Since the week of prayer in January, there has been a growing interest in religious things.

The boarding pupils have, without an exception, been under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

The interest still continues in the school, and has extended to some extent among the members of our congregation. The young ladies are sustaining two weekly prayer meetings among themselves.

Thanking the Board for their generous assistance, and earnestly praying that their aid may yield still richer returns to the cause of Christ, we remain your fellow laborers in the Lord's vineyard.

MRS. M. M. RICE,

MRS. M. R. ANDREWS,} Principals.

MAURY ACADEMY.

Maury Academy is in the town of Dandridge, and one of the central and most fertile and beautiful counties (Maury) of the State of Tennessee. We hail, with heartfelt gratitude to God, this as one of the earliest opportunities to endeavor to repair the sad ravages of war, and to exhibit to the churches of the South our Christian readiness to aid in repairing the wastes, and healing the wounds of the past few years.

The circumstances under which the grant to this Institution was made render it doubly valuable. Perhaps in the whole range of your operations you could not find a field so imperatively calling for help as the poor South. She has paid fearfully for her rashness. As in all other instances of a similar kind the good and the bad suffer together. War, ruthless war, is no respecter of persons. The very land seems to have suffered during the last four years. Farms are stripped of nearly all their improvements. Stock killed or driven away. Society torn asunder by sad alienations. The very Church broken and scattered. Years must elapse before prosperity, order, and the full enjoyment of our intellectual and moral privileges, can be restored. How important that the school and the church should be at work! A sanctified literature and a pure and a free gospel will make these valleys and hills to blossom and yield their fruits.

On the first of February I opened Maury Academy. Our number enrolled is thirty-six. We have classes ranging from the Latin down to three or four syllables in the spelling-book. The work is difficult. For the last four years there have been no schools. The very children have been fearfully demoralized by the war. Many of the fathers have fallen in the bloody strife. Others till lately have been exiles from home and family. In this condition of things parental and home education have been entirely neglected. From the tuition of the school in five months I shall not realize more than one hundred dollars. In consequence of your liberality I have invited the children of our poor families to enter the Academy. The progress of the school is commendable. Rest assured that I shall bring every appliance to bear upon the intellectual and spiritual improvement of the pupils. Next term, God willing, we expect a larger number to be in attendance. Even the wealthiest families are constrained to employ their sons in some department of labor. Often you hear the declaration, "When I make a crop, I shall send my children to school." Ah, dear sir, you have no idea of the desolation of this once prosperous land.

Our first quarter terminated April 16th. We had no vacation. The session will terminate on the last day of June. Our studies embrace Latin, Rhetoric, Natural Philosophy, and all the ordinary branches.

We greatly need text books, and the more simple apparatus of the school room. But the trustees are not able to repair the building, or to furnish the necessary furniture. Nothing but the naked walls escaped the desolating march of war. Still we shall do the best we can, hoping that in a few days a brighter sun will dawn upon us, and committing this and every other educational interest to the care of our Heavenly Father.

Dandridge, Tennessee, May, 1866.

WILLIAM AIKIN.

LINDENWOOD FEMALE COLLEGE.

Though there are many institutions under the care of the ministry, and supported by the patronage, of the Presbyterian Church, for the instruction of "the better half" of the human race; yet but two or three are at present formally connected with this Board. Of these, Lindenwood is one which has been cherished by the Board during some years past with special interest. The Romanists have made gigantic exertions to supply the State of Missouri with educational institutions of the first class. They possess fine sites, large and excellent buildings, and accomplished teachers, laboring under vows to God with great devotion of heart and strength. Several of the Protestant churches have also been energetically and successfully at work. Lindenwood is the only Seminary for young ladies under Presbyterian control in the State. We commend the accompanying report, and its concluding requests, to the effectual sympathies of Christians, especially those of the regions most interested.

This Institution is under the care of the Presbytery of St. Louis. The Presbytery appoints a Board of Directors, which is a corporate body existing under a charter granted by the Legislature of the State of Missouri.

Lindenwood derives its name from its beautiful grove of large Linden trees in the midst of which the College buildings stand. The ample grounds are the munificent donation of the late Major George C. Sibley and wife to the Presbytery of St. Louis for the purposes of a Female College.

It is located in the suburbs of the city of St. Charles, on the highest ridge of land between the Missouri and the Mississippi rivers; and is about an hour's ride from St. Louis, by the North Missouri Railroad, which also gives it direct communication with the upper portion of the State.

Through the energy, generosity, and untiring personal efforts of Judge S. S. Watson, of St. Charles, the College building, which is of brick, and three stories above the basement, 73 by 48 feet, was completed in 1857, and furnishes accommodations for about forty boarders.

The College was in successful operation when the national troubles from the civil war were thrust upon the country. During the war the exercises have been continued with such interruptions as could not be obviated.

With returning quiet, the friends of the enterprise cherish new hopes and ardent desires to accomplish what was originally designed in the organization of this School. They find themselves much embarrassed from causes entirely beyond their control, and they now are constrained to look abroad to the more peaceful and prospered sections of the Church for that pecuniary help which will place the College once more on an effective working basis.

This is the only school of its grade under the auspices of the Presbyterian Church in the rich and rapidly developing State of Missouri. Romanism is awake to the importance of church schools in this region, and is straining every nerve to control the education of the rising generation. The appeal is earnestly made to a generous Church for assistance in putting this enterprise upon a firm foundation as a barrier to the tide of infidelity and irreligion that threatens our land.

Further information can be obtained from S. S. WATSON, St. Charles, Missouri.

There are some beginnings of a very hopeful character in the way of academical institutions. One that we may note particularly, as an example to other churches and presbyteries of what an earnest pastor, and a large-hearted parishioner, can do within a brief period, is that at Onarga, Illinois. A correspondent of the North-western Presbyterian gives a sketch of this enterprise, which we adopt:

"In the spring of 1865, Mr. A. G. Wilson, a student in the Seminary of the North-west, was called to the pastorate of this church. Mr. Wilson has labored one year in this relation with great acceptance and profit to the people, and with increasing influence in the community. During the year, twenty-four members have been added to the church upon examination and certificate, and the congregation has doubled in attendance.

"True to ancient Presbyterian policy and practice, a policy and practice to which the Presbyterian Church has in its best periods and localities owed its most rapid growth, most matured strength, and greatest efficiency, the people at Onarga have sought to establish along-side of the church, the parish school and the Presbyterial Institute, in which those employed to give instruction are required not only to be religious teachers, but teachers of religion, thus recognizing the important truth, that the constant inculcation of the great doctrines and duties taught in the Bible, lie at the foundation of that moral training, which is an essential part of a safe and thorough education. By the liberality of one of the elders of our church at Onarga, Mr. William P. Pierson, a suitable and substantial school edifice has been erected, and furnished at a cost of about $3000, and tendered free of expense, to the use and control of the church session and the Presbytery, for the purposes of a parish school and Presbyterial Institute. Schools of this character have been conducted in it during the past year under the superintendence of the Rev. Mr. Wilson and his sister, Miss E. Wilson, assisted by Miss Hanna, of Bloomington, Illinois. The school has been well attended. Its instruction and government have given universal satisfaction. The enterprise in its incipiency, has thus far proven an entire success, and is worthy of the fostering care not only of the church and community at Onarga, but also of the Presbytery of Bloomington, within whose bounds it is located. Mr. Wilson, through the church and the school at Onarga, has before him one of the most important fields of ministerial labour in the State, and one, which, judging from his past efficiency and present devotion to his work, is full of hope and promise to our cause.

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Besides those in the above reports we have heard of revivals of religion in almost every academy or seminary under the care or influence of our Church. The past winter has been one of great joy to hundreds of praying fathers and mothers, whose covenants with the Lord in baptism He has not forgotten. And faithful teachers and pastors have thus beheld youth, for whom they had labored and prayed, by God's grace enabled to lay the true foundation of all wisdom, "the fear of the Lord." Ten, twenty, thirty students, male or female, have been added to the communion of the church. At South Salem, Ohio, an academy under the care of the Presbytery of Chillicothe, in a region fragrant with the memories of the Fullertons and their noble compeers, ninety persons have been added to the church, more than thirty of whom were students of the institution. "Of about eighty students in attendance in the academy, more than sixty are now professors of religion, and others will still unite with the churches where their parents reside, or with other denominations." The regions desolated and sad with civil war now "put on beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness." The Rev. Dr. Scott writes to us from Morgantown, West Virginia, that "Monongalia Academy" and "Woodburn Female Seminary," both located there, have shared in the gracious outpouring of God's Holy Spirit. On "the day of prayer for colleges and schools, we had a union prayer meeting of all the schools in the town at our Academy, the pastors of the town

assisting. It was a very interesting meeting, the Spirit of God being manifestly present. Afterwards protracted meetings were held in the various churches. Twenty-four were added to the Presbyterian church here, of whom fifteen were from the Academy and Seminary. A few from each school united with other churches. We have good reason to hope for further additions to our own Church."

To several of our Colleges this has been a memorable year. God has put it into the hearts of his people to pour out munificently upon some of them the pecuniary means required to endow professorships, purchase apparatus and libraries, and erect more capacious and suitable buildings; thus largely increasing their effectiveness, heightening their reputation as centres of literary and scientific knowledge and influence, and multiplying their power for good in the land. Upon some of them He has, moreover, shed the more precious influences of heavenly grace, to lead the choicest and noblest of their young men to lay themselves as living sacrifices at the feet of the Redeemer.

PRINCETON COLLEGE.

The present most prosperous condition of this venerable mother of Presbyterian institutions of learning is thus described by a friendly hand:

"The students number altogether two hundred and thirty-eight, of whom eightyfive are from New Jersey, forty-five from Pennsylvania, thirty-eight from Maryland, seventeen from Delaware, and the remainder are from fourteen other States-also one from India and one from the West Indies. The apparatus of the College has been greatly enlarged and improved by the purchase of Dr. Torrey's chemical instruments and materials, beside a well-selected mineralogical cabinet, and specimens of natural history, fossils, &c. These latter include over five thousand specimens of Alpine rocks, presented by Prof. Guyot; three hundred species of fossils collected in the State of New York, through the liberality of Mr. Caleb H. Shipman, formerly of this city; and nearly one thousand specimens, with numerous casts of large and rare reptiles, presented by ex-Gov. Olden. The Libraries, altogether, include twenty-four thousand volumes. A fund of $10,000 having been given by General N. Norris Halstead, of Harrison Township, (opposite Newark,) for the pur

pose of building an Astronomical Observatory, the Trustees have purchased a site for the building, at an expense of $4,500.

"Beside the endowment of a large number of scholarships by private individuals, (at a cost of $1,000 each, enabling the founder to select the student to enjoy it,) the Professorship of Geology and Physical Geography has been endowed by the donation of $30,000 from John I. Blair, of Warren county; a family, whose name is modestly withheld, has contributed $35,000 as a fund for the support of the President; and over $50,000 more have been added to the Sustentation Fund, by donations from other friends of the Institution. These amounts, with the Scholarships, raise the entire fund to more than $135,000, thus insuring the stability of the College; and further contributions, which are looked for on behalf of other departments, will greatly promote the usefulness of the Institution."

But that which will make the year at Princeton, which is now closing, one never to be forgotten in the history of many immortal spirits, is, that during its course they were first brought to see the glory of Christ as a Saviour, and the joy of believing in and serving him. The first remarkable manifestations of the presence of the Holy Spirit, it is stated, were in the prayer-meetings of the Sophomore Class; then in the Senior and Junior Classes. The work begun in the College extended to the town and vicinity. The pastor of the First church, with which a considerable number of the converts connected themselves, states that at the communion in April "forty-nine new members were added. Thirty-seven of these were admitted to the Lord's table for the first time, and eight to baptism and the Lord's table. The earliest indications of this work were noticed by the pastor in the autumn; it received further impulse and development at the beginning of the year; and the entire month of March has been a season of ingathering. Eighty new names have been added to the register of the church since the last report, one year ago, to the Presbytery. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake.'

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WASHINGTON AND JEFFERSON COLLEGE.

Since the last Annual Report of the Board, there has been no important change in the general condition of this Institution, reared by the labours, cemented by the prayers, and the noblest monument of the spirit and aims, of so many sainted men. But within the past month, the Rev. Dr. Jonathan Edwards, of Philadelphia, having been elected to the Presidency, has entered upon his work. The occasion of his inauguration was one of much gratification to the friends of the Institution. The fine abilities of the new President, his past experience in matters of education, and the cordiality with which he will be supported, are the presage of a new career of usefulness to Washington and Jefferson. We hope and pray earnestly that it will become potential for good over all that great and rich territory, stretching to the lakes on the North, to the valleys of the Alleghenies on the East, and still more remotely to the West and South; throughout which her control naturally extends, and scat