The routine of the day varies considerably with the season. In winter it is much as follows:--At 5 A.M. the drum beats, the young men quit their beds; in twelve minutes they are all dressed and out, and the dormitories are cleared. The _rappel_ sounds on the _grand carré_; they form in their companies, enter their _salles_, and prepare for the lecture of the day until a quarter to 7. At 7 o’clock the officers on duty for the week enter the dormitories, to which the pupils now return, at a quarter to 8 the whole body passes muster in the dormitories, in which they have apparently by this time made their beds and restored cleanliness and order. Breakfast is taken at one time or other during the interval between a quarter to 7 and 8 o’clock. They march to their lecture rooms at 8, the lecture lasts till a quarter past 9, when they are in like manner marched out, and are allowed a quarter of an hour of amusement. They then enter the halls of study, make up their notes on the lecture they have come from, and after an hour and a half employed in this way, for another hour and a half are set to drawing. Dinner at 1 is followed by recreation till 2. Two hours from 2 to a quarter past 4 are devoted to military services. From 4 to 6 P.M. part are occupied in study of the drill-book (_théorie_,) part in riding or fencing: a quarter of an hour’s recreation follows, and from 6¼ to 8½ there are two hours of study in the _salles_. At half-past 8 the day concludes with the supper. The following table gives a view of the routine in summer:-- 4½ A.M. to 4¾ A.M. Dressing. 4¾ “ to 7¼ “ Military exercises. 7¼ “ to 8¼ “ Breakfast, cleaning, inspection. 8¼ “ to 9½ “ Lecture. 9½ “ to 9¾ “ Recreation. 9¾ “ to 11¼ “ Study. 11¼ “ to 1 P.M. Drawing. 1 P.M. to 2 “ Dinner and recreation. 2 “ to 4 “ Study of drill-book (_théorie_) or fencing. 4 “ to 6 “ Study for some, riding for others. 6 “ to 6¼ “ Recreation. 6¼ “ to 8 “ Riding for some, study for others, 8 “ to 8½ “ Supper. The entrance examination is much less severe than that for the Polytechnic; but a moderate amount of mathematical knowledge is demanded, and is obtained. The candidates are numerous; and if it be true that some young men of fortune shrink from a test, which, even in the easiest times, exacts a knowledge of the elements of trigonometry, and not unfrequently seek their commissions by entering the ranks, their place is supplied by youths who have their fortunes to make, and who have intelligence, industry, and opportunity enough to acquire in the ordinary _lycées_, the needful amount of knowledge.