missariat, each of which receives a mere fragment of the graduating class, the object of the system is not quite apparent. In the case of the line officers, it is chiefly to give the Navy a few men peculiarly fitted for certain forms of purely scientific work which arise from time to time in the service. For this purpose the course is better fitted than that of the Naval School at Brest; though it is doubtful, even with this difference, whether any great advantage is gained, especially in the case of those naval graduates of the Polytechnic who take a low number in their class. Certainly the difference is not so great as to make the lower men of the Polytechnic classes necessarily more available for scientific purposes, during their whole career, than the best men from the Borda. At the close of the Polytechnic course, the graduates who have selected the Navy as their future career are embarked on board the practice ship Flore, to make their first cruise, in company with the graduates of the same year from the Borda. Having no professional training whatever, they start at a disadvantage; and they must perform double work to put themselves on a level of professional acquirement with their contemporaries. At the end of their cruise they pass their examination for promotion and become midshipmen (aspirants de 1ère classe.)

CHAPTER XIV.

THE NAVAL SCHOOL (Ecole Navale).

The school at which nearly all the cadets of the line of the French Navy receive their education is on board the old wooden line-of-battle ship Borda. The Borda is anchored in the roads of Brest, about a mile and a half or two miles from the town. The interior of the ship is cut up and rearranged to suit the needs of the school, as in the case of the Britannia, though the details of arrangement in the Borda are quite different. The poop extends to to the main-mast, and contains the cabins of the commanding officer, although the latter does not live on board. The spar-deck forward of the poop is used as a gymnasium. The comb. ings of the main hatchway are removed, and the deck flushed over; and there is the usual supply of rings, parallel and horizontal bars, &c., that form the outfit of a small gymnasium. On the upper gun-deck is the mess hall, with pantries and offices forward. The students sleep on the lower gun-deck. On this deck are also the two study-rooms (salles d'étude), one for each division. All these rooms are forward of the mainmast. In the after part of the ship, on the two gun-decks, are the officers' quarters and wardroom, and also the lecture-rooms. These are two in number, and are built in the shape of amphitheaters, the floor being laid in steps rising towards the back, and extending from the lower to the apper deck. The furniture in all these rooms is of the simplest character, consisting of small stationary tables, desks, and benches. The library is small, inconveniently placed, and contains few recent books. The space between decks in the room devoted to this purpose is too small to admit of standing upright. The library seems to be little used. The battery of the Borda consists of B. L. R. guns of the most recent type, of 12, 14, and 16 c. m. Two corvettes are attached to the establishment, one a sailing vessel, the other a screw-steamer.

1.- PERSONNEL.

The Naval School, like all other adjuncts of the station at Brest, is nder the general authority and supervision of the Préfet Maritime of the II arrondissement. At its head is a captain; next in rank to the captain is a commander (capitaine de frégate), who has the same general duties as commanders on board sea-going vessels.

The authority of the Préfet Maritime is not confined to mere formalities. He makes all the administrative arrangements necessary for carying on the working of the school, especially those in regard to police

and interior service. He makes inspections at discretion, but he is required by regulation to inspect regularly three times a year-in January, April, and August. The two first inspections are preceded by the inspections of the material administration of the school, made by the commissary-general, and by the commissary in charge of equipments. Reports are made to the Ministry of Marine of the result of each of these inspections. In regard to various details of government the captain frequently advises with the Préfet; and, finally, the latter is the presiding member of the board of improvement (conseil de perfectionnement).

The captain of the Borda is the director of the studies of the school as well as of the discipline. The commander, or executive officer, has charge of the interior police and service, of the conduct of students, and of practical and professional instruction. He keeps a conduct book and a punishment book, and gives the students a mark for conduct every quarter. With instruction in the scientific and miscellaneous branches he has nothing to do, the instructors in these branches being wholly under the direction of the captain.

The instructors consist of eight lieutenants, twelve professors, and one principal mechanician. The lieutenants have charge of the courses in seamanship, naval architecture, gunnery, and practical navigation, there being two for each branch, one taking the upper and one the lower class. Four of the lieutenants act as chiefs of sections (chefs d'escouades) and keep a constant and careful oversight of the members of their sections. They transmit orders to their respective sections, and receive complaints or requests from them. It is their duty to regulate all those minor matters of detail, pertaining to the daily life of the pupils, that are not covered by general instructions. A close personal relation is thus established between the members of each section and their chief. He sees that all articles in their possession, such as clothing and books, are properly kept and cared for, and that they have no unauthorized objects. He keeps their weekly allowance books, and, in case of permission to incur extra expenses, for special instruction or what not, he is required to certify that the lessons have been properly given, or that the articles purchased have been duly received. Of course these duties involve frequent inspection and constant personal intercourse; and the chief of section is the person to whom the student naturally looks for advice and assistance, and who is to aid and stimulate his efforts to perfect himself as a naval officer. The other lieutenants perform the ordinary duties. of officer of the day; but all of them, including the chiefs of sections, have a share in the regular detail of the ship's duties; and all have to note delinquencies on the part of the students and to enforce the discipline of the ship. They can only inflict reprimands; cases requiring severer punishment must be referred to the captain or commander. The senior lieutenant is in charge of the two auxiliary vessels; the instructor in practical navigation has the direction of the observatory on shore; while a third lieutenant is charged with the small-arm practice.

The twelve professors at the Naval School are divided as follows:

The professors do not reside on board the ship, but are brought off from shore every morning in a small steamer attached to the school, in time for the morning lecture.

The other officers of the school are, a principal mechanician, instructor in steam-engineering; a chaplain; an assistant commissary, who has charge of all administrative matters other than military or academic; three surgeons; and an accounting officer and storekeeper (agent comptable économe). The latter officer has the direction of a variety of matters, such as the care of public property, the preparation of estimates for stores and materials, receipts, disbursements, and purchases, and the correspondence of the captain of the school with the parents of pupils. To the list of officers should perhaps be added the members of the two boards of examination, whose functions are subsidiary to the main purpose of the school, though the members are not attached to the Borda. One of these boards conducts the examination for admission, the other the annual and final examinations. The latter board is composed of naval officers of high rank, together with a member of the corps of hydrographic examiners. The pharmacist-in-chief at Brest usually examines in chemistry.

The crew of the Borda numbers about 150 men. The warrant and petty officers are carefully selected by the captain of the Borda, and six or eight of them, in addition to their regular duties, assist in the instruction of the students in practical exercises connected with the specialties to which they belong. These special branches include seamanship and gunnery, and the specialties of helmsmen, topmen, machinists, and captain of arms. A similar number of non-commissioned officers of the marine artillery (adjudants) perform the details of disciplinary service. At their head is the captain of arms, and the whole force comes directly under the executive officer. Their duties include the hourly oversight of the pupils, the frequent inspection of their desks, chests, and lockers, and of all their belongings, and duty as watchmen by day and by night. They are directed to enforce the regulations of discipline, and to report all infractions. In fact, in all matters of detail they perform the police of the ship.

There are four boards or coinmittees that occupy an important place in the organization of the school. The first of these is the committee on improvements (conseil de perfectionnement.) It is composed of the Préfet Maritime, as president; the captains of the Borda and of the Flore, the sea-going practice-ship of cadets; and the members of the two ex

amining boards, of admission and graduation. It meets annually, revises the programme of study, and considers and proposes other changes in the organization and methods of the school. These changes are sub. mitted for approval to the Board of Admiralty (conseil d'amirauté) at the Ministry of Marine.

The council of instruction or academic board (conseil d'instruction) is composed of the captain and commander of the Borda, the two examining boards, three professors or instructors, appointed for one year by the Préfet, of whom one is in the professional, one in the scientific, and one in the literary or "general" department, and the commissary. The duties of the board are to consider and report upon measures proposed by the secondary council, or referred to it by the Minister. The latter include the distribution of scholarships (bourses), and of indemnities for outfit.

The secondary council of instruction (conseil secondaire d'instruction) is composed of the same members as the council of instruction, except the examining boards. It acts as an advisory board to the Préfet Maritime and the captain of the school, by whom various questions relating to academic organization are submitted to it. It has also the initiative in all propositions relating to the instruction and course of study, and it conducts the re-examination of deficient pupils, making recommenda tions as to the final disposition of doubtful cases. It considers proposals for the purchase of scientific works, periodicals, and apparatus. Its other duties include the preparation of the term and yearly classlists, and, in general, it attends to those matters of detail which concern the academic interests of the school. The captain of the school is president of the council, and any of the instructors or professors who are not members may be required to attend its discussions, but only with a consulting voice.

The fourth of the governing boards is the council of administration (conseil d'administration). It is composed of the captain and commander, the commissary, and the two senior lieutenants, chiefs of sections. keeps the running account with the Ministry of Finance, and with the pupils, and it has general charge of receipts, disbursements, and purchases. The "accounting officer and storekeeper" (économe) acts as its agent.

2.-EXAMINATION FOR ADMISSION.

The examination for admission to the Naval School is one of the most important parts of the French system of naval education, on account of its scope, its method, and its close relation to the system of public instruction in the country. It is competitive in character. Its requirements are high and extend over a considerable range of subjects. Finally, it is based directly on the programmes of study in the lycées, the principal schools for secondary instruction in France. It has several

*It must constantly be borne in mind that the word commissary denotes a member of the administrative corps of the Navy, and has no connection with what in English is understood as the commissariat.