A singular restriction in the will of Mr. Girard,
in regard to the clergy, is in these words: “ I
enjoin and require that no ecclesiastic, missionary,
or minister, of any sect whatsoever, shall ever hold or
exercise any station or duty ivhatever in the said
college ; nor shall any such person ever be admitted
for any purpose, or as a visitor, within the premises
appropriated to the purposes of the said college. In
making this restriction, I do not mean to cast any
reflection upon any sect or person whatsoever;
but as there is such a multitude of sects, and
such a diversity of opinion amongst them, I de-
sire to keep the tender minds of'the orphans,
who are to derive advantage from this bequest,
free from the excitement which clashing doctrines
and sectarian controversy are so apt to produce.
My desire is, that all the instructors and teachers
in the college shall take pains to instil into
the minds of the scholars the purest principles
qf morality; so that, on their entrance into active
life, they may, from inclination and habit, evince
benevolence towards their fellow-creatures, and a
love of truth, sobriety, and industry, adopting at
the same time such religious tenets as their ma-
tured reason may enable them to prefer.'' This
restriction of Mr. Girard, as explained by himself,
and taken in connection with his requisition to
secure the inculcation of the purest principles of
morality in the minds of the scholars, has justly
been construed as not only not prohibiting, but
rather rendering obligatory, the use of the Bible,
and other means of general religious instruction
and training in the school. In the rules for the
government of the college, adopted by the hoard
of directors, it is made the duty of the president
“ to conduct the family worship morning and
evening, which shall consist of singing a hymn,
reading a portion of Scripture, and prayer. He
shall also be responsible for the performance of
public religious services in the college on the
forenoon and afternoon of every Sunday. These
services shall consist of singing hymns, prayers,
reading the Scriptures, and moral and religious
discourses. The president is permitted to invite
any member of the board of directors, or other
competent layman approved by the board, to
take his place, or assist him in the public wor-
ship. Prayers and hymns, or psalms, shall be
prepared or selected by the president, with the
approbation of the directors, which shall be
framed so as to form a full and appropriate ser-
vice, without sectarianism, but calculated to
awaken or preserve true devotion.''

The public schools of Philadelphia are organized
upon a comprehensive and efficient system. By a
law of the state passed in 1818, the city and county
of Philadelphia was constituted a separate school
district, in order that the benefits of one consis-
tent scheme, adapted in the best manner to the
circumstances and wants of such a population,
might be secured. The schools, most of which,
of course, are in the city, and incorporated dis-
tricts, are divided into eleven sections. At the
head stands a high school, and a model school.
The next in rank are the grammar schools; then
the secondary; and last, the primary schools. The
high school is among the best institutions of the
kind in the country. It provides instruction in
the ancient and modern languages; in theoretical
and practical mathematics; in natural history,
natural philosophy, and chemistry; in mental,
moral, and political science; and in writing,
drawing, &c., and is designed to serve the highest
ends of popular education. It is under the tuition
of a principal and 10 professors. In all the other
schools about 500 teachers are employed, four
fifths of whom are females; and the aggregate
of the pupils, who are between the ages of 5 and
15, cannot be less than 50,000, embracing a very
large proportion of all the children of this age
in the city. The average annual expense of
maintaining the public schools is not far from
$200,000. The school houses are substantial
buildings, generally 3 stories high, and capable
of accommodating from 600 to 1000 scholars
each.

There are several valuable libraries and literary
and scientific associations in Philadelphia, which
owe their origin to the enlightened, inventive, and
practical philanthropy of Dr. Franklin. One of
these is the Philadelphia Library, founded in 1731,
to which, in 1792, the valuable private library of
Dr. Logan was added. This library now contains
over 60,000 volumes. The building, erected in
1791, is on South Fifth Street, fronting upon the
E. side of Independence Square. The American
Philosophical Society, the oldest of the scientific
associations in the United States, was founded
principally through the exertions of Dr. Frank-
lin, in 1742. Its hall, erected in 1786, is on
South Fifth Street, below Chestnut. It has a rare
and valuable library of 20,000 volumes, and a
cabinet of minerals, fossils, and antiquities. The
published Transactions of this society amount to
several volumes. The Academy of Natural Sci-
ences, incorporated in 1817, has a new and splen-
did hall in Broad Street, between Chestnut and
Walnut. Its library contains about 12,000 vol-
umes. Its cabinet, containing every variety of
specimens in Natural History, is perhaps the best
in the United States. The collection of birds is
said to be the largest in the world, containing
about 25,000 specimens. The Athenaeum has
erected a beautiful structure on Sixth Street, be-
low Walnut, 50 feet front by 125 in depth. It is
an excellent specimen of the Italian style of ar-
chitecture, treated with spirit and taste. The li-
brary contains about 10,000 volumes; to which,
as well as to the reading room, strangers are free-
ly admitted. Among the curiosities of literature
in these rooms is a collection of pamphlets, bound
in 148 volumes, which belonged to Dr. Franklin,
some of them containing his marginal notes and
remarks ; and also a regular series of the Journal
de Paris, bound in volumes, continued during the
whole eventful period of the French revolution.
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, founded
in 1825, occupies rooms in the 3d story of the
Athenaeum building. It has a library of nearly
2000 volumes. The Mercantile Library, on the
corner of Fifth and Library Streets, has a library
of over 12,000 volumes, founded in 1822, for the
objects indicated by its name. There is also the
Apprentices' Library, of about the same number
of volumes, on the corner of Fifth and Arch
Streets, open to youth of both sexes. The Frank-
lin Institute, formed about 1830, for the promo-
tion of the mechanic arts, has a library of between
4(J00 and 5000 volumes, situated on Seventh
Street, below Market. Other institutions for the
diffusion of knowledge, in a more local and lim-
ited sphere, likewise exist.

There are in Philadelphia about 160 churches
of different denominations — Presbyterian, 25:
Episcopal, 27 ; Methodist, 28; Baptist, 16; Re-
formed Presbyterian, 4; Associate Presbyterian,