tion of young women to young men in the entire institution has slowly increased during the history of the college. At the close of the first decade it was 37 per cent. of the whole; at the end of the second, 43 per cent.; of the third, 51 per cent.; of the fourth, 47 per cent.; of the fifth, 53 per cent. At present it is 55 per cent. The proportions, however, in the different courses are quite various. In the classical course the proportion is 30 per cent.; in the philosophical course, 53 per cent.; in the literary course, 98 per cent.

As Cberlin is the pioneer in the practice of coeducation and has given the principle a trial of 56 years, it may be interesting to note some of the results and lessons of this experience. Following is a summary of an address by President Fairchild upon the subject: First, economy of means and forces, a very evident advantage. Second, convenience to the patrons of the school, since very many cases are observed where brothers and sisters are attending college together to the advantage of both. Third, wholesome incitements to study. Oberlin has never permitted a system of honors and prizes, which it is thought are injurious in the spirit of rivalry which they foster, besides appealing to only a few in a class. Says President Fairchild:

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The social influence arising from the constitution of our classes operates continuously and almost equally upon all. Each desires for himself the best standing that he is capable of, and there is never a lack of motive to exertion. The stim ulus is the same in kind as will operate in after life. The young man going out into the world does not leave behind him the forces that have helped him on. They are the ordinary forces of society.

Fourth, social culture, which here influences powerfully the manners, feelings, and thoughts of both sexes during that period when character is being specially molded. Fifth, absence of rowdyism, hazing, and other disorders. In this respect Oberlin can rightfully claim an immunity granted to no other college in the land where as large a number of students are yearly enrolled. With this advantage there is easy enforcement of the regulations against the use of tobacco and intoxicants. Sixth, another manifest advantage is in the relation of the school to the community, a cordial feeling of good will, and the absence of that antagonism between town and college which is often met with. The absence of disorder in the school is the prime condition of this good feeling, but beyond this the constitution of the school is so similar to that of the community that any conflict is unnat ural; the usual occasion seems to be wanting.

As to apprehensions which are felt against joint education of the sexes, it has been observed that where there has been the same preparatory training the strong and weak scholars are equally distributed between the sexes, and that the health of the young ladies is equal to that of the young men. It is not found that young men become frivolous or effeminate, nor the young women coarse or masculine, but rather that young men gain in the higher qualities of magnanimity, generosity,

true chivalry, earnestness, and that young women are not bewildered with vain ambitions, nor perverted from a true womanly career. Daily association in class rooms aud homes tends to save the young of both sexes from the glowing exaggerations of poets and novelists and from false conceptions of human nature. That there have been anxieties connected with the experiment of coeducation is not denied, but it is thought that any evils that may have occurred are less natural and frequent in this than in other systems, and the advantages gained are so important as to establish the system more and more firmly.

FINANCIAL HISTORY.

Oberlin was founded by two missionaries, neither of whom was the possessor of property. They, however, were deeply impressed with the need of the enterprise; and their amusingly low estimate of the funds required-only $2,000-gave them encouragement. They secured from Messrs. Street & Hughes, of New Haven, Conn., 500 acres of land for the purposes of the institute, with the addition of 5,000 acres at $1.50 an acre and the privilege of selling it at an advance. As a manual-labor department was to be a part of the enterprise, the founders secured a sawmill and a gristmill, where employment was given to students. This department resulted in a financial loss, and after a few years the mills were sold to private parties. In 1835, on the accession of Presi dent Finney and the Lane Seminary students, a "Professorship Association" was organized by Arthur and Louis Tappan, of New York, and others, pledging the interest of $80,000 yearly. But a great fire in New York in 1835 and the panic of 1837 swept away all the fortunes of the donors, and only $6,000 of their subscriptions was ever collected. These were dark times indeed. The professors, although their salaries were only $600 per year, were unable to secure even that small sum, and both professors and colonists were hard pressed for even the necessaries of life. In 1839-40 the college was $30,000 in debt.

The intense odium of its antislavery position made the collection of funds in this country impossible, and two of the trustees were dispatched to England, where they secured among the antislavery people of that country enough money to pay off the indebtedness and avoid bankruptcy. However, the poverty of the enterprise was unrelieved until, in 1850, a movement to secure an endowment of $100,000 by the sale of scholarships was successful. The scholarships were of three varieties, securing free tuition for one student at a time for 6 years, 18 years, and perpetually, and costing severally $25, $50, and $100. As a result the number of students was doubled in a single year, advancing from 570 to 1,020 and in the next year to 1,305; but as the scholarships were transferable they absorbed all the fees for tuition. However, on the annual income of $6,700 derived from the investment of the endowment fund, the college by careful economy was able to provide instruction and meet expenses until the time of the war, when