The effect of this magnificent pleasure ground has been most salutary. The thousands of poor persons in the great city have the means of breathing the pure fresh air, and enjoying the beauties of nature, on all their holiday occasions. The health of this part of the population has improved very greatly, and the people of all classes have been correspondingly benefited. Every inhabitant of the great city has an especial pride in the Park, and, thanks to this feeling, the Commissioners have little or no trouble in enforcing their regulations. There have been no acts of rowdyism or lawlessness within the enclosure, for even the most depraved feel themselves compelled to respect the rules of the place. In a few years the streets facing the walls will be occupied with magnificent residences and public buildings, and the neighborhood will be the most delightful on the island. CHAPTER XXIV. THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. New York stands at the head of all American cities in the excellence and extent of its system of public education. It has one free college, fifty-five ward or grammar schools, forty primary schools, and ten colored schools. The ward schools are divided into three departments, primary, male, and female, and the others into two, one for each sex. The buildings are generally of brick, tastefully trimmed with freestone or granite, and are amongst the handsomest in the city. They are commodious, and in every respect equal to the demand upon them. The rooms are large, airy, and neat. The building is well warmed and ventilated, and every care is taken to render the teachers and pupils as comfortable as possible. The number of teachers is between two thousand five hundred and three thousand, and the number of children is near three hundred thousand. A janitor resides in each building, and is responsible for its cleanliness and healthfulness. The course of study is most thorough. Pupils enter the primary classes, and pass through the various grades of the primary and grammar schools, until the course is finished. Then the college of the City of New York is opened to all who desire to enter it, who have passed regularly and honorably through the lower schools. In this institution all the branches of a thorough and complete collegiate course are taught. Horace Webster, L. L. D., is the president of the college, and the faculty embraces some of the most learned men in the city. The institution grants diplomas, confers degrees, and is entitled to and exercises all the privileges of a first-class college.