New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1858-01-12

We have before us the Ninth Annual Register
/" of the Free Academy of the City of NewYOrk,
" ie57-lS5e." II is not document to be compa-
Gently perused by the intelligent and well-informed
reader Its title in the first place, Is repreheh-
sible misnomer. 1t is in fact the oLhh Annual
Report" and the Z" First Annual Register and
the gentleman who manufactured it might have
stated, out of respect for the sacred science OF
chronology so much upon his ttle-psge. Its con-
tents are highly miscellaneous. 1t seems to have
been compiled for the express purpose of giving to
the printer wonderful amount of what is techni-
cslly called "fat." A more adipOse specimen of
printing we do not remember to have seen since
Longfelow's "Hiawaths" Almost all the nforma-
tion contained in this pamphlet is printed twice,
and some of it is printed thrice, and some of is
of character which should not, for the honor of
the city, have been printed at all. There is q
whole page devoted to registering the names Of the
august Board of Education. There is another
page occupied in announcing to tho world the
names of THE Executive Committee" There
are three pages devoted to the of Instruct
ors" upon the third of which we find those Of the
Librarians but do not singular omissionD find
those Of the Janitors and Sweeps. There is an
other page for the names Of the members of the
Faculty" in which eight gentlemen may have
the honor of behOldng their bapAsmal
and patronymcal appellatiOns reprinted. There is
a very wide and high page, which announces that
there are 6S3 students on the Academic
Roll. Then there is an extremely pngueOus cata-
logue of all the furniture of the establishment-of
the bOw-pipes and the ar.pumps; of the hammers
and the screws; of the Rupert's drops and barome-
tiers; of the galvsnic batteries and "dia-magnetic
apparatus" of the mounted diaphragms" and
Bartons Buttons" of the theodOlites and tri-
pods; of the prisms and the plates of mica; of the
hygrometers and of the skeleton, and of " the en-
larged model of the eyes" of the plaster cests-Of
everything, except the cosl.scuttes and pokers, in
possession of the New-York Free Academy. This
catalogue covers twelve pages and, being of no
earthly or heavenly use to any human being, may
be considered a great waste Of Typographical skill
sid labor. There is another page which announces,
like fat usher, the names of the Presidents of the
Board of Education; of the Executive Committee
of TIE Frte Academy; of the Alumni, and of the
fftyonc pages, OF about one half Of the Catalogue,
and are not what the judicOus would declare TO be
entertaining reading-the list Of letters uncledfOr
in the Post Office being fairy tale in comparison.
There are thus at least sixty pages of this book
which have no possible interest for anybody out
side of the Academy; and to crown the prodigality
of expenditure there is almanac printed at the
end of this academic production, very much Ike
those which job printers in this city arg IA the
habit of furnishing annually, without charge, 10
their customers.
From this LIST Of names, We turned back to those
pages which promised substantial information con-
corning the Free Academy. From a cursory in
spection, il became at once evident that English
Grammar is not among the humanties cultivated in
this seat of learning. For instance, what would
our ancient friend Murray have said of this sem
tence
It he Academy intended 20 BE- the Complement Of 'he
,ies, u me pubic cAo..sAkns complete and Al.
near Of instruction Tilted 10 meet the wants Of AL"
This is sheer nonsense. How is d" the compile
ment" TO maks the public schools complete But
the good reader viii suspend his admiration for a
while. We have the following to offer:
s5.ut und deficient sre not put bak inc another class
e1c,ut a. tie qurst Vi his parent OF guardian
This will do, although many more similar speci-
mems might be extracted from this pamphlet. We
understand that this work was compiled by Mr..
Jean Roemer, who was, with the usual ssg.city,
selected to do the English because he was the
Professor of French We learn also that it was
revised and corrected by DR.. John Jason Owen,
Professor of LatiD and Greek. The twain has
probably been so busy-the Frenchman with his
Cornee and MOGere and the GrecO-Rom.n with
BIS Xenophon and Horace-that i has got behind
hard il its English, aud might probably have