European Universities.

Universities are of great antiquity, and may be said to date from the time of Socrates and Plato; but they are usually considered to have originated in the twelfth century. There are now in Europe, no less than a hundred universities, some of them have been in existence several centuries. Germany and Italy alone possess fifty of these institutions; Eolland, Spain, Russia, and Greece, about twenty five, while Great Britain contains about a dozen. The old universities of France were swept away by the Revolution, but a new system of education has since sprung up, the centre of which, established at Paris, has direct control over all the educational matters of the country. Of the Plussial universities, those of Prague and Heldeioerg, founded in the fifteenth century, are the oldest. The educational system of Germany ranks among the very best, and is admirably adapted for the advancement of science and philosophy. England has four noted universities, Cambridge, Oxford, London, and Burham, the two former having early come into prominence by espousing the cause of the Barous against the King. These universities have always been generously endowed, and the scholarships and fellowships of Oxford now amount to about L500,000 a year. The University of Dublin consists of but one college, Trimty, and the curriculum is similar to that of Oxford. Scotland also possesses four freak universities, St. Andrews, Glasgow, A Bergen, and Edlburgh, and is well supplied with other institutions of learning, most of which were founded in the fifteenth century. These colleges are more crossly a lined to the German system of education, than to the English.

The United States as yet possesses but few colleges, but it is fair to suppose that in the near fature, our seminaries of learning win vie with the foremost institutions of Europe.

W. A.