FRANCICE, a celebrated German philanthropist, whose life presents a striking instance of the good which au individual may effect. Francke was born at Lubeck in 1663. He made such rapid progress in learning that at the age of foarteen he was fit to enter the university, where he devoted himself with great application to the study of divinity and the ancient as well as modern languages. In 1691 ha became professor of oriental languages at the University of Halle, and soon afterwards professor of divinity and pastor of the parish of Glaucha, a suburb of Halle. The wretched state of his parishiouera, who were sunk in the most abject ignorance and poverty, gave the first impulse to his philanthropic exertions. He began by teaching the children, whom he supported at the same time by small donatious. Ile took a few orphaua to educate; their number rapidly increased ; and as lie was assisted by the contributions of many charitable persons, ha gradually extended the sphere of his beneficial activity, and formed several establishments for the education of all classes. In 1698 he laid the foundation of an orphan asylum, though ha had scarcely any means of completing the edifice, but the necessary funds were constantly supplied by charitable persons. He was fortunate in finding not only persons who contributed money to promote his undertaking, but many who zealously assisted him in his labours. Francke was a man of mild and cheerful disposition, agreeable manners, and exceedingly laborious. He punctually attended to his academical lectures, and to his clerical duties at Halle as well as in Glaucha his affairs and extensive correspondence engrossed all tho day, and it was only late at night that he could occupy himself with his literary labours, tho earnings of which he always devoted to charitable purposes. The
greater part of his works were written in German, but he published also some learned works on diviuity in Latin. Fraucke died in 1727, and the following establishments, all of which we believe still exist at Halle, owe to him their foundation and bear his name :-1, the Orphms Asylum, in which poor orphans of both sexes are gratuitously educated; 2, the Pedagegium, an institution for the education of young men of the higher and middle classes, founded in 1696; 3, the Latin School, established for the education of children not belonging to wealthy families, and divided into nine classes ; 4, German or Burgher Schools for boys aud girls ; 5, the East India Missionary Establishment ; and 6, the Cansteinian Biblical Institution. This last establishment was the forerunner of Bible societies. It was founded by Baron Cansteiu, a German nobleman, who, after having spent a part of his life in courts aud camps, became by his intercourse with Francke religiously disposed, and by his exertions and the aid of subscriptions established the biblical institution of Halle, in order to promote the reading and circulation of the Scriptures among the poorer classes. The profits derived from the sale of the Bibles and New Testaments which it prints and sells go to the support of Fraucke's institutions, which also derive a con siderable income from lands and other charitable gifts bequeathed to them chiefly by persons who have been educated there, as well as from a bookselling, printing, and publishing establishment, which is the property of the above-mentioned institutions.