for example, in the Crimea, to find among the old _élèves_ of St. Cyr, officers fit for the artillery, the engineers, the staff; and for general officers, of course, it is of the greatest advantage to have known from actual study something of every branch.”

The ordinary school vacation last six or seven weeks in the year. The young men are not allowed to quit the grounds except on Sundays. On that day there is mass for the young men.

The routine of the day varies considerably with the season. In winter it is much as follows:--At 5 A.M. the drum beats, the young men quit their beds; in twelve minutes they are all dressed and out, and the dormitories are cleared. The _rappel_ sounds on the _grand carré_; they form in their companies, enter their _salles_, and prepare for the lecture of the day until a quarter to 7. At 7 o’clock the officers on duty for the week enter the dormitories, to which the pupils now return, at a quarter to 8 the whole body passes muster in the dormitories, in which they have apparently by this time made their beds and restored cleanliness and order. Breakfast is taken at one time or other during the interval between a quarter to 7 and 8 o’clock.

They march to their lecture rooms at 8, the lecture lasts till a quarter past 9, when they are in like manner marched out, and are allowed a quarter of an hour of amusement. They then enter the halls of study, make up their notes on the lecture they have come from, and after an hour and a half employed in this way, for another hour and a half are set to drawing.

Dinner at 1 is followed by recreation till 2. Two hours from 2 to a quarter past 4 are devoted to military services.

From 4 to 6 P.M. part are occupied in study of the drill-book (_théorie_,) part in riding or fencing: a quarter of an hour’s recreation follows, and from 6¼ to 8½ there are two hours of study in the _salles_. At half-past 8 the day concludes with the supper.

The following table gives a view of the routine in summer:--

4½ A.M. to 4¾ A.M. Dressing. 4¾ “ to 7¼ “ Military exercises. 7¼ “ to 8¼ “ Breakfast, cleaning, inspection. 8¼ “ to 9½ “ Lecture. 9½ “ to 9¾ “ Recreation. 9¾ “ to 11¼ “ Study. 11¼ “ to 1 P.M. Drawing. 1 P.M. to 2 “ Dinner and recreation. 2 “ to 4 “ Study of drill-book (_théorie_) or fencing. 4 “ to 6 “ Study for some, riding for others. 6 “ to 6¼ “ Recreation. 6¼ “ to 8 “ Riding for some, study for others, 8 “ to 8½ “ Supper.

The entrance examination is much less severe than that for the Polytechnic; but a moderate amount of mathematical knowledge is demanded, and is obtained. The candidates are numerous; and if it be true that some young men of fortune shrink from a test, which, even in the easiest times, exacts a knowledge of the elements of trigonometry, and not unfrequently seek their commissions by entering the ranks, their place is supplied by youths who have their fortunes to make, and who have intelligence, industry, and opportunity enough to acquire in the ordinary _lycées_, the needful amount of knowledge.

Under present circumstances it is, perhaps, more especially in the preparatory studies that the intellectual training is given, and for the examination of admission that theoretical attainments are demanded. The state of the school in a time of war can not exactly be regarded as a normal or usual one. The time of stay has been sometimes shortened from two years to fifteen months; the excessive numbers render it difficult to adjust the lectures and general instruction so as to meet the needs of all; the lecture rooms and the studying rooms are all insufficient for the emergency; and what is yet more than all, the stimulus for exertion, which is given by the fear of being excluded upon the final examination, and sent to serve in the ranks, is removed at a time when almost every one may feel sure that a commission which must be filled up will be vacant for him. Yet even in time of peace, if general report may be trusted, it is more the drill, exercises, and discipline, than the theory of military operations, that excite the interest and command the attention of the young men. When they leave, they will take their places as second lieutenants with the troops, and they naturally do not wish to be put to shame by showing ignorance of the common things with which common soldiers are familiar. Their chief incentive is the fear of being found deficient when they join their regiments, and, with the exception of those who desire to enter the staff corps, their great object is the practical knowledge of the ordinary matters of military duty. “Physical exercises,” said the Director of Studies, “predominate here as much as intellectual studies do at the Polytechnic.”

But the competition for entrance sustains the general standard of knowledge. Even when there is the greatest demand for admissible candidates, the standard of admission has not, we are told, been much reduced. No one comes in who does not know the first elements of trigonometry. And the time allotted by the rules of the school to lectures and indoor study is far from inconsiderable.

EXAMINATIONS FOR ADMISSION--STUDIES AT THE SCHOOL.

The examinations for admission are conducted almost precisely upon the same system which is now used in those for the Polytechnic School.[18] There is a preliminary or pass examination (_du premier degré_), and for those who pass this a second or class examination (_du second degré_.) For the former there are three examiners, two for mathematics, physics, and chemistry, and a third for history, geography, and German. The second examination, which follows a few days after, is conducted in like manner by three examiners. A jury of admission decides. The examination is for the most part oral; and the principal difference between it and the examination for the Polytechnic is merely that the written papers are worked some considerable time before the first oral examination (_du premier degré_,) and are looked over with a view to assist the decision as to admissibility to the second (_du second degré_.) Thus the _compositions écrites_ are completed on the 14th and 15th of June; the preliminary examination commences at Paris on the 10th of July; the second examination on the 13th.

[Footnote 18: The system was, in fact, first tried at St. Cyr, and adopted, on the representation of the Mixed Commission, at the Polytechnic. The previous method, by which different sets of examiners took different districts, had created distrust and dissatisfaction.]

The subjects of examination are the following:--

_Arithmetic_, including vulgar and decimal fractions, weights and measures, square and cube root, ratios and proportions, interest and discount, use of logarithmic tables and the sliding rule.

_Algebra_, to quadratic equations with one unknown quantity, maxima and minima, arithmetical and geometrical progressions, logarithms and their application to questions of compound interest and annuities.

_Geometry_, plane and solid, including the measurement of areas, surfaces, and volumes; sections of the cone, cylinder, and sphere.

_Plane Trigonometry:_ construction of trigonometrical tables and the solution of triangles; application to problems required in surveying.

_Geometrical representations_ of bodies by projections.

_French_ compositions.

_German_ exercises.

_Drawing_, including elementary geometrical drawing and projections; plan, section, and elevation of a building; geographical maps.

_Physical Science_ (purely descriptive:) cosmography; physics, including elementary knowledge of the equilibrium of fluids; weight, gravity, atmospheric pressure, heat, electricity, magnetism, acoustics, optics, refraction, microscope, telescope.

_Chemistry_, elementary principles of; on matter, cohesion, affinity; simple and compound bodies, acids, bases, salts, oxygen, combustion, azote, atmospheric air, hydrogen, water; respecting equivalents and their use, carbon, carbonic acid, production and decomposition of ammonia, sulphur, sulphuric acid, phosphorus, chlorine; classification of non-metallic bodies into four families.

_History:_ History of France from the time of Charles VII. to that of the Emperor Napoleon I. and the treaties of 1815.

_Geography_, relating entirely to France and its colonies, both physical and statistical.

_German:_ the candidates must be able to read fluently both the written and printed German character, and to reply in German to simple questions addressed to them in the same language.

The general system of instruction at St. Cyr is similar to that of the Polytechnic; the lectures are given by the professors, notes are taken and completed afterwards, and progress is tested in occasional _interrogations_ by the _répétiteurs_. One distinction is the different size of the _salles d’étude_ (containing two hundred instead of eight or ten;) but, above all, is the great and predominant attention paid to the practical part of military teaching and training. It is evident at the first sight that this is essentially a military school, and that especial importance is attached both by teachers and pupils to the drill, exercise, and manœuvers of the various arms of the service.

The course of study is completed in two years; that of the first year consists of:--

27 lectures in descriptive geometry. 35 “ physical science. 20 “ military literature. 35 “ history. 21 “ geography and military statistics. 30 “ German. --- Total, 174

In addition to the above, there is a course of drawing between the time when the students join the school early in November and the 15th of August.

The course of _drawing_ consists in progressive studies of landscape drawing with the pencil and brush, having special application to military subjects, to the shading of some simple body or dress, and to enable the students to apply the knowledge which has been communicated to them on the subject of shadows and perspective. This course is followed by the second or junior division during the first year’s residence.

The course of lectures in _descriptive geometry_ commences with certain preliminary notions on the subject; refers to the representation of lines on curved surfaces, cylindrical and conical, surfaces of revolutions, regular surfaces, intersection of surfaces, shadows, perspective, vanishing points, &c., construction of geographical maps, and _plan côté_.

The lectures in _physical science_ embrace nine lectures on the general properties of bodies; heat, climate, electricity, magnetism, galvanism, electro-magnetism, acoustics.

There are twelve lectures in _chemistry_; on water, atmospheric air, combustibles, gas, principal salts, saltpetre, metallurgy, organic chemistry.

There are fourteen lectures in _mechanics applied to machines_; motion, rest, gravity, composition and resolution of forces, mechanical labor, uniform motion, rectilinear and rotatory, projectiles in space, mechanical powers, drawbridges, Archimedean principle, military bridges, pumps, reservoirs, over and under-shot wheels, turbines, corn mills, steam-engines, locomotives, transport of troops, materials, and munitions on railways.

The twenty lectures in _military literature_ refer to military history and biography, memoirs of military historians, battles and sieges, the art of war, military correspondence, proclamations, bulletins, orders of the day, instructions, circulars, reports and military considerations, special memoirs, reconnaissance and reports, military and periodical collections, military justice.

The thirty-five lectures in _history_ principally relate to France and its wars, commencing with the Treaty of Westphalia and ending with the Treaty of Vienna.

The twenty-seven lectures in _geography_ and _military statistics_ are subdivided into different parts; the first eight lectures are devoted to Europe and France, including the physical geography and statistics of the same; the second six lectures are devoted to the frontiers of France; and the third part of thirteen lectures to foreign states and Algeria, including Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland, and Russia.

The studies for the first division during the second year of their residence consist of--

10 lectures in topography. 27 “ fortification. 15 “ artillery. 10 “ military legislation. 12 “ military administration. 27 “ military art and history. 20 “ German. --- Total, 121

One lesson weekly is given in drawing, in order to render the students expert in landscape and military drawing with the pencil, pen, and brash.

We must not omit to call attention to the fact that mathematics are not taught in either yearly course at St. Cyr.

The course in _topography_, of ten lectures, has reference to the construction of maps, copies of drawings, theory, description, and use of instruments for measuring angles and leveling, the execution for a regular survey on the different systems of military drawing, drawing from models of ground, on the construction of topographical drawing and reconnaissance surveys, with accompanying memoirs.

Twenty-seven lectures are devoted to _fortification_; the first thirteen relate principally to field fortification, statement of the general principles, definitions, intrenchments, lines, redoubts, armament, defilement, execution of works on the ground, means necessary for the defense, application of field fortification to the defenses of _têtes de pont_ and inhabited places, attack and defense of intrenchments, &c., castramentation; six lectures have reference to permanent fortification, on ancient fortifications, Cormontaigne’s system, exterior and detached works, considerations respecting the accessories of defense to fortified places; eight lectures relate to the attack and defense of places, preparations for attack and defense, details of the construction of siege works from the opening of the trenches to the taking of the place, exterior works, as auxiliaries, sketches, and details of the different works in fortifications, plans, and profile, &c.

The students also execute certain works, such as the making of fascines, gabions, saucissons, repair of revetments of batteries, platform, setting the profiles, defilement, and construction of a fieldwork, different kinds of sap, plan and establishment of a camp for a battalion of infantry, &c.

Under the head of _artillery_, fifteen lectures are given, commencing with the resistance of fluids, movement of projectiles, solution of problems with the balistic pendulum, deviation of projectiles, pointing and firing guns; small arms, cannon, materials of artillery, powder, munition, fireworks for military purposes; range of cannon, artillery for the attack or defense of places or coasts, field artillery, military bridges.

The students are practically taught artillery drill with field and siege guns, practice with artillery, repair of siege batteries, bridges of boats or rafts.

The ten lectures allowed for the course of _military legislation_ have for their object the explanation of the principles, practice, and regulations relating to military law, and the connection with the civil laws that affect military men.

The twelve lectures on what is called _military administration_ relate to the interior economy of a company, and to the various matters appertaining to the soldier’s messing, mode of payment, necessaries, equipment, lodging, &c.

_Military art and history_ is divided into three parts. The first, of five lectures, relates to the history of military institutions and organization. The second, of fifteen lectures, refers to the composition of armies and to considerations respecting the various arms, infantry, cavalry, état-major, artillery and engineers, and the minor operations of war. The third part, of seven lectures, gives the history of some of the most celebrated campaigns in modern times. In the practical exercises, the students make an attack or defense of a work or of a system of fieldworks during their course of fortification, or of a house, farm, village, in the immediate vicinity of the school, or make the passage of a river.

The students receive twenty lectures in _German_, and are required to keep up a knowledge of German writing.

EXAMINATIONS AT THE SCHOOL.

The examinations at the end of the first year take place under the superintendence of the director and assistant director of studies. They are conducted by the professor of each branch of study, assisted by a _répétiteur_, each of whom assigns a credit to the student under examination, and the mean, expressed as a whole number, represents the result of the student’s examination in that particular branch of study. The examination in military instruction for training (in drill and exercises) is carried on by the officers attached to companies, under the superintendence of the commandant of the battalion, and that relating to practical artillery by the officer in charge of that duty.

The pupils’ position is determined, as at the Polytechnic, partly by the marks gained at the examination, partly by those he has obtained during his previous studies. In other words, the half of the credit obtained by a student at this examination in each subject is added to the half of the mean of all the credits assigned to him, in the same subject, for the manner in which he has replied to the questions of the professor and _répétiteur_ during the year; and the sum of these two items represents his total credit at the end of the year. The scale of credit is from 0 to 20, as at the Polytechnic.

Every year, before the examinations commence, the commandant and second in command, in concert with the director and assistant director, and in concurrence with the superior officer commanding the battalion for military instruction, are formed into a board to determine the amount of the minimum credit which should be exacted from the students in every branch of study. This minimum is not usually allowed to fall below eight for the scientific, and ten for the military instruction.

Any student whose general mean credit is less than _eight_ for the scientific, or _ten_ for the military instruction, or who has a less credit than _four_ for any particular study in the general instruction, or of _six_ for the military instruction, is retained at the school to work during the vacation, and re-examined about eight days before the re-commencement of the course, by a commission composed of the director and assistant director of studies for the general instruction, and of the second in command and the commandant of the battalion, and of one captain for the military instruction. A statement of this second examination is submitted to the minister of war, and those students who pass it in a satisfactory manner are permitted by him to proceed into the first division. Those who do not pass it are reported to the minister of war as deserving of being excluded from the school, unless there be any special grounds for excusing them, such as sickness, in which case, when the fact is properly established before the council of instruction, they are permitted to repeat the year’s studies.

Irregularity of conduct is also made a ground for exclusion from the school. In order to estimate the credit to be attached to the conduct of a student, all the punishments to which he can be subjected are converted into a specific number of days of punishment drill. Thus,

For each day confined in the police chamber, 4 days’ punishment drill.

For each day confined in the prison, 8 days’ punishment drill.

The statement is made out under the presidency of the commandant of the school, by the second in command, and the officer in command of the battalion. The credits for conduct are expressed in whole numbers in terms of the scale of 0 to 20, in which the 20 signifies that the student has not been subjected to any punishment whatever, and the 0, that the student’s punishments have amounted to 200 or more days of punishment drill. The number 20 is diminished by deducting 1 for every 10 days of punishment drill.

The classification in the order of merit depends upon the total amount of the sum of the numerical marks or credits obtained by each student in every branch of study or instruction. The numerical credit in each subject is found by multiplying the credit awarded in each subject by the co-efficient of influence belonging to it.

The co-efficients, representing the influence allowed to each particular kind of examination, in the various branches of study are as follows:--

Second Division, or First Year’s Course of Study.

General Instruction. { Descriptive Geometry, 6 } { { Course, 6 } { { Drawing and Sketches, 2 } { Physical Science applied to the Military Arts, 6 } { { Course, 6 } { { Sketch and Memoir, 2 } { History, 6 } { Geography and Statistical Memoirs, 5 } { { Course, 5 } { { Sketch and Memoir, 2 } { Literature, Memoir on 4 } { German, 4 } { Drawing, 3 } 40 Special Instruction:--Drill, Practice, Manœuvers (Infantry and Cavalry,) 7 Conduct, 3 -- 50

First Division, or Second Year’s Course of Study

General Instruction. Infantry. Cavalry. { Topography { { Course, 3 } 3 } { { Maps, Memoirs, and Practical Exercises, 3 } 2 } { Fortification, { { Course, 4 } 4 } { { Drawings, Memoirs, and } } { { Practical Exercises, 3 } 2 } { Artillery and Balistic Pendulum, { { Course, 4 } 4 } { { Practical Exercises, School of Musketry 2 } 1 } { Military Legislation, 2 } 2 } { Military Administration, { { Course, 3 } 3 } { { Sheets of Accounts, 1 } 1 } { Military History and Art, { { Course, 4 } 4 } { { Memoirs and applications, 1 } 1 } { German, 4 } 4 } { Drawing, 1 } 35 1 } 32 Special instruction for { Infantry { { Theory of Drill, Manœuvers--3 Schools, 4 } { { Practical Instruction 3 } { { Regulations, 2 } 9 { Cavalry, { { Riding, 3 } { { Theoretical and Practical Instruction 7 } { { Veterinary Art, 2 } 12 Conduct 6 6 -- -- Total, 50 50

To facilitate this classification in order of merit, three distinct tables are prepared,--

The first relating to the general instruction; The second relating to the military instruction; and The third relating to the conduct;

and they respectively contain, one column in which the names of the students are arranged by companies in the order in which they have been examined; followed by as many columns as there are subjects of examination, for the insertion of their individual credit and the co-efficient of influence, by which each credit is multiplied; and lastly by a column containing the sum of the various products belonging to, and placed opposite each student’s name.

These tables are respectively completed by the aid of the existing documents, the first for the general instruction, by the director of studies; the second for the military instruction, by the officer commanding the battalion; the third for conduct, under the direction of the commandant of the school, assisted by the second in command.

A jury formed within the school, composed of the general commandant, president, the second in command, the director of studies, and the officer commanding the battalion, is charged with the classification of the students in the order of merit.

To effect it, after having verified and established the accuracy of the above tables, the numbers appertaining to each student in the three tables are extracted and inserted in another table, containing the name of each student, and, in three separate columns, the numbers obtained by each in general instruction, military instruction, and conduct, and the sum of these credits in another column.

By the aid of this last table, the jury cause another to be compiled, in which the students are arranged in the order of merit as established by the numerical amount of their credits, the highest in the list having the greatest number.

If there should be any two or more having the same number of total credits, the priority is determined by giving it to the student who has obtained a superiority of credits in military instruction, conduct, general instruction, notes for the year; and if these prove insufficient, they are finally classed in the same order as they were admitted into the school.

A list for passing from the second to the first division is forwarded to the minister at war, with a report in which the results for the year are compared with the results of the preceding year; and the minister at war, with these reports before him, decides who are ineligible from incompetency, or by reason of their conduct, to pass to the other division.

The period when the final examinations before leaving the school are to commence, is fixed by the president of the jury, specially appointed to carry on this final examination, in concert with the general commandant of the school.

The president of the jury directs and superintends the whole of the arrangements for conducting the examination; and during each kind of examination, a member of the corps, upon the science of which the student is being questioned, assists the examiner, and, as regards the military instruction, each examiner is aided by a captain belonging to the battalion.

The examination is carried on in precisely the same manner as that already described for the end of the first year’s course of study. And the final classification is ascertained by adding to the _numerical_ credits obtained by each student during his second year’s course of study, in the manner already fully explained, _one-tenth_ of the numerical credits obtained at the examinations at the end of the first year.

The same regulations as to the minimum credit which a student must obtain in order to pass from one division to the other, at the end of the first year, which are stated in page 160, are equally applicable to his passing from the school to become a second lieutenant in the army.

A list of the names of those students who are found qualified for the rank of second lieutenant is sent to the minister at war, and a second list is also sent, containing the names of those students that have, when subjected to a second or revised examination, been pronounced by the jury before whom they were re-examined as qualified.

Those whose names appear in the first list are permitted to choose according to their position in the order of merit, the staff corps or infantry, according to the number required for the first named service, and to name the regiments of infantry in which they desire to serve.

Those intended for the cavalry are placed at the disposal of the officer commanding the regiment which they wish to enter.

Those whose names appear in the second list are not permitted to choose their corps, but are placed by the minister at war in such corps as may have vacancies in it, or where he may think proper.

The students who are selected to enter the staff corps, after competing successfully with the second lieutenants of the army, proceed as second lieutenants to the staff school at Paris. Those who fail pass into the army as privates, according to the terms of the engagement made on entering the school.

THE CAVALRY SCHOOL AT SAUMUR.

This school was established in 1826, and is considered[19] the most perfect and extensive institution of the kind in Europe,--perhaps the only one really deserving the title, the others being more properly mere schools of equitation.

[Footnote 19: “Report of Observations in Europe during the Crimean War,” by Major Gen. McClellan.]

It is under the control of the Minister of War, and was established for the purpose of perfecting the officers of the cavalry corps in all the branches of knowledge necessary to their efficiency, and especially in the principles of equitation,--and to diffuse through the corps a uniform system of instruction, by training up a body of instructors and classes of recruits intended for the cavalry service.

The instruction is entirely military, and is based upon the laws and regulations in force with regard to the mounted troops. It includes; 1st. The regulations for interior service; 2nd. The cavalry tactics; 3rd. The regulations for garrison service; 4th. The regulations for field service applied, as far as possible, on the ground, especially with regard to reconnaissances; 5th. A military and didactic course of equitation, comprising all the theoretical and practical knowledge required for the proper and useful employment of the horse, his breaking, application to the purposes of war, and various civil exercises; 6th. A course of hippology, having for its object practical instruction, by means of the model breeding-stud attached to the school, in the principles which should serve as rules in crossing breeds and in raising colts, to explain the phases of dentition, to point out the conformation of the colt which indicates that he will become a good and solid horse, the method to be pursued to bring the colt under subjection without resistance, and, finally, to familiarize the officers and pupils with all the knowledge indispensable to an officer charged with the purchase and care of remount horses. This course includes also a knowledge of horse-equipment, illustrated in the saddle factory connected with the school; 7th. Vaulting, fencing, and swimming. The non-commissioned officers are also instructed in the theory of administration and accountability. The course of instruction continues one year, commencing in the month of October. The pupils at the school are:--

1st. A division of lieutenants, (_lieutenants instructeurs_.) 2nd. “ of sub-lieutenants, (_sous-lieutenants d’instruction_.) 3rd. “ of sub-officers, (_sous-officiers élèves instructeurs_.) 4th. “ of non-commissioned officers, (_brigadiers élèves_.) 5th. “ of cavalry recruits, (_cavaliers élèves_.)

The lieutenants are chosen out of the regiments of cavalry and artillery, as well as from the squadrons of the park-trains and military equipages, from the lieutenants who voluntarily present themselves for the appointment to the General Board of Inspectors. Their age must not exceed thirty-six years.

The sub-lieutenants are appointed from the cavalry regiments, must be graduates of the Special Military School, not above thirty-four years of age, and have served at least one year with the regiment.

The sub-officers are selected from the cavalry corps--one from every two regiments of cavalry and artillery, and every two squadrons of the park-trains and military equipages.

The non-commissioned officers are chosen annually by the inspectors-general--one from each regiment of cavalry:--from among those that show a peculiar aptness for equitation and are distinguished by good conduct, information, zeal, and intelligence; those who are recommended for promotion in their corps are selected in preference. Their age must not exceed twenty-five years, and they must have served at least one year in the ranks.

These pupils, numbering about four hundred, are sent to the school by order of the Minister of War. They continue connected with their corps, from which they are regarded as detached while they remain at the school. They receive additional pay. Those who after due trial are found deficient in the necessary qualifications, are sent back to their regiments.

Upon the recommendation of the inspector-general of the school, the officers who are serving as pupils, compete for promotion by choice with the officers of the corps from which they are detached.

The cavalry lieutenant, who graduates first in his class, is presented for the first vacancy as captain-instructor that occurs in the cavalry, provided he has the seniority of rank required by law. The lieutenant who graduates second obtains, under the same condition, the second vacancy of captain-instructor, provided his division consisted of more than thirty members. The sub-lieutenant graduating first, provided he is not lower than the tenth in the general classification of the officers of both grades, is presented for promotion to the first vacant lieutenancy that occurs in his regiment.

The non-commissioned officers who pass a satisfactory final examination, are immediately promoted to vacancies that have been preserved for them in their regiments--those who have graduated among the first ten of the class, being presented for promotion as sub-lieutenants, as soon as they have completed their required term of service as non-commissioned officers. Those who attend the school as non-commissioned officers, frequently return as officers for instruction, and again in a higher grade on the staff of the school.

Officers transferred from the infantry to the cavalry are generally sent to this school for a short time at least. The captains-instructor of the cavalry regiments, and the instructors of equitation in the artillery regiments, are mostly selected from the graduates.

The school also receives by voluntary enlistment, such young men, not above the age of twenty-one years, as desire to enter the cavalry service. They are not admitted until they have been subjected to an examination before a committee, by whom they are classified according to their fitness. These volunteer enlistments for the cavalry school are made at Saumur, at least a month before the commencement of the course, on presentation of the certificate of classification and of approval by the commandant of the school. The number is limited to fifty each year.

Such of these cavalry pupils as are distinguished for diligence and good conduct and pass a satisfactory final examination are transferred to the regiments of cavalry, for promotion to the rank of noncommissioned officers by their respective colonels. Those who have not been found fit for admission are sent back simply as privates.

A council of instruction is charged with the direction of the studies. They propose useful changes, and direct the progress of the studies. They are also charged with the examinations.

The recitations are by sections of about thirty each. In reciting upon the general principles of tactics, equitation, hippology, &c., the manner is as in our Military Academy; when reciting upon the movements in tactics, all the commands and explanations of the instructor to the troops are repeated “verbatim et literatim,” and in the tone and pitch of voice used in the field. Perfect uniformity of tone and manner is required. The object of thus reciting is to teach the pupils the proper tone and pitch of voice, to accustom them to hear their own voices, and to enable them to repeat the text literally at this pitch of voice, without hesitation or mistake.

The course of hippology includes the structure of the horse, the circulation of the blood, organs of respiration, &c., food, working powers, actions, breeds, manner of taking care of him, ordinary ailments and remedies, shoeing, lameness, saddling, sore backs, sanitary police, &c., but does not comprise a complete veterinary course.

The practical exercises consist of:--the ordinary riding-hall drill, including vaulting, the “kickers,” &c.; the carrière, or out-door riding at speed, over hurdles, ditches, &c.; cutting at head; target-practice; fencing; swimming; the usual military drills; skeleton squadron and regimental drills; rides in the country; finally, in the summer, frequent “carousels” or tilts are held.

The veterinary surgeons of the lowest grade are sent here upon their first appointment to receive instruction in equitation, to profit by the study of the model stud, and to learn the routine of their duties with the regiments. They form a distinct class.

In the _Model Stud_, the number of animals varies. There are usually two stallions and about twenty mares, (Arabs, English, Norman, &c.,) in addition to those selected from time to time from among the riding-animals. Attached to it is a botanical garden, more especially for useful and noxious grasses and plants.

_School for Breaking Young Horses._--The best horses purchased at the remount dépôts are selected for the officers, and sent to this place to be trained. The number is fixed at 100 as a minimum. These, as soon as their education is complete, are sold or given, according to the orders of the Minister of War, to those officers who need a remount--in preference, to officers of the general staff and staff corps, those of the artillery, and mounted officers of infantry. These officers may also select from among the other horses of the school, with the approval of the commandant.

_School of Farriers._--This is attached to the cavalry school, and is under the direction of the commandant. It is composed of private soldiers who have served at least six months with their regiments, and are blacksmiths or horse-shoers by trade. There are usually two men from each mounted regiment. The course lasts two years; it comprises reading, writing, arithmetic, equitation, the anatomy of the horse, thorough instruction as to all diseases, injuries, and deformities of the foot, something of the veterinary art in general, the selection of metals, making shoes, nails, tools, &c., shoeing horses. The establishment has a large shoeing shop and yard, a recitation-room, museum, and store-rooms. In the recitation-room there are skeletons of horses, men, &c., as well as some admirable specimens of natural preparations in comparative anatomy, a complete collection of shoeing-tools, specimens of many kinds of shoes, &c.--_Annuaire de l’Instruction_ 1861, _and_ “_Observations_.”

THE SCHOOL OF APPLICATION FOR THE STAFF.

AT PARIS.

DUTIES OF THE FRENCH STAFF.

The staff is the center from which issue and to which are addressed all orders and military correspondence.

The officers of the staff are divided into chiefs of the staff, sub-chiefs, staff-officers, and aides-de-camp.

The colonels and lieutenant-colonels are employed as chiefs of the staff in the different military districts of France, and in the divisions of the army on active service. The ordinary posts of the majors and captains is that of aides-de-camp to general officers.

When several armies are united together under a commander-in-chief, the chief of the general staff takes temporarily the title of _Major-Général_, the general officers employed under him that of _Aide-Major-Général_.

The duties of the chief of the staff are to transmit the orders of the general; to execute those which he receives from him personally, for field-works, pitching camps, reconnaissances, visits of posts, &c.; to correspond with the commanding officers of the artillery and the engineers, and with the commissariat, in order to keep the general exactly informed of the state of the different branches of the service; to be constantly in communication with the different corps, so as to be perfectly master of everything relating to them; to prepare for the commander-in-chief and for the minister of war, returns of the strength and position of the different corps and detachments, reports on marches and operations, and, in short, every necessary information.

The distribution of the other officers of different ranks, when it has not been made by the minister of war, is regulated by the chief of the general staff.

In every division of the army an officer of the staff is specially charged with the office work; the others assist him when necessary, but they are more usually employed in general staff duties, in reconnaissances, drawing plans of ground, missions, the arrangement of camps and cantonments, superintending the distribution of the rations, &c.

The officers of the staff may further be charged with the direction of field-works thrown up to cover camps and cantonments.

Staff officers of all ranks may be employed on posts and detachments. On special missions they command all other officers of the same rank employed with them. When a staff officer is charged with the direction of an expedition or a reconnaissance, without having the command of the troops, the officer in command concerts with him in all the dispositions it may be necessary to make to ensure the success of the operation.

The staff of generals of artillery and of engineers is composed of officers of their respective arms.

The war depot (_Dépôt de la Guerre_) was founded for the purpose of collecting and preserving military historical papers, reconnaissances, memoirs, and plans of battles; to preserve plans and MSS. maps useful for military purposes, and to have them copied and published.

It is divided into two sections--one charged with trigonometrical surveying, topography, plan drawing, and engraving; the other with historical composition, military statistics, the care of the library, the archives, plans, and maps. Each of these sections is under the direction of a colonel of the staff corps, who has under his orders several officers of his corps.

The war depot has taken a large share in the preparation of the map of France. The first idea of undertaking this important work dates from 1808. After various delays and difficulties, the trigonometrical survey, which had been for a time suspended, was recommenced in 1818. The work was placed under the war depot, intrusted to the corps of geographical engineers. Since this period the geographical engineers have been incorporated in the staff corps, by the officers of which the work has been continued. The primary triangulation was finished in 1845; the secondary is now finished; the filling in the details will occupy several years to come. The number of officers of the staff corps employed on the survey has varied from twenty-six to ninety.

THE STAFF CORPS.

The officers of the French staff constitute a distinct and separate corps, numbering thirty-five colonels, thirty-five lieutenant-colonels, one hundred and ten majors, three hundred and thirty captains, and one hundred lieutenants. None but officers of this corps can be employed on the staff. When, by accident, there is not a sufficient number present, regimental officers may be temporarily employed, but they return to their regiments as soon as officers of the staff corps arrive to replace them. The division of the staff into adjutant-general’s and quartermaster-general’s department does not exist in the French service.

The only means of entering the staff corps is through the Staff School of Application. Of the fifty student-officers which the School of Application usually contains, twenty-five leave annually to enter the staff corps, and are replaced by an equal number. Three of these come from the Polytechnic, the remaining twenty-two are selected from thirty pupils of the Military School of St. Cyr, who compete with thirty second lieutenants of the army, if so many present themselves; but, in general, the number of the latter does not exceed four or five.

The course of study in the Staff School of Application lasts two years. The students have the rank of second lieutenant. On passing the final examination they are promoted to the rank of lieutenant; they are then sent to the infantry to do duty for _two years_, at the expiration of which time they are attached for an equal period to the cavalry. They may finally be sent for a year to the artillery or engineers.

This routine can not be interrupted except in time of war, and even then the lieutenant can not be employed on staff duty until he has completed his _two years_ with the infantry. However, officers who have a special aptitude for the science of geodesy or topography, may even earlier be employed on the map of France or other similar duty; and, further, two of the lieutenants, immediately on quitting the Staff School of Application, are sent to the war depot (_Dépôt de la Guerre_) to gain a familiarity with trigonometrical operations.

The General Officers at their Inspections are required to report specially to the Minister of War on the captains and lieutenants of the staff corps doing duty with the regiments in their districts, both as to their knowledge of drill and manœuvres, and their acquaintance with the duties of the staff. They are to require these officers to execute a military reconnaissance, never allowing more than forty-eight hours for the field sketch and its accompanying report.

Officers of all arms of the rank of captain or under, are permitted to exchange with officers of equal rank in the staff corps; but they must previously satisfy the conditions of the final examinations of the Staff College.

THE BUILDINGS AND ESTABLISHMENT.

The Staff School of Application is situated in Paris, in the Rue de Grenelle, close to the Invalides. Of the ninety officers attending it, sixty lodge in the building and thirty out of it, but all take their meals in the town. Each has, in general, a room to himself. Servants are provided in the proportion of one to about eight rooms. The officers are forbidden to have private servants.

The staff of the school is composed as follows:--

The Commandant, a General of Brigade.

The Second in Command, Director of the Studies, a Colonel or Lieutenant-Colonel of the Staff Corps.

A Major of the Staff Corps, charged with the superintendence of the interior economy and the drills and exercises.

Three Captains of the same Corps, charged with the details of the interior economy of the School, and to assist the Major in the instruction of the Officers in their military duties. The Captains are required to take the direction of a portion of the topographical works on the ground.

A Medical Officer.

Thirteen Military Professors, or Assistant Professors, viz.:--

A Major or Captain, Professor of Applied Descriptive Geometry.

A Major or Captain, Professor of Astronomy, Physical Geography, and Statistics.

A Major or Captain, Professor of Geodesy and Topography.

A Major or Captain of Engineers, Professor of Fortification.

A Major or Captain of Artillery, Professor of the instruction relative to this arm.

A Military Sub-Intendant, Professor of Military Legislation and Administration.

A Major or Captain, Professor of Military Art.

A Captain, Assistant Professor of Descriptive Geography; charged also to assist the Professor of Fortification.

A Captain, Assistant Professor of Topography; charged also to assist the Professor of Geography.

A Major or Captain of Cavalry, Professor of Equitation; he acts under the immediate orders of the Major of the College.

Two Lieutenants or Second Lieutenants of Cavalry, Assistant Professors of Equitation.

An Officer of Cavalry of the same rank, acting as Paymaster to the Riding Detachment.

The Non-Military Professors are:--

Two Professors of Drawing.

Two Professors of German.

A Professor of Fencing.

One hundred and forty-five horses are kept for the use of the student-officers, and eighty-two men belonging to the cavalry to look after them.

Both the studies and examinations at the Staff School hold an intermediate place between those of the Polytechnic and St. Cyr, being less abstract than the former, and higher and more difficult than the latter.

CONDITIONS OF ADMISSION.--ENTRANCE EXAMINATIONS.

The entrance to the Staff School of Application in France is, as is the case in all the French military schools, by means of a competitive examination, or, rather, by the results of three distinct examinations, and by the selection of different sets of successful candidates. _Three_ are taken from the students leaving the Polytechnic, who have an absolute right to the three first places in the Staff School, and _twenty-two_ are selected from the thirty best students leaving St. Cyr, and an equal number of sub-lieutenants of the line under twenty-five years of age, if so many present themselves. The sub-lieutenants must have one year of service in that rank, and they must make known their request to be allowed to compete for admission to the Staff School to the Inspector General, and, through him, to the Minister of War. It should be added, that their number is generally extremely small.

The usual number of young officers admitted yearly to the school in time of peace is twenty-five, but this number is sometimes considerably exceeded, and we found no less than ninety present. The _three_ Polytechnic students select the Staff School after their final examination, and the St. Cyr students make known their desire when the whole are examined by a Board of Examiners, and the thirty best are then selected as competitors for admission into the Staff School of Application.

The sub-lieutenants also repair to St. Cyr, where they are examined separately by the same examiners who have just conducted the examination of the St. Cyr students, and in the same subjects.

Their marks or credits are then compared with those of the St. Cyr pupils; and the relative position of the two sets of candidates is ascertained, and the list of those to be admitted to the School of Application determined accordingly.

These examinations take place before a Commission of Officers, composed of,--

A Lieutenant-General President, appointed by the Minister of War.

The Director or Chief of the Dépôt de la Guerre.

The Commandant of the School of Application.

Four Colonels or Lieutenant-Colonels of the Staff, appointed by the Minister of War.

A Field Officer chosen from among the Officers employed at the Dépôt de la Guerre, as permanent Secretary.

This Commission is also charged with drawing up and proposing regulations for the approval of the Minister of War concerning the interior organization and the course of study to be followed in the school, and to make changes in the programmes for admission and for leaving the school.

A very detailed account of the subjects of the entrance examination is drawn out, and inserted in the _Journal Militaire_, and the _Moniteur_ every year. The following are the subjects:--

(1.) Trigonometry and Topography.

(2.) Regular Topography--the measuring of plane surfaces and leveling.

(3.) Irregular Topography, Plane Trigonometry.

(4.) Military Art and History, including--

(_a._) History of Military Institutions at the chief periods.

(_b._) Present composition of the French army.

(_c._) Organization of an army in the field.

(_d._) History of some of the most memorable campaigns, as those of 1796-97 in Italy, and of 1805 and 1809, in Germany.

(5.) Artillery and Science of Projectiles.

(6.) Field Fortification and Castremetation.

(7.) Permanent Fortification.

(8.) Military Legislation.

(9.) Military Administration.

(10.) Manœuvres.

(11.) German Language.

(12.) Drawing.

The marks assigned and the influence allowed to each of these subjects are the same as those given in the final examination at St. Cyr. The entrance examination places the students in order of merit.

THE STUDIES.

All the details of the teaching are in the hands of a Council of Instruction, similar to that of the Polytechnic, and consisting of the General Commandant (President,) the Director of Studies, and three Military Professors, appointed yearly by rotation. Other professors and assistant professors, or officers of the staff of the school, may be called in to assist the Council, but (except in deciding the list at an examination) they have no votes.

This council does not interfere directly with the administration, the common work of the school. It draws up, indeed, the list of lectures, making any alterations in them, or in the books to be used which may seem from time to time desirable. But the officer accountable for the daily working of the school is the Director of Studies. His functions appeared to us to bring him into more constant connection with the pupils than was the case with the director of the Polytechnique. In all the schools the General Commandant and the Director of Studies live in the establishment; but at the _Ecole d’Application_ and at St. Cyr the director “examines the methods of teaching, and proposes to the Council of Instruction any modifications or improvements which may raise or quicken the instruction. He inspects the work of the student-officers, both in and out of the school. He keeps a register of the marks given by the professors, and at the end of every three months brings the sum of them before the General Commandant in a detailed report.” In fact, his school functions are not modified, as at the Polytechnic, by a body of able professors.

As already stated, there are fifteen professors, without reckoning those of equitation, and thirteen of them are officers; but the system of _Répétiteurs_, which we have seen so influential at the Polytechnic, does not exist here.

The hours of work are, in summer, _i.e._ from May to November, from six to five, and in winter from eight to five, with the exception of one hour for breakfast and one hour for _étude libre_, which appears to mean very little indeed. From seven to nine hours daily may be taken as the amount, but (as is the case with most French schools) there is a constant change, not only in the subjects taught but in part of the work being _out_ and part _in_ doors, some really head work, much purely manual. There does not appear to be the same intense application as at the Polytechnic; indeed, the work for three months in the year is almost entirely in the open air, consisting in making plans and military sketches, either in the neighborhood of Paris or in the more distant parts of the country; eight months are devoted to the in-door studies, one month to the examinations.

The in-door studies are entirely conducted in the halls of study (_Salles d’étude_), in each of which we found parties of twelve or fifteen students seated. They are inspected constantly by the director or some of the professors. None of the regular work may be done in private. It seems everywhere a fixed belief in the French Military Schools that very much would be done idly and ill if done in private. This presents a striking contrast to the feeling on the subject in England.

The severer and preparatory studies of mathematics are supposed to have been completed prior to entrance into the Polytechnic or St. Cyr. Some, however, of the studies of applied science occupy considerable time at the School of Application.

The following analysis will show the time assigned to each branch:--

1. _Astronomy_ occupies 1½ hours weekly for the pupils of the first year; afterwards it ceases entirely.

2. To _Applied Descriptive Geometry_ a good deal of time is given, but still only by the pupils of the first year. 12 hours a week are spent upon it in the first half year, 10 in the second.

3. _Military Topography_ occupies about 10½ hours in the first year, 6 in the second.

4. A good deal of time is devoted to _Field Fortifications_. The junior division, it is true, only begin it in their second half year of study, and then only work at it for 1½ hours weekly. But the senior division are occupied 4½ hours weekly in their first half year, and 7½ hours in their second.

5. _The Study of Military Administration and Legislation_ is begun immediately upon entrance. It occupies during both years 1½ hours weekly.

6. _Lectures on Military Art and Tactics_ are also given for 1½ hours weekly during both years, and after hearing these lectures the students are occasionally required to write a military memoir on a campaign, descriptions of reconnaissances, or of fields of battle, and to make sketches of ground with accompanying reports. This course was noted by General Foltz, the director of the school, as defective, on the ground that it was too difficult to find a teacher for, or indeed to teach military art; and he thought that lectures on military history, or such works as Napoleon’s Memoirs, would be more useful to the pupils.

7. _Drawing_ occupies throughout 4½ hours weekly, and great attention is bestowed upon it. “We were shown a large number of works done by the young officers of the school. To enumerate some of the most important--there were specimens of objects, with shadows; perspective of the exterior and interior of buildings, with shadows; perspective views of country; machinery drawings, plan, section, and elevation; in fortification, a plan of comparison of a portion of ground with proposed field-works for defense; military bridges; reconnaissance, and memoir of a route, with accompanying notes and sketches, done both on foot and on horseback; plan of a portion of country made with a compass by parties of ten, under the direction of a Captain (for this the trigonometrical points and distances were furnished, and it was filled up by a minor triangulation;) plan of a field of battle, made without points; and a description of the battle.”

These drawings were mostly executed with great care, and we were told that the course was fully as much as the student could accomplish in two years. Some parts of it are done entirely in the _Salle d’étude_; sketches are made on horseback in the neighborhood of Paris, always under the direction of the professors, others again at great distances, such as one at Biarritz last year, and the one on which the pupils are to be engaged this year, is the line of operations of Wellington from the Spanish frontier to Toulouse. The two last kinds of work are roughly sketched, and finished at Paris. These summer occupations seem to stand in place of vacations, of which there are none.

(1.) To _Fencing_, three hours a week are given throughout.

(2.) To the _Cavalry Drill_ two hours weekly in the first division. It is replaced by _Infantry Drill_ in the second.

The studies which none but the senior division pursue are,--

(1.) _Artillery_ studies, which occupy 4½ hours weekly.

(2.) _Geography_, meaning chiefly the military geography of a country, with a few lectures on statistics and political economy; these take 1½ hours weekly.

(3.) _Geodesy_, or trigonometrical surveying, also for 1½ hours.

The only strictly literary occupation is the study of German for about three hours per week during the whole time. We were told that a large proportion of the pupils unite among themselves to learn English privately, but no public course is given.

THE EXAMINATIONS.

The students have two examinations to go through in each year; the first commencing about the first of June, the last in November, and each of the first year’s examinations is held before a jury consisting of--

(1.) The General Commandant, or the Director of Studies; President.

(2.) The Professor of the Course examined in.

(3.) Two Officers appointed by the Council of Instruction.

The last examination in each year is, of course, the most important, inasmuch as the passage from the Second or Junior to the First or Senior Division, and in part from the Senior into the Staff Corps, is regulated by the results of these examinations; and the value allowed to the last examination in each year is just double of that assigned for the examinations in June.

The examinations of the first year are confined to the subjects of study followed during that year, viz.:--

Descriptive Geometry, Astronomy, Topography, Artillery, Fortification, Military Art and Administration, German, Drawing, Register of Notes and Memoranda.

The professors and members of the jury are directed rigorously to conform themselves to the following scale as regards the marks or credits they award for the oral answers, graphical representations, &c.

0 to 4 bad. 5 to 10 passable. 10 to 13 fair. 14 to 18 good. 19 to 20 very good.

The Co-efficients of influence of the various studies of the first year are as follows:--

Descriptive Geometry, { Theory, 4 } { Geographical Representation, 3 } { Drawing of Machines, 1 } { { Memoir, 1 } { { Drawing, 1 } 9 Astronomy { Theory, 4 } { Graphical Representation, 1 } 5 Topography { Theory, 4 } { Graphical Representation, *6 } 10 Artillery, 4 Fortification { Theory, 4 } { Graphical Representation, 2 } 8 { Memoirs, 2 } Military Art { Theory, 4 } { Memoirs, } { { On various questions, 1 } { { On surveys, 2 } 7 Military Administration, { Theory, 4 } { Memoirs, 1 } 5 Manœuvres, 2 German, 4 Drawing, 2 Keeping of Memorandum Books, 1 Conduct and Discipline, 1 Riding and Knowledge of the Horse, 2 { Riding, { Hippology, -- Total, 60

* Subdivision of the Co-efficients of the Graphical Representations.

Survey with compass, 1 } Rapid sketch, 1½ } Itinery of the first survey, } 1½ } Itinery of the second survey, } } First Topographical Drawing, ½ } { Second, with relief, ¾ } { Third, on the scale of 1/20000 ¾ } 6

As soon as the examinations are concluded, the Council of Instruction, prepares a provisory classified list of the students, made out in order of merit from the credits or marks awarded by the Examining Jury in connection with the above-mentioned co-efficients of influence, in a similar manner to that already explained in the account of the Polytechnic School, the student with the largest numerical credit being placed at the head of the list.

This provisory list is submitted to the Consulting Committee of the Staff Corps for transmission to the Minister of War.

In order to pass from the Second or Junior into the First or Senior Division, every Student Officer must have obtained the following marks or credits from the Jury, viz.:--

In Astronomy and Geometry, six out of twenty in each.

In all other branches of theoretical instruction, four out of twenty.

In the classification of the graphical representations in topography, a mean of eight out of twenty, and in each of the other courses a mean of six out of twenty; and as the general result of his various works and of his examinations (the mean of the year being combined with the number obtained before the jury in the proportion adopted by the Council of Instruction,) he must have obtained a number of credits equal to one-half of the maximum (1,200.)[20]

[Footnote 20: There must be some error in the printed regulations on the subject.]

Every Student Officer who in his oral examination before the Jury has failed in obtaining the minimum stated above is subjected to a fresh proof before the Consulting Committee of the Staff Corps, and if this is not favorable to him he ceases to belong to the school, and must return to his regiment, unless such failure can be attributed to an illness of forty-five days, in which case he may be permitted to double his first year’s course of study.

If the second proof be favorable he is retained at the school, but placed at the bottom of the classified lists prepared by the Council of Instruction.

The co-efficients of influence for the second year are--

Subdivision of the Co-efficients of the Graphical Representations, &c.

Geography and Statistics, { Theory, 4 } 5 { Memoir, 1 } Geodesy and Topography, { Theory 4 } { Geographical Representation, 6 } 10 { Survey with the Compass, 1 } { Reconnaissance, 1½ } { Itinerary of the first survey, } } { Itinerary of the reconnaissance } 1½ } { Drawing of a Fortress and its Environs, 1½ } { Reduction of the Drawings, ½ } 6

Artillery, { Theory, 4 } { Graphical Representation, 3 } { Memoirs, 1 } 8 { First Drawing of a Military Bridge, 1 } { Second ditto, ½ } { Breaching Battery ½ } { Drawing of Artillery Carriage, 1 } 3

Fortification, { Theory, 4 } { Graphical Representation, 3 } { Memoir on a Fortified place, 2½ } { Memoir on a Project of Field { Fortification, 1½ } 11 { Defilement, 1 } { Project of Fortification, 2 } 3

Military Administration, { Theory 4 } 4

Military Art { Theory 4 } { Memoir on various questions comprised { in drawing up a memoir, 2 } { Memoir on the survey with a Compass, { or sketch reconnaissance 2 } 8

Manœuvres, 3 German, 4 Drawing, 2 Keeping of Note Books, 1 Conduct and Discipline, 1

Riding and Knowledge of the Horse, 3 { Riding, 2 } { Veterinary Art, 1 } 3 -- Total 60

The examinations of the students of the Senior or First Division is made in a similar manner to that already described for the Junior Division, but after they are concluded, and prior to these students being admitted into the Staff Corps, they are subjected to another examination before the Consulting Committee of the Staff Corps, consisting of--

3 Generals of Division on the Staff. 3 Generals of Brigade. 3 Colonels of the Staff. 5 Lieutenant-Colonels, including the Secretary.

The professors belonging to the school may be called in to assist at this examination, and when it is concluded the Consulting Committee proceeds to the definitive classification of the Student Officers of the First Division by causing the following documents to be placed before them, viz.:--

The register of the notes of each Student Officer.

Tables of the value of their work; the classified list of passage to the First Division, and the provisionary list for leaving, recently prepared by the Council of Instruction. The numerical credits obtained in these two classifications are added (each sum being halved) to the definitive classification prepared by the committee. The total is divided by two, in order not to exceed the regulated limit of 1,200 credits for the maximum.

Every Student Officer who, in this examination for leaving, has not obtained the half of the maximum number of numerical credits is considered to be inadmissible to the Staff Corps.

This classified list, prepared by the Consulting Committee of the Staff Corps, fixes the position of the Student Officers in order of merit, and according to this order of merit they enter the Staff Corps. The committee reports to the Minister of War the names of the Student Officers that are not eligible for the Staff Corps.

The first two or three places, we were told, are always remembered as marks of distinction, but the honor does not descend lower, as in the intense competition of the Polytechnic.

Students belonging to the First Division may also be permitted to double the second year’s course of study on account of illness; but in no case can an officer be permitted to remain more than three years at the school.

MILITARY ORPHAN SCHOOL

AT LA FLECHE.

The _Collége_ or _Prytanée Militaire_ appears, in point of studies, to differ from the schools that have just been described, chiefly in its having only one department for the elder pupils, the scientific, with merely occasional subsidiary lessons in grammar and literature.

The institution is a school for boys between the ages of ten and eighteen; no one under ten or above twelve years old can be admitted: and no one can commence a new course at the school after completing his eighteenth year.

The prescribed instruction comprises the following courses:--

Humanities (Latin, &c.) History and Geography. German. Mathematics. Physical Sciences. Natural History. Figure Drawing. Linear Drawing.

And the general object of the courses is to qualify the pupils to pass the examination for the degree of Bachelor of Science.

The pupils also go through military and gymnastic exercises, and learn to swim.

The school is under military discipline, is governed by a general officer of the staff corps or a colonel in active service, as commandant and director of studies, and by a lieutenant-colonel or major, with the title and functions of second in command and sub-director. In addition there are four officers, twenty-three professors and teachers, and eighteen _répétiteurs_.

The yearly charge for paying pupils is 850 francs, and the cost of outfit about 500 francs; but there are 400 free and 100 half-free places (400 _bourses_ and 100 _demi-bourses_) granted by the state in favor of the sons of officers, the order of preference being regulated as follows, those who are orphans on both sides having the first claim, and those who have lost their father, the next:--

1. Those whose fathers have been killed, or have died of wounds received in action.

2. Those whose fathers have died in the service, or after retiring on a pension.

3. Sons of fathers who have been disabled in consequence of wounds received in action.

Sons of non-commissioned officers or of private soldiers who have been killed or have been disabled in action, who have been placed on the retired list, or have been discharged after twenty years’ service, may also be admitted, as a special mark of favor.

The candidates undergo an examination, not, however, for the purpose of competition, but merely to show that they are qualified to enter the classes.

The school is inspected annually by a general officer sent by the war department, as also by an officer of the commissariat. There is no sort of engagement or expectation that the pupils should enter the military service. The nature of the studies holds out some inducement to them to compete for admission at St. Cyr or the Polytechnic; and in the examination for entrance at St. Cyr, it is stated that the sons of military men have the privilege of being raised fifteen places in the list of the order of merit. An officer’s or soldier’s son from La Flèche would, in case of 300 candidates being admitted to St. Cyr, be able to claim admission, if he came 315th on the list, to the exclusion of the candidate who stood 300th.

SCHOOL OF MUSKETRY

The School of Musketry, formed by the Ministerial Order of 29th March, 1842, was only intended at first to supply instructors to the ten battalions of Chasseurs who were armed with rifles. The results of its establishment were, however, found so valuable, that the benefits of the instruction it afforded were by degrees extended to the whole army.

In 1845, the Duc d’Aumale, who had taken a special interest in the improvement of fire-arms and the better instruction of the soldier in their use, was nominated Inspector-General of Schools of Musketry. Besides the chief school at Vincennes, others were formed in the principal garrisons; and eventually a regimental School of Musketry was established in every regiment of infantry.

Some changes have been made in the system established under the Duke. The School of Musketry at Vincennes has only been regularly organized on its present footing since 1852. A portion of the fortress affords the accommodation required for the theoretical instruction, while the Polygon offers admirable facilities for practical instruction and target practice.

The Staff of the School consists of,--

A Commandant, a Lieut.-Colonel of Infantry. An Instructor in Musketry, a Major of Infantry. A Professor, a Captain of Artillery. An Assistant Professor, a Captain of Artillery. A Sub-Instructor in Musketry, a Captain of Infantry.

Each regiment sends an Officer (a Sub-Lieutenant or a Lieutenant) to Vincennes, to go through the course of instruction. The course commences on the 1st of March, and lasts four months. Two hours a day three times a week are devoted to lectures on the construction and use of fire-arms, and the theory of projectiles. Each officer is required to complete a certain number of drawings of the separate parts of arms. At the termination of the course, certificates are given, and, if favorable, go towards the officer’s claim to be promoted “_au choix_.”

We were conducted over the rooms of the fortress set apart for the school by the officer charged with the Theoretical Instruction (Captain Févre, of the Artillery.) They consist of a large paved room, where the officers perform their small-arm exercise in bad weather; of the study-room, in which the drawings are executed; of a lecture-room or amphitheater; of the library, chiefly supplied with technical works on arms; and of a model-room, containing a very good collection of French and foreign arms, and of portions of arms, to illustrate the lectures. There are, besides, private rooms for the instructors, and a room for the orderlies. On the ground floor a small forge has been fitted up for the purpose of giving practical instruction in some of the details of the manufacture of arms.

To produce accurate marksmen is not the only object of the School of Musketry. Its staff may be considered a description of standing committee, to whom inventions in arms and ammunition are submitted, to have their qualities practically tested. On the day of our visits experiments on the relative merits of three forms of balls were being carried on, which we witnessed.

Quitting the fortress by a bridge over the ditch, in an angle of which the Duc d’Enghien was shot, we entered on the Polygon or practice ground. In a few minutes two detachments of troops, one from the Chasseurs de Vincennes, the other from the 20th regiment of the line, arrived and took up their ground in front of the practice butts. Of the balls between which comparisons were to be made, one was proposed by M. Minié, who was himself present, another by M. Nessler, the third was named the ball “_de la garde_.” There were six targets in line in front of the butt; the Chasseurs fired at three of them, and the 20th regiment at the other three. A trench runs along parallel to the butts, and at a few yards in front of them. The line of targets is in the space between the trench and the butts. The trench gives cover to the range party, one of whom is stationed opposite to each target, in a rude recess cut into the side of the trench, to afford shelter in wet weather. Each time a target is struck, the man opposite to it raises his banderol, which is then seen by the firing party, and acknowledged.

The trench is continued to some distance beyond the butts, and is there met by another trench at right angles to it; so that one may go up from the firing party to the range party without any risk.

On the cessation of the firing, the officer in command of the range party numbered the hits in each target. He marked separately the hits where the balls had arrived sideways (shown by the form of the perforation,) a very important consideration in comparative experiments with oblong balls.

Prizes and honorable mentions are bestowed annually on the best shots. The number of the regiment and the names of the men thus distinguished are inserted in the official military journal.

MILITARY AND NAVAL SCHOOLS OF MEDICINE AND PHARMACY

I. IMPERIAL MILITARY SCHOOL OF APPLICATION OF MEDICINE AND PHARMACY AT PARIS.

This school, which is located at Paris, at the military hospital of Val-de-Grâce, is under the control of the Minister of War. Its design is to introduce the pupils in the medical service of the army to an actual exercise of their skill, to complete their practical education, and make them acquainted with the regulations, which govern the army in its relation to the sanitary service.

Admission to the School of Application as resident physicians and pharmaceutists, is gained by passing successfully a competitive examination. These examinations are held at Paris, Strasburg, and Montpelier, at uncertain periods, as the wants of the service may require.

For admission to the examination, the candidate for employment as resident physician must have his name enrolled in a bureau of military superintendence, and satisfy the following conditions:--1st. Be a native of France; 2nd. Be not above thirty years of age at the time of the examination; 3rd. Have received the degree of doctor of medicine from one of the medical faculties of the Empire; 4th. Be free from any infirmity that disables from military service; and 6th. Subscribe a pledge of honor that he will devote at least five years to the military sanitary service. The candidates are subjected to an examination in pathology, medical therapeutics, anatomy, and practical surgery. Candidates for the office of resident pharmaceutist must also be natives of France, be not above thirty years of age, have a diploma of pharmacy of the first class, be free from every disabling infirmity, pledge themselves to at least five years service, and pass an examination upon the materia medica, chemistry, and pharmacy.

During their continuance at the School, they receive a fixed annual salary of 2,160 francs, and an allowance of 500 francs for the first expense of uniform. After spending one year at the school and passing a satisfactory final examination, they receive the brevet rank of medical or pharmaceutical aid-major of the second class.

There is at Strasburg, in connection with the Medical School, a Preparatory School, designed to prepare for the degree of doctor of medicine the pupils belonging to the sanitary service of the army. It is annually supplied with pupils, who, without having passed the usual course of matriculation, are enabled to satisfy the conditions requisite for admission to the first grade of a doctorate. Every pupil of the preparatory school, has the right of admission to the Imperial Military School of Application.--_Decrees of 13th of Nov., 1852, and 28th of July, 1860; Acts of 18th of June, and 15th of October, 1859, and 4th of August, 1860._

II. IMPERIAL NAVAL SCHOOLS OF MEDICINE AND PHARMACY.

These schools, located at Brest, Toulon, and Rochefort, are under the control of the Minister of the Marine; their design is to prepare sanitary officers for service in the vessels of the imperial marine.

The posts of surgeon, or pharmaceutist, of the third, second and first classes are assigned on examination, according to order of priority determined by a medical jury. For admission as student in these schools, after attaining to the first grade of the third class, it is necessary to be at least sixteen years of age, and not above twenty three, to produce a diploma as bachelor of sciences, to prove French nationality, and to be exempt from every infirmity that can cause unfitness for the marine service. Examinations for filling the vacancies in each school commence on the 1st of April, and 1st of October, annually.

The instruction is continuous. The libraries, cabinets of natural history, the botanical gardens, anatomical theaters, chemical laboratories, cabinets of natural philosophy, are at the disposition of the students. The candidates admitted, receive cards of membership. They are required to pay the treasurer of the library a sum of 50 francs, which is devoted to its maintenance.--_Ordinance of 17th July, 1835, and 15th May. 1842._

THE IMPERIAL NAVAL SCHOOL AT BREST.

This school, located at the Road of Brest, on board the ship “_La Borda_,” and under the control of the Minister of the Marine, is designed for the instruction of youth destined for the corps of state naval officers. Candidates are admitted to this school after a public examination, which occurs annually. For admission to the examination, they must prove; 1st. By the production of the records, that they are French by birth or naturalization, and that on the 1st of January of the year of the examination, they were at least fourteen years of age, and had not passed the maximum of seventeen years; 2d. By the certificate of a physician, that they have been vaccinated, or have had the small-pox, and that they have no infirmity that disables them from the performance of marine duty.

The matriculation of the candidate is effected between the 1st and 24th of April, at the prefecture of the department in which the domicil of the family is located. The examination is made at the principal office for examination nearest to that domicil, or to the college where he has been educated; the choice as regards the place of examination must be made known at the time of matriculation.

There is required for admission into the school, a knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, plane trigonometry, applied mathematics, natural philosophy, chemistry, geography, the English language, and drawing, in conformity with the course of study pursued at the lyceums. The candidates must prepare a French composition, a translation from the Latin, an exercise in English, a numerical calculation in plane trigonometry, a geometrical drawing, and the off-hand sketch of a head. These compositions are done at Paris, and the principal towns of the departments simultaneously, on the 2nd and 3rd of July. The oral examinations are commenced at Paris on the 2nd of July, and repeated at the other towns in succession as previously announced. The oral examinations are of two grades; the lowest serving to determine whether the candidates are sufficiently well prepared for admission, the higher--to which only those are subjected, who have successfully passed the first--being the decisive one, and together with the compositions, determining the final classification in accordance with the order of merit.

The course of study continues two years, which are passed at the Board of Brest on the ship “_La Borda_.” The expense of board is 700 francs, and of the outfit, about 500 francs. A grant of the whole or half of the amount of the expense, may be made to young men without fortune. The insufficiency of the resources of a family for the maintenance of a pupil in the school, must be authenticated by a resolution of the municipal council, approved by the prefect. There may also be allowed to each beneficiary, at his entrance into the school, the whole or the half of his outfit. Application for this assistance must be made to the Minister of the Marine at the matriculation of the candidate.

The pupils that have passed the examinations of the second year in a satisfactory manner, are known as naval candidates of the second class.--_Law of 5th June, 1850_--_Decree of 19th January, 1856_--_Acts of Sept., 1852, and 1st January, 1861._

SCHOOL OF MILITARY GYMNASTICS NEAR VINCENNES.

The practice of gymnastics is an essential part of the training both of officers and men in the French army, and constitutes a portion of the regular exercise in every military school. There are also several schools specially devoted to this department of physical education, and one styled the Imperial School of Military Gymnastics at the Redoute de la Faisanderie, part of the fortifications near Vincennes, may be regarded as the Normal School for training both officers and privates in order to act as monitors or instructors in their respective regiments and battalions. The following account of the instruction given, is abridged from an article in the _New York Tribune_, under the heading, “How the French and the English make their Soldiers.” The writer says that Military Gymnastics, in the form and to the extent taught in this school, is exclusively French, and is thought to have an important bearing on the more frequent and deadly use of the bayonet in future warfare.

About three hundred privates and officers compose the School of Military Gymnastics near Vincennes, where three professors of the science and art of gymnastics give a course of practical instruction for about six months each year. The school is under the same regulations as the School of Musketry--each colonel being responsible for the instruction of his regiment, and the lieutenant-colonel directs the application of the rules and regulations.

I. ELEMENTARY GYMNASTICS.

The gymnastic exercises are divided into “elementary gymnastics,” and “gymnastics applied,” that is, applied to special military purposes. A general progression regulates all the exercises.

The men are divided into three classes. The third class comprises all the recruits. These are exclusively practiced in the first lessons of elementary gymnastics during the first fortnight of their enlistment, and before they proceed to regimental drill. The first class consists of those who are proficient in the first four lessons of the general progression; and the second class, of those who are preparing for the first. The first class practices twice a week; the second, three times a week; the third class twice a day, until the men have commenced their regimental drill, and then once a week. Each practice lasts one hour and a half. “Returns” are drawn up recording the zeal and progress of the men, as in musketry instruction; and the captain instructor of gymnastics has to send in, every month, to the lieutenant-colonel, similar returns as to the general progress of the instruction, so that the number of effectives of each company may be accurately known.

None but the prescribed exercises are permitted by the instructor. He must never allow the men to attempt any extraordinary or exaggerated feats, that might cause accidents. His aim must be to develop the strength, agility and dexterity of the soldier by a wisely regulated exertion, and inspire him with that self-reliance which the various occasions of his military life may demand. He must strive to rouse his pluck and emulation by rendering the exercises as agreeable and as easy as possible, taking all necessary precautions to prevent him from injuring himself or becoming discouraged. He must never forget that the perfect safety of the soldier under training, the pleasure of the various exercises, and, above all, the soldier’s own desire to excel, are the first and secret elements of success in gymnastics. Harsh treatment must be carefully avoided, much more anything like turning his efforts into ridicule when he fails, or punishing him for involuntary awkwardness. In conclusion, he must not expect more than regularity, precision, and relative perfection in these exercises, to which a military form has been given merely to facilitate their study and their application to the whole army.

The men practice in their fatigue dress, in squads of ten or fifteen, and are provided with belts.

The first exercises are intended to make the body supple from head to foot, turning the head from right to left, forward and backward, or merely toward right and left, bending the body, raising the arms vertically, with and without bending them; flinging out the right or left arm, fists clenched, and describing a circle of which the arm is the radius.

No soldier marches so easily as the French. It is the result of his method of learning to march. In the moderate and quick cadence the foot comes flat to the ground, the point of the foot touching it first; in the running cadence the movement is an alternate hopping on the points of the feet. It is obvious that this mode of teaching to march must enable the soldier to avoid the great cause of universal bad marching and walking, namely, bringing the heel to the ground, thus shaking the whole body, especially the spine, and consequently distressing the brain and lungs. By the great elevation of the legs the soldier must habituate himself to bringing the toes first to the ground, instinctively, to avoid the shock, especially in the running cadence. During the practice the soldier repeats the words “_one_--_two_,” as each foot comes to the ground, in order to practice the lungs at the same time, and also to give a rhythm to the performance.

In order still more to direct locomotion to the fore-part of the foot, so essential to good and easy marching, there is the following practice:--1. Attention. 2. Flexion of the lower limbs. 3. Commence. 4. Cease. At the second command the soldier brings both feet together, throwing the weight of the body forward. At the word _commence_, he slowly lowers his body by bending his hams, so that the thighs touch the calves of the leg, the arms falling beside the body, the weight of the body being entirely thrown on the points of the feet. He then gradually rises to the erect position.

There is also what is called the “gymnastic chain.” Circles are traced on the ground contiguously; the men are posted in these circles, in a single rank, three paces apart. The instructor commands:--1. Squad will advance. 2. Double. 3. March. 4. Halt. At the first word the soldier throws the whole weight of his body on the right leg. At the word _march_, he throws the left foot smartly forward, the leg slightly bent, bringing the point of the foot to the ground, thirty-nine inches from the right, and so in like manner with the right, always keeping the weight of the body on the leg which feels the ground, allowing the arms to take their natural motion for equilibrium. The first man (a monitor, one of the best trained) runs successively through all the windings of the chain of contiguous circles without stopping; the others follow, preserving the distance. When the men meet each other at the intersections of the circles, they shorten or lengthen the pace, so as not to jostle each other, and so that two men shall not pass by the same interval.

To deliver a thrust or a blow with the bayonet, sword, or fist to the best advantage, requires training of the subsidiary muscles, and such scientific practice as places the body in the best position to aid and intensify the effect. This is done by the “Pyrrhic Exercise.” The command is:--1. Pyrrhic Exercise (right or left limb forward.) 2. Ready. 3. March. 4. Halt. At the word _ready_, the soldier faces to the left, carries the right foot forward, the heel sixteen inches from the hollow of the left foot, the right knee bent, the left leg stretched, the right arm extended forward, the fist clenched, on a line with the shoulder, the nails slightly upward, the left arm in a line with the left side and but little bent, fist clenched, and about six inches from the thigh, the nails toward the thigh, the upper part of the body inclined forward, the head erect, the eyes looking to the front, the left shoulder lowered. At the word march, the soldier straitens his body, bringing the right heel near the hollow of the left foot without touching the ground, turns at the same time his right forearm, so that describing a circle from below upward, the fist lightly touches the right breast, then flinging the fist smartly forward, the nails a little upward, and advancing the right leg to about twenty-five inches, the foot striking the ground with force, or an “attack,” as we call it in sword exercise, the upper part of the body inclining forward, the left leg stretched, the foot flat, the left arm turned outward and along the thigh as before. These movements are continued until the words “company--halt” are given, when the soldier faces to the right and comes to attention. The left arms are practiced in like manner, and a rhythm is given to the performance by the repetition of the numbers 1, 2, 3, by the soldier.

A soldier must not be easily knocked off his legs; so there are six positions for the practice devised to teach the soldier how to maintain his equilibrium. He stands alternately on the right or left leg, bending the other against the body with his locked fingers, or he stands on one leg, the other bent behind, or he comes slowly to the kneeling position and springs up smartly, flinging his arms suddenly above his head, the nails turned inward, and then comes to attention, or he bends forward on one foot, or backward in like manner, and to the right or left, all on one foot.

The elementary development of the muscles forms a most important part of the training. By word of command the soldiers strike their breasts with the right or left fist--strike out with the right and left as in boxing--support cannon balls in the hand, one or both arms extended, and hurl the balls to a distance. They fling an iron bar, held by the middle; they support a heavy club in every possible position, at the shoulder, behind the back, one with the left hand, another with the right, at right-angles, or two together, one in each hand. They swing the club horizontally and overhead, or vertically and behind, or round and round the body.

Preparatory to leaping, the proper muscles must be taught their necessary contractions, and this is done to the words of command--“Simultaneous flexion of the legs,” “Simultaneous flexion of the thighs and legs,” whereat they hop on the right or the left leg singly, and then on both together. They are practiced in advancing on the position of kneeling on one leg alternately, obviously a very useful mode of progression for a skirmisher in stealthily changing position behind a low wall or a hedge.

They are taught to walk systematically on the heels alone and on tiptoe, and to fling a cannon ball with the foot by means of a strap attached to it. As practice alone can habituate us to the proper inclination of the body in ascending and descending, both these modes of marching are carefully taught, attention being fixed to throwing the weight of the body on the point of the feet in the former, and on the heels in the latter.

Their wrestling takes every shape and mode of contest. With extended arms, the fingers interlocked, the left leg advanced, they push against each other; or, holding each other by the hands or by the wrists, they pull against each other; or, each man holding his left wrist with his right hand, the thumb underneath, seizes with his left hand the wrist of his antagonist, and then at the word “wrestle,” he pulls or pushes uniformly or by jerks, to the right, to the left, forward, to the rear, upward and downward, striving to displace his antagonist.

Furnished with appropriate handles, with a short cord attached, they pull against each other, each striving to drag his antagonist with one hand, then with both hands; and then three wrestle together in like manner, the central man pulling or resisting the outer two, or both of these pulling against him in opposite directions.

Then two wrestle in a sitting posture. They sit, closing the legs, feet to feet, and sole to sole, with the aforesaid handle and cord between their feet, and at the word of command pull away, striving to raise each other. As soon as one is raised the contest ends, and the victor holds the handle in his left hand. The instructor then makes all those wrestle together successively who have won the handle, until only two remain, and then ascertains the strength of these two by a dynamometer, and makes a note of it.

The last of the elementary exercises are those of traction, or drawing against each other, holding on by a rope, either in pairs, or several together pulling against a fixed point, which may be a dynamometer, indicating the force of the combined pull resulting, or the men are divided into two squads and pull against each other.

As most of these exercises admit of a rhythm or cadenced sound emitted by the men themselves, this vocal accompaniment is strongly recommended. It certainly gives additional animation to the scene. Indeed the cultivation of the voice is considered eminently essential in the course of gymnastics. Singing exerts a salutary influence on the chest, and, moreover, it is incontestable that it will be the means of powerfully acting on the _morale_ of the French soldier, by teaching him songs of patriotic and martial import. The singing-lesson at which I was present was particularly interesting. The system is one recently invented, wherein the ordinary notes are represented by arithmetical numbers--thus occupying about one-third of the usual space. Pointing by means of two canes to each representative number is all that is required by the instructor. The pupils, about 300 men and officers, intoned the notes with admirable precision. When the instructor opened out the canes they made a crescendo--swelling to the loudest--and when he closed them gradually it was a beautiful diminuendo, “in linked sweetness long drawn out.” There was then sung a concerted piece in two parts, extemporized by the highly-gifted Commandant, who figured it on the blackboard. It was at once most accurately sung--first and second so admirably concerted that the whole seemed as it were an organ of human stops--alto, tenor, and bass most harmoniously blending.

Such are the elementary gymnastics of the course.

II. APPLIED GYMNASTICS.

The exercises of applied gymnastics must be directed with extreme prudence. Care must be taken by the instructor that the emulation of the pupils should not degenerate into a spirit of rivalry, instigating them to dangerous efforts.

During cold weather they must abstain from executing leaps that require violent efforts; at all times those who are not perfectly disposed should not be required to leap at all. Carelessness and inattention to the rules can alone cause those accidents apprehended in these exercises.

The dimensions of the obstacles to be leaped over must be gradually increased; but no downward leap must ever exceed sixteen feet--five meters. Such is the regulation; but really to leap down sixteen feet seems no small matter, considering that the height of an ordinary room--some ten or twelve feet--would make the nerves tingle if we had to leap down that height; however, the French soldiers perform such leaps with ease, and therefore we must conclude that all Anglo-Saxons here or elsewhere can “go and do likewise.”

The words of command are: 1. Attention. 2. Forward--leap--one, two, three. At the second word, the man closes the points of the feet; at the word one, he stoops on his lower extremities, slightly raising the heels and stretching his arms to the rear, the fists clenched; he then rises again, the arms hanging naturally down. At the word two, he repeats the movement; at three, he recommences the same movement, stretches the hams vigorously, throwing his arms forward, leaps the distance, or over the obstacle, falls on the point of his feet, stooping down, and then comes to attention.

The same principle is observed in all leaping, whether to a height, downward, or forward and downward--the only difference being in the position of the arms. In leaping upward, the arms are flung overhead to aid the ascent--the same in a downward leap; but if the leap be forward and downward, the soldier begins with his arms in advance, and then places them perpendicularly for the fall. The reverse takes place when in leaping forward and upward.

Thus they practice leaping in every possible direction--upward and downward combined--upward, forward, and downward--to the right or to the left--to the right and to the left and downward combined--the arms being directed accordingly. They leap backward precisely in the same directions, and according to the same rules. In leaping backward from the top of a wall, the man first takes a glance at the descent, turns, closes his feet--the heels projecting over the wall, stoops--the upper part of the body being forward, places his hands outside his feet and seizes the edge of the wall, the four fingers above, the thumb underneath, and thus flings himself backward, his arms overhead. When there is width as well as depth in the backward leap, the body and the legs are flung off almost horizontally.

The running leap is performed in a similar manner--the run being quickened more and more up to the moment of springing forward. Some of the leaps I saw performed were from fifteen to twenty feet. As a complement to these leaping exercises, the ground may be prepared with various objects to leap over, such as benches, tables, heaps of stones, &c.

The men are also progressively practiced in all these leaps, carrying their arms and baggage. In such cases the downward leap must be restricted to thirteen feet. The soldier holds his rifle balanced at the trail with the right hand, the muzzle slightly raised, so as to prevent it from touching the ground; he holds his sword (as the French soldier has a sword) with his left hand. When the soldiers have become familiar with leaping, the difficulty is increased by rendering movable first the point of departure, and then the point of the fall, and, finally, both these points are made movable. To leap from a body in oscillation, the soldier leaps at the moment when the body is sinking. There is great danger in leaping from an object in rapid motion. In case of necessity, the soldier must face in the direction of the motion, and at the moment of quitting it he must lay hold of it, shortening his arms, and so push himself backward, lengthening his arms.

It is a general principle that in leaping from a height of any extent, the soldier should avail himself of anything at hand to diminish the shock of the fall.

The circumstances in which leaping must be resorted to are often unforeseen, and require prompt decision; it is therefore important that the men should be taught the following principles--useful to everybody--to apply them spontaneously on all occasions:--

_First._ To form a rapid judgment of the obstacle, and also of the ground on either side. We scan the ground in advance of the obstacle, in order to make a good choice of a footing for the leap; if the ground is too smooth the foot may slip; on soft ground there can not be a good footing for the leap. By scanning the ground beyond the obstacle, we select our landing-place, and we foresee what difficulties we shall meet with. A difference of level between the point of departure and the fall modifies considerably the extent of the leap.

_Second._ During the leap the breathing must be restrained, and the air with which the lungs have been previously filled must be expired the moment the man reaches the ground.

_Third._ In leaps in width and height, fling out the clenched fists in the direction the body is to take, so as to augment the impulse given by the legs.

To prove the utility of this principle, the men, in leaping, sometimes hold in each hand a grenade of two-pounds weight, or a four-pound shot; with this auxiliary the width of the leap is augmented.

_Fourth._ In downward leaps, raise the arms vertically as soon as the body begins to descend, in order that the body, reaching the ground on the point of the feet, may sink vertically without losing its equilibrium. If a man leaps into water, he places his arms at his side, his hands on his hips, the feet close together, the points of the feet lowered, the body stiff and rigid.

_Fifth._ During the whole time of the leap keep the arms in the parallel position they have at its commencement, in order to preserve the equilibrium of the body.

_Sixth._ In forward or wide leaps incline the body forward, in order that the oblique action of the legs on the body may be more efficient.

The recommendation to precipitate the last movements of the run preceding the leap, has the important advantage of enabling the soldier to incline his body as much as possible.

_Seventh._ Fall on the point of the feet, the legs being close together, bending all the articulations of the body from above downward, in order that the shock be not transmitted to the head without being lessened and attenuated by numerous decompositions of the force. The articulations of the feet concur efficaciously with this result, and it would be dangerous not to avail ourselves of them by falling on the soles of the feet, especially the heels, as previously explained.

_Eighth._ Avoid too rough a fall by giving to all the articulations a general and supple “setting up,” so as to make a light bound on landing.

_Ninth._ On landing avoid all useless motion, allow the muscles to relax; their continued contraction and rigidity would interfere with the body’s equilibrium.

They also practice leaping with poles. These are of different dimensions, beginning with the smallest--not longer than the rifle--and finished with long ones from nine to twelve feet in length. He then seizes the pole higher or lower, according to the distance of the leap. Of course perfect success in this exercise depends greatly upon the energy of the effort, and the long and rapid run by which it is preceded. They also leap with two poles together from a height, the poles being planted parallel and about two feet apart.

Suspension-bars are made subservient to the training of the French soldier. This exercise enables him to use his body as he pleases, in any possible position, provided he can get hold of anything. Its beautiful and splendid result is extraordinary strength of arms, legs, hands, and fingers. Indeed, these suspensions of the body by the hands, the elbow, the legs, by one hand, one leg, one finger, in every possible position, show how the men are prepared for the thousand casualties of the assault.

They climb ropes after the manner of sailors, and horizontal beams are raised at various heights from the ground, in which they learn to preserve a perfect equilibrium--sitting, moving along them by the hands, supporting the body, which is free to fall, and, finally, walking erect upon them like a rope-dancer without his balance-pole! In these ticklish positions they meet and pass each other--simulate a fall and recover; the beams may be inclined or even set in motion, it matters not--they hold on and do their work equally well--and drop to the ground without injury.

They are taught to pick their way over scattered stones or stakes driven into the ground; and it has even been thought expedient to teach them how to walk systematically on stilts.

They are taught swimming--all its necessary movements before they go into the water; and many, I was told, strike out at once, at the first trial, thus proving the physiological or anatomical efficacy of the well-considered mode of tuition. In the water they are practiced in performing the feats required in actual warfare, carrying their arms and accoutrements in a variety of ways, according to the supposed circumstances of the campaign.

Of course, if the men are taught to swim they must be sent regularly into the water. This regulation, therefore, insures personal cleanliness--the first rule of health, which is much needed in all armies. The morality of most armies is generally above the average; it should naturally be less--as nothing conduces more to long life than exercise, regular hours, and a rational discipline. But cleanliness, personal cleanliness is wanting, and we have to deplore the consequences.

With a view to escalading, the French soldier is assiduously trained in all the shifts of ladder-mounting--with ladders of wood and ladders of rope--and he becomes as good as a sailor in pulling himself up a rope, either looped, knotted, or smooth, from the ground to any reasonable or unreasonable height. If a scaling-ladder be not at hand, a tent-pole or any pole will do to enable him to get to the top of a wall or the crest of a parapet. He is actually taught nine different modes of performing this achievement so flattering to the ambition of the French soldier.

The scaling of a represented turret was something beautiful to see. “In the twinkling of an eye” or “done in no time,” can alone describe the rapidity of the exploit.

Every appliance may, however, be wanting on certain occasions in war--it matters not--the French soldiers are taught how to mount a wall without any instrument whatever--with their feet and the hands and the fingers alone. Bullets and cannon balls leave holes and indentations in the hardest walls--these are represented on the walls of the Gymnasium--and thus they practice this last resort of the resolute and determined besiegers. If there be no holes--no _points d’appui_ for the ascent--what then? Why, then they build a _pyramid of men_--four men stand as a base, two or four more perch themselves on the shoulders of these, and then one mounts to the top on the shoulders of the latter by way of apex!

They have adopted all the fetes of the _trapèze_, as performed by acrobats. These tend to strengthen the arms and promote that self-reliance and confidence which are the prime elements of a good soldier. Some of their swinging leaps with the _trapèze_ were prodigious, from one end of the long gymnasium to the other, where they alighted, and caught on the top of the wall, and descended to the ground, with hands and fingers, by mimic bullet holes, as before described.

Flying leaps on and over a wooden horse are practiced in every possible direction, and the French cavalry are required to be able to leap on their horses from the rear while galloping, and to leap over a hedge or barrier together with the horses, but on foot, holding the reins! It is impossible to believe that very many can do this; but that is the aim, and the higher the aim the greater the effort, and something worth having is sure to be done, even if we fail of the highest attainment.

The most laborious of the practices is probably that of carrying, at the top of their speed, all the implements of war, fascines, sand-bags, gabions, projectiles, &c., whose weight is progressively increased from twenty to fifty pounds. They must also practice carrying ladders, beams, caissons, dragging gun-carriages, &c., and they are equally habituated to carry rapidly and skillfully the wounded from the field of battle, by placing men on litters, or any substitute at hand, in the gymnasium.

Sword exercise, bayonet exercise, boxing and fencing are also taught, but only the rudiments. In the regiments and battalions they have more opportunities of perfecting themselves in these accomplishments.

Such is a succinct account of the military gymnastics of the French. The 300 various fetes and practices have only one object in view, preparation for the possible and probable casualties of war, but they have, meanwhile, the positive and immediate effect of giving the men the utmost freedom of motion, _aplomb_, self-reliance, and that very useful self-estimate in the soldier, namely, that he is superior to every other in the world. It will take a vast deal to knock that conceit out of him.

REMARKS ON FRENCH MILITARY EDUCATION.

The English Commissioners in their Report on “The best Mode of Reorganizing the [English] System of Training Officers for the Scientific Corps, together with an Account of Foreign and other Military Education,” close with the following general remarks on French Military Education:--

The following summary may close our account of French Military Education.

1. The French army combines a considerable proportion of officers professionally educated, with others, who form the majority, whose claims to promotion consist in their service, proved ability, and conduct. One-third of the officers in the line, two-thirds of those in the scientific corps, and the whole of the staff, receive a careful professional education; the remainder are taken upon the recommendation of their superior officers, from the ranks. But it was stated to us expressly that such officers do not often rise above the rank of captain.

2. There are no junior military schools in France, and no military education commences earlier than sixteen. This is the very earliest age at which pupils can be received at the Polytechnic or at St. Cyr, and the _usual_ age is later; whilst in the case of the Special Corps, strictly professional education does not begin till twenty or twenty-one. The best preparation for the military schools is found to be that _general_ (in France chiefly _mathematical_) education which is supplied by the ordinary schools of the country, directed as these are and stimulated by the open examinations for admission to St. Cyr and the Polytechnic.

3. The professional education for commissions in the line is that given at the school of St. Cyr. A fair amount of mathematics is required at entrance, but the chief instruction given at the school is of a professional character. Active competition, however, which is the principle of all French military education, is kept up amongst young men educating for the line by the competitive entrance to the school, by the system of examinations pursued in it, and in particular, by the twenty-five or thirty places in the Staff School which are practically reserved for the best pupils on leaving.

4. In the Staff School itself the competitive system is acted upon; there are strict examinations, and the pupils are ranged in the order of merit on leaving the College.

5. The officers of artillery and engineers may be said to be in quite a peculiar position in France, owing to the high education given at the Polytechnic School. The consequence is, that the preparatory education of French artillery and engineer officers is of the highest scientific character. We have already spoken largely on this point, and need do no more than allude to it.

6. We may remark, that preparatory military education in France is mainly mathematical--at the Polytechnic almost wholly so. The literary and classical elements, which enter so largely into all education in England and Prussia, are in French military education very much thrown aside. Lectures in military history and literature are said, however, to succeed at St. Cyr.

7. The system of State foundations (_Bourses_) existing in the Polytechnic and St. Cyr, and affording a curious parallel to the military foundations in the Austrian schools, requires some notice. Every pupil, in both the Polytechnic and St. Cyr, who can prove poverty, is entitled to State support, either entire or partial. At the present time, not less than one-third of the students in each of these schools receive such maintenance. The system of civil _Bourses_ is of old standing in France; most of these were destroyed at the Revolution. They were renewed and greatly devoted to military purposes by Napoleon. The extent to which they are given may seem excessive, but it must prove a powerful incentive and assistance to talent.

8. It has been remarked that there is comparatively little practical teaching in the School of Application for Artillery and Engineers at Metz. But a very extensive practical training is in fact supplied to these officers after they enter the service, remaining as they must do with the troops until promoted to the rank of second captain, and subsequently being employed in the arsenals, workshops, fortified places, &c.

9. The French have no “senior departments” for military education. In this respect their practice differs from that of England and Germany.

FRENCH MILITARY EDUCATION IN 1869.

The following remarks on French Military Education are from the Report of the English Military Education Commission submitted to Parliament, and printed in 1870:

1. The proportion of professionally educated officers in the line is greater now than in 1856, when it was stated by the Commissioners in their report to be one-third.

2. The professional education for commissions in the line is given by a two years’ course at St. Cyr, admission to the school being dependent on competitive examination. Admission to the Artillery and Engineers is obtained through the Polytechnic, where young men intended for commissions in those arms receive a preparatory education of a highly scientific character, in common with candidates for many other branches of the public service. Admission to the school is obtained by competition, and the choice of services is dependent on the results of another competitive examination at the end of the two years’ course. Commissions are then obtained in the respective corps, and the young officers go for a further period of two years to the School of Application at Metz, there to receive their strictly professional instruction. The course of teaching at Metz is still mainly of a theoretical character, and the main portion of the practical training of the officers is deferred until they join their regiments. The Staff Corps is recruited entirely from the Staff School; a very small number of pupils from the Polytechnic have a claim to admission to the school, but the great majority of the students are admitted by competitive examination, open nominally to the sub-lieutenants of the army and to the best students of St. Cyr, but in practice almost entirely confined to the latter. The students join the school with commissions as officers; at the end of the two years’ course they are definitely appointed to the Staff Corps in the order in which they stand in a competitive examination, but before being employed upon the staff they are sent to do duty for five years with the various arms.

3. The military schools in France are not, as in England and in Prussia, placed under the control of a special department. They are all under the immediate management of the Minister of War. There is, however, for each branch of the service in the French army a consulting committee (_comité consultatif_), or board of general officers, attached to the War Department, for the purpose of giving advice to the Minister, and in matters affecting the individual schools the Minister generally consults the _comité consultatif_ of that branch of the service for which the school is specially preparatory.

4. Each school has its own _conseil d’instruction_, composed of officers and professors of the establishment, which exercises a general supervision over the course of instruction, and has the power of suggesting alterations or improvements in it. The financial business of the school is managed by another board (_conseil d’administration_); and there is generally also a similar board (_conseil de discipline_), which exercises more or less authority in questions of discipline. The effect of this arrangement is to give the various officers and professors of each school to some extent a voice in the general management of the institution.

5. The staff of officers and instructors employed appears, in most cases, very large in proportion to the number of the students; 48 for 270 in the Polytechnic; 33 for 170 in the school at Metz; 62 for 600 in St. Cyr, &c.

Though there is in all the schools a military staff separate from the staff of professors and instructors, and more especially charged with the maintenance of discipline, the line of separation between the two bodies is not, except at the Polytechnic, so distinctly drawn as in the English military schools. The military professors exercise disciplinary powers; while, on the other hand, the members of the strictly military staff in almost all cases take some part in instruction. The latter appear to be more utilized for this purpose than is the case either at Sandhurst or Woolwich.

6. Considerable care is exercised in the appointment of professors; at the Polytechnic the candidates are selected by the _Conseil de Perfectionnement_; at La Flèche they are recommended to the Minister of War by the Minister of Public Instruction; at the Staff School and St. Cyr the appointments are thrown open to competition.

7. The discipline maintained at all the schools is of a very strict nature; except for the youngest pupils at La Flèche it is entirely military; the punishments are similar to those inflicted in the army, and even include imprisonment. The maintenance of discipline is considerably facilitated by the fact that the pupils at most of the schools are actually subject to military law; and those of St. Cyr, if dismissed from the school, are sent into the ranks as private soldiers. There appears, however, in all the schools to be an absence of the moral control over the young men which is exercised in the Prussian schools. The Commandant of each school has very extensive powers in regard to discipline, but in no case has he authority to dismiss a student from the school without the sanction of the Minister of War.

8. The principle carried out in France is that special military education should not be begun until a comparatively late age, and should be founded upon a groundwork of good general education in civil schools. The only approach to a junior military school in France is that of La Flèche, and this is mainly a charitable institution; the pupils, it is true, learn drill, but beyond this no special military instruction is given them. The course of study is the same as that at the _Lycées_ or ordinary civil schools, and the pupils are under no obligation to enter the military service. Nor can the Polytechnic be called an exclusively military school; even those who enter the Artillery and Engineers from it have their education in common with civilians at the very least until the age of 18, and in the great majority of cases their strictly professional instruction at Metz does not begin till 20 or 21. The very earliest age at which a special military education commences in France is 17, which is the age of admission to St. Cyr, and comparatively few enter the school before 18 or 19. The knowledge required for admission to St. Cyr is entirely such as is acquired at civil schools, and so much importance is attached to a good general education that the degree of either _bachelier ès sciences_ or _bachelier ès lettres_ is made a necessary qualification for admission to the examination, while the possession of both degrees gives considerable advantage to a candidate. The principle of deferring the commencement of special instruction has even received extension since 1856; the age of admission to St. Cyr, which was then 16, has been now increased to 17, and the junior school of La Flèche has been made even less military in its character than it was at that time.

9. When a professional education has once commenced, the principle appears to be that it should be almost entirely confined to subjects which have a practical bearing on military duties. Mathematics, as a subject by themselves, do not form part of the ordinary course of instruction at any of the special schools. The previous course at the Polytechnic secures of course very high mathematical attainments in the candidates for the Artillery and Engineers who enter Metz; but at Metz itself the study of mathematics is no longer continued. In the same way at the Staff School a knowledge of mathematics as far as trigonometry is required for admission, and their practical applications to operations of surveying enter into the school course; but no part of the time spent at the school is devoted to mere theoretical instruction in pure mathematics; yet the officers of the Staff Corps are intrusted with the execution of those scientific surveys which in our service are in the hands of the Engineers.

St. Cyr offers to some extent an exception to the rule that the course of study at the special schools should be of an exclusively professional character, as the instruction given there during the first year is partly of a general nature, embracing history and literature. This, however, arises from the fact that the students from the _Lycées_ generally show a deficiency in the more literary subjects of a liberal education, and a portion of the time at the school is therefore spent in completing and improving their general acquirements. A knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, and plane trigonometry is required as a qualification for admission, but beyond a very brief revision of these subjects, and a voluntary course for candidates for the Staff Corps, mathematics are not taught at the school. It would seem indeed that, except in the case of candidates for admission to the Artillery and Engineers, mathematics do not hold so prominent a position in French military education as is generally supposed in England to be the case. For staff and regimental officers the main requisite demanded seems to be a practical knowledge of trigonometry as required for surveying.

10. Much time is devoted in all the French schools to drawing in its various branches; some hours daily are invariably given up to the subject; indeed the time spent upon purely geometrical drawing appears almost to be excessive. The great importance attached to the drawing of _machinery_ is a peculiar feature in all the schools. Landscape drawing is one of the regular subjects taught to candidates both for the line and the Staff Corps.

The theoretical instruction given at every school is supplemented by visits to numerous military establishments, manufacturing departments, and fortresses. This is also a feature in the system of military education in Prussia; in both countries it seems to be thought desirable to afford young officers a practical insight into the working of the various establishments connected with the army. In the case of officers of the Artillery and Engineers it appears in France to be made a special object to cultivate a mechanical genius, and to secure a thorough acquaintance with manufacturing departments with which their professional duties bring them into contact.

Military law and administration (comprising financial and other regulations connected with the army), and drill, riding, and fencing in the way of practical exercises, form part of the education of officers of all branches of the service; in drill, lectures explanatory of the drill-book are invariably given in addition to the practical instruction.

11. The system of instruction in all the French military schools is more or less that of the Polytechnic. Lectures attended by large numbers, enforced study of fixed subjects, the execution of all work under close supervision of the instructors, and frequent periodical examinations, are everywhere found. Active competition is the leading feature of the system; the students are perpetually being “kept up to the mark.” A fixed period of two years is in all cases assigned to the course of study; the course can not be completed in a shorter time, and the regulated period can not (unless under quite exceptional circumstances) be exceeded.

It seems also to be thought that, as a necessary consequence of the strictly competitive system, the subjects upon which the competition depends should be exactly the same for every student. No choice of studies is allowed; those which enter into the examination are equally obligatory for all. The only exception to this rule is at St. Cyr, where in languages a choice between German and English is given.

No pecuniary rewards are offered to the students at any of the schools. The bestowal of the numerous _bourses_ which are granted to those admitted to the Polytechnic and St. Cyr is regulated entirely by the poverty of the candidates, without any regard to their ability.

12. The education of officers in France is entirely concluded before any regimental duty has been done. The French system is in this respect the exact opposite of that pursued in Prussia, where no professional instruction, as a rule, is given until a certain amount of service with the troops has been performed. There are in France no establishments for the instruction of officers of some years’ service, like the Staff College in England, or the Artillery and Engineer School and the War Academy in Prussia.

13. The chief changes which have taken place in the military schools of France since the publication of the Report of the Commissioners of 1856 may be summarized as follows:--

(_a._) The modifications in the course of instruction at the Polytechnic; the abridgement of the studies previously pursued; and the slightly increased importance now attached to literary subjects.

(_b._) At Metz, the introduction of an examination at the end of the first years’ course of study.

(_c._) At St. Cyr, the alteration of the age for admission to the school from 16 to 17; the extension of the subjects of the entrance examination; the modifications in the course of instruction, and the postponement of the commencement of strictly military studies almost entirely until the second year; the introduction of a stricter system of discipline, combined with additional encouragements to good conduct and industry; and the increased advantages offered with the view of attracting to the school a higher class of professors and officers.

(_d._) At La Flèche, the complete reorganization of the institution with the object of more closely assimilating its general arrangements to those of a purely civil school.

(_e._) At the Staff School some modifications in the course of study and in the mode of admission to the school have been made; but the most important alterations are those adopted in July 1869, by which the number of students admitted annually to the school is increased considerably beyond the number of vacancies likely to occur in the Staff Corps, and the novel principle is introduced that admission to the school does not carry with it the certainty of permanent employment on the staff.

It may be added that there seems a tendency to diminish the importance of mathematics as an element of preparatory military education, and to attach slightly more weight to studies of a literary character. This is more particularly seen at St. Cyr and at La Flèche, and to a less extent at the Polytechnic. There is also a growing disposition to increase, in the case of the cavalry and infantry, the proportion of officers who have received a professional education.

EXPENSE OF MILITARY SCHOOLS IN 1869.

SC Sums charged to the Schools Estimate. MP Military pay charged to other Estimates. T Total. CS Cost to the State.‡ EP Each pupil.

Name of School. SC MP T CS EP _Frs._ _Frs._ _Frs._ _Frs._ £. Polytechnic 719,673 85,515 805,188 568,188 78 Artil’y and Eng’er school at Metz 99,500 416,350* 515,850 515,850 50 St. Cyr 1,348,792 15,000 1,363,792 741,292 49 Staff school 99,000 214,870* 313,870 313,870 168 La Flèche 539,868 15,000 554,868 457,868 45 Medical school 659,300 † 659,300 -- -- Cavalry school at Saumur 227,000 18,500 245,500 -- -- Gymnastics, musketry schools 36,270 “ 36,270 -- -- Regimental schools 173,600 “ 173,600 -- -- ---------- -------- --------- --------- --- Total 3,903,003 765,235 4,668,238 2,597,068 390

[* These sums include the pay of the officer students at these establishments, amounting to 288,000 frs. at Metz, and 103,000 frs. at the Staff School.]

[† The estimate for the Medical School appears to be exclusive of the pay of all military medical officers employed at the school, but the amount of this additional sum is not stated.]

[‡ For 1,520 pupils, who repaid 956,500 francs.]

[Errata for Part I (France): _In the section on Mathematics, the form “assymplotes” is used several times alongside “asymptote(s)”. The spelling “assymptotic” occurs once at line break. Accents on French words are printed as shown; missing accents have not been supplied._

I. GENERAL MILITARY ORGANIZATION OF FRANCE. ORGANIZATON [Footnote 4] _Footnote tag missing; position conjectural_ the chief scientific creation of the first French Revolution scientic patriotism and courage can not always supply “always returned to Paris in the reign of terror, “to see from his lodgings _quotation mark in original_ are obliged to re-enter the army. abliged chosen from former pupils of the school _“the” missing_ and the life that is led in them. lead work heartily and zealously together togethen [TABLE FOR THE SECOND OR LOWER DIVISION] Geodesy Goedesy Schools of Application for Artillery and Engineers _hyphen in “En-/gineers” invisible at line break_ LESSONS--10-13. _Derivatives and Differentials ..._ LESSONS--10-13. LESSONS 24-27. _Geometrical Applications continued ..._ LESSONS 14-17. Geometrical demonstration of the formula. demostration LESSON 3. _Integration of Differentials ..._ LESSONS 3. [DESCRIPTIVE GEOMETRY.--GEOMETRICAL DRAWING.] LESSONS 1-3. _Revision and Completion..._ _. missing_ not enough in themselves to define objects completely._ _final . missing or invisible_ LESSONS 3-6. _Composition of the Velocities of a Point._ _period . after “3-6” invisible_ three movements of translation with respect to three axes tranlation of invariable form, but also in motion. motion, Suspendors _spelling unchanged_ LESSONS 1-2. / Chemical sources of electricity. _period . after “1-2” missing or invisible_ LESSON 3. 1. _Chemical Actions._ LESSON 3.--1. Straight and curved rods. Staight the general direction of the vibrating motion communicated. commuicated. [Footnote 12] recently introduced at the school. introdued Clerks and draughtsmen are provided as required. clerks EXAMINATION AND CLASSIFICATION. _header supplied from Table of Contents_ REGIMENTAL SCHOOLS. _header supplied from Table of Contents_ _Fifty-eighth Lecture._--(2.) ... artillery commands. _missing . after “commands”_ which is indicated in the programme of the memoir. _final . missing_ [RECAPITULATIVE TABLE.--ARTILLERY STUDENTS.] | 75 | 73 50 | 78 | 151 50 | 10 _totals printed as shown: error for 11?_ 1st. The direction ... / 2d. The tracing ... _paragraph breaks added by transcriber for consistency_ _Lecture_ 7.--Gauging of the volumes and valuation Guaging _Lecture_ 22.--Resistance to torsion. 21. 1st. Composition of the personnel and matériel of the Artillery matéreil At 5 A.M. the drum beats, the young men quit their beds; theis made without points; and a description of the battle.” _final ” missing_ { Geographical Representation, 6 } 10 _text unchanged: error for “Graphical”?_ The prescribed instruction comprises the following courses:-- comprise MILITARY AND NAVAL SCHOOLS OF MEDICINE AND PHARMACY _word AND supplied from Table of Contents_ They leap backward precisely in the same directions in the some _First._ To form a rapid judgment of the obstacle, obstable regular hours, and a rational discipline. discipline, but beyond a very brief revision of these subjects, and a voluntary course for candidates for the Staff Corps very beief ... condidates the execution of all work under close supervision of the instructors, instrutors]

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