Higher education (éducation secondaire) was provided for in the same manner， and still better by local and private enterprise. More than one hundred and eight establishments furnished it completely， and more than four hundred and fifty-four partially.[57] Like the others， and not less liberally than the smaller schools， these were supported by endowments， some of which were very ample and even magnificent； a certain upper school in the provinces， Rodez，[58] possessed twenty-seven thousand livres income， and one in Paris， Louis-le-Grand， an income of four hundred and fifty thousand livres， each of these， large or small， having its own distinct endowment， in real property， lands and houses， and in revenues on privileges derived from the hotel-de-ville， the octroi and from transportation lines. - And， in each of them， the scholarships， or half-scholarships， were numerous-six hundred alone in Louis-le-Grand. In total， out of the seventy-two thousand scholars in the kingdom， there were forty thousand for whom a high-school education was gratuitous or half-gratuitous； nowadays， it is less than five thousand out of seventy-nine thousand.[59] The reason why is that， before 1789， the revenues were not only large， but the expenses were small. The salary of a head-master， teacher， or assistant-teacher was not large， say four hundred and fifty， six hundred， nine hundred， or twelve hundred livres per annum at most， just enough for a single man to live on； in effect， most of the teachers were priests or monks， Benedictines， regular canons， Oratorians， the latter alone officiating in thirty colleges. Not subject to the expenses and necessities which a family imposes， they were abstemious through piety， or at least through discipline， habit， and respect for persons； frequently， the statutes of the school obliged them to live in common，[60] which was much cheaper than living apart. - The same economical accord is found with all the wheels， in the arrangement and working of the entire system. A family， even a rural one， never lived far away from a high-school， for there were high-schools in nearly all the small towns， seven or eight in each department， fifteen in Ain， seventeen in Aisne.[61] The child or youth， from eight to eighteen， had not to endure the solitude and promiscuity of a civil barracks； he remained within reach of his parents. If they were too poor to pay the three hundred francs board required by the school， they placed their son in a respectable family， in that of some artisan or acquaintance in the town； there， with three or four others， he was lodged， had his washing done， was cared for and watched， had a seat at the family table and by the fireside， and was provided with light； every week， he received from the country his supply of bread and other provisions； the mistress of the house cooked for him and mended his clothes， the whole for two or three livres a month.[62] - Thus do institutions flourish that arise spontaneously on the spot； they adapt themselves to circumstances， conform to necessities， utilize resources and afford the maximum of returns for the minimum of expense.
This great organization disappears entirely， bodily and with all its possessions， like a ship that sinks beneath the waves. The teachers are dismissed， exiled， transported， and proscribed； its property is confiscated， sold and destroyed， and the remainder in the hands of the State is not restored and again applied to its former service. Public education， worse treated than public charity， does not recover a shred of its former endowment. Consequently， in the last years of the Directory， and even early in the Consulate，[63] there is scarcely any instruction given in France； in fact， for the past eight or nine years it has ceased，[64] or become private and clandestine. Here and there， a few returned priests， in spite of the intolerant law and with the connivance of the local authorities， also a few scattered nuns， teach in a contraband fashion a few small groups of Catholic children ； five or six little girls around a disguised Ursuline nun spell out the alphabet in a back room；[65] a priest without tonsure or cassock secretly receives in the evening two or three youths whom he makes translate the De Viris. - During the intervals， indeed， of the Reign of Terror， before the 13th of Vendémiaire and the 18th of Fructidor， sundry schools spring up again like tufts of grass in a mowed pasture-ground， but only in certain spots and meagerly； moreover， as soon as the Jacobin returns to power he stubbornly stamps them out；[66] he wants to have teaching all to himself. - Now the institution by which the State pretends to replace the old and free establishments makes a figure only on paper. One école centrale in each department is installed or decreed， making eighty eight on the territory of ancient France； this hardly supplies the place of the eight or nine hundred high-schools (collèges)， especially as these new schools are hardly viable， being in ruin at the very start，[67] poorly maintained， badly furnished， with no preparatory schools nor adjacent boarding-houses，[68] the programme of studies being badly arranged and parents suspicious of the spirit of the studies.[69] Thus， there is little or no attendance at most of the courses of lectures； only those on mathematics are followed， particularly on drawing， and especially mechanical and geometrical drawing， probably by the future surveyors and engineers of roads and bridges， by building contractors and a few aspirants to the école Polytechnique. As to the other courses， on literature， history， and the moral sciences， as comprehended by the Republic and imposed by it， these obtain not over a thousand auditors in all France； instead of 72，000 pupils， only 7000 or 8000 seek superior education， while six out of seven， instead of seeking self-culture， simply prepare themselves for some practical pursuit.[70]