Ex Libris C. K. OGDEN t ■ THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES WW. (1 FRANCES MARY BUSS Plwio. by Russell and Sons. ycuttu FRANCES MARY BUSS AND HER WORK FOR EDUCATION BY ANNIE E. RIDLEY We work in hope " The School Motto WITH PORTRAITS AND OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS LONDON LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO. AND NEW YORK 1S95 All rights reserved LA ,2377 B9 early in the fifties, are to be found several papers concerning the foundation of (Jueen's College, thus finally summed up by the editor — 1 In the English Education Journal, 1S49. E 50 GIRLHOOD. " With reference to the article on Queen's College in our last number, Mr. Laing, as Hon. Sec. to the Governesses' Benevolent Institution, desires us to state that the society was in communica- tion with the Government and other parties respecting the estab- lishment of the college as early as 1844, whilst there was no communication with the present professors until 1847 ; and that her Majesty granted to the society the permission to use the Royal name for the college before any connection was formed with the present professors. " Whilst, therefore, the success of the college is wholly attributable to the character and talents of its teachers, the college would have existed under any circumstances." In the same year, six months later, Bedford College was founded, mainly by Mrs. Reid and Miss Bostock, and among the ladies interested we find many names afterwards prominent in the movement for opening the Universities to women, as those of Lady Romilly, Lady Belcher, Mrs. (afterwards Lady) Crompton, Mrs. (afterwards Lady) Goldsmid, Mrs. Jameson, Mrs. Bryan Walter Procter, Lady Pollock, Miss Julia Smith, Mrs. Strutt (afterwards Lady Belper), Miss Emily Davies, Miss Anna Swanwick, and Mrs. Hensleigh Wedgwood. One distinct difference between Queen's College and Bedford College is that the first was managed by men, with a man as the principal and women only as lady-visitors. Bedford College had from the first a mixed committee, and the visitor who represented the head might be of either sex. Latterly Miss Anna Swanwick has held this post. Results seem to indicate the advantage of giving women an equal share in the education of girls. It was by Mr. Laing's introduction that Miss Buss became one of the first pupils of the evening classes at Queen's College. The Queen's College of that day (1848) bore little resemblance to the colleges of a AN INTELLECTUAL AWAKENING. 5 I quarter of a century later, but there was an enormous stride onwards in the curriculum offered to its first pupils. In her " History of Cheltenham College," Miss Beale gives us a glimpse of these classes — " Queen's College offered to grant certificates to governesses. . . . My sisters and I were amongst some of the first to offer our- selves for examination. For Holy Scripture the examiner was the Rev. E. H. Plumptre, afterwards Dean of Wells, so well known for his Biblical Commentaries, his great learning, and his translations of the Creek dramatists and Dante. He also examined in classics. In modern history and literature we had the pleasure of bein^ examined by Professor Maurice. The viva voce was a delightful conversation ; he led us on by his sympathetic manner and kindly appreciation so that we hardly remembered he was an examiner. For French and German our examiners were Professors Brasseur and Bernays ; for mathematics, Professor Hall and Mr. Cock; for music, Sterndale Bennett ; and for pedagogy, the head of the Battersea Training College." The names of the Rev. Charles Kingsley, for English literature and composition ; of Professor Nicolay, for history and geography ; and of Professor Hullah, for vocal music, also appear on the list. It was of classes like these that, as a girl of twenty- one, Frances Mary Buss became a happy pupil. Her father's interest in art and science had prepared her to enter into the spirit of such teaching, and to profit by the influence of the great men who threw their whole souls into their work. What this meant to the girls thus privileged is shown in lives like those of Miss Buss, Miss Beale, Miss Frances Martin, or Miss Julia Wedgwood, and many more perhaps less known to fame. A memory comes back to me of an evening in 18S1, spent at Myra Lodge, where the difference between the old and the new order of things was emphasized in a 52 GIRLHOOD. marked degree. Standing out from the far past, as precursors of the new era, were Miss Buss herself, Miss Beale, and Miss Frances Martin ; midway, as a Schools Inquiry Commissioner, was Mr. J. G. Fitch ; while the moderns bloomed out in Dr. Sophie Bryant, one of the earliest Cambridge Local candidates, and the very first woman-Doctor of Science ; Miss Rose Aitkin, B.A., stood for the arts ; and, I think, Miss Sara A. Burstall (since B.A.) as the first girl who had, like her brothers, educated herself by her brains, passing, largely by scholarships, up from the Camden School, through the Upper School, and on to Girton. It was a thing to remember to hear how the three elder women spoke of the old and new days, and then to see what had been done for the girls through their efforts. Miss Buss told us many things of her girlhood, and her difficulties in fitting herself for her work ; and especially of the stimulus and delight of the new world of thought and feeling opened by those first lectures. Miss Beale and Miss Martin, coming later, had enjoyed all the advantages of Queen's College, but they did not the less appreciate those first lectures. As they spoke in glowing terms of Professor Maurice, one could not but wish that he might have been there to see the three grand women who have done so much for woman- hood — pupils worthy of even such a master. The picture fixed itself in my mind of Frances Mary Buss, in the first ardour of this new intellectual awakening. She was teaching all day in her own school, so that she could take only the evening classes. There were at that time no omnibuses, and night after night, her day's work done, the enthusiastic girl walked from Camden Town to Queen's College and back. Night after night she sat up into the small hours, entranced by her new studies, preparing thus not only for the A "FINISHED" EDUCATION. 53 papers which won for her the desired certificates, but for that greater future of which she did not then even dream. In her Autobiography, MissCobbe gives a very telling summary of the education of the earlier part of this century, in her account of the particular school in which her own education had been, as it was called, " finished," at a cost, for two years, of £1000. How she began it for herself afterwards she also tells, but of this finished portion she thus writes — " Nobody dreamed that any one of us could, in later life, be more or less than an ornament to Society. That a pupil in that school should become an artist or authoress would have been regarded as a deplorable dereliction. Not that which was good or useful to the community, or even that which would be delightful to ourselves, but that which would make us admired in society was the raison a\'trc of such requirement. '• The education of women was probably at its lowest ebb about half a century ago. It was at that period more pretentious than it had ever been before, and infinitely more costly ; and it was likewise more shallow and senseless than can easily be believed. To inspire young women with due gratitude for their present privileges, won for them by my contemporaries, I can think of nothing better than to acquaint them with some of the features of school-life in England in the days of their mothers. I say advisedly in those of their mothers, for in those of their grand- mothers things were by no means equally bad. There was much less pretence, and more genuine instruction, so far as it extended." We are justified in the conclusion that Mrs. Wyand's school, in which Frances Mar)' Buss received her train- ing, as pupil and then as assistant, was one of the survivals from this olden time. From one of the pupils, who was there as a child while Miss Buss was assistant-mistress, we have a sketch of Mrs. Wyand as a slight, erect little lady, with very dark eyes, and with black hair, in the ringlets of that era, confined on each side by tortoiseshell side-combs. She always 54 GIRLHOOD. wore long rustling silk gowns, and altogether was an impressive personage, before whom the most volatile schoolgirl at once grew staid and sober. Mention of Miss Buss herself seems limited to a certain satisfaction in having carried provocation to so great an extent as to make the young teacher cry. But we may easily imagine that before the end of that encounter the tables were turned, and that then may have begun the treat- ment of " naughty girls " so successful in later life. Thanks to the good training received under Mrs. Wyand, Miss Buss was able, at the age of eighteen, to take an active part in the school opened by Mrs. Buss in Clarence Road. Before she was twenty-three she had gained the Queen's College Diploma, and she then became the head of the new school in Camden Street, which was the outcome of this first venture. The course of instruction included most of the subjects now taught, and Miss Eleanor Begbie — who claims to have been the first pupil in Camden Street, and who has been superintendent of the Sandall Road School, familiar, therefore, with all new methods — affirms confidently that the Science and Art classes taken by Mr. Buss were "as good, and quite as interesting, as anything given now." This is confirmed by Mrs. Pierson, who says of these very happy school-days — " Her dear father greatly added to the enjoyment of school life by giving us courses of lectures illustrated by diagrams on geology, astronomy, botany, zoology, and chemistry, quite equal to those given by highly paid professors of the present day, and he gave them for love, and nothing extra was put down in the bills, although each course was an education by itself, given in his lucid and most interesting way." These lectures, as Mrs. S. Buss says in her remini- scences — THE N. LONDON COLLEGIATE SOFTOOL FOR LADIES. 55 "awakened in many a pupil the thirst for reading and study. His artistic talent, and the pleasant excursions for sketching from Nature, were novel inspirations in the days when the ordinary girlish specimens of copied drawings resembled nothing in Nature. A good elocutionist himself, he taught us to read and recite with expression." His daughter had the same gift, inherited or acquired, and her school has always been specially distinguished in all examinations for the excellence of the reading. Mrs. S. Buss mentions, in addition to Mrs. Laing, as also specially interested in the school — " the Rev. Canon Dale, Vicar of St. Pancras, and his two sons, Pelham and Lawford Dale ; the Rev. Cornelius Hart, Vicar of Old St. I'ancras ; the Rev. R. P. Clemenger, Vicar of St. Thomas', \ jar Town ; the Revs. E. Spooner and Charles Lee, the imme- diate successors of Mr. Laing ; the Countess of Hardwicke, one of the earliest and most faithful friends of the school, whose daughter, Lady Elizabeth Biddulph, still continues the yearly prize for good conduct, and whose warm letter of sympathy, in January, was one of the many we received. We all remember, too, Judge Payne, and his witty impromptu verses at so many prizc-givings." When we listen to these memories of the earlier school-days, we cannot dispute the position that — " The foundation of the North London Collegiate School for Ladies was not merely the commencement of one special school, but was an era in education. If we very old pupils can carry our mind back to the time when the ' Guide to Knowledge ! and ' Mangnall's Questions' were the chief standard school-books for most of the scientific and historical instruction that girls received ; when the mildest form of gymnastics (such as jumping over a stick held a icw inches above the ground) was deemed so unladylike that some girls were withdrawn from the earliest classes formed ; when the study of the most rudimentary physiology horrified the Mrs. Grundies of the period, who would not permit their daughters to continue the course after the first lesson (like the mother of later times at the primary school, who wrote to the teacher, ' Mrs. S asks that my Mary Jane do not go again to those lessons 56 GIRLHOOD. where they talk about their bodies : first, which it is nasty ; and second, which it is rude ! ') ; the time when we learnt pages of dictionary, with meanings, in the first class, and rules of dry-as- dust grammar, without any meaning to us for years afterwards ; the time when it was asserted and believed, that a girl's mind was incapable of grasping any mathematical knowledge beyond the first four rules of arithmetic ; — we can, remembering those good old times, see what a wonderful stride was taken in girls' education by the North London Collegiate School, even in its infancy. Can we not recall those long tramps, to and fro, when the present North London Railway ran only between Chalk Farm and Fenchurch Street, and when there was no service of omnibuses between the various districts ? Fares, even when a conveyance could be had, were fares, sixpence or a shilling. Do we not remember the over- skirts insisted on by Miss Buss as a protection from the wet, at a time when waterproof clothing was unknown ? What dressing and undressing went on round the stove, where Miss Reiieau sat with the default list, to put down the name of any too riotous girl ! What a delight the giant strides and see-saws were to the athletic young damsels of the period, while the more staid elders waited anxiously for the chance of a turn with the dear head-mistress, who gave up her hour of leisure to talk and walk with us on the play- ground, and give us a word of sympathy, counsel, or encourage- ment, or tell some funny story, or teach some new game, sharing her brimming cup of life with us all — ever regardless of her own need of rest!" From letters at this period we have a glimpse of this young head-mistress at work and at play, both of which she did very thoroughly. The work must have been rather overdone, and we may admire the self-control which is remembered as so marked a characteristic, when we see that it came from real self-conquest. In 1859 she writes to her brother Septimus, speaking of herself and her cousin Maria (Mrs. Septimus Buss) — " As usual at this period — and, for that matter, at most periods — of the year, we are overworked. At times I am so irritable I feel inclined to throw things at people, and twice this week I have allowed myself to be provoked into a fit of temper. It is so grievous afterwards to reflect upon. Why was I made so WORK AND PLAY. 57 gunpovvdery ? I do think, however, the provocation was very great, though that, of course, is no excuse." The next letter is to her father in holiday-time : — " Dinan, i860. " Everything has combined to make this holiday delightful, and I am so well and happy, that I feel as if I was only twenty years of age, instead of a hundred, as I do in Camden Street. I find myself talking slang to the boys, and actually shouting fag-ends of absurd choruses from mere lightheadedness. " 1 am very sorry to say that I do not feel any more industrious, though doubtless 1 shall have to recover from that complaint in London. Also I regret to say that I have to-day incurred the severe displeasure of our wee blue-eyed laddie ! CHAPTER III. INFLUENCE. " You were the sower of a deathless seed, The reaper of a glorious harvest, too ; But man is greater than his greatest deed, And nobler than your noblest work were you ! " Emily Hickey. " I am always thinking of the first time I ever saw her — in the old house in Camden Street, when I was seven years old, a timid child, sent upstairs with a message, which I stood and mumbled at the door. I remember her now — an elegant dark young lady, she seemed to me — with curls and a low-necked dress, as we all had then. She told me to come forward and deliver my message as if I wasn't frightened ; and I remember now how her vigorous in- tensity seemed to sweep me up like a strong wind. And that is forty-four years ago ! " This graphic sketch, from the pen of Mrs. Alfred Marks, gives us the young head of the new school as she must have looked in 1850, when the first venture in Clarence Road became the North London Collegiate School for Ladies, reconstructed after the lines of Queen's College, founded two years before. Among the many appreciative notices with which the entire press of England met the news of the death of one of the foremost educators of the time, none went so straight to the mark as that of a country paper, the Bath Herald, which seized on the most distinctive point of this remarkable personality. After observing that PERSONAL INFLUENCE. 59 it is rare for the influence of a schoolmistress to be felt beyond her immediate circle, it thus proceeds — " There is not a county of her native country, not a colony of its empire, where the news of this death will not have saddened the hearts of pupils and friends. " When she began her great work the matter of girls' education was still a 'question.' Miss Buss solved it in the most direct and practical fashion ; and every college for women, and every high school for girls, is a memorial of her labours. A personality of singular charm, and of what the slang of the day calls ' magnetism,' wholly without pedantry or self-consciousness, persuaded Royal Commissioners, City Companies, Lord Mayors and Royal Prin- cesses, physicians, and even Universities, that women might be thoroughly educated without any danger to themselves or the State. To mention her name to any one of the many thousand pupils scattered over the face of the earth, was to raise constantly emotions of affection and pride. Undoubtedly she was one of the 'pioneers' of the century, and is secure of a niche in the temples of memory and of fame." These words are written at the end of her career, but they were true from the beginning. It is most truly characteristic of her that her power was exercised without self-consciousness. On one occasion I had re- marked on her wonderful influence, and find her answer in a brief sentence, after which she turns to some more practical subject with her instinctive distaste for intro- spection or self-dissection : " What you say about personal influence strikes me curiously. I cannot pos- sibly measure it or even understand it. To a certain extent I am conscious of an influence over young girls, but am not able to explain it." To those who knew her well, the explanation comes readily enough as we find her power of impressing others to be the result of the vividness of her sympathy, and of the imagination which, transcending mere per- sonal limitations, is able actually to enter into the life 60 INFLUENCE. of others, no matter how diverse in temperament or in circumstances. Speaking of her as she was in middle life, Mrs. Marks offers a suggestion full of interest, as she says — " Her utter spontaneity, her sense of people and things in their living essences, made a very deep and lasting impression on me. And some kind words she said to me — which showed she had seen into my very heart — were a greater encouragement to me than I can express. Their meaning was that she felt I was spontaneous, and had not settled down into conventionality ; and as things were very real to me, it was a comfort to know that she too thought them so." It was doubtless as a direct consequence of this vision of the " soul of things " that the mere names of things meant so much more to Miss Buss than to most of us, to whom in general a name is the mere husk of the thing it stands for. Seeing through these names as she did, they stood to her for all the living reality of which they were the symbols. With the name, she came into possession of all that went to make up the personality represented by it. Surroundings, time, place, with every other relation, became an inseparable part of any name that once fixed itself in this truly royal memory. To every one who met her it was a standing wonder how she could know so much of the thousands of girls who had passed under her care. That she did know them is a fact that comes into almost every memorial relating to her, from those first simple days when she gave herself without stint to the little band of pupils, up to the very last, when her circle of influence was bounded only by the bounds of the empire itself. It is not surprising that so many of these girls should bear for life the impress of this strong influence. But still there is something to call for comment in the depth of the feeling thus aroused. Before even the suggestion of approaching death had lifted the veil of HERO- W0RSIII1 '. 6 1 commonplace, which so often hides from us the beauty of those with whom we walk the dusty path of everyday life, there came, in answer to questions about the "story of the school," so many reminiscences of the early days, giving the freshness of early enthusiasm, all undimmed by the daily intercourse of nearly fifty years, that one could not but marvel. Many of those first pupils have remained as teachers, many others have settled in the neighbourhood as friends, and to not a few this deep affection has been the master- passion of their lives. In the wisdom of these later times it is thought well to chill the fervour of the too engrossing devotion to which very young enthusiasts are prone. But nothing seems to have checked the ardour of these early days, while only good has resulted from a love which has moulded so many lives to strength and beauty. One of the old pupils says of this time — '• She was true, so staunch, so utterly wanting in all the little pettinesses that so often mar even noble characters, that it is no wonder we, her own girls, made a ' hero ' of her and worshipped her. But it was a noble worship, and killed our selfishness. We wanted not so much her approbation, but to live such lives that, could she know them, might deserve her approval."' And another, of later date, commenting on the modern repression of youthful enthusiasm, fixes on the point that essentially divides the influence that is only life-giving from that which is sickly and morbid — " Any devotion roused by her love and care for those brought into contact with her never savoured of this foolish adoration, because her sympathy, though so personal, was in a sense so impersonal and altruistic. She helped people because they wanted help, and not that she might be an absorbing personality to them.'' Of a piece with the selflessness of such ministry is another characteristic mentioned by the same writer — 62 INFLUENCE. " There is one point which always specially struck and helped me, and that was the wonderful way she had of bringing together people who would help each other by virtue of her sympathetic insight into character. Many most fruitful friendships must owe their origin to her loving thought. Even when, from the fulness of her own life, she was unable, to the same extent in the small details, to ' mother ' all her ' children,' yet she always had some friend or ' other child ' ready to go on with what she had begun." How she could keep to her old friends, when the pupil grew up to closer intimacy, is shown in one of the letters written to me while she was still amongst us. It is also touching in the light it throws on her relation to the sanctities and sorrows of quiet home- life, and what she could be to those who needed her. It is happy to remember that in the lovely home of this dear pupil-friend the beloved teacher found rest and refreshment in many a weary time ; and we may thank Mrs. Pierson for this glimpse into that deeper life, of which she writes from a full heart — " It is not often that ladies contend for the honour of age, but Miss Begbie and I have had one or two friendly squabbles as to which of us is the elder ' old pupil.' / think it was the second term of the opening of dear Miss Buss' school, in 1850, that I became one of her happy pupils, and from that day to this she has been my loving guide and friend, sharing many deep sorrows and deeper joys. She has been so great an influence in my life that I have always felt I could realize the verse, ' For a good man some would even dare to die.' " In those early days we were a comparative handful of girls, and had the benefit of Miss Buss' society nearly all to our- selves, enjoying the very cream of her young life, intellect, and enthusiasm. "It was all like fairyland teaching to me, and in the ex- uberance of my enjoyment, I am obliged to confess that I was a little troublesome, and often managed to upset the equilibrium of the class, bringing upon myself the ordeal of a lecture in Miss Buss' private room after school. I always went into that room raging like a young lioness, but invariably came out a plaintive MEMORIES. <>3 lamb, vowing never to offend again. In order to comfort and soothe my passionate grief, dear Miss Buss often kept me to tea with her and her pleasant family party, and I fear that that enjoy- ment had a demoralizing effect upon my good resolutions. " I was motherless when I first knew Miss Buss, and had been utterly spoilt by an over-indulgent father until he married again a lady quite out of sympathy with a girl of fourteen. I should have turned into a veritable fury, and ended in perdition, if I had not come across the spiritual influence of dear Miss Buss. She supplied every want in my soul, and I gladly gave myself to her loving guidance, often falling, but always encouraged, until in after years I was strong enough to be able to part with life's best" treasures one by one, and to say — •• ' U is well with my husband, It is well with my child.' " I could fill a volume with all dear Miss Buss has enabled me to be, to do and to suffer, and with what she has been to me through all— and not io me only, for all the girls of my time worshipped her, and she never of Iter own accord loses touch with an old pupil. But what I have said will doubtless suffice for your purpose." A large volume might indeed be filled with " memories " — extending from those early days till a year ago — of the kindness and sympathy ever flowing out from that time to this. It seemed to me very striking when the same post brought two letters — one dating back to 1S50, the other only to 1890 — and, spite of the forty years between, telling just the same story. The one shows us the young teacher standing at the parlour door, " with a kiss for each pupil at the end of the day's work," with a " grace of manner and gentle voice " deeply impressing the child to whom for forty- four years afterwards she became "ever a most kind and constant friend, ever ready with sympathy." Then comes a picture of a wild, daring girl, dashing to the end of the long garden and back in the rain, on 64 INFLUENCE. her return to be called into the parlour to account for herself. Of the reproof she adds — " I remember little but its gentleness, and the kind arm round me while it was being given ; but, at the end, I was required to promise never to do anything because I was dared to do it. After that Miss Buss led me by a silken thread all through my school- days, though the other teachers often found me headstrong and troublesome." There is an account of how Miss Buss ended a standing feud between the girl and " Mademoiselle " by the exaction of a promise from the reluctant pupil that she would set herself to win the French prize. And finally comes the graver side of this happy relation — "When at the age of thirteen I left school to go abroad, Miss Buss still continued her kindness, writing to me while I was away, and giving me kind welcome on my return. To see her again was always my first thought after the home-greeting. " After my first trouble she wrote thus to me — " ' I feel much for you, dear E . Your experience of life is beginning early, and so is your discipline. Discipline, though wholesome, is never pleasant. And then, when one is young, one's feelings are so acute. I remember what I went through at your age, and under similar circumstances. Nevertheless, my greater experience than yours, poor child, makes me confess that" tribula- tion worketh patience." Amidst all your trials, dearE , always trust me. I do not intend to let a light thing come between me and " auld lang syne " folks.' " The second letter is also from one of the madcap order — a wilful, high-spirited bit of mischief, fascinating in her pranks, but often enough a source of real anxiety to her teachers, and even to the dignified head herself, known to this child only when almost worn out with the long strain of school-life and of her heavy public work. But here are words as straight from the child's heart as from that of the woman who could count back through nearly fifty years of friendship — SENSE OF LOSS. 65 "Jan. 31, 1895. "Dear Miss Edwards, "There is so much I want to say, but I do not know how to say it. This distance is so awful. "I think it is because I cannot realize that I shall never see M iss Buss again. If I were near I could realize it better ; it seems more like some fearful dream to me. " I wish I was near you to tell you how deeply I sympathize and share in the sorrow that I know the loss of so kind and true a friend must be to you. "And how many hundreds of girls will feel the same ! "All the world over there will be hearts aching to think that they will never see Miss Buss again. " I can but judge others by myself, and I know that it was not till I had left school, and had been out here some time, that I realized more fully what a great blessing had been mine that I had been allowed to know Miss Buss ; that, while I was at the age when girls most need loving, firm guidance, I should have had Her for a kind teacher and friend. It will always be to me one of the best and happiest remembrances of my life, for I truly feel it a great honour bestowed on me." There will always be the two kinds of girl — the one who is content with the life of the present moment, and the one who " looks before and after," to whom the present moment is only a fixed point between past and future. In speaking for herself, one of the first kind speaks for many more, as she naively says, " I fancy we were too much occupied with ourselves to think much about Miss Buss while we were at school!" The second class speak for themselves in every variety of intensity, but all to the same pur- pose : " No one can ever know what she was to me. All that I am, and all that I have, I owe to her in- fluence or to her help ! " Over and over comes the same cry, in which the blank of present loss foretells the future loneliness bereft of the strength and comfort of the past. From one of the younger pupils we have again the F 66 INFLUENCE. growing sense of what she had less kindly felt at the moment — " I feel that there are so many women, not in England only, but all over the world, who will rise up to call her ' blessed.' As time goes on I more appreciate the training I had under her, and it seems to me now, that but for her influence I could not possibly have fulfilled the home and public duties that have fallen to my lot, and that it has been a pleasure to me to undertake." And yet another — "We who were with her in the impressionable days of our youth must all feel how much we owe her, in the view of life she gave us, and the tone of healthy energy she brought into our lives. I am sure her loss will be as widely felt as that of Arnold by his old pupils long ago." To give the experience of all who come back year by year to give a record of their work in hospital ward or East End slum, in home workhouses or foreign missions, would be too heavy a task ; but, as illustrative of the wide range of influence exercised in matters social and philanthropic, we may give a letter from one in whom the " Gospel of Work " found an apt disciple. Mrs. Heberden, one of the first three ladies elected as lady guardians in St. Pancras, was, as Sarah Ward Andrews, one of the pupils of the second decade, dating from 1861, but she has the same record of delight in the teaching and the same devotion to the teacher as those of earlier date. What most impressed her, however, she gives as follows : — " During my stay Miss Buss' mother died, and though in great sorrow, she continued all her work. 1 remember her remark that, ' Work, originally a curse to mankind, was now a blessing, not permitting us to dwell on our trials and losses.' From that time Miss Buss was a great factor for all that is best and highest in my life ; and when, in 1873, I lived near her in Hampstcad, I was brought into active public life by her request. She asked me to POWER OF LOVING ^7 help in the School Board election of that year, when Miss Chessar and Mrs. Cowell were returned for Marylebone. "All the great interest I have taken in women's work began then, encouraged by Miss Buss' earnest sympathy and advice. "In 1880 I was elected Poor Law Guardian in St. Pancras, for the ward in which Holy Trinity Church stands, where Miss Buss had attended for a long time. Her name secured me much support ; without it, I doubt if I should have been returned, for the opposition to Women Guardians was then very great, and the difficulties enormous. Miss Buss' counsel was most valuable to me at this time as always, so wise and judicious. ' Forward, but not too fast,' was ever her motto." Here is another word to the same purpose, from an East End hospital : — " How many lives will be impoverished now ! She was so true and great-hearted. Wasn't it wonderful how she remembered the details of so many lives? She never treated us collectively. My life would have been so different but for the time spent with her. She prepared many for a sharp wrestle with life's difficulties. And how she remembered one's home people too ! " Such a wave of sadness comes over me as I think of her ; and yet, what a life hers was to rejoice over ! So full and generous. Hers was such a rich loving nature. Surely many, thinking of what she has done, may indeed ' take heart again ! ' If I felt less, I might be able to say more." We could go on adding witness after witness in those who have thus loved her. One thing only is more wonderful than this general love, and that is the power of loving to which it all came as response. It is by putting together the impressions of complete satisfac- tion given to each of these many varying needs, that we finally reach some adequate estimate of this grand personality. Each person in any relation to her, had a special and real place in her regard, just as each child has its own place in its mother's heart — a place of its very own. In this wide heart there was room for all, and each distinct and distinctly separate. There was 68 INFLUENCE. here no mere jumble of meaningless amiability. The loves and the likings were quite definite. And possibly the dislikings also ; but of these no one heard very much. Of hate and scorn there was none for anything but evil itself. Her practice, like her teaching, was "to be merciless to the sin, but very tender to the sinner." Almost more telling, in their intensity of regret, than even these thanksgivings for the joy of such a friend- ship, are the thoughts of one who was "glad just to claim a place among the old pupils" in the crowded church on that sad New Year's Eve, when every heart in the vast assembly beat in unison in the same love and sorrow. During life there seemed always a vitalizing principle in the influence of the leader thus mourned ; and who may measure the latent forces set free in this great wave of feeling ? — forces that might help to bring about the hope of these first words — " As for the public loss, that is greater than we can understand, because we shall never know how much she has done for women till we know how much women will be able to do in the future. But she helped more than women by what she did. She raised the whole standard of life in raising the standard of women's education." And then, in the light of this flash of insight into the greatness of the work, comes a sense of personal loss, in a lament which seems to bear with it the echo of all the sighs of all the women of past ages, who desired and aspired, but yet strove in vain, to break the chains of ignorance that held them bound — chains broken at length by this strong hand ! How many a girl must have inwardly rebelled against the deadening routine of the old conventional schools, though so few had the strength by which this once "timid child" won her own freedom. Measuring A REGRET. 69 what have been by the force of that first never-forgotten impression of the "vigorous intensity that swept her up like a strong wind," her words of regret that her school-life had not been spent under that influence come as among the saddest of the laments of that sorrowful day — " Thinking it over after she was gone, a perfect agony of regret came over me that I was not always her pupil. In church, that day, the regret was so pregnant that it almost stupefied me. . . . When I think that Miss Buss was at our very doors, I can scarcely bear to look back. Think of what I might have been saved— the unutterable loneliness of those five years, the misery, the deliberate fostering, of set purpose, of a morbid self-consciousness and self- distrust. Why, I have never got over it ! The deadening effect of those five years clings to me still. I consider that it kept me back fifteen years. Instead of leaving school broken-spirited and irresolute, I should have had the inspiration of knowing that I had been part of the great human movement. As it was, I had to grope my way to modern thought. " I made very few friends at school, and shrunk from all. If I had gone there I should have found a door open into the real life I sought. But, above all, just think of exchanging Miss S for Miss Buss ! — spontaneity for repression, an honest straight- forward ideal of duty, for a system based upon ' Mason on Self- knowledge'! (That book ought to be burnt by the common hangman.) " Oh, I thought some bitter thoughts as I sat that day among the old pupils, thankful just to have the right to sit there at all ! " There seems indeed good cause for regret that a nature so sensitive should not have had full room for unchecked growth in the warm sunny atmosphere of this school, when the young teacher was free to throw herself into the lives of her pupils. Freedom of growth — with all the joy of such freedom— forms the great wonder of those early days. The proof of the true vitality of this growth is in the fact that these early pupils came themselves into 70 INFLUENCE. possession of that power of impressing others which was so distinctive of their teacher. I was very much struck by this fact when I first heard of Miss Buss from one of these old pupils, Miss L. Agnes Jones, who, though only for a few months under her influence, never lost the impression either of the teaching or of the teacher, so unlike all previous experience. Years afterwards, the time for action found her ready, and she became a potent factor in the first stages of the change that has affected so many lives. All the " memories " from old pupils bear witness to the same thing, put strongly by one who was after- wards a member of her staff: — " She was to me a guide, a magnet, leading me on, higher and higher, above all self-seeking, all petty vanities, all ignoble ambi- tions. ... I speak reverently when I say that her whole life seems to me a sort of ladder or pulley to help us up nearer to the Perfect Life lived on earth by our Great Model." One example of this life giving influence may be given, belonging to the early days when, through Miss Jones, I also had come within its sphere, and felt its fascination. Up to the day when, in a chance call on one of us, she heard us talk of Miss Buss and her work, Miss Fanny Franks had been quite content and happy as a somewhat exceptionally successful daily governess, appreciated by her pupils and their parents, and taking just pride in the instruction given after her own original fashion. She taught in this way for part of five days a week, and, for the rest, lived a pleasant girl-life at home with her sisters, all undisturbed by educational theories. One flash of the new inspiration was enough to change all this easy and happy experience into struggle and effort. After the talk on that first day Miss Franks A TRANSFORMATION. J I had gone straight to Miss Buss and offered her services. " But, my dear, you have had no training ! In these days some credentials are necessary," was the sufficiently discouraging reply. But having now seen Miss Buss for herself, there was no going back for the new ad- herent. If training were necessary, training must be had. At what cost is shown in her letter — " Having given up so much to this end, I should be sorry not to go on. By ' going on ' I mean the examination, and by 'giving up,' leaving home and coming to live up here with only books for seven or eight months. This examination and the hard study, and the ill-health and spirits consequent thereupon, are the reasons why I did not take an express train to London immediately on receipt of dear Miss Jones' letter, which at any other time would have gladdened me beyond expression. But it is all Miss Buss' fault. She first inspired me with the idea of an examination. Had it not been for her I should, in happy ignorance, have looked upon myself as a good and capable teacher, not merely in flic making — as now — but ready and fit to do whatever she might propose." Having been the cause of so decided a change, Miss Buss was too loyal not to do all in her power to make it a success. In her letters to me I find allusions during the whole time which show her thoughtful consideration of the best means to the end. She found a post in the school, and lost no chance of fruitful suggestion. At her wish Miss Franks attended Mr. Payne's lectures, at the College of Preceptors, on the Theory, History, and Practice of Education, and no one was more pleased when Miss Franks came out as an Associate of the college. Again, when Miss Franks finally discovered her true vocation, Miss Buss arranged to give her two days a week for the Kindergarten experiments, now so supreme a success. And now, being herself a leader, with her own band of students taking a foremost place in the Kindergarten movement, Miss Franks is only the more loyal to her 72 INFLUENCE. own chosen leader, and among the many expressions of loss come her pathetic words — " The sad time has come, and we have lost our wonderful friend. Never will there be another Frances Buss ! It makes me ache to think of the faithful ones like Miss Begbie, and many others, who have worked under her flag for so many years, and have lost their splendid leader ! Ah me ! it is a sad time for us all ! " CHAPTER IV. HELPFULNESS. "A mother, though no infant at thy breast Was nursed, no children clung about thy knee : Vet shall the generations call thee blest, Mother of nobler women yet to be." To F. .1/. /■'. JUST ten years after that picture of splendid vigour which had so taken captive " the timid child of seven," we have a companion portrait in a not less lasting impression made on a shy girl of seventeen, who after the long lapse of years, thus recalls that first interview — " You ask me what it is which stands out most clearly in my early recollections of our dear friend. It is nearly thirty-three years since I saw her first, but I always remember her as I saw her then. She was seated at her table (a round table) in what in those days was always called 'the parlour.' It corresponded to the 'office 1 of the present day, but with this difference, that Miss Kuss was always to be found there whenever she was not occupied with her girls, in teaching or in superintending their work. She was her own secretary, and we all became thoroughly accustomed to seeing her writing there, but ready to lay aside her pen and give her undivided attention to any one who needed it. Indeed, to the best of my recollection, the door always stood partly open. I felt there was something different about her from what I was ac- customed to observe in other women. There was such a mingling of motherliness and sweetness with intense earnestness and thoroughness about her work. She was at that time in deep mourning. Her mother had died shortly before, and also the- 74 HELFFULNESS. Reverend David Laing, under whose wing she had begun, and for several years carried on, her school. The double grief had been felt very keenly, and she had been so ill that her hair was already mingled with grey. I remember the way she dressed it — the front hair being brought down over the ears, and the back rolled under and covered with a black net. Her black dress was plainly made, but fitted well. It was long, and made her look taller than she was. " I felt attracted to her at once, and, as I got to know her, I found that my first impressions were more than justified by experience." The change is very striking from the vivacious and vigorous young head of the new school of 1850 and this grave, kind woman of i860, a change greater than the mere lapse of time can justify. But the loss of her mother, followed so closely by that of her friend Mr. Laing, who had been the mainstay of all her school career, must have been to her as the uprooting of her very life. To the end she spoke of her mother with the same deep tenderness. She had been friend as well as mother, a double tie that meant so much as the daughter grew to be the helper. Family claims took firm grasp of this loyal nature, and the mother's death meant also taking her place to the father, left for the time helpless without the all -pervading care that had stood between him and all the minor miseries that loom so large to the artist temperament. How this trust was fulfilled shows in the daughter's words when, fifteen years afterwards, this work of love was ended. "Jan. 3, 1875. " On Saturday I go away with my father to Worthing. He has been growing more and more feeble, and is a constant source of anxiety. I feel that he needs me, and yet I cannot give up more time to him than can be got on Sunday. 15ut, you see, this means Sunday as well as week-days. If you could peep in on me it would be a pleasure to see your dear face. I think often of you in my hurricane-speed life." FAMILY AFFECTION. 75 "Feb. n. Cs My father is still very ill. It looks as if he were fading away. He is so patient, gentle, and loving to us all, and especially to me, that I can scarcely keep up." " Feb. 20. " My heart is wrung with grief. My dear, dear father is, we believe, sinking. I am going now to him, and shall stay in the house. He likes to have my hand in his, and to speak faintly from time to time of my mother. He tells me I alone can soothe him as she did. He is very peaceful, and suffering no pain, but he is too weak to help himself in the least." " Mar. 10. "I am so sorry to know you are again ill. It makes me sigh. As soon as I can I will call, but I am almost breaking down from nervous prostration. "My Liverpool journey, though likely to be useful, was trying. It is full of my dear father. " You cannot imagine how large a blank he has left in my life. Only time can fill it up. He was the one person to whom I was necessary, and to whom my presence always carried pleasure, and I cannot get into the way of remembering that he is not. ,: " Mar. 13. " I am not well. Some old symptoms have returned, though not in a bad form. I can get through the day, but my evenings and nights are distressing. I am in a sort of anguish which does actually seem to affect my heart. Vet I would not recall my dear, dear father if I could. But nature must have some expression, and I really loved him. Resides, I was nearest to him and closest to him! Many things we understand better now." Knowing so well the power of a mother's love, this daughter had grown into that mother's power of giving herself out, a power that is universally felt as her chief characteristic. Mere is a description of her as she was at the time when this portrait is drawn — '' I think, in those early days, it was her sweet and motherly way of drawing each one of us to her, and caring for each par- ticular person's concerns, and remembering them, which impressed me more than anything else, excepting indeed her very encouraging ?6 HELPFULNESS. manner. She lost no opportunity of saying a loving word of praise, and it would be accompanied by a motherly hug, which warmed one's heart for a long time. That comfortable, loving manner was a great power among teachers and pupils. Many a girl who had given trouble in one department or another, would go out of the parlour, after a talk with Miss Buss, thoroughly softened and helped into a right frame of mind." This motherly kindness won the devotion of a lifetime from the lonely girl so early called to face the world, and Caroline Fawcett well earned her great privilege of being one of the little band whose love soothed the last hours of the friend who had been so much in their lives. Her latest thought, as she writes on that sad New Year's Eve, is the same as the first of so many years before — "But, indeed, it must be a great miss for us, the never being able to go to her for motherly loving sympathy. One of the lights that will go on shining out of her life, and will kindle others, is that loving motherliness. If one could only show a little of it, following in her dear footsteps ! " This aspect of her character impressed even those who had to do with Miss Buss outside her own work. Mr. Garrod, secretary to the Teachers' Guild, who knew her in her public life, says of her: "To me she seemed to be one who was born to shine as head of a family, and to have the domestic rather than the public excellencies." Her school can fairly be regarded as her family, for she may be said to have " mothered " them all — teachers as well as pupils — even in the later days, when public work took so much of her attention. Miss Emily Hickey, one of the visiting professors, who came so much less into contact with her than did the teaching staff, puts this well, as she says of her intense " mother- liness " — MO TI1ERL I NESS. 7 7 "There is no other word for it. No one brought into any emotional contact with her, could fail to realize this, and one can sec how much it must have had to do in binding so fast to her so many women so much younger than she, both in years and in experience." Mrs. Marks says also — <; I remember when I saw her again some years afterwards, and 1 remember how like a mother she seemed to me who wanted a mother so dreadfully. Always after that I thought of her as a sort of universal motht r. There are few women like that ! " On reading these words, a pupil of later years adds to them — '• I, too, wanted a mother, and found so much of what I wanted in her. These might have been my own words, and are, indeed, almost identical with what I have said." And yet another — " I have every reason to remember her with tender regard, and to deeply regret her loss. From the fact that I was motherless, she took an especial interest in my studies and health, making my father and myself deeply grateful to her. I more than ever feel what a friend I have lost. Camden Town is very lonely without her." Mrs. Marks continues — "And then the general impression of geniality and life which was always so conspicuous ! She was so warm, everything about her was infused with warmth. There was no cold impersonality in any of her thoughts. They were all alive. I need not say how kind she was." This kindness was all-inclusive, going down to the least as well as rising to the highest. Among the hundreds of letters of condolence received by Miss Buss' family was one from the firm which undertook the charge of the school clocks, speaking strongly of the kind and gracious way in which their employes had •always been treated. 78 HELPFULNESS. And there is a characteristic story of her in con- nection with her old cabman Downes, who drove her, year after year, to school and to church. On one occasion, hurrying to catch the train to Cambridge, Downes upset his cab, and Miss Buss was extricated without having time to decide whether she was hurt or not, her business being too important to admit of delay. Her first act on reaching her destination was to tele- graph to Downes to assure him that she was not hurt. All records go to show how lasting was her interest in all who made any claim on her, confirming the words of another of her staff, when she says, " Girls, as soon as they left school, felt that they had a friend ever ready to sympathize with them in sorrow or in joy. A happy marriage was a delight to her " — a remark con- firmed by a passage in one of Miss Buss' letters, where she says, " I wish Ada would bring Mr. Z to Myra. I like to see my sons-in-law. He cannot be shyer than Mr. Q ." Here is a note just after the opening of the new buildings by the Prince and Princess of Wales, written for the wedding-day of one of her pupils — " Dear Mary, "Just a line to express my love and good wishes for you and yours to-morrow. " May God bless you in your new state of life ! I shall be with you in spirit, and think of you all. " I hope you have received the little tea-table. The mats for it have been delivered I know, but I am not sure about the table. " I hope Eleanor will send me a short note to say where you have gone, and to give me some account of to-morrow's ceremony. " With my dear love and good wishes, " Believe me, yours affectionately, " Frances M. Buss." To " meet the glad with joyful smiles " would always- UNC0NVENTI0NAL1TY. 79 have been easy to her, but she was more often called " to wipe the weeping eyes ; " for the words of another of the recent pupils was curiously true — " Of late years it has often struck mc as melancholy that the most successful and happiest of her old pupils, settled in homes of their own, or teaching in schools at a distance, could do little more than send an occasional letter, or pay a flying visit, while numbers of the unsuccessful, the weak and helpless, came back to her for the advice and help she never failed to give. Seeing, as she did, numbers of these, she was very strongly impressed by the absolute necessity for young girls to be trained to some employment by which they might, if necessary, earn a livelihood. For women to be dependent on brothers and relations, she considered an evil to be avoided at all costs, and she tried to keep before us the fact that training for any work must develop a woman's intellect and powers, and therefore make her — married or single — a better and a nobler being." ■&■ Another friend adds on this point — " She was so kind and unprejudiced by unconventionality, that she was just as interested and sympathetic and helpful towards an old pupil, who came to her about trying to set up a business (such as dressmaking or millinery), as she was to one going to Girton or trying for a head-mistress-ship.*' As instance of the thoroughness that characterized her efforts to help the girls, one of them gives a little experience which will come home to many a mother, as she recalls the solicitude with which Miss Buss went to any medical consultation needed by delicate girls under her care — " I left school to become a governess myself, and during my first holiday she made an opportunity for a quiet talk with me, entering into all my plans and difficulties, and helping me greatly by her wise and loving counsel. No effort was too great for her to make, if she could thereby help or benefit any of us. Many years later, when my sister had been under Dr. l'layfairs treat- ment, he ordered her abroad, and she was to be accompanied by a companion of whom he should approve. Miss Buss not only SO HELPFULNESS. offered to let her join her party, shortly to start for Marienbad, but went herself to see Dr. Flayfair at eight a.m. (the only time she was free during term-time), in order that he might be satisfied with her as an escort. This meeting proved a mutual pleasure to them." It is pleasant to know that, out of this special thoughtfulness, there came to Miss Buss, not only the companionship in travel, but frequent resting in the happy home of these girls ; and also — a very great satisfaction — the gift to the school of the " Crane Scholarship," to mark their mother's appreciation of this motherly care of her children. But the help given so kindly was by no means limited to inspiration, instruction, or advice, carefully and considerably as this might be thought out for each separate case. Where the means of acting on her suggestions were wanting her sympathy expressed itself in more tangible terms. I remember, one day, after discussing ways and means in some instance of this sort, stopping short, and saying to her, " Do you know Jiozv 1/iauy girls you are helping at this moment ? " In the most matter-of-fact way she answered reflectively, " Well, I could scarcely say, without going into the question ! " Occasionally she would ask help of some one of a little band [of friends willing to give it — often of Miss Laura Soames — so soon to follow her — and of Miss Edith Prance, and others. But more often than not she said nothing about it, generally taking it on herself. When the school had been her own this was easy enough, but in a public school the fees must be paid even by the head-mistress herself. She was, however, free to please herself as to the help she gave at Myra Lodge, and those who may have made calculations of the income derived from the pupils there, might, if they had known all, have found themselves far from accurate in their sum total. A TRIBUTE. 8 1 Here is a little story from far-away times, show- ing not only her burdens, but that still rarer gift, her unwavering steadfastness to an obligation once taken up — " Among her friends was one family whose means were not in full proportion to the Iarge-hcartedness which made the good mother decide to keep as her own a little motherless baby, which she had taken in during its mother's fatal illness. Not only did her own little daughters welcome the baby sister, but even the overworked father accepted without a murmur the sleepless nights which were a small part of his contribution to the new-comer. As soon as Miss Buss heard the story she said at once, 'And I must do my part. Her education shall be my care ! '" — a care that lasted beyond school-days, and included the finding of a fitting occupation for later life. Still another record may be added as typical of so many more ; a story none the less touching for the humorous way in which it is told — "A Short Tribute from 'A Lame Doc' "The work of 'helping lame dogs over stiles 'is not recognized publicly or read on the list amongst the various names of the good works and societies with which our dear Miss Buss was connected, and probably only the ' Lame Dogs ' themselves know what a kind strong hand helped them to climb the dreaded barrier ; but surely among the many thousands who call themselves ' Old North Londoners,' or ' Hussites,' there is a long roll-call of such silent work, deeply graven upon the hearts of those who, like myself, know. " The first morning on which I took my place in the class-room among several other new-comers introduced me individually to Miss Buss, for on hearing my name mentioned she called me to her and asked how it was spelt. This impressed me very much at the time, as I was the only one upon whom this honour was conferred, and my surname was hardly one to deserve special attention. " As time went on, however, the little extra notice was sufficiently explained, for I discovered that another family in the school bore G 82 HELPFULNESS. a name nearly similar to my own, and indeed, throughout my school-life, I was constantly being congratulated upon honours never won, and credited with talents really possessed by the happy bearer of the other name. " This incident doubtless might appear to be trivial and insignificant to many, but to one nervously entering a new sphere of life this was not so ; from that moment I felt I was known to the head-mistress as having a separate individuality, although insignificant enough among so many. " A few years went on, and school-days passed happily enough, without my having any special intercourse with Miss Buss, until, owing to an unexpected crisis in affairs at home, it was suddenly arranged for me to leave. "Then it was that I really began to know our dear head- mistress, and to realize what she was to her girls, and how much she cared individually for each one. " On a memorable morning for the second time she called me out to have a chat with her, and fully discussed my future. She pointed out the drudgery incumbent upon one who was only inefficiently educated, and upon finding that my personal desire was to have studied more thoroughly, she insisted most strongly upon my remaining at school for another year. " I held no scholarship, neither, as affairs then stood, could I receive any help from home. " All remonstrance was immediately swept aside. Miss Buss offered to pay all school fees from her own pocket until I had earned at least a matriculation certificate. She also insisted upon my joining the gymnasium classes, which at that time were enjoyed by those only who paid additional fees. " How could such kindness be refused? From that time work was sacred, and as the terms flew by and the examination loomed in the near future, failure became the one evil in the world most to be dreaded. When the good news at last came out, and Miss Buss, as excited over the result as the expectant candidates, warmly congratulated us, she seemed to let each one know, in a way peculiarly her own, what the pleasure or pain really meant to her ; to myself, having worked under high pressure, her silent sympathy may be better understood than explained. " She trusted us so thoroughly. u My debt was never mentioned in any way by her, and it was only on repaying the loan she told me she was glad to have the money back, as she could then help others in a similar way." "IN SECRET." S3 And there arc so many who, like the writer of this story, also know, though what they know is known to themselves alone. But still, even from such vague hints as have come to them, many intimate friends can echo Eleanor Begbie's exclamation, as she ended an inte- resting talk about the early days, " No one will ever know, on this side of the Day of Judgment, how man)' -iris owe all their education to Miss Buss ! " BOOK II. PUBLIC WORK. iS6o. m -* ^j 3 jP 1872. CHAPTER I. TRANSITION. " The old order changes, giving place to new." My first remembrance of Miss Buss — dating from October, 1870 — is one that will come up very vividly to all who remember her Tuesdays' " at home," at Myra Lodge, and who will recall her gracious way of ad- vancing, with outstretched hand and welcoming smile, to meet her friends. There was a touch of ceremoniousness in her re- ception of strangers that made this smile seem all the sweeter, dispelling a certain awe excited by the presence and dignity, the sense of power and purpose, which were there as the natural outcome of the habit of rule from her childhood upwards. She was rather below than above middle height, but she always gave an impression of being taller than she was in reality. No one could be with her in any close relation without speedily knowing how really kind she was, and, after a very short acquaintance, it was quite easy to believe the story that as Miss Buss made the announce- ment of one of the first passes with honours, the delighted student, in the exuberance of the joy at this success, seized the dignified head-mistress, and whirled her round in an impromptu waltz, ending without doubt in one of those loving embraces which gave so much warmth 88 TRANSITION. to school-life ; a warmth that carried her so happily through so many long years of incessant strain. The heavy responsibilities and many cares of her arduous life always made Miss Buss look older than her years, even before she adopted the distinctive style of dress which, though never out of the fashion, had still a speciality of its own, which always made it seem appropriate. She acted up to her theory that each person should take pains to discover the style most suitable, and then, having found it, should keep as near to it as possible. This she herself did, contriving at the same time to keep in touch with prevailing fashions. Her gowns were always well made — for school and for mornings of some strong serviceable black material, with a simple collar and cap. For receptions, prize- days, and evenings, she wore rich silk or satin, with cap and fichu to match of real lace — her one cherished " vanity." She had a weakness for good lace, not for- o-otten by her friends on anniversaries, so that she acquired a good store of this valued possession. For ornaments she did not care enough to buy them for herself, though as gifts she appreciated them sufficiently. It was a matter of principle with her that it is no less the pleasure than the duty of every woman to make the very best of her appearance ; a duty especially incum- bent in those days on all who held any views which could be called "advanced." As Mrs. Marks says of her, " there was about her an entire absence of pecu- liarity. Never any one seemed less eccentric, and it was impossible for the most rabid opponent of woman's rights to say that she was ' unsexed.' " And just as she had a woman's regard for her appearance, she also cared about her house. The drawing-room of 1870 was not yet what it was later — one of the first finished specimens of decorative BEGINNINGS. 89 household art. That came years afterwards, with her full success. But even before that era, though it might be simple and old-fashioned, it was certain to be tasteful, and as artistic as was then possible. In my very first talk with Miss Buss we touched at once at the point on which she felt most deeply. I had been interested in the question of employment for women, having written some papers for the Art Journal on the " Art-work Open to Women," in which I had come to the conclusion that here, as everywhere, the chief obstacle to success lay in the want of education and of training. A paper read by Dr. W. B. Hodgson at the Social Science Congress, held in Newcastle-on- Tyne, in 1870, followed by an able discussion, had proved the connecting link between the question of employment and that of higher education, and I then recalled all I had heard from my friend Miss Jones about Miss Buss' schools and their new developments. After the Newcastle meeting I received the following note from Miss Buss, which shows how things stood at that date : — " 12, Camden Street, Oct. 18, 1870. " Dear Madam, " At Miss L. A.Jones' request, I forward you four proofs of our appeal. What we now want is funds. "As you will see, our list of subscriptions is very small. The paper is as yet only a proof, because we cannot circulate largely any statement, until the lease of the new house is actually signed. " When you return to town, I hope to have the pleasure of seeing you. Agnes has often spoken of you to me, and I am glad to know you are interested in our plans. " If we can get one school for girls well started, the ice will be broken, and many others will be set up in imitation. " If you wish for further information, or for more copies of the proof, I shall be glad to give you either. " Believe me, " Very truly yours, '- Francis M. BUSS. 1 90 TRANSITION. Pleased as I was with this first communication from one whom I had already learned to admire, I could have no inkling of all it would mean for me in the future, as the beginning of a friendship which steadily deepened through the four and twenty years that fol- lowed ; a friendship which can only go on deepening after we cease to count by days or years, since it is of the kind not begun for any ending. As I left her that day the feeling of her life went with me in my impression of the grief it had been to her, just as her pupils began really to profit by her teaching, to be compelled to give so many of them up. Social reasons, family reasons, financial reasons, no reason at all — anything, in those days, was sufficient excuse for ending a girl's education. But, nevertheless, year by year, these same girls came back, under the pressure of some unforeseen need, or even in the ordi- nary course of things, as their father's death broke up the family, to ask their teacher's advice how they might gain a livelihood, and to rack her tender heart with the hopelessness of their lot. Half-educated, wholly un- trained, what could they do ? They could do nothing. What she could do for them as individuals was utterly inadequate, though she never failed to do whatever might lie in her power. But each separate case that came before her made her the more resolute to help them, as a whole, by giving them the greatest good of all — a thorough education. It is quite in keeping that the crowning work of her life should be the outcome of the passion of helpful- ness, in which this full mother-heart poured itself out. She was a born educationalist, a teacher with the whole bent of her nature, and she must in any case have devoted herself to the task of making education a science. But her great schools were the work not of A TRUST. 91 her head, but of her heart, having their rise in her feeling for the half-taught girls who were compelled to teach for a livelihood. With her head she gave them the instruction and training that would best help to this end. Then with her heart she made the gift doubly precious, since she gave them not merely the means of living, but also a life worth living ; they were fitted for work, but, in the inspiration of her own life, she made it work worth the doing ; work that enriched the world as well as the worker. It was her aim that teaching should cease to be a mere trade — so many hours grudg- ingly given for so much pay — and that it should take its true place as foremost among the " learned profes- sions," in which excellence of work, and not work's reward, is the object of ambition. From the time of her interview with the Commis- sioners in 1865, the idea of making a public school for girls had been growing in her thoughts, and, five years later, several of her own personal friends who shared her feeling agreed to form a trust to ensure the per- manence of the system worked out with so much care. The trust-deed was signed on July 26, 1870, by the Rev. Charles Lee, who had succeeded the Rev. David Laing, at Holy Trinity, and by Dr. M. A. Garvey and Mr. W. Timbrcll Elliott. The Rev. A. J. Buss, who acted as honorary secretary, and the Rev. S. Buss were also members of the Trust. During the ensuiner week the number was increased by the addition of Mrs. Wm. Burbury, Mr. T. Harries, and Dr. Storrar, a member of the Schools Inquiry Commission. During the next six months the Board was increased by the election of Dr. Thorold, Mr. W. Danson.Mrs. Offord, Miss Ewart, Miss Vincent Thomp- son, and myself. Translated into plain fact, this trust-deed represents 02 TRANSITION. the transfer by Miss Buss to the public of the results of twenty years' labour. The school was her own property, being merely under friendly supervision from the St. Pancras' clergy. The income was at her own disposal, and out of school she was free to cultivate all the refined tastes with which she v/as so richly endowed. Until 1866 Miss Buss had remained with her father in Camden Street, making no change in her life since her girlhood, and not even having a banking account of her own. It had not occurred to any one that in making the money she had any special right to it. In this year it became desirable for her health that she should live away from the school, and as Mr. Buss could not be induced to remove from Camden Street, he remained there, in the care of a relative, while Miss Buss went for a time to Mr. and Mrs. Septimus Buss, in Maitland Park. But in 1868 it seemed necessary to prepare for the coming changes, and she then took Myra Lodge, to which she removed the boarders who had been under her supervision, though in the charge of Miss Mary Buss and Miss Fawcett, at 15, Camden Street. She had to be prepared with some alternative in case of failure ; for on all sides she was warned against a venture so rash as to be almost hopeless. Who was likely to send girls to a " public school " ? To make the experiment meant that the old school — the work of so many years, and now a splendid success — must go. What, then, would be left ? Success would mean the realization of the desire of her life — that success which came at last after nine years of effort — success beyond all hope. But in 1870 the experiment was more than doubtful, and the chance of failure had to be boldly faced. She did not hesitate, and gave herself to the labour of the new organization, with its anxiety, struggles, and all the chances of failure. THE STRUGGLE. 93 After having been all her life her own mistress, she put herself under rule, and in addition to the loss of personal freedom, she risked a present certainty, and the prospect of future affluence, to accept for the next three years a greatly diminished income with doubled or trebled work ; giving up at the same time assured honour and widespread reputation for misunderstanding, suffering, and disappointment. A letter written at the close of 1S71, after a year of struggle, shows how keenly she could feel these things— " I am beginning to feel very hard and bitter. Were it not for that Anchor to which alone one can cling, I should sometimes lose all hope and faith. One gentleman, who can well afford ,£5, who is largely mixed up with education, responds, in answer to an appeal for that small sum, ' Let Miss Buss do it ; she has been making heaps of money for years ' ! This is the general view, and is one reason why I told you my name did no good, but rather the reverse. At any time within the last ten years, having even then a large connection and some reputation, I could have • made money ;' but how? By taking a grand house, a small number of 'select' pupils, offering fashionable accomplishments, and asking high terms. In that case there would have been little work and plenty of money ! Even now, if I cut myself off from the public schools, and lived in M via Lodge, devoting myself to twenty pupils, I could 'make' a good income, and live the life of an independent lady ! " But as I have grown older the terrible sufferings of the women of my own class, for want of good elementary training, have more than ever intensified my earnest desire to lighten, ever so little, the misery of women, brought up ' to be married and taken care of,' and left alone in the world destitute. It is impossible for words to express my fixed determination of alleviating this evil — even to the small extent of one neighbourhood only — were it only possible. If I could do without salary I would ; but it is literally true— although this is of course tojvu only — that I have to earn about .£350 or ^400 per annum before there is anything for my own expenditure. This house has been a great burden, but I hope it will pay in time ; I could not have surrendered the other place if I had not had this, and that is why I undertook it. 94 TRANSITION. " Vou see I, too, am growing very confidential ! '• What work can do I have honestly tried to do. Money I have never had to give, and if I had earned money as mentioned, I should never have had the experience of numbers and consequent sympathy. " Pray destroy this note, and bury its contents in silence. You can never know how much hope you have given me, as well as practical help." Expecting that I should in the future write the story of this work, I thought myself justified in not obeying this request, as now in breaking the silence of four and twenty years. Miss Buss began to work at eighteen, and worked till she was sixty-eight, and she was one of the most successful women of her time ; but surprise is expressed that she could leave behind her the sum of .£18,000. Considering that her personal wants were very few, and that for nearly twenty years she had £1300 a year from the school (£100 a year and capitation fees) and from Myra Lodge not less than £2500, the wonder rather is that she did not leave a great deal more. It is evident that she must have spent largely, and it is certain that this expenditure was not on herself. As a point of principle — that good work should receive good pay — the salaries in the Upper School are higher than in most schools. 1 As a matter of principle 1 " Some time ago I had occasion, on behalf of a joint committee of head-mistresses and assistants of which I was a member, to make a careful inquiry into the salaries of assistants, in the girls' public day schools, both endowed and proprietary. In the course of this inquiry it came out that the North London Collegiate School is able to afford, and does pay a higher average salary than any other of those from which we obtained statistics. . . . The Camden School also held its own, with salaries well above the means of those obtaining in schools of its type. " I agree in desiring the average salary to be much higher than it is for assistant-mistresses and assistant-masters too. But I claim for the great leader who has passed from amongst us, that in this matter she has given the true lead."— Letter from Mrs. Bryant, Educational Times, March, 1S95 . GENEROUS GIVING. 95 also Miss Buss thought it right to make provision for old age, as she did not mean to accept the pension which would have been offered. And considering what she had been having, as well as the accumulated claims of her generous life, this provision can surely not be called extravagant. But in 1870 she had not begun to save on any large scale. And for the next three years her gifts to the new movement were out of all proportion to her receipts, while she was credited with the possession of means that were non-existent, as well as with a salary which she declined to take, knowing that the money was needed for working expenses. Myra Lodge, though at first an anxiety, was before long not merely a success, but also a help to the school. In a note written at the end of 1873 Miss Buss remarks — " It seems that I have paid from Myra, in fees (paid by her for her boarders), just about ^850 in these three years : £200, ,£232, and ^410, and I have received in all (from the school) ,£1600. So your head-mistress has not been a costly article ! " Counting the value of furniture, as well as the balance of salary not accepted, Miss Buss gave during this period not less than .£1000, besides paying the £850 in fees from Myra. After the removal of the Upper School from 202, Camden Road, as the lease was still in her possession, she supervised a Preparatory School, the profits of which — ^1500 in all — she handed over to the governing body, thus supplying funds for the gymnasium. Nor was this all ; she made in addi- tion to these gifts several very helpful loans, without which the work must have come to a standstill. Early in 1873 an entry on the minutes records the thanks of the Governors — " The Board wish to record their strong sense of the generosity g6 TRANSITION. and public spirit shown by Miss Buss, when she last year pressed the Board to take on mortgage the ground and building in Sandall Road, for the enlargement of the North London Collegiate School, and when, in March last, she proposed that a considerable sum should be laid out in enlarging the building in Sandall Road ; Miss Buss in both cases sacrificing the additional income which would have been hers, and undertaking at the same time still greater responsibility and harder work." Under the new scheme Miss Buss' own school remained as the Upper School, but was removed to 202, Camden Road, leaving the former premises in Camden Street, with most of the furniture and " school plant," for the new Lower School, of which the fees were fixed at £4. 4s. per annum, for a thorough educa- tion up to the age of sixteen years. All the provisions of the scheme were in accordance with those proposed by the Endowed Schools Com- mission, and it was intended that the fees should meet only the working expenses, the buildings being supplied by some endowment. For the Lower, or Camden School, the sum of £5000 was considered sufficient, and it was not unnaturally imagined that this moderate amount might be supplied by the same generous public which had given £60,000 for a similar school for boys. For the Upper School only £1000 was asked to supply the furniture left behind in Camden Street, for the use of the Lower School. In September, 1871, Miss Buss says of the Camden School — " No furniture has been paid for at all ; the school is poorly supplied, and the teachers are badly paid. Instead of being rent free, we pay £115 per annum, and rates, amounting at least to £20 more. "It is clear to mc that all such schools need — First, to be rent free ; second, to have an endowment, largish or small, to keep the buildings in repair and to offer scholarships ; third, to have all the school furniture and fittings given. Then, but not " WHAT IS WANTED IS FUNDS." 97 till then, can the teachers be fairly paid, and the trustees free from anxiety. For such a purpose, I imagine five or six thousand pounds are wanted — say, ,£4000 for building, £\ooo for furniture, apparatus, and the rest for repairs, etc. " For the Higher School the same kind of thing is wanted, only on a more extensive scale, as furniture and fittings must be more expensive. The higher fees would still be required to meet the demand for higher teaching. According to my notions, gymnasiums arc needed for every school, and large places for swimming." But at the first start how natural it seemed to expect the small amount of help which should do so much ! " What we now want is funds ! " And those very modest sums then formed the total of this requirement. She asked no more for the fulfilment of that early dream, " I want girls educated to match their brothers." Every- thing was there except the funds. The educational system had been tested by experience and stamped by success ; the teacher, fitted at all points, was ready for work. Friends were ready with time and thought to help in carrying out the work. Having thus all the important essentials, who could doubt that the rest must follow ? In our own enthusiasm for Miss Buss and her work- it seemed to Miss Jones and to me that all that was needed was to make the case known. Wc were both accustomed to the use of our pens, and placed ourselves at Miss Buss' service, beginning first by an appeal to our own personal friends, with enough of success at the outset to justify our going on. But we soon discovered that beyond this range things were of a different order. 1 had seen so much of the kindness shown by Mr. and Mrs. S. C. Hall to all sorts of philanthropic effort that I fully counted on their help. In addition to the Art Journal, Mr. Hall was editor of Social Notes, and Mrs. Hall had not given up the St. James* Magazine ; so that we saw here our way to a wider public. II 98 TRANSITION. The reply to my appeal seems worth giving in extenso, as a measure of the public opinion of that day. If a woman who had made her own mark on the world in ways out of the beaten track, could so write, what must have been the feeling of the average woman, to say nothing of the narrowminded and ignorant? Mrs. Hall was, besides, amongst the foremost who showed interest in higher education in being one of the earliest of the lady-visitors at Queen's College. Here is the letter — " 15, Ashley Place, Oct. 31, 1870. "My dear Annie, " I dare say you learned a good deal at the Social Science meetings. But women have no business on platforms. They have enough, and more than they can accomplish, in per- forming the duties which God and Nature have assigned them. . . . " I too am most anxious to find employment for women, and would give every female, rich or poor, a trade — call it a profession if you like — so that she could help herself. But this is not to be done by sending her to College Examinations. " There are not a greater set of ' muffs ' and extravagant fellows in life than our College lads. It is not by tJiem that the business of life is carried on. Do you want to educate girls in the 'arts' as practised in the Universities? " I have no fault to find with the arrangements of the Lower School, except its incompetence to provide the means which will enable women to exist. They should be taught trades — painting on glass and china ; hair-weaving ; certain branches of watch- making (as abroad) ; confectionery ; cooking — each half-dozen going into training for this at least once a week ; clear-starching ; — trades, in fact. When I was a girl I went down once a week into the housekeeper's room to see how jellies and blanc-mange, soups, and pastry were made ; to learn the quantities and help to do all she did. " This did not prevent my accomplishments going on ; or my riding and enjoying all the amusements a country girl could have. " If a revolution came I know I could have found pupils to teach French and music to. I could have made a good nurse, or housekeeper, or clear-starcher. " WOMAN'S RIGHTS— MAN'S WRONGS:' 99 " I would also have every boy and girl learn the Latin grammar first, or at the same time as the English. In law-copying, for instance, which young women should be trained in later, knowledge of Latin is invaluable. " No ; dear .Mrs. Laing never told me of Miss Buss' new plans. She is really so good and right-thinking a woman that I wonder how she would give the sanction of her practical name to any plan embracing ' College Examinations,' by way of making women useful or bread-earning members of society. Better, more useful education in what can be more practically useful, without being unsexed, is what they want, but are not likely to get while such women as Emily Faithfull lead the van. " I saw some time ago you were restless and uncertain on the question of Woman's Rights, which might almost be defined as Man's Wrongs. Your head would work you up at one of the Cambridge Examinations, and now and then work up a clever woman, but what good was to arise from that if a revolution came I cannot understand ! " I should, indeed, be astonished if your father ' went in ' for College Examinations for girls ! " I hope you will not endeavour to enlist X 's sympathies in College Examinations for women. Dear darling ! any strong- minded notions would be a source of trial to her admirable husband, and do her no good. •" I am sorry you have taken up this matter. " Yours sincerely, "A. M. Hail. '• I shall have a great deal more to say on this matter hereafter, if I live." This letter was as discouraging as it was unexpected. But I bided my time. Happily, Miss Jones had suc- ceeded better. She not only received a donation of £30 from Miss Caroline Haddon, but Mrs. Offord, Miss Haddon's sister, became a member of the Board, and by her practical knowledge gave a sympathy most helpful to Miss Buss. Hearty adherence had also been secured from Mr. E. C. Robins, a successful architect, who made schools his spicialitt. Both Mr. and Mrs. Robins proved valuable friends to Miss Buss' work, as IOO TRANSITION. they have since done to the Hampstead High School, to the New Technical Schools, and the Hampstead Branch of the Parents' Union, started by themselves. Mr. Robins first of all demanded a personal state- ment of her needs from Miss Buss, as he said — " We are interested in her ; in her experience ; in her aspira- tions ; — we want to know her ultimate aims. We want a sketch contrasting what is provided for middle-class boys with what is provided for middle-class girls ; also how this particular scheme is likely to effect the desired result." This paper was accordingly drawn up, with Miss Buss, Mrs. Robins, Miss Jones, and myself as honorary secretaries, and we confidently expected to get the .£1000 which was then the modest limit of our hopes. Soon after this all the friends of the movement were gathered together at a drawing-room meeting at Myra Lodge, that they might see Miss Buss, and hear from herself of her plans. Her notes at this time are in curious contrast with those written nine years after in the height of her fame — ■fc>' " Nov. 20, 1870. "My dear Miss Ridley, " Many thanks for your note ; you have worked hard and successfully. I have invited several people, but as yet the number of acceptances only amount to fourteen. " Mrs. De Morgan is interesting people in one plan. " I hardly think we ought to ask Miss Garrett just now; she is almost worn out with meetings, having been obliged to attend two and even three a day, since the election excitement began. " My notion is to get a mixed meeting, in Camden Street, the week after next, and then we can have speeches from the gentlemen. " I am hopeful about next Wednesday's meeting; the thing is to interest women, and to convince some of them of the necessity of schools for girls. Then to answer as far as possible any objections so that they may be armed to meet them. PUBLIC OPINION IN 1S70. IOI " I have to go to a Council meeting in Queen's Square, so am 1. it her hurried. '• Yours sincerely, "Frances m. Buss." " Myra Lodge, Dec. 1, 1870. " Dear Agn i " Will you and Miss Ridley make up a list of the names and addresses of the ladies present at our meeting yesterday ? Your lists and mine will probably complete the number. " Were you content ? I thought it a great success to have so many ladies. Including everyone, there must have been forty-two or forty-three. " There had been a meeting of trustees yesterday, when it was decided that we should hold a parents' meeting at Camden Street next week, and a public meeting in the Vestry Hall the week after. That is why I could not announce a meeting for next week. " With love and best thanks, " I am, yours affectionately, "Frances M. Buss. 1 Certainly the thing then needed was " to interest women " generally in the subject. There were, of course, a certain number of women deeply interested in everything relating to the status of women, educational or political. But at that special time these two groups were fully occupied, the one with Miss Davies' new venture at Hitchin, and the other with Miss Garrett's election on the School Board. These two ladies them- selves took full interest in Miss Buss' plans, as she did in theirs. But they all needed funds from the outside public, and demand and supply were far from being equal. Public opinion in 1870 was very much what it had been in 1849, and to most persons the stir about im- proved education for women seemed very unnecessary. Most women were quite satisfied with their own girls, and did not trouble about the rest; and till women 102 TRANSITION. cared about the subject, it could scarcely be expected that men would rouse themselves. Thus, out of London's millions those really concerned in this question might be counted by hundreds, and persons who for objects that really interested them would give hundreds, or even thousands, thought themselves very generous if they gave units or tens to the new movement. Nothing could show more clearly the indifference of the public to higher education than the insignificance of the details of the work of the next two years. They may, however, be worth noting, on the principle on which the mother treasures the baby-shoes once belong- ing to the strong man, who, since those first uncertain efforts, has left deep " footprints in the sands of time." The year 1870 ended with what was then a very great and important event — one of the very first public meetings concerning the education of girls — held at the St. Pancras Vestry Hall, under the presidency of Lord Lyttelton. Very considerable interest seemed to be excited in the larger world outside the immediate circle of friends, and hopes rose. One important practical issue came immediately in the addition to the governing body of the Rev. A. W. Thorold, Vicar of St. Pancras (afterwards Bishop of Rochester and of Winchester). Both in his official capacity, and as having been a member of the Schools Inquiry Commission, Dr. Thorold was a most valuable supporter of the work. CHAPTER If. " WE WORK IN HOPE." " It never yet did hurt To lay down likelihoods and forms of hope.' With the success of this first public meeting, it was hoped that the tide had turned. On February 15, 1 87 1 , a drawing-room meeting at the house of Mr. E. C. Robins gave still further encouragement. I had prepared a paper, entitled " Pearl and Sea-foam," contrasting the solid work of the education given to boys with the evanescent glitter of that thought to be sufficient for girls, and giving an account of Miss Buss' work and aims. A good discussion followed, in which many persons interested in education took part. The immediate result was the active adhesion of Mr. John Neate, who undertook to interest some of the City Companies. This was a real advance. Hitherto there had been a general agreement that " something ought to be done," and that " somebody ought to do it ; " but it was also generally agreed that " somebody else" was responsible for action in the matter, and we had not yet found this very essential personage. The discovery was now made that in the City Companies, which had done so much for boys, we should without doubt find all that could be desired. 104 "WE WORK IN HOPE. u The prospect did indeed seem hopeful. \\ r e had already on our own governing body a member of the Merchant Taylors' Company in Mr. W. Timbrell Elliott. Our new friends, Mr. Robins and Mr. Neate, belonged to the Dyers' and the Clothworkers' Companies, and all three gentlemen became, within a short time, the Masters of their respective Companies. We had, how- ever, to wait quite till the end of the year before the first large donation of ,£100 from the Fishmongers' Company set the example, afterwards followed by the Brewers' and the Clothworkers' Companies in the gift of the school-buildings. Mr. Robins printed the first copies of " Pearl and Sea-foam," which were found useful in our next effort to secure £500 in £5 donations, for the barely necessary furniture in the two schools. Miss Buss had left the greater part of her furniture in Camden Street, and had gone to an empty building at 202, Camden Road ; but about this time she writes — " If we could raise ,£500 in addition to what we have, I think we might, for the present, let the North London Collegiate School go on alone. " The first thing next term will be to apply to City Companies for the Camden School. " I am very busy, as you can guess, and you will not mind this work. " I could send such a statement to some people, I think. But I would suggest that the whole trouble should fall on you, by your giving your name and address as Hon. Sec, or receiver, or any- thing you like. Any names I obtained 1 would send to you." " March 23. " What a very nice woman that Australian lady must be ! Somehow I have been in a depressed or out-of-tune condition all day, and now— faithless that I am— your note conies to cheer me up and give me fresh hope. How wonderful is the all-prevailing law of compensation ! Sunshine and shade vary our days." J HE COWPER STREET BOYS' SCHOOL. 105 ■ March 27. " The City people are not to be moved to do anything that is not in the City. I [onour and glory follow there, so there they will work. " Mr. Rogers is about to open his school, and when it is done, it will be published, with a flourish of trumpets, "See what the City does ! It inaugurates a new era,' etc. But, after all, what matters it if the work is done? " .Mr. Rogers has already been attacked, I assure you. I went straight off to Mr. Jowctt, some time since, to strengthen him, if necessary, by arguments in behalf of girls. " Miss Davies helps me as much as she can, but her energies, interests, hopes are all centred in the College. She cannot well beg for two different things at one time, and it is for this reason that she is not one of our trustees. "There are three City men who have in their hands a capital sum of ,£30,000 — half of this is to be spent on a girls' school in the City. •'Nothing but an organized opposition through the Charity Commission will make them do anything else. £15,000 on one school, and that in the City, where it is not wanted, especially if .Mr. Rogers' school be opened ! I mean to try and get a grant out of them — they have given three grants, each of a thousand, to Mr. Rogers — but, you will see, they will give another thousand to him for his girls' school, and they will give nothing to us, because we are not in the City. "Here we begin with nothing — in the Camden School, at all events. We must work on and get publicity, then we may get money." '• March 27, 1871. " Mrs. Grey's letter came to-day. You will see that her paper may help us a little, but not very much. 1 have no idea as to an 'advocate.' Dr. Hodgson is at Bournemouth— Mr. Cooke Taylor I know nothing of — Mr. Lee is the only person I can think of now, and there are several reasons against asking him. Between now and the 31st could we not get some one to pay us a visit and speak up for us ? " I will send Mrs. Grey your paper, but I rather think she had a copy. " My holiday trip was delightful. . . . '"Will you tell me when we meet whether you would consent to become one of ' my ' trustees ? " I06 "WE WORK IN HOPE." " May 9, 1871. " I low brave and earnest you are ! It is such a comfort to me I You can have no idea of what work and worry I have to face, and almost single-handed. " Please accept my proposal to become a trustee. Your help will be invaluable to me and to the Cause, and, as a trustee, you can say and do much more for us. " Let me know if you accept." " May 23, 1 87 1. " I want to see you very much. You were unanimously elected a member of our Board yesterday, and were also, at my request, put on the Memorial Committee, which is to deal with the ques- tion of applications for money from Companies, etc. " I have written to ever so many people, but have no more names. We have got a list of the Companies, of their clerks, of their styles, 'Worshipful,' etc. " The ,£5 collection was well received yesterday when I men- tioned it at our meeting, and the list has gone to the printer. 1 am really quite hopeful about it. "There are 112 girls in the Camden Schools now, and I want you to write, if you can, to Irwin Cocks, Esq. (or Cox ?), editor of the Queen, 346, Strand, stating what we are doing, how we have started this school, etc. He would probably insert it, and then a friend, Miss Chessar, would write a short leader about it. It seems rather too bad to trouble you, but I really am too overdone with the inner work of the two schools to be able to do much in the outer work. " Mrs. Laing will put our papers into Mrs. Craik's hands, to-morrow — D. M. Muloch, I mean. " Can you tell me for certain what is Sir John Bowring's Company ? We must begin with that." Lady Bovvring had gone over the schools with me, and, like all who saw them, was charmed with her visit. She had promised to secure Sir John Bowring's interest with his own Company and with the Gilchrist Trust. From the latter help came in scholarships. But of the uses of " Pearl and Sea-foam " none gave me so much satisfaction as this letter from Mrs. S. C. Hall— A CONVERSION. \OJ "April 6, i ■■ My im \i: Annie, "If it please God to prolong ray clays and my ability to work, after 1 have been able, by my exertions, to add a small additional ward to the (beat Northern Hospital, my present im- pression is that I should like to help the educational plan of Miss Buss. But I never could devote my heart to two things at once, and that Great Northern Hospital is what 1 shall work and beg for— and nothing else — during the next year. I hate bazaars, but there is no other way that I know of to get the necessary funds — except a concert — and, at present, I can only grope my way. " Mr. Ruskin has not been here since Christmas, but I can say anything to him, now that I know him so well ; and, after I have had some hospital talk with him, I will give him your ' Foam,' and ask him to see Miss Buss' schools. "He is most charming. It always does my heart good to see him playing with the dogs on the hearthrug. Oxford takes up a good deal of his time. Miss Hill looks after his cottages. Dear little Joan Agncw is to be married this month. I am so glad she is to live at Denmark Hill. She is such a lovely darling. "I am very glad Air. Hall suggested that art work to you; only don't make yourself ill over it. " With warm regards to all, " Your affectionate friend, "A. M. H." After Mrs. S. C. Hall's first letter I had met at her house both Mrs. Laing and the Rev. T. Pelham Dale, friends of Miss Buss, who warmly took her part. After much effort, Mrs. Mall and Miss Buss met at last, being mutually attracted. Some extracts from Miss Buss' letters at this time show how very busy she was — "Mrs. S. C. Hall and I have not converted each other yet. Why ? Because she was not well, and I did not go ! " And later — "Mrs. Hall asked me yesterday to go to lunch with her to- morrow. But, most unfortunately, I had engaged a railway carriage to take the girls in my house to Windsor, ami cannot 108 "WE WORK IN HOPE." possibly send them without me. I could go to-morrow afternoon, but I have a meeting of my Dorcas Committee, followed by a teachers' meeting. Both these must be given up if I go to Mrs. S. C. Hall's, and, as you have already met this Indian gentleman, it seems scarcely worth while, either for you or me. " I am glad Mrs. Hall is being led to see that a woman may have cultivation, and yet be able to mend a glove. Why people should insist on thinking that the education which should make a man must be injurious to a woman, is, to me, perplexing." Though Mrs. S. C. Hall declined to beg for us herself, she did very good service in introducing Miss Geraldine Jewsbury, who threw herself heart and soul into the work, bringing many useful friends, and, above all, by her own bright, breezy nature, cheering Miss Buss in many an hour when hope was low. " Miss Jewsbury has raised again some hope — only I fear she has not had so much experience as you and I, in asking and failing. She is quite charming. " Monday. " These suggestions of Mr. Robins 1 have been carried out, as you see. By to-morrow night, every member of every court of every Company will have had an invite to Friday's meeting, and a circular of the Camden Schools. " I have asked Miss Cobbe to help us to publicity, and Mr. Edwin H. Abbott, of the City of London School, will speak. I will see about Mr. Bompas. " Invitations have been sent to every parent in both schools ; have been left at every house in the High Street. " I have bought twenty-eight prizes, have ordered labels to put inside, have harangued the Camden girls, have divided all my girls, and have had a dreadful day's work. But one hopes on, and I have been for years accustomed to find ' after many days.'" At the prize-giving of the Camden School the Lord Mayor (Sir T. Dakin) took the chair, and there were present the Lady Mayoress, Mrs. Laing, Mrs. Burbury, Miss Emily Davies, the Rev. Edwin Abbott, Mr. Fitch, Mr. Joseph Payne, and other friends of Higher Education. Dr. Abbott, head-master of the FIRST PUBLIC PRIZE-DAYS. IO9 City of London School, spoke very strongly on the duty of the Mayor and Corporation to provide for girls schools similar to those of their brothers. On the following- day Lord Dartmouth presided over the meeting for the Upper School, also held at St. George's Hall, Langham Place, at which Harvey Lewis, Esq., M.P., and Arthur Roebuck, Esq., M.P., Mrs. Grey, Miss Jewsbury, Mrs. Henry Kingsley, and many others, were present. A few days after the meetings, Miss Buss writes — "We are agitating beautifully. Dr. Storrar read me a private, but very encouraging note from Lord Lyttelton, saying that we should have some endowments as soon as they can lay their hands on any. "This will probably be very useful to us. As Mr. Robins says, our school must be the first of a series, encircling the City. Boys go immense distances to the City schools, showing it would be better, physically and morally, to have the schools within reach of the parents. Constant railway travelling is bad for growing lads, and there is no telling the amount of moral injury from companions in railway carriages, of whom the parents know nothing. "This cannot be tolerated for girls/ . . . "Do you smile inwardly at our getting the start? Whether successful or not, we are first in the field, anyway, even in the City. I feel quite lighthearted because — you will not guess — but Mr. Danson has been at work over the accounts, all day yesterday and all day to-day. He is so thoroughly business-like, and so good-natured and patient, that it is a sensible relief to me. He has time and knowledge, and is willing to devote both as his share of work. " I think we shall leave London, by the night mail, on Friday in time to catch the Hull boat to < lOttenburg, which starts at six a.m. on Saturday. "As I am always very sea-sick, the rest I so much want will be got on board by means of being compelled to be still. " My beginning of that last sentence wants an explanation, I see, so now you have it. Collapse comes on, in a mild form, after weeks of work, at the rate of fifteen hours per diem. 1 trust by the time we reach Gottenburg to have recovered. IIO "WE WORK IN HOPE:' " Mr. Robins asked me to the Swan-hopping dinner ; but as it is on the 7th, I must not give up a week's holiday for it. So Mr. Lee is going to advocate our cause privately as opportunity serves. . " Mr. Elliott has invited me to the Merchant Taylors' dinner, on Thursday next, in the Crystal Palace. To that I am going ; more, however, from policy than from inclination, as it is very possible I shall have to sit up best part of the night to pack for my journey, and put away all other things until my return." " Did it ever occur to you that packing, etc., or indeed, any- thing peculiarly womanly, is difficult, almost impossible to a woman who leaves home, day after clay, at 8.30, and does not return, often — well, sometimes till 10.30 at night ? That is my programme lately. But how much I talk of myself. . . . " I am obliged to break off hastily. I have been waiting at Myra Lodge for visitors who have not come ! Quel bonheur!" "July 24, 1871. "This morning Mr. Lee and I met Dr. Storrar and Mr. Robins at the Mansion House. The Lord Mayor spoke most pleasantly to us. He will give us a note, which Mr. Lee proposes to have lithographed, and a copy of this will accompany every memorial. The Lord Mayor was particularly agreeable to me, and con- gratulated me warmly ; he is very much interested indeed, and hopes to pay us a visit in working hours early next term. At all events, the Lady Mayoress will come — we must keep her up to it. The census shows a steady decrease in residents in the City ! " "July 27, 1871. " Pray read the attack on us in to-day's Times. The fight has begun. We are not really in opposition. Any school in the City opened by Mr. Rogers will not prevent the necessity of a Camden Town district school. " I only trust the Lord Mayor will not back out/" Happily, the Lord Mayor stood firm, and wrote a strong letter of appeal to go out with the memorial to the City Companies. Miss Buss' holiday was most profitably spent in Sweden and Denmark, where she gathered many educational facts and theories, and where she found SLOW PROGRESS. I I I the Swedish desk, which she was the first to introduce into English schools. The September campaign began with the Lord Mayor's appeal, but progress was still very slow. Miss Gcraldine Jcwsbury's warm sympathy was still a great comfort, but her letters show the difficulties encountered. Speaking of one friend, she says — " I must neither ask her to subscribe nor to ask her husband ; in fact, I could not rouse her interest in this quarter. She says she and her husband have embarked so much in the cause of education that they can do no more. But it is all for boys, of course. How- ever, £$ is £$, and I think more of it than any other ^5 I ever earned. I could never have believed in the difficulty of getting money for such a good purpose if I had not tried. "Give my love to Miss Buss, and tell her not to lose heart. But it is trying and uphill work! Only her example strengthens others in all ways." "Selwood Park, Sept. 3, 1871. " Dear Miss Ridley, •' The enclosed letters will show you that I have not forgotten that poor Mr. Ruskin was to be my main hope. His illness has been very serious, and I know not at this moment where he is. I shall certainly see him when there is any chance of his being able to take thought of anything. I know how much interest he would have taken in the schools, and, I hope, will take in them yet. "The lady on whom I most trusted to give me money has given me just nothing, and no promises even, nor expression of interest, and the aggravating thing is the reasons she gave ! She has anticipated for two years the sum she gives to charitable objects or social progress to— the Society for Advancing Female Suffrage ! ! ! " I have been entirely unsuccessful so far, but am not going to lose heart nor hope; for success does not depend on whether an object is supported by many or by few. And I feel that these schools are just the most important step that has yet been taken for women, giving a solid foundation of good training, and Miss Buss has been raised up and trained for the emergency. She is doing the real needful work without minding the clatter of nonsense 112 "IVE WORK IN HOPE." that is being talked about Woman's Rights, and all the rest of it. The waste of money is the least part of one's regret. " My counsel and advice is, first, to write to the Lord Mayor and tell him that his example would be readily followed, and entreat him to lead the forlorn hope and give a small sum of money. I would write the letter gladly, only yott can do it better, and are in the midst of the business of the schools. " I will write to Mr. Roebuck, and see if he can rouse any interest. Do you also write to Mrs. Newmarch. Tell her the urgency of the matter ; write such a letter as she can give her husband — not too long, but urgent. Write to Miss Cobbe, and beg her to make an article of appeal in the Echo, and at the same time interesting. Shoot all these arrows at o?ice, and some of them will hit. " I feel ashamed and disgusted at the tardy and small response you have met with ; but, as nothing really good ever dies out, I am not cast down, and I feel just the same interest as at first- I have still one card to play for you, as I have not made my appeal to Airs. Huth, and that I will do, both to her and her husband, sending on your letter. Do not let Miss Buss lose heart. Give my love to her, and tell her that though I have not brought in anything yet it has not been for want of talking and trying. There is always a dead pull in all undertakings to get them uphill ; the wheels seem to stick fast, but, after a while, if this pull is continued, they move. Let me hear from you again, please, and " Believe me, yours very truly, " CiERALDINE E. JEWSBURY." I wrote to Mr. Ruskin, mentioning Miss Jewsbury's request, and with great pleasure received a kind letter in reply, expressing interest in what I had told him of the school, and of the feeling of the founder. But, having at least three times more work on his hands than he was able for just then, he could do nothing till after the Christmas vacation, when it might be possible for him to come to see what was being done and what he might be able to do to forward the work. It was always a regret to us that this visit never came to pass. Miss Buss and her girls missed what would have been a great delight, and Mr. Ruskin also I/OPE DEFERRED. I I 3 missed the sight of healthy and womanly work and play which could not have failed to please as well as to cheer him in its hope for the future. Miss Buss' letters for the next few months show the effect of the strain of suspense and of hope deferred— ■• Myra Lodge, 10 p.m., Sept. 27, 1 87 x . " Not ten minutes' leisure till now, dear Miss Ridley. Teaching 111 the morning, a large Dorcas meeting in the afternoon, and an overwhelming mass of business correspondence — not nearly gone through yet, however. " First, an answer from the Goldsmiths has come. You do not need to be told what that answer is. " An idea has struck me that it might be well for us to ask those who have subscribed so far whether they give to one school more than another? If not, let us divide the subscriptions, and so hand over to Camden Street some of our money. This is between its — just now, at least. . . . " I do not think we must, in any way, appear adverse to the City movement under Mr. Rogers. " I feel we have forced him into action, and, as our motive is to help women generally, and not the women of Camden Town only, to have driven him to act is one result, and a great one, of our organization. " Why I think of the division of subscriptions is that no doubt some of the people would prefer to help the poorer school. If so, I should prefer their subscriptions going in the way they wanted. I am sure that my old pupils help their own old school, and do not care for the new and unknown one. . . . ''I have written to the Lady Mayoress, and will write to Miss Cobbe, asking her to let me call. Of course I shall give her your note. What a dear, bright, ever young heart Miss Jewsbury has ! If you had done nothing but interest her, your work would have been great. She has saved me almost from despair at least on two occasions. " I don't mind our Board meetings, and really have never but once been like what we suppose a caged lion to be. " It is now the amount of the work, and the sort of unsettled state we are in, that overdo me. But Mr. Uanson is helping to reduce money matters to order, and to be relieved of the manage- ment of that would be really a comfort. I 114 "WE WORK IN HOPE." "We have now 190 girls in the Camden School; one father has come to live in the neighbourhood on purpose to send four girls. I scarcely know what to do for teachers, and am in corre- spondence with all sorts of people. Old pupils do not seem available, or they are not mature enough. " We must have some more furniture too, as there is not enough in Camden Street for the present number. The ventilation in the Camden Road is not nearly good enough ; but I am compelled to act, and so must risk observations from the Board. We ought to be thinking of building for the Camden School ; but money, money, where is it to come from ? " I hear Mr. Mason, of Birmingham, who has just spent /, ^00,000, or some such sum, on his orphanage, intends to give ^30,000 to education. Mrs. Sheldon Amos went to him about the Working Women's College, and got a sort of promise. I always intended to get at him if I could ; so, hearing of her visit, I wrote straight off to the wife of the Town Clerk of Birmingham, Mrs. Hayes, to ask for an introduction, saying a visit to Birmingham would be nothing if there were the least hope of getting help; even if one only induced him to give part of the money to girls at Birmingham something would be gained. A visit there is therefore looming. Mrs. Hayes gives me a warm invitation to her house. She knows me through an old pupil, who is governess to her children, and called on me here when in London. " (Ah, ah, how I wish we could get a fine building for the Camden Road School ! We do want a lecture hall and a gymnasium so much.) "Two school concerts are on me next week, and a good deal to think of in connection with them. Musical men are not easy- going : each one will have the best places for his pupils ; each will go his own way. Most schoolmistresses have to deal with one only ; I have three, and also three young women ; the latter were fairly manageable. " A good second would be a great relief to me, and would enable me to work at something less than express-train speed — a speed that cannot be continued for very many years. It would be worth while to raise the pay of my second, as she became more useful. I never have time to prepare my lessons, which is almost indispensable if one wishes to teach well. " There has been quite an avalanche of storms raised by parents lately, mainly because I have had to engage a governess not trained in the school. She does not therefore understand THE FR1NCESS OF WALES. I i 5 our ways, and causes me much worry ; but she is really a good Christian girl, one who will do well in lime. But, as I tell her, I have to suffer during the process of her instruction. " If the Birmingham invite does not come this week, as I hope it will not, on Friday I hope to go to Mrs. Hodgson, at Bourne- mouth, till Monday night — Monday being our half-term holiday, and most of my house-girls away. Mrs. II. is the dearest, sweetest, brightest, most unselfish creature, and I love her dearly! You will believe me, when I say how much I am learning to love you. I cannot bear to hear of your being tired. Pray take rest and get well. " Always your loving "F. M. I J." There came at this juncture a very bright ray of encouragement in a gratifying letter from the Princess of Wales. As the Queen had given her name to the first College, it was thought that the Princess might do no less for the first Public School for Girls, and the Memorial Committee made the request, on the principle of " nothing venture, nothing have." The following letter was addressed to the Rev. Charles Lee, as the chairman of the Memorial Com- mittee : — "Sir, "I am directed by the Princess of Wales to acknow- ledge the receipt of a letter signed by you, in conjunction with Dr. J. Storrar, on behalf of the trustees and governors of the institution established in Camden Town for the promotion of secondary in- struction for girls. "Her Royal Highness fully recognizes the importance and great need of improvement in the education of girls of the poorer middle class, and believes that the North London Collegiate School for Girls, with its Lower School, will not only to some extent meet this want, but that it will also serve as a model to similar schools, the establishment of which in other parts of the Metropolis, and in the country generally, it may encourage. "The Princess of Wales, therefore, has much pleasure in acceding to the request that her Royal Highness would allow n6 "WE WORK in hope:' these schools to be placed under her patronage, and has directed me to forward to you the enclosed cheque for fifty guineas as her Royal Highness' contribution to the funds of the undertaking. " I have the honour to be, sir, "Your most obedient servant, " M. HOLZMANN, Private Secretary. " Sandringham, Nov. 15, 1871." In response to this cheering bit of news Miss Jewsbury at once wrote off — "Manchester, Nov. 26, 1871. '• I am very glad indeed about the Princess. It is the best of all the many kind things she has done. How did you get at her ? " I will write myself to Mr. Novelli, and am going on Tuesday to Sir Joseph Whitworth's, and will see if I can move him to help us ! Give my love to Miss Buss. She will ' see the fruit of her doings ' yet ; and she does not know how much her patient endurance has strengthened the hands of the many (of whom she may never hear) who are wearied and ready to lose heart in their labours. I can speak of what her example is to myself." CHAPTER III. "THE SISTERS OF THE BOYS." " No man will give his son a stone if he asks for bread ; hut thousands of nun have given their daughters diamonds when they asked for books, and coiled serpents of vanity and dissipation round their necks when they asked for wholesome food and beneficent employment." — F. P. COBBE. The great event of the year 1871 — from the educational point of view — was the meeting of the Society of Arts, at which Mrs. William Grey read her able paper on Secondary Education for Girls, in which was contained the germ of the Women's National Education Union, and the Girls' Public Day Schools Company. The chair was taken by the Rev. William Rogers, whose great school for boys in Cowper Street was just com- pleted, and the audience included most of the distin- guished leaders in educational movements. Mrs. Grey took up the question of higher education for women in all its bearings, and, recognizing the needs which had to be met, proposed the formation of "an Educational League," to embrace all who were actively interested in the question, and having for its object — " to carry what might be characterized as the Educational Charter of Women — first, the equal right of women to the education con- sidered best for human beings ; second, the equal right of women to a share in the existing educational endowments of the country, and to be considered, not less than boys, in the creation of any new endowments ; third, the registration of teachers, with such I 1 8 "THE SISTERS OF THE BOYS." other measures as may raise teaching as a profession no less honourable and honoured for women than it is for men." The discussion following this paper will always retain historic value, because, as both sides had free scope, it represents the exact estimate of women which prevailed at that period. For the women of the twentieth century — in the serene enjoyment of the results of the work of the nineteenth century — it will have an interest of which wonder will form no small part. The women of 1 87 1, as they listened, had long since ceased to wonder, but they had other feelings which, happily for the readers of 197 1, will also have acquired the historic value which attaches to all relics of a far-away past. It was when presiding at this meeting that Mr. Rogers made the speech, of which every one heard so much during the next two years, a speech that showed how he also had yet to learn from experience the differ- ence between efforts for boys' and efforts for girls' schools. In proposing the vote of thanks for Mrs. Grey's paper, Mr. Rogers remarked that he could not agree with one statement — that there was no demand on the part of parents for a higher education ; on the contrary, there was a widespread dissatisfaction with the present state of things. Being anxious to establish a girls' school in connection with the Boys' Middle-class School in London, he sent round a paper to the parents of the boys — numbering about eleven hundred — asking their opinion, and he received answers, and promises that the girls should be sent, from about five hundred. He also disputed the statement that " where pounds were sub- scribed for the boys there was difficulty in getting shillings for the girls," as he believed that funds would be forthcoming so soon as the real difficulty — of suitable sites and good teachers — had been met. A WELCOME FRIEND. Il'» In passing, it may here be noted that during the year following this meeting Mr. Rogers succeeded in securing the required site and teachers, and thereupon made his appeal for the girls — the "sisters of the boys." For the boys, in one single meeting, he had obtained promises of £60,000, to which another £10,000 was added. It was the work of months to collect for the girls the sum of £5000, much less than one-tenth of what had been given for the boys. What eventually became of this £5000 will be told in due course. On the strength of Mr. Rogers' speech at Mrs. Grey's meeting, I wrote a letter to the Daily News, stating that the Camden School was in full possession of the essential points of teachers and pupils, and now needed only £5000 for a suitable building. To this appeal there was no response in money ; but, on July 6, 1871, I had a note from Miss Buss which showed that interest had been excited — "Dear Miss Ridi i v. " Miss Mary Gurney has been here to-day, and she talks of writing a paper for the Leeds meeting of the Social Science. I told her about you, and asked her to write to you, and I also said that a sketch of this, the only public school for girls, would probably lead to more useful, because more positive, results than another paper on the general question of girls' education. '•.Miss Carney is the daughter of the shorthand writer to the House of Commons, and is deeply interested in all educational questions. " She has made our acquaintance only from your newspaper paragraph. "I felt what the little children call naughty on Monday — wearied, dejected, worried, and over-anxious ! ! Hut body pre- vails, as you know, over mind, and I felt very sorry for what I said to you. " 1 send you a Daily News of to-day. The leader will help on our appeal. Duly the editor, all the way through, ^>.aks of 120 "THE SISTERS Of THE TOYS." 'boys' instead of 'children,' which would include boys and girls. " We meet to-morrow ? " Always yours, " Frances M. Buss." Early in July a letter of mine in Public Opinion had been followed by a discussion on endowments for girls' schools, which I finally summed up as follows : — " Now, however, we may hope. In this implied support of the Lord Mayor we see far more than help to the Camden School. We see in it a hope of some large and united public effort, through which the Camden School will be only the first of a series en- circling London, and everywhere meeting the same want. A great step has been taken in the City, in Mr. Rogers' proposed new schools there. Two other City schools are also proposed. It must be remembered, however, that the resident City population is steadily diminishing. To benefit girls truly the schools should come to them in the suburbs." Referring to this hope, Miss Gurney writes — " I am extremely obliged to you for your kindness in thinking of my paper, and sending me such a helpful letter about it. I will get the Illustrated News. I will also venture to write to Miss Cobbe, and I will look at your letter in Public Opinion. I think I have advocated just the same view in my paper. The difficulty seems to be to constitute the central authority. Any Middle-class scheme ought to be very superior to our Elementary Education, which has grave defects. And then, where are our suitable teachers to be found ? From my experience of the world there are few people like Miss Buss. It will never do to have the teachers of Elementary schools. But of course all these difficulties must be met with spirit. " I have been so much interested in your arguments in favour of public schools, of many of which I had not thought, but I agree with all. I should have liked to copy it into my paper, and have acknowledged your kind help, but had not room ; so I have stolen some of your ideas, which I hope you will pardon, and have woven them in with a curious German report from Frankfurt. Your WOMEN'S NATIONAL EDUCATION UNION. 121 thoughts in favour of a 'mixture of classes ' and ' true independ- ence ' have long been favourite hobbies of mine ; but your idea of an esprit de corps was quite new to me, and I think it most valuable." In the Echo of October 10, 1871, there is a report of the Social Science Meeting at Leeds, saying — "The time of the Education Department to-day was wasted for a long time by two factious men. They spoiled the discussion of the papers by Mrs. Grey and Miss Gurney on the special require- ments for the improvement of the education of girls, by two childish speeches, the one in disparagement, the other in eulogy of woman. Mr. Haines (the president) had the greatest difficulty in shutting them up." In the same day's issue of the Echo there is a some- what sarcastic letter from Miss Cobbc, commenting on Mr. Rogers' happy visions of help for girls' education, and demanding the practical realization so long deferred, and especially advocating the claims of the Camden School to a fraction of the help so liberally bestowed on the brothers of these girls. The outcome of Mrs. Grey's papers — read before the Society of Arts and the Social Science Congress at Leeds — was a large and enthusiastic meeting in London, in November, 1 87 1, when the Women's National Educa- tion Union was formally inaugurated, with Mrs. Grey as president for the first year. In the year follow- ing H.R.H. the Princess Louise (Marchioness of Lome) became president, with a goodly array of well-known names as vice-presidents, and an acting committee of Educationalists, professional and amateur. Of this com- mittee, Mr. Joseph Payne, Chairman of the College of Preceptors, became the chairman till his death in 1875. The Woman's Education Journal, edited by Miss Shirreff and Mr. G. C. T. Bartley, served as the special organ of the Union, lasting for over ten years, and 122 "THE SISTERS OF THE BOYS." containing a summary of the most important events of a decade rich in interest for all women. Miss Buss' Journal-letters refer to the rise of the Women's Education Union, and also to a suggestion made by a friend that Mrs. Grey, having the public ear, should make an appeal through the Times for the Camden School — "Nov. i, 1871. "Dear Miss Ridley, " Miss Gurney called on Monday. She is willing to join Mrs. Grey's association — the National Union for Improving Women's Education, or some such name. May I give in your name as a member, and perhaps worker? I think we ought now to print an account of what we have done — what say you ? Your pamphlet, ' Pearl and Sea-foam,' is almost out — I have only two copies. From what Miss Gurney said, I think she would write a pamphlet, but I told her I would consult you. Please tell me your opinion. " When you can, I want you to enter into our inner life, and then some fine day write an account of it — perhaps after my time, who can say ? At all events, a detailed account of Cheltenham College for Ladies was read, at a Social Science Congress one year, and perhaps you might do a similar thing for us at a future time. "There is a talk of getting representatives of different educa- tional bodies on Mrs. Grey's National Union Committee. If so, I hope you will represent us. But that appointment must be made by the Board. " This must be the tenth letter, so you will forgive its jerky style. Our concerts went off well and were well attended. " Your very loving "Arnie. " You do not know my ' pet name ' — that given me by my dear wee nephew ? " Miss Buss was elected on the Council of the Educa- tion Union as representative of the Schoolmistresses Association. She was also of great use in sending information, through me, to a sub-committee of which I was for a time a member. In readiness for the need of which Miss Buss speaks MISS CUAWEY'S PAMPHLET. 12} I had been collecting material for an enlargement of " Pearl and Sea-foam," but as Miss Gurncy was willing to make the schools the text of her pamphlet (issued later as No. 3 of the Women's Education Union Series), her offer was gladly accepted. In this pamphlet Miss Buss' schools are recognized as the model on which those of the Girls' Public Day Schools' Company were afterwards formed. In December, 1871, Miss Gurney writes — " I am extremely obliged for all the trouble you have taken with my paper. It has been a very difficult task, especially after writing on the same subject before. I hope you will read my Leeds paper in the Englishwoman's Review last month. " I most fully feel the truth of all you say about Miss Buss. 1 think her personal influence most wonderful ; and, although 1 cannot say that she has awakened any new enthusiasm in me, because an educational enthusiasm has been always a part of myself, yet I think I am able to see and appreciate her rare worth and talent. "And yet, in this paper, we must not say anything which will appear like flattery to those who do not know her." Miss Buss' own words gave her appreciation of the help rendered to her own work by this pamphlet — •• Myra Lodge. March -5, 1872. ••.My dear Miss Gurney, "The pamphlet shall go out to-day to Mrs. Gilbert. It seems to me that we cannot circulate your paper too widely. Will you order another one thousand copies, or, if you think more will be wanted, let us have two thousand. '■ Should not a copy be sent to the members of the Council of the Society of Arts, and of the Social Science? Copies will be wanted for the annual meetings of both these soi ieties. "On all hands I hear how glad people are to have so clear a statement of our plans. ■•The Merchant Taylors have given us fifty guineas and the Dyers five. As i\7. no other Companies have re-ponded to our appeal. . . . 124 "THE SISTERS OF THE BOYS." " Dr. Hodgson says he has read your paper with great interest, and that he trusts this strong appeal may help us. He asks whence you quoted him? " By his advice, I have sent some copies away. During the Easter recess — from the 17th to the 29th of April — I hope to go to Edinburgh, in order to see the five schools of the Merchant Companies : 4400 pupils under one management — two schools for boys, and two for girls (one of the latter with 1200 pupils, and the other with 500), and one mixed school. " Do you see the Examiner ? It is very liberal in the women's questions. A pamphlet, containing a reprint of many — well, several — of its articles has just been issued. " I think you will not mind my saying that every one likes your pamphlet — so far as my knowledge goes. When are we to pay for the first edition ? " With all kind regards, " Believe me, yours most truly, "Frances M. Buss. " To Miss Gurney." But this comes some months later. In the mean time, Mrs. Grey had to buy the experience that after- wards led to the formation of the new company. The Journal-letter of November 18, 1871, alludes to the inaugural meeting of the Women's Education Union — "Nov. 18, 1871. " Mrs. Grey's meeting was well attended yesterday, but oddly enough not one word was said of our schools. This does not matter much, however. " Mr. Forster's suggestion is admirable, and ought to be carried into execution at once. I think Mrs. Grey would make the appeal ; at all events, I will ask her this evening. For the Camden School only, however, for women, we want about ^5000. " It will not do to include the other at present. Miss Gurney has begun her paper, but I am not very clear about it. I was so worried by visitors on Wednesday, when she came, that she and I got only half an hour together, as she had to rush off to Mrs. Grey's committee. " If only an agency could be started, with which I was not ostensibly connected, what a comfort it would be! But just now AN ADVANCE. 125 the applications for governesses are overwhelming, and they entai correspondence which is not compatible with the inner school work, which / ought to do. But at present I see no cutlet. I never have leisure to prepare any lessons at all, and it is only this week I have even been able to give an account of my holiday trip to Sweden— among the pupils. Denmark is waiting still ; it is necessary to digest one's materials, to draw up heads, etc., and these require leisure. " Do you remember the peasant girl, now a first-rate teacher in Stockholm? Also the Danish peasant girl, who is mistress of the orphanage at Holstermunde ? . . ." "Dec. 8, 1 87 1. '' I fear my last note was pitched in a low key. Mrs. Grey's letter enclosed will show you there is no occasion for jubilation, but I am better, having nearly struggled through my heavy cold. "We had a very long sitting on Monday, but got through some business, one part of which was that the Treasurers were em- powered to take another house for the Camden School rather than refuse pupils ! I gave my furniture, valued at £14°, in the Camden School, to the trust. My scholarship is to be invested in Consols, to my disgust, as that will only produce 3 per cent. " Mr. Harries and Miss Ewart are to audit the accounts on the 22nd, and I wonder where the accounts would be if Mr. Danson did not give so much help to us. Do you know, Mr. Danson is perfectly delightful. He is so business-like, so kind and patient, that I can't see what I should do without him on the one side, and a certain Annie R. on the other. And I mean this. " We are all quite sick with anxiety about the Prince of Wales, who is said to be dying. I cannot help being sad about the poor little Princess— our Princess. My dear love to you. My little housemaid is waiting for this to post it, and it is past ten, so good night." "Board Room, 202, Camden Road, Dec. 12, 1871. " Trust for carrying on the North London Collegiate School for Girls. " Look at this ! •' Dear Annik, •• Are we not getting business-like ! Mr. Forster's sug- gestion of a lecture from Professor J. R. Seeley is a good one, but I doubt whether we should get as much as ,£100 from the lecture ; 126 "THE SISTERS OF THE BOYS." and as Professor Sceley is already largely pledged to the Hitchin College, I also doubt whether he would lecture for our movement only. But we can try. I know both Professor and Mrs. Seeley. They have visited me at Myra, and I have visited them. Mrs. Seeley is a niece of Mrs. De Morgan. " Your loving " Arnie." This last suggestion came to nothing, but Mrs. Grey wrote to the Times, setting forth in the strongest way- possible the claim of girls in general to the help so freely given to boys, as well as the special claim of the Camden School, not only as recognition of Miss Buss' services, but from the fact that the school was in full work, and therefore proved conclusively not only the need for such a school, but also that this need could be met. She told how Miss Buss, "with a self-sacrifice as rare as it is noble, had voluntarily handed ovcr the fruits of twenty years' labours " for the benefit of girls, and then, for these same girls, asks that Miss Buss' generosity may be supplemented, for the two schools, by a quarter of the amount given to the one school for boys in Cowper Street, since, otherwise, it is to be feared that — " these schools and their able and devoted principal, Miss Buss, must break down under the strain put upon them, and a great work which has already done so much for the better training of girls, and promises to do more, will have to be abandoned." Among my correspondence of this date, I find a note respecting this appeal which might account in some measure for the small response it received — " The Times won't do things gracefully. I enclose you Mrs. Grey's admirable appeal on behalf of the Camden Schools, which I cut out of the outer sheet of the issue of yesterday. The redeem- ing feature is that the letter is what printers call ' displayed.' Unfortunately, however, people who buy the paper at the book- stalls frequently leave the advertisement part behind ! " MRS. GREY'S ATPEA!.. \2J Within a month after this first letter Mrs. Grey wrote again to the Times, stating in detail the response given to Mr. Rogers' appeals for boys, and giving as her own experience, concerning the appeal for girls of the same class, the following most noteworthy result : — " The answer to my appeal for the Camden Town Schools for < .iris, founded by the energy, ability, and generosity of Miss Buss, has been £\l zs. 6d. } of which ,£20 would have been given whether my letter had been written or not ; so that the net result of my appeal to this great Metropolis on behalf of the sisters of the boys for whom such a magnificent endowment has been received has been, in fact, just £ij 2s. 6d." This second letter brought in about ;£ioo more, raising the result of Mrs. Grey's appeal to £147 2s. 6d. The total amount collected by all, after three years of hard work, came to not more than ^700. And yet Miss Jcwsbury's hopeful words, written about this time, were quite true. Public interest was roused, though not as yet to the point of generous giving. Miss Jewsbury writes — "(live my love to Miss Buss, and wish her a happy New Year. The idea of a. thorough education for women has now, I think, taken hold of the public mind, and will be followed by the desire to obtain it. Miss Buss's schools will bring forth abundant fruit. She has borne the burden and cold of the day, but her work will take root. There was a notice of Mrs. Grey's letter in the Manclicster Examiner and Times, and a leading article too. I had seen a nice letter of Mrs. S. C. Hall's yesterday. Yes, Mrs. Grey is charming, and good to the core.' The subject was in all the papers. Miss Cobbe did good service in the Echo, and Miss Chcssar in the Queen. Our hopes had naturally risen high when Mrs. Grey took the question up so warmly. The disappoint- ment was proportionately great. And, bad as this might seem, there was yet more to 128 "THE SISTERS OF THE BOYS." follow. During the six months since the reading of Mrs. Grey's paper before the Society of Arts, Mr. Rogers had collected £5000 for a girls' school in the City. But some City endowments — the " Datchelor Charity " and others — had been found available for girls' education. Consequently, at the seventh annual meeting of " the Corporation formed for Promoting Middle-class Education in the City of London and the Suburbs" it was proposed that the .£5000— collected for girls expressly — should be used for the new hall of the Cowper Street School for Boys (already endowed with £60,000), this particular sum being just what would make up the ,£11,000 needed for a new hall. Several voices, notably that of Alderman Besley, were raised against this act, and mention was made that this sum was all that was asked by the Camden School, in the suburbs, and very close to the City. But the motion was carried. It was to no purpose that leading journals, as well as " educational enthusiasts," were " aghast at the announcement that a sum of money contributed for the special purpose of endowing a middle-class school for girls is to be devoted to the purpose of beautifying and enlarging the present middle-class school for boys." The thing was done. That the school on which so much had already been expended should, in addition, take the sum, which, comparatively small as it was, would have sufficiently endowed the one existing school for girls of the same class, was a blow calculated to wound to the utmost the women who were devoting themselves heart and soul to the effort to help these girls. Mrs. Grey, in a letter to the Times, expresses this natural feeling with a strength that was not in excess of the provocation re- ceived, as she says, " It was with painful astonishment, BITTERNESS. 1 29 not unminglcd with bitter feelings," that she had read the report of the meeting. Her letter ends with a still stronger appeal to the editor — " Will you, sir, not raise, in the name of the nation, a protest which cannot be so easily set aside ? Will you not at least make it clear to the public that this is not a woman's question, but a man's question, a national question, and that to leave uneducated one-half of the people — and that the half which moulds the associa- tions, habits, and life of the other half — is a course so suicidal that of the nation which deliberately follows it we are tempted to exclaim in bitterness of soul, ' Ouem deus vult perdere prius dementat ' ? " Miss Buss naturally shared in this bitter feeling, to which she thus refers — " You have received my outburst of indignation about the City corporation ? Fancy coolly alienating the money collected for a girls' school, and then handing it to the boys' school, on which only ,£60,000 have been spent ! Then the land in Southwark, purchased as the site of another school, is to be sold, and the proceeds handed over to the same school. Of course, it would be infinitely more useful to build a school at Southwark than to spend the money on the City school. " A protest might well be sent from us against the recent act in the City — on public and general grounds. Of course we could not have any claim to that ,£5000. But it is no matter. Do not trouble about it. But I do feel so impatient and weary sometimes ! Still, I try to be faithful. Unto the end, let us hope ! " Really, I am very despairing, spite of success so far." But "impatience" and "despair " were never more than passing moods with this strong, brave spirit, whose faith went deep down below all check or discouragement. Here are two notes which end the year 1871 and lead in 1S72 — '• Myra Lodge, Christmas Morning. " My dear 'Annie,' " A very, very happy Christmas to you and to all you love ! " Will you read Mrs. Grey's note? K I30 "THE SISTERS OF THE BOYS." " Will you come here for me, or will it be less fatiguing to you, for me to meet you at the Swiss Cottage Railway Station ? Please send word by bearer, and the hour. If the latter plan be agreed on, we had better meet at 10.30 or 10.45. "After our interview with Mrs. Grey, will you return to lunch with me, and let us have a quiet afternoon together? A quiet afternoon for me will be delightful. No consciousness of work neglected, and no responsibility, will make it really enjoyable to me. " If you will return here, I will ask Agnes to come also. " Yours always affectionately, " ARNIE." " Ryde, New Year's Day, 1872. " My dear Annie, " A very happy New Year to you and yours ! Will you accept the enclosed motto, 1 in loving remembrance of Arnie and New Year's Day ? It is a motto one needs to keep in constant remembrance. It is the hardest of all life's lessons, that of resigning one's self to an All-guiding and Almighty Hand above. . . . " I am already much better for leaving behind all responsibilities. It is very cold. On Friday, or Saturday, I expect to go to Sea Moor House, Bournemouth, Hants (Mrs. Hodgson's), for a few days. My love to you and to Agnes. " Yours always affectionately, "Arnie." 1 This motto is, "O God, for Christ's sake, do with me, in me, to me, by me, for me, as Thou wilt, this year ! " o o x u en u w o i-i 35 CHAPTER IV. TIMELY HELP. " Having reaped and garnered, bring the plough, And draw new furrows, 'neath the healthy morn, And plant the great Hereafter in the Now." E. B. Browning. But, however it might be borne, the disappointment was bitter, more especially in the proof given of the absolute indifference of the public to the whole question. Prejudice might have been overcome, opposition might have been met, but against indifference so invincible no means seemed available. Mrs. Grey gave it up as hopeless. She frankly abandoned the old position, and opened out new ground in making her next appeal directly to the British com- mercial instinct. In starting the Girls' Public Day School Company there was offered in addition to thorough education, a dividend of five per cent. The success of Miss Buss had proved that schools like hers were wanted by numbers sufficient to make them pay. There was not the slightest difficulty in any case in raising the ^2000 in shares needed to start one of the Company's schools in any locality desiring to have it. 1 1 Miss Clough, in her interest in Miss Buss' work, had proposed to the National Education Union the formation of a company to supply 132 TIMELY HELP. This new departure tended rather to hinder than to help on the endowment of the Camden School, of which the very raison d'etre was a rate of fees too low even to pay for buildings, a dividend being quite beside the mark. Money had come in, though slowly, for the furniture of the Upper School, and this was now quite self- supporting, though very inadequately housed. What would, in this school, have gone towards a dividend, went instead to the salaries of the teachers, higher here than in any similar institution. But for the Lower School an endowment was ab- solutely necessary. Hitherto, Miss Buss herself had provided all that had been needed beyond the money subscribed. She had not the very faintest intention of fulfilling Mrs. Grey's desponding prognostications of the abandonment of the scheme as a result of the public apathy. The precise manner in which it was to be carried out still remained to be discovered, but she never wavered in her intention that, somehow, it was to be done. During the year 1872 the pressure on Miss Buss seemed to be a little increased by this new departure. In June she writes of it — " Several people have written to me about the £$ shares in the Brompton School, and my ire was rising. " Mrs. Grey's handing over all Mr. Morley's ^500 to purchase shares in the new school shows pretty clearly — in addition to the Goldsmid gift— what chance we have of help in that quarter. There can be no doubt that the new school movement is leaving us high and dry. " I do not feel aggrieved by the Union in the least. It only makes me more determined to act. Miss Davies shuts herself into one bit of work ; Mrs. Grey into another ; I into a third. . . . school-buildings in this and similar cases. But the council decided to start its own schools, and nothing came of this proposition so far as regarded the Camden School. GIRLS' PUBLIC DAY SCHOOL COMPANY. I 33 - Mr. Rogers' suggestion about the Columbia Market (have you seen it?) if acted upon, will prevent our getting any help from the City. He says the market is useless — turn it into a splendid school for girls ! I hope the suggestion may be acted upon; if he takes it up, he will soon get the money needed. We shall have no chance at all. The City Companies will vie with each other in starting this magnificent scheme. City men like to 'live in bricks and mortar' — not to say stone. To live in human hearts is not durable enough. "Between the two schemes, we shall be swamped entirely if we do not take the bull by the horns and make a huge effort." There was no real antagonism between Miss Buss and the Girls' Public Day School Company. She was very glad of the work, and helped it in many ways, as is shown in Mrs. Grey's letters — " 1 8, Cadogan Place, June 18, 1873. " My dear Miss Buss, "... I am troubling you again in this matter as there is a proposal before our Council to adopt your scale of fees in the new school. . . . " Several people have told me that your meeting yesterday was a splendid success. I congratulate you heartily, and sincerely regret not having been able to attend. " I wonder whether I shall live to see similar success won by the Company's schools? If we could but get a duplicate of you I should feel very sure of the success, whether I live to see it or not. " Most truly yours, " M. G. Grey." In September, 1874, the following letter was received by Miss Buss from one of the foremost supporters of the St. John's Wood and Hampstead High School for Girls, a lady whose enthusiasm had first been roused by her efforts to help Miss Buss' work — " My dear Miss Buss, " I am hoping to work for the St. John's Wood School, though on the whole I have met with little sympathy. One of the objections to the new school will amuse you vastly, namely, that all the people to whom I applied said that they would not like to 134 TIMELY HELP. subscribe to a school that might in any way interfere with yours, and that the near(!) neighbourhood of St. John's Wood to Camden Town might have this disastrous result. Nothing that I could say convinced my opponents. . . . If we cannot get the help of the in- telligent and influential persons here, what shall we do ? . . . I feel sure that you can do much to help us : your name could be on our committee, though we should not expect you to work. " Yours truly, " E. TOLME." Miss Buss at once took shares in the company, giving her name to the committee, on which I acted as her representative. Many of her own friends were members, as well as educationalists like Dr. Abbott, Dr. Angus, Professor Huxley, Professor Carey Foster, and Mr. Norman Lockyer. The new school was built by Mr. Robins. In the mean time her own work went on slowly enough. The main hope was now in the Endowed Schools' Commission, since the constitution of both schools had been arranged in harmony with schemes drawn up by that body. Whilst one-half of the governing body of the North London Collegiate and Camden Schools for Girls had formed the memorial committee, occupied with ways and means, the remaining members had devoted them- selves to working out the details of the constitution, both parties uniting for the general board meetings, and there discussing all points in common. In Dr. Storrar, who had all his life been closely connected with great educational bodies, having helped in the development of the London University and of the College of Preceptors, we had a practical educationalist; as also in Mrs. Burbury, who, as the daughter of Dr. Kennedy, had breathed education with her earliest breath ; Miss Ewart, too, was in like manner born to public spirit, as the granddaughter of the William Ewart WORKING AND WAITING. 1 35 to whom William Ewart Gladstone owed his name, and as the daughter of a distinguished member of the House of Commons, who, for forty-six years, helped in every advanced public work, especially the London University. Dr. Storrar and these ladies, in particular, spared neither time nor pains in working out the scheme, and in en- listing sympathy with its objects in all likely quarters. But, in the beginning of 1872, the Endowed Schools Commission had not finished its work, and help from this quarter was still remote. Some extracts from Miss Buss' letters at this time show how very slow was the progress made in getting funds — "January 10, 1872. " Mr. Ellis privately has sent a cheque for ,£20 to the Camden School. Lord Calthorpe has done the same, but as yet there has been no other response to our memorial letters. " Mrs. Newmarch writes a kind note, to say she means to pay us a visit when she can, and she sends a guinea from ' Mrs. Brown.' We are getting on, though slowly." "Myra Lodge, Mar. 10, 1872. " The Camden sites and leases have been pressing much on me. Nothing has been done about the site. The lawyers are too dreadful. The land tenure is so complicated that it seems hopeless to understand it ! " I want to talk to you about our trying to get up a City meeting. The Lord Mayor is favourable to female education. I wrote to Mrs. Dakin, asking for an introduction to the Lady Mayoress, but Mrs. Dakin is abroad. I shall try next Saturday through another channel." " Mar. 22. " Miss Gurney's paper seems to be stirring up much interest. " The Edinburgh Schools will be open during my holidays. So I propose to leave for Edinburgh on the morning of the 18th of April. Miss Chessar, who is going there next week, will make inquiries about apartments for us. You mean to go, 1 trust ? " I want to visit the Dollar Schools, as well as the Merchant Company's Schools, and on the road home I should like to stay a day or so at Newcastle. I must be again in London on Monday, the 29th of April. 136 TIMELY HELP. " Dr. Hodgson has prepared the way for my admission, and he says I ' shall find open doors.' " " Mar. 25. " We are to have a city meeting. At least, Mr. Elliott and I are empowered to try to get one up. " I am very weary to-day, having been late last night. I have not an hour to myself, except on Sunday before church, till Tuesday evening, every moment being filled with appointments — I mean after school hours." " Bournemouth, Mar. 30, 1872. " All being well I will go with you — not without you, I trust — to Mrs. Mawson's, on 27th of April. " The memorial to the Princess has not gone in, nor that to the Baroness Burdett Coutts. Nothing has been done about our City meeting. I am so tied down by the annual exams, that I hardly know where to turn or what to do, or rather, what not to do. " I am having, however, perfect peace here. It is a most lovely place, and I should like you to know my dear sweet friend Mrs. Hodgson ! She knows a good deal of you." "April 5. " Mr. Harries thinks the City meeting would be a failure. The Lord Mayor could not lend the Mansion House for anything not Metropolitan or National. " This school was 22 years old yesterday ! " "April 10. 'About Lord G. H. I do not care a rush. Only if we women had not submitted to the humiliation of begging from all sorts of people, on any or no grounds, where should we be? . . . "I have sent a book, papers, and a note to-day to Miss B. /think the note, though short, might move a heart of stone ! " If you can come on Friday evening, pray do. Mr. Payne is very anxious to talk philology with you. I have asked all sorts of people who have been offering me hospitality, and all the women teachers in both schools. It is desirable that I should do some- thing for my fellow-labourers from time to time. " The Lady Mayoress is going to the Camden School on Friday next, at 2.30. Do you care to meet her ? " " April 20. " Mrs. Tolmd's success is delightful ! 1 have thanked her for enlisting the Baroness, but have omitted to say anything about the prizes. THE EDINBURGH SCHOOLS. 137 '■ I did ask about a scholarship, and 1 have invited the baroness to pay us a visit. A notice of the £\o donation shall be sent to all the papers." The " Edinburgh Schools" here mentioned had been recently opened by the Merchants' Company of that city. Using the money of various old charities that had fallen into utter abuse, they had made five thoroughly good schools on the latest and best principles, two for boys, two for girls, and one mixed. The first school was arranged for 1200 girls, and had proved a great success. The account of this work had naturally been of great interest to Miss Buss, and, as she knew that there had been every advantage that could be derived from the possession of ample means, she was anxious to see for herself what had been done. She therefore devoted her Easter vacation to the visit to Edinburgh, in which I accompanied her, dating from this happy time that closer intimacy which it was my privilege to enjoy. Dr. Hodgson's introduction to Mr. Thomas Knox, the Master of the Merchants' Company, made our way something of a triumphal progress, as I find in my letters home the record of " intense attention from hosts of masters and other people — to Miss Buss, of course, I moving round her like an attendant satellite, and shining in reflected light." I was still young enough to be amused at Mr. Knox's description of the " two ladies from the south, eminent educationalists," doing my best to sustain the character. I could at least appreciate my opportunities in hearing the talk between Miss Buss and Mr. Knox. Even apart from their friendship with Dr. Hodgson, they found a strong bond in their educational sympathies. In my journal I find him described as — "A tall, fine-looking man, with a grand head, and, I should think, a great heart. It is he who chiefly has carried the great I3S TIMELY HELP. reforms, sweeping away one abuse after another by the force of his strong will and steady purpose. One is struck by his patriotism. His feeling for Edinburgh breaks out constantly, and one can see that his public duty lies as near his heart as any private interest, while he takes as his family all human creatures, especially all young things, from the scholars of the Merchants' Company's Schools to the waifs and strays of his own special hobby, the training-ship. It is exquisite to see how this great, strong man speaks to the old women at the Home and to the children, with tender consideration for each individually as well as in general kindness." His wife and daughter were absent, so we missed seeing his home life, but he showed us all that was most worth seeing in his beloved city. To Miss Buss it was real holiday, and nothing seemed too much for her in that busy week which to me was something of severe mental strain, as well as unwonted physical exercise. We must have marched up and down miles of stone passages and stonier staircases ; and I find more than once the record that I stayed at home to rest, while Miss Buss took in a few more schools. A " Home for Boys," and another for "Aged Poor," are " merely in- cidental " in a day which includes an Art School, and a School for the Blind, in addition to the ordinary schools. We saw all the Company's new institutions, and Fettes College, as well as Heriot's Hospital, and the older foundations. The palatial structures and perfect appointments of all these schools made Miss Buss, as she said, "go raging wild with envy," but this did not prevent her from care- fully noting all there was to see. Nothing was over- looked that was in any way suggestive. She found a good system of girls' cloak-rooms, afterwards adopted, with her own improvements, in her own new buildings. She noted that Scotch scones were more wholesome than English buns for the children's lunch, and in the future secured a Scotch baker to supply them for her SEED-SO WING. 139 own girls. She discussed time-tables and all the in- tricacies of school management, while I listened and marvelled, and felt more and more like an eminent educational fraud. Among the few things actually novel to her was the teaching of pianoforte playing in classes, eight girls being taught at eight pianos at the same time by one master. Perfect time was thus secured, as the discord otherwise would have been quite beyond endurance. Some modification of this system was afterwards intro- duced by Miss Buss into her Upper School. One thing that roused her disapproval, amidst so much that she admired, was the position of the women- teachers, who, if employed at all, held only inferior and ill-paid posts. Whilst in Edinburgh, she lost no chance of putting in a word for them, and after her return to London, she wrote: "I am firing shells into the Edin- burgh schools one by one — Mr. Knox, Mr. Pryde, etc. — to make them use the Local Examinations. Professor Masson has been here this morning, and he advises me to go on. as good may come of it." Wherever Miss Buss went she acquired new ideas ; but she also scattered them broadcast. As I had an introduction to Miss Eliza Wigham, the well-known leader in all philanthropic movements, we found our- selves in the centre of work of all kinds, being well pleased to discover that though Edinburgh might be ahead in education, London could still hold its own as regarded the employment of women. I find that we had an afternoon tea, to which leading workers and teachers were invited, of which I record : " At our party we have had a grand seed-sowing. Everywhere Miss Buss throws out hints and suggestions likely to bear good fruit. There are many persons who will remember the talk to-day." 140 TIMELY HELP. At Gateshead it was just the same. She secured several pupils for her friend Mr. C. H. Lake ; and, although the sisters of these boys became pupils at Myra Lodge, she at that time set going the idea of the Girls' High School, soon afterwards started, which took the younger members of these families from herself. Before leaving Scotland we paid a visit to Dollar, where Miss Buss saw her ideal system at work, as she here found an old-established " mixed school." Her theories were, on the whole, confirmed ; but she found some drawbacks, which made her content to wait till all the perfect conditions could be secured. After Dollar, we had a few days of quiet, with delightful drives in the scenery round the Bridge of Allan, where our friend Mr. Forster chanced to be staying at the Ochill Park Hydropathic Establishment. The whole trip was full of interest, and not the least part of it was the delight of having that full mind pour- ing itself out on all possible subjects, and in scenes where the historic and poetic associations add a new charm to the beauty of nature. But there was still more to come in an event which, important as it was in itself, acquired still greater force when taken in connection with the feelings excited in Miss Buss' heart, by the sight of the richly endowed Edinburgh schools. We broke our journey southwards at Gateshead, where we visited Mrs. Mawson at Ashfield, a house well known to many a worker as a place where pleasant things are wont to happen, and therefore most suitable for this most happy occurrence. The large family circle had gathered round Miss Buss, to hear her recent experiences, and to ask about her own work, entering into her hopes and plans for the .1/7.9.9 E WART'S GIFT. 141 future of the schools, when a telegram was brought to her. She read it ; and, after a silent pause, rose and, crossing the room, put her arms round me in her own impulsive way, as she said, with rare tears in her voice as in her eyes, "Miss Ewart has given £1000 to the Camden School ! " How much this meant to the founder could be known only to those who had learnt how near to her heart was this dream of so many years. If only Miss Ewart herself could have seen, as we saw who were there, the joy thus given by her generous act, she would have been content, even without all that is still to come out of it to the girls of generations unborn, who will remember her name with gratitude. Miss Ewart completed her good work by a large loan, which made it possible at once to think about buildings for the Camden School. Miss Buss left me at Gateshead, and went back to her work with a renewed energy and courage, which come out very noticeably in the letters received during the next few weeks. " Myra Lodge, April 30, 1872. "A few lines before going to the great Suffrage meeting. Forty new entries in the Camden Road. Thirty, so far, in Camden Street." " May 1, 10.30 p.m. " I was interrupted last night by the arrival of a mother — Mrs. Crookes, wife of the Psychic Force Mr. Crookes. While she was talking, the cab arrived — no, no ; just after she had done talking, the cab came with Mr. and Mrs. Sep, for me to go to the Suffrage meeting. We got back at one. We met everybody — Mrs. TolnW among others. All day I was driving at express-train speed. At two o'clock Dr. Storrar came in, and, as he had a committee at University College at five, stayed till 4.30. I had had no lunch, and a council of teachers had assembled at four. " The meeting lasted till eight. Tired out, I walked home 142 TIMELY HELP. with Miss Begbie, and found here Mr. and Mrs. J. waiting to arrange poor Mrs. B.'s affairs with me. " They have just gone. The pressure of new pupils is enormous, and the reorganization of the school is also heavy. There is just the same pressure in Camden Street, but I have taken nothing up there, and cannot till to-morrow afternoon. Teachers, furniture, etc., are all to be found. " Did I tell you on Sunday night that I asked Dr. Storrar if the lender of the ^3000 was Miss Ewart ? He does not answer, so we can draw our own conclusions. " I am to ask her to fix the time for a special meeting, and must do so to-morrow, if I can find a few minutes." " Myra Lodge, May 3. " I am sure you will believe in the impossibility of my writing much. The whole day — four o'clock now — I have been walking about, organizing classes. " How to dovetail all the subjects of instruction and the pupils is a difficulty not to be described. Things are getting into order ; but I have found no housekeeper, and want a new teacher. " The Edinburgh papers are untouched, as I have not had a moment to arrange them. But yours will serve for the school- mistresses' meeting. " Don't be vexed, but the City meeting is quite off, so I judge from Mr. Elliott's remarks ; also there seems a feeling that all mention of its to the Princess Louise has been omitted. She called a meeting of Lord Lyttelton, Mrs. Cowper Temple, and others, to give her advice, and it seems Dr. Storrar wrote later to Lord Lyttelton to express his vexation that Lord L. had not pointed us out as leaders in the question of girls' schools. We are to get at Princess Louise, but how is not settled. Dr. S. does not think we can hold a City meeting. " Mrs. Bonham-Carter sends me £2$. You shall see the note. " My love to you and all the Ashfield circle. My little stay there was so pleasant, I wish I were with you now. Did I ever say how charming my Edinburgh trip was ? My companion was such a dear, sweet girl. " Did you find your new dress much tumbled, I wonder ? " Love to Mrs. Mawson and her girls. ' ; Did you not know that my Edinburgh trip was quite delightful to me ? " ENCOURAGEMRS r. 1 43 L - Myra Lodge, May 13, 1872. " I had no opportunity of expressing my pleasure at seeing you again, so do it on paper. "Dr. Storrar knew what Miss Ewart meant to do, and he knew what I only dimly suspected — namely, that she offered to lend the ,£3000 also. "She paid the school a visit on Thursday with Madame Bodichon, and Dr. Storrar says she has grown into a regard for our work. She was perfectly charming to me to-day, and especially about Mrs. Bonham-Carter's note. " I whispered that I could make ducks and drakes of the ,£25 : buy a dress if I liked, as the money was given to me for my comfort ! She took me by the hand, and said she wished I would spend it exactly as I liked ; it really was at my disposal. ;_" If Mr. Robins is not our architect, I am sure he will exonerate you and me. I hope he will. Perhaps things will go as we wish. "Dr. S. distinctly told me he thought Miss Ewart had no particular person in her mind's eye. " I am going to Mrs. Tait in the morning, and out to dinner in the afternoon. I mention the latter merely to let you know th it I shall be hurried to-morrow.'' " 202, Camden Road, May 28. " I fear I cannot manage to get to you to-morrow evening. There is a Dorcas meeting here, followed by a lecture, which will keep me very late ; and I have been under an engagement for more than a fortnight to go to Mrs. Arthur Arnold's At Home (A. Arnold is editor or proprietor of the Echo) at Stanley Gardens, nine o'clock." An introduction to the Rev. Stopford Brooke gave further pleasant encouragement as Mr. and Mis. Stopford Brooke visited the schools, and were so much interested that they even spoke of sending their own daughters. The distance made this plan impracticable, but Mr. Brooke's interest was shown in other ways. Miss Buss writes — " Mr. Stopford Brooke sent yesterday a cheque for ^13 8s. 1 id., with a note saying his people were away, but he would try again next year. Decidedly the publication of his sermon would be 144 TIMELY HELP. helpful to the cause of education, but I hope the right place would be given to Miss Davies. Please also take care of her note, which I enclose. Mr. Latham seemed to think we might perhaps get ,£300 a year for endowment. " The ' leaving scholarships ' are like the ^100 a year, for three years, given by the Merchants' Company in Edinburgh. It would be delightful to send some girls to Girton College (papers of which I send you some copies) or to Germany, for music, etc. " If it is fine on Tuesday afternoon, what do you say to meeting me here at six o'clock sharp, and of our going together to the Botanic Gardens ? " We should at least be quiet ; and a walk would be pleasant, or a drive to the entrance, and a walk inside ? I want to see you." "June, 1872. " Oh, how very heavy the work has been this week ! I was almost overdone this morning. Last Saturday, I had to hunt about for sites, etc. There is scarcely anything to be found that will do for the Camden School, and I have been nearly tearing my hair, because the ground opposite the Upper School may be sold for a chapel. It is very trying to see that splendid site, actually the only available spot in the district — nearly half an acre — com- manding Hampstead, Kentish Town, Highgate, and Holloway, and yet be unable to find any one willing even to lend on the security of the land and building. From eighty to ninety years is the length of the lease. I have been doing my best to get people to take up the Upper School — MY very own work — as Miss Ewart has done the Lower, but so far have been unsuccessful. Could we get at Mr. George Moore anyhow? Mr. Reeve, of Portland Chapel, is his guide, philosopher, and friend. Could we enlist Mr. Reeve? " It is very wicked, I know ; but, all the same, I can't help it. I feel quite sick with despair, with that land opposite, and such worry from overcrowding inside our school-house. We must refuse pupils. And we might have such a splendid school for three hundred girls ! If only we could get the sinews of war ! " Why should not Agnes write to Mr. Froude herself? Mrs. Arnold's soiree enabled me to speak to several people — notably to Mrs. Pennington, who is doing her best to persuade her husband to give us a thousand pounds. " I did not tell you that on Thursday morning I called on Mr. Jowett at Cowper Street. He was occupied in taking over the "NOTHING VENTURE, NOTHING GET" I (.5 schools an American and the Warden of the Fishmongers. My card was taken to his room, where was standing a tall, gentlemanly clergyman, whom I at once recognized as Mr. Rogers. " At first the mere mention of my name did not strike him, but presently he took up the card, peered curiously at it, and then turned round to me. We had some talk. I told him about the land. He said, ' Nothing venture, nothing get. You must take the land. Secure it by putting your .£1500 down ; then go boldly to the public with a clear, definite scheme. People will not listen to vague plans.' He said, ' Don't amateur your plans. Get a sur- veyor ' (he mentioned one), ' pay him to get up the information, etc' "I am quite sure we have been amateuring too long. We ought to carry in Mr. Robins. I have sent his testimonials to Dr. Storrar, and Mr. Robins' application will come on on Monday. In three days Mr. Robins can put us into a position to say we want so much. " We must do and do and do. "But Mr. Rogers says, 'We shall get no help for the Upper School.' I could have said, ' You are a University man. How did you get your education ? From old endowments ? or from your father's pockets entirely?' But that would have been rude ; so I was silent. " I am resolved not to let the Lower School be put down on the new land first. Both must be done together, or the Upper first. You see why it would be dangerous to risk the Upper School. If we can only get help for the Lower — so be it. We will then borroiu for the Higher, and do the two together." CHAPTER V. TRIUMPH. "There is now no such thing as a 'Woman's Education Question' apart from that of education generally ; and the real question which has still to be fought for many a long year, I fear, is one as old as education itself: how is the child of either sex to be trained to the measure of the stature of the perfect human being ? " — Letter from Mrs. Grey to Miss Buss, Dee., 1 88 1. In August, 1872, things suddenly assumed a fresh aspect. It was not till July, 1879 — still seven years of waiting and working — that the goal was finally at- tained in the opening of the new schools. But, from August 2, the date of a letter from Mr. Roby, the Secretary of the Endowed Schools Commission, to Miss Buss, this goal came within sight. This letter Miss Buss enclosed to me, with a few words of comment, which touched me not a little. " I send you a copy of a note which I got yesterday. Please send it on, with my love, to Mrs. Offord. It is the realization, probably, of our hopes. Yet I take it as quietly as I did Miss Ewart's donation of a thousand pounds — not ungratefully, I trust. I have offered a meeting on Tuesday morning, but expect that will be too late. So, in October, things must be settled. " I leave this place on Monday, so as to get through heaps of work in town, before starting for the Continent. My brother Sep will be in Brussels by the time we get there. Probably it will be better to say very little about Mr. Roby's note. ' There's many a slip,' etc." The letter, of so much interest to us all, ran as follows — GOOD NEWS. 147 "92, Kensington Gardens Square, W., Aug. 2, 1S92. •• Dear Miss Buss, " I am very glad to be able to announce to you that the Commissioners have proposed to the Brewers' Company, who are the Governors of Aldcnham School, to subsidize the Camden Schools, and that the Governors have agreed to this. 1 As to details, nothing is settled, but I hope to get a handsome sum towards building, so as to complete, with what you have collected, all that is necessary, and also some annual endowments. " The next step is for our Assistant-Commissioner to have a con- ference with you and your Board, so as to ascertain what is the amount needed, and what is the best form the assistance should take. " If your Board could meet Latham anywhere (either at the Camden Schools, or at 2, Victoria Street) on an early day next week, it would be well. " If not, the matter must wait till October,as we are all dispersing for the Vacation. "Will you please to write to Latham at once? " Yours very truly, "(Signed) H. J. Roby." On the following day I had another note from Mis;* lUiss, and for some time to come the whole story of the hopes and fears, the anticipation and delay, may be given in her own words from these letters — "Aug. 8, 1872. " I had a note yesterday from Mr. Latham, agreeing to an appointment with our Board, next Tuesday morning, at 2, Victoria Street, ten o'clock. " This is your notice ; so please don't say you were not invited ! "In consequence of the delay in getting Mr. Roby's note to me, I asked for an appointment next week, when Mr. Roby meant this week. But, as it turns out, my mistake is of no consequence, as Mr. Latham, the Assistant-Commissioner, is still in town." 1 In the reign of James II., " Richard Piatt, a wealthy brewer, left a piece of land in trust to the Brewers' Company to maintain a school in In- native village, Aklenham." On this piece of land now stands St. Pancras Station. The value of the property became too great for only the one school to be maintained, and the sum of ,£20,000 was given in order to build our two schools, one in the Camden Road, and the othei in the Prince of WaK- Read; in addition, a similar sum was given aa an Endowment, thus using the money in the Parish of Si. Pancras. I48 TRIUMPH. "Aug. 10, 1872. " I did not write to you yesterday, because I expected that very, very charming note, which came this morning. Dr. Storrar wrote to me to say — however, I enclose his note — that the meeting had better take place at 202, Camden Road. So I wrote at once to every one but you (and Miss Ewart and Mrs. Sidgwick, who are abroad" 1 , to say that our meeting was to be held in Camden Road, and not in Victoria Street. Twelve notes in all ! Still, I think Dr. Storrar is right, and as only the trouble fell on me, it was better to ask every one to change. I hope Mr. Latham will not mind." "Aug. 11, 1872. " Any money given to us by the Endowed Schools Commission will be for both schools. My only hope for the Upper School has been centred in the Endowed Commission. Our plan of placing the schools side by side will make the ground more easy to get. ... I have long expected a grant from the Commission, but these things are so long about that there was a doubt on my mind whether the grant would be made for years to come. " Mr. Latham says the part of the Piatt income available for St. Pancras amounts to about a thousand a year. He does not like the notion of the two schools being together. So it is proposed that we ask for about ,£16,000 for the two buildings and ground for the Lower School, on the Piatt estate, which belongs to the Brewers." The good news had come just as Miss Buss was starting for her summer holiday, this year spent in Germany and Switzerland. On her return she writes — " Myra Lodge, Sept. 14. 11.30 P.M. " Out of sight has not been out of mind, I assure you. " I got back yesterday at about one o'clock a.m. and have ever since been in a whirlpool of work and consequent worry. " There are more than fifty new entries for the North London School, 54 in fact, and more are coming on Monday. "Over sixty are entered in the Camden School. The new buildings look very well — as a temporary thing — but must be furnished immediately in order to receive the new pupils ; teachers must be found — housekeeper, servants, etc. I have been dashing through all sorts of work to-day, to get things in train. "Anyway, our success justifies our taking the new place, aild puts us into the way of paying for it. ELATION. 149 " My holidays were perfectly delightful ; but I must tell you about them at some other time. " My dear Annie, I am not sure at all about success not being too elating ! I will try to guard against myself, but feel doubtful. Success of a certain kind is necessary to make one learn one's self; but too much may be puffing up. " However, it has gone midnight, so I will say no more than that I am " Your loving "ARNIE ; " that I am glad you are all well ; that I shall not get any time to myself to-morrow, as I am to go to my father after service for the rest of the day, and that Monday will be a dreadfully hard- working day. " Will you take care of the Times' account of the Prize Day ? The mighty Thunderer sent his own Reporter ! " " Myra Lodge, Dec. 10, 1872. "There has been a long — 2J hours — conversation with Mr. Roby and Mr. Latham. It is proposed to send us a draft of the scheme before it is published, and this draft is (if possible) to be here by Monday week, the 23rd. " Next Monday we shall send out notices for a special meeting to consider the draft. " If the Brewers will give the sum ,£40,000, it is calculated that the buildings will cost from ^20 to £25 per head, and about 400 girls in each school ; but there will be sites, law, and scholarships to be provided. '• Mr. Roby thought the sum mentioned would not be too much for the two schools. This school is to be a First Grade, fixed pay of mistress £100 per annum, and a maximum cap. fee of ^3. So my income might amount to £1300 per annum ! The Camden mistress might get about £450 as a minimum, or £700 as a maximum. £200 endowment for rates, repairs, and £200 in each school for scholarships.'' "Jan. 1, 1S73. '•.My head aches at the thought of the worry of settling the claims to entry of the candidates waiting for admission. Your friends are somewhere about fiftieth. "Our scheme is not yet published. I am anxious to see it in the Times, so that the three months may soon pass." 1 50 TRIUMPH. Then came six months of waiting before Miss Buss writes, on July 31, 1873 — " You will be glad to know that the Endowed Schools Amend- ment Act has passed the Commons. The Lords may turn it out. Perhaps they will. Won't that be dreadful ? I don't know when the reading takes place." But on August 9, she writes from Bruges to the Rev. S. Buss — " Of course'you know that our Act — the Endowed Schools Commission — is really an Act now. It is mentioned in the Queen's Speech. " This morning, a copy of the scheme AS published has been sent to me. So the Commissioners have lost no time. In three months — that is, on the 7th or 8th Nov. — the scheme will be prepared for presentation to the Privy Council and then to Parlia- ment. So that, humanly speaking, the whole scheme will be accomplished in a year's time. " It is curious how little elated one is, when fruition is so near!" ■"5 The next letter to me comes in the same strain, dated August 26 — *;=>' " The Scheme is now advertised, and must wait three months, in order that opposition may be made. Then it goes to the Privy Council, and next year to Parliament. Altogether we may expect the twenty thousand {cash value, i.e. about eighteen thousand pounds) some time next year. " I am most deeply grateful, but I am not elated. One's elasticity gets sadly diminished as one grows older." After this a whole year elapses, filled with steady work in the schools, and brightened with gleams of help, such as are recorded on June 4, 1874 — " Within the last half-hour a note has come to me from Mr. Owen Roberts, clerk to the Clothworkers' Company, to say they give us ,£105 per annum, during pleasure, for scholarships : 50 guineas to Girton, and two of 25 guineas for Merton. It is very pleasing.'' NE IV SCI10L A RSI/IPS. I 5 I The reason for this prolonged delay was shown at the next date, November l8, 1874 — " Mr. Lee called at the office of Committee of Council a few days ago, to ascertain how our scheme was progressing. " He found that the Vicar of Aldenham had been opposing it, and that practically not anything has been done. It will be again advertised, and then wait two months, and, if opposed again, must go before Parliament. So there is no chance of its passing for an indefinite period. Shall I say, if ever ? " And the question now arises what are we to do about other matters ? Are we to go on as we have been doing ? What are we to do ? Submit, I suppose, to the inevitable. But is it inevitable ? " Altogether, I feel we are in an impasse." A month later comes a little more hope — "Oct. 8, 1S74. " I heard to-day (from a governor of that St. Martin's School which carries off Miss Derrick) that he had met a Brewer who talked quite warmly of our school, and also of the plan to take up the North London Collegiate School for boys, but that the head wanted good money consideration for it. I am very glad to hear this in every way. This last certainly entitles me to ' good consideration,' and not to lectures from — various persons ', " The next step comes in a note from Mrs. Grey — " 18, Cadogan Place, Jan. 18, 1875. " My dear Miss Buss, " I enclose a note I received on Saturday morning from Mr. Richmond, which please return. I congratulate you with all my heart on this crowning of your labours. " Mr. Holloway has given us no further sign. " Most sincerely yours, " M. G. Grey." This news of course came in due form to the governing body, but it seems to have been known to various friends earlier, giving them the opportunity of expressing their sympathy, as, in sending me Mrs. Gre> r 's note, Miss Buss remarks — I52 TRIVMFH. " Mrs. Grey's note enclosed one from Mr. Richmond, secretary of Endowed Commission, saying that the Lord President of the Council — I suppose that means Education Department — 'had approved of the scheme for giving Miss Buss' Schools the Piatt Endowment'— or words to this effect. Curiously enough, I am not in the least elated, but have a sort of choking sensation when I stop to think. " Mr. Fitch wrote to me on Saturday somewhat to same effect, and Miss Davies, as I told you, gave me a message from him, on the 14th, Sep's birthday, and Dr. and Mrs. Hodgson's wedding-day. "Are you willing to beg a little for the foundation of a Chair of Education ? The Scotch have JUST founded two, and the Govern- ment — Conservative too ! — have given £10,000 to complete them. We might get some help from Government if we got £5000 before asking it." "Endowed Schools Department, "2, Victoria Street, S.W., "April 12, 1875. " Mv dear Miss Buss, " Aldenham and the North London Schemes were both approved by the Lord President on Jan. 15. The former was, on petition laid upon the table of the two Houses of Parliament ; but no petition was presented praying that the latter should be so submitted to Parliament. However, the time provided by the Act has expired, and both schemes will almost certainly be approved by Her Majesty at the next Council. " So it is the opinion both at the Council Office and here, that the Schemes are as safe as anything can be which has not actually received formal and final sanction. " With the kindest good wishes, " I am ever, my dear Miss Buss, " Very truly yours, "J. G. Fitch." On May 14, 1875, I received this welcome note — " My dear Annik, " The Queen signed our scheme at yesterday's Privy Council. The news has just come from Mr. Fitch. " Eyer your loving "Arnie." THE SCHEME APPROVED. 153 This looked like the end of all anxieties. But there were still four years to elapse before that point was reached. Action was taken at once in the appointment of Mr. E. C. Robins as architect, and Miss Buss' spare time went in plans and in consultation with him at special committees without end. It had to be discussed over and over whether the two schools should be together or separate ; the choice of sites occupied time and thought, and, interesting and exciting as it all might be, it was all so much added to the pressure of the work, where success meant increasing numbers and constant reorganization in both schools. Here is a specimen of the extra worries that from time to time came to swell the account — "June 8, 1876. " A new complication has sprung up. The Charity Com- missioners write to ask how much money we intend to put by yearly, to accumulate at compound interest, to buy up the lease when it expires. We must call a meeting. It seems to me like a rent-charge, and if we are to do this, I want to know how we are benefited ? " We had better have been left alone. Suppose the school numbers went down, where would the governors be ? " In my lifetime, too, this would mean paralysis of every thing we need, in order to put by money. " It is very trying." This difficulty was overcome, but still the plan remained for both schools to be erected on one site — "June 10, 1876. •• Mr. Latham has written a lon<^ (private) letter to me in which he objects (as I do in my heart) to both schools being put on the same site, and suggests cutting down our plans and borrowing? Again sweets mingled with the bitter, when Miss Buss could report on December 18, 1876 — 1 54 TRIUMPH. " Dearest Annie, "Will you return Mr. Owen Roberts' letter. Is it not a delightful Christmas box ? A whole hall ! " This letter announced the intention of the Cloth- workers' Company to add the Great Hall to the new buildings contemplated by the Brewers' Company. But still came further difficulties — "Jan. 25, 1877. "What do you think of my feelings at reading the following passage in the last letter from the Charity Commission? 'We sanction the plans for the Camden School, on the distinct under- standing that the buildings of the Upper School remain, for the present, in abeyance.' " Poor Mr. Robins ! He wants to go on with the Camden, but that seems to me to doom the Upper School. Is it not a constant worry? We must face the only possible outlet: Mr. Latham's suggestion of ' raising the fees without delay.' " The next letter is dated February 8, 1877, and shows Miss Buss in one of her (fortunately rare) depressed moods ; but it also shows her usual self-sacrifice — "We have to-day received a note, saying that, unless we have new facts to lay before them, the Charity Commissioners adhere to their decision, though they will hear what we have to say on Thursday. This means that the Upper School must be left as it is, and the Camden be begun. " There seems no outlook. On the whole, matters look very gloomy. I have been struggling so much against a sort of sick despair that I am literally sore all over. The revulsion from hope to a state of hopelessness has produced on me the strange bodily soreness alluded to. " There seems only one chance, and that is, to give an annual sum of ^800 or ^1000 a year towards the debt out of my income from the school, and to make my friends insist on the plans being carried out. If, in addition, we raise the fees one guinea per annum, i.e. js. per term, we shall realize another ,£500, and the saving of rent, when buildings are completed, will add another ^300. All this could be applied to paying the debt, so that the debt could soon be paid off, supposing the school to go on successfully. VICISSITUDES. 1 5 5 "The discipline of life is very hard, and one's faith is not as strong as it ought to be. I do try to cast all my care on Him, who careth even for mc ; but it is very, very hard to cling closely. " I have to go to Cheltenham to-morrow. I shall not be home until late on Saturday night. " No doubt the sun is still shining behind the clouds ! Perhaps even these may clear off in some unexpected way." "Feb. 13, 1877. " Yesterday's meeting went smoothly. Miss Ewart was very kind. She told me in my room that she was quite sorry for me and that she sympathized strongly. " Mr. Buxton and Mr. Worsley. as representatives of the donors of the money, mean to protest against abandoning the Upper School, or delaying its buildings. Mr. Lee and Mr. Thorold also will make a stand ; the former is coming up on purpose. I will send you a line to say what hope there is. "We have another meeting on Monday, of which you have probably had notice. "The governors granted all the things I asked for, in the way of salaries, house expenses, etc. Mr. Robins was not kept waiting, and got away when he had explained to Miss E. the ventilation matter. "At the last meeting, he was kept two hours, and then not summoned. It made me quite fidgety and uncomfortable. I think his patience is almost exhausted. What a good friend he is ! " I wrote a note to the chairman for yesterday's meeting, offering — (1) on condition of not letting the Upper School be 'put in abeyance,' (2) of raising the fees, and (3) of adding the sum so obtained to the rent saved by the buildings (about ,£800 per annum) — to pay another sum of ^800 per annum towards the building fund, during my working life, or so long as necessary. This note was read in my absence. " I must, as Alfred says, be allowed 'to endow my own child.' I also wrote to Mr. Lee, making the same offer. I tell you, as you would have heard it had you been able to be present. "My very dear Annie, if only some of my cares would save you from yours, how thankful I should be. " May God bless and strengthen you. " Ever yours lovingly, "Arnie." 1 56 TRIUMPH. "Feb. 18, 1877. " The answer from the Charity Commissioners is expected next week. I should think it will be favourable. " All this discipline is strengthening, and helps one to strengthen others, if one will but learn the lesson it is meant to teach. I have not been rebellious this time, I think, but have tried to use means and be content with the issue." "April 14. " Mr. Worsley writes to say that the Brewers' Company will take up the loan of ^8ooo, and therefore there need be no delay in beginning the Camden School. " Also that there will be no necessity for me to insure my life for the debt. " So ends our great difficulty ! " In July, 1878, there is a note referring to the work involved in laying the memorial stones of the new building, and an indication of delay, since Miss Buss says — " The Clothworkers gave us a cheque for .£2500, which will carry us on till October, by which time we hope either to have the freehold or the Alice Owen money. If not, I am to advance what I can, and that wonderful Mr. Robins will also advance, if necessary. So far as I can understand, the Charity Commissioners have suggested to the Brewers that the latter should lend us money, at a moderate rate of interest, from their other educational trust, the Alice Owen, in Islington. The committee met to discuss and report on the security, etc. I hear that the best security will be a life insurance taken up by me, but nothing was settled." The grand finale came at last when the buildings were completed, as more extracts will show — " March 14, 1879. "Mr. E. N. Buxton was splendid to-day at the governors' meeting, and he urged that we should go on, and never mind about the Charity Commission difficulties. We have asked the Princess of Wales ! " "April 3, 1879- " The Princess of Wales accepts our invitation to open our new buildings and give the prizes. I do hope nothing will prevent her keeping her promise. As yet I do not want the fact known SUCCESS AT LAST. 157 in the school. I shall be torn to pieces, and have to fight over every examination paper and mark, because every girl, and her parents, will be so resolved to get a prize from the hands of our fair, young, and beloved Princess ! " I want, in the future, Foundation Day to be always a day of importance in the year. Twenty-nine years ! Almost a lifetime." •'June 28, 1879. " How are you all ? I often think of you, but the pressure of work now is hardly to be imagined ! Independently of the Royal visit, there are the festivities of the girls themselves, in connection with the New Hall. Some French proverbs to be acted, and some extracts from Lcs Fannies Savantcs, also the final scene in the Merchant of I r enice. n For a very pleasant little sketch of the school build- ings I am indebted to Miss Edith Aitkin — "The school buildings, which are the fruit of so much thought and endeavour, stand at the corner of Sandal! Road, a few yards back from the main Camden Road. They are of dark red brick, and group themselves round a part of the original structure which is three stories high, and which culminates in a conical-roofed tower, from which each morning a bell rings out to summon the neighbourhood and all and sundry happily, not 'unwillingly, to school.' It is to be regretted that small and rather mean-looking houses crowd round too closely to allow the ordinary passer-by to form any adequate idea either of the size of the place or of its real dignity of proportion. The building falls naturally into two parts ; first, there is the original structure, modified and extended, facing Sandall Road ; and secondly, round the corner is the Cloth- workers' Hall, and the main body of class-rooms behind it. This hall, with its long, stained-glass windows, their tops breaking the line of the roof and its handsome gateway of honour, is the most interesting feature of the building as seen from outside. " The usual entrance is at the corner, in the very middle of the school, and the impression received is at once delightful and characteristic. Frances Mary Buss, the daughter of a painter, all her life delighted in light and colour. She was no ascetic, but aimed always at full use of all good gifts. As one enters to the left is the head-mistress' sitting-room — the ' Blue Room,' reminding one that blue was her favourite personal colour, the colour she wore as a girl, the colour of the satin dress in the early Victorian 158 TRIUMPH. portrait painted of her by her father. The tiles of the fireplace, painted by the elder girls, are green and blue, and, dare one say, Morris-y before their time. In front we see a stained-glass window, to the memory of pious founders, Dame Alice Owen, and Alderman Richard Piatt. To the right is a handsome brass re- cording the main facts of the foundation of the school. On each side of this are doorways leading to the office, where visitors are received in the first instance, and to the library wing. Passing forwards, we mount a few steps and turn to the left into the hall. This was always Miss Buss' pride, and deserves the exclamation, ' Oh, how pretty ! ' which nearly every one makes on entering it for the first time. Other schools have halls, some large and fine in their way, but I do not think there is any other so bright and cheerful, so warm with harmonious colour, so pretty. At one end is the main platform, with the organ— the gift of old pupils— recessed in the wall behind it. The long windows, with window-seats and high ledges on which are plants, pour down coloured light along one side. Some are already filled with stained glass, and the middle one, which has always been called Founders' Window, because it was partly filled by the arms of those companies and individuals who have endowed the school, is to be completed as the special memorial of her who was, after all, our main founder. Along the opposite side and across the end runs a gallery of pitchpine. The walls have a dado of pitchpine, and are lined with smooth terra-cotta brick, let into which at one end, under the gallery, are two medallions, one a portrait of the Princess of Wales, to mark the day of her visit, and all that it signified, ' with a white stone,' as Miss Buss said. Five class-rooms open into the hall along one side under the gallery, five more on to the gallery, and others on to a corridor above. To secure quiet in the hall for examinations, etc, curtains can be drawn shutting off the part under the gallery as a passage-way to the class-rooms. These are bluish-green, and, with the flowers of the platform and window- ledges, give a pretty effect of colour. To the left of the platform hangs Miss Buss' portrait, so that she seems to be amongst us still in a strange quiet fashion. "To describe one class-room is, to the outsider, to describe them all. A teacher's platform facing thirty desks, with a large slate or blackboard behind — Tobins' pipes, and ventilators over the doors — this is the now familiar appearance of a schoolroom. More distinctive features are the window-gardens, the pitchpine dado, and eminently practical lining of smooth brick, on which THE SCHOOL ITSELF. 159 numerous photographs display themselves. Miss Buss' Roman visits explain the fact that very many are views of Rome and of classical sculpture. To those interested in the details of the school class-rooms take on distinctive features. In one is the challenge cup held for the term as the result of a singing competition amongst a number of classes. In another are copies of Raphael's Cartoons. In another a very special and original fireplace decoration. In some we notice spinal chairs, or modified desks, recommended for special girls by the lady doctor attached to the school. " A complete survey is a long business, and even a cursory inspection involves some walking, for we cannot omit to mount to the end of the top corrider to see the large drawing-school, with its array of casts, glass, perspective planes, etc. This is lighted from above, and contains over the fireplace a large painting by Mr. R. W. Buss, of an Elizabethan Christmas, throwing out a fine "low of colour. Several small isolated rooms on this floor also are used as music-rooms. " On the gallery floor it is absolutely necessary to inspect the lecture-room and laboratory. The former can seat about a hundred and fifty girls, and is provided with a proper lecture-table for experiments, and also with a lantern and screen. The laboratory is fitted with working benches for twenty-four girls at a time. In the little room between is a really good balance for the use of the more advanced students. "A plunge into the basement must follow, for the care with which provision has been made for cloak-rooms, lavatories, kitchen dining-room, and drying-room for wet clothes in winter, is very striking. Also a long passage, floored with wooden bricks, leads to the gymnasium, a splendid room a hundred feet long, and about forty feet high. This offers a certain amount of compensation for a very moderate playground behind the school. The playground, such as it is, is immensely prized for rounders, skipping, etc., while competition is very keen for the three fives courts which open on it at one side. The gymnasium is in constant use all the morning, for every class goes down there for a gymnastic lesson, on Miss Chreimann's system, twice a week, besides a daily short drill directed by the form mistresses. A special class is held on one afternoon for additional gymnastic exercises, and another for medical drill, when girls with a tendency to some special defect are put through special exercises recommended by the doctor mentioned above, who examines all the girls of the school at certain intervals. " Visitors may very well be glad to rest before leaving. The l6o TRWAIFJI. main library will probably contain sixth-form girls studying under a strict silence rule. Not to set a bad example, we will pass through to the museum to do any talking. The teachers' library is beyond again, a pretty room with several sofas, and a window- seat under the stained-glass window which decorates this wing. " There are many details one would like to comment upon, such as the fountains on each floor supplied with filtered water, the special taps to be used in case of fire, with directions as to the best method of procedure hung up beside them, the plans dis- played for reference of the whole system of gas- and water-pipes. All these are very eloquent of her whose draam — realized as all dreams are not — has borne the translation into a reality which can never be truly prosaic, and stands here in solid brick, the North London Collegiate School for Girls, Sandall Road, Camden Road, N.W." On July 1 8, 1879, the whole of St. Pancras was astir with the unwonted excitement of a Royal visit, and the crowds that for miles lined the streets showed their loyalty by hearty acclamations. The Prince and Princess, accompanied by the Countess of Macclesfield and Baron Colville of Culross, with Mr. Holzmann and Lieut. Clarke, were met at the door of the new building by Miss Buss and the Bishop of Rochester — then chairman of the Board — passing through a double line of governors on their way to the library, where Miss Aitkin, the winner of a Girton Scholarship, presented a bouquet of Malmaison roses. The whole party then proceeded to the tent erected in the playground, where the Camden Street pupils waited to receive their prizes from the gracious lady whose coming had been so ardently desired. Adjournment to the great hall followed, when the girls of the Upper School had their turn, a hundred and fifty being made happy possessors of prizes from the same kind hand. Songs and speeches came next, and the Prince certainly looked as if his words were no M 1-5 o O o a u H H < 3 w hJ o o Q J'. o H (4 O S5 J" iJ a w ui o w a A ROYAL VISIT. 1 63 empty compliment, as he said that nunc of their many functions had given greater pleasure either to the Princess or himself than their visit to these schools. In the library, where tea was served, the Prince and Princess talked for some time with Miss Buss about her work. In addition to the whole body of governors, there were present Canon Spence, Vicar of St. Pancras, the Rev. William Rogers, Founder of the Cowper Street School, the Rev. Llewellyn Davies (Miss Davies being unable to be present), Sir T. Fowell Buxton, Mr. Edward North Buxton, the Masters of the Brewers' and of the Clothworkcrs' Company, Mr. Robins, the architect to the schools, and other friends. On the same evening, the occasion was celebrated by a dinner given by Canon Spence and the Church- wardens of St. Pancras, when the health of the founder of the schools came after that of the Royal visitors. Mr. Robins, in giving this toast, remarked that "Miss Buss had been of great help to him in the building of the schools, for she was a thoroughly practical woman, and knew more about plans than many men." Taking it altogether, there was every ground for the satisfaction which, as the Rev. A. J. Buss said, in re- sponse, his sister must feel in a day — " to which she had long looked forward, and to which she would look back with gratification, of which no small part would be due to the recognition of her services by the representatives of the parish in which she had spent her working life.'' From among the innumerable letters of congratula- tion pouring in from all sides a few may be given which were specially treasured by the Founder, who from this day felt herself set free for the internal work of the schools, all anxiety being ended as to their external conditions. 1 64 TRIUMPH. Foremost among these is one from Mr. Spencer Charrington, who, as Master of the Brewers' Company, thanks Miss Buss for his reception, expressing his full satisfaction in the completion of the work in which the Company had taken so deep an interest. Not less gratifying was a testimony from Mr. Fitch to the scholastic value of Miss Buss' own special part of the work — "5, Lancaster Terrace, July 23, 1879. "My dear Miss Buss, " Let me congratulate you, as I do most heartily, on the remarkable success which has attended your candidates at the London Matriculation. I know of no school, either for girls or boys, which, having sent up sixteen candidates, has passed nine of them in the Honour division and in the First Class. Nobody needed any additional proofs of the wisdom and value of the methods which you have adopted, and which you have done so much to extend and popularize. Still, every new evidence of the fact must be gratifying to you ; and I assure you it is not less so to the many friends who know of your work, and who have long recognized it as some of the soundest, the most fruitful, and the most beneficent work of our time. " The high proportion of success attained by the female candi- dates was the subject of special remark at the Senate this after- noon ; and I need hardly say, of special felicitation to a good many of us. " Yours very truly, "J. G. Fitch." To the same effect is the expression of warm sym- pathy from Mrs. Grey — " Harbledown Rectory, Canterbury, July 20, 1879. ■' My dear Miss Buss, " I must write you a few lines to congratulate you on your splendid opening ceremonial and prize-giving. When I remember the position of the schools when I had the good fortune to make your acquaintance, and compare it with the statements made last Tuesday, it seems like something in a fairy-tale. And FELICITA T10NS. I r > 5 yet with what ceaseless toil has each step been won. It does one's heart good, and makes one think better of life, to see such a brave, life-long fight as yours crowned at last— crowned, too, while your head can still wear the crown, and with years before you in which to ripen the fruits of your victory. I have often feared that you would break down under the strain of final success come too late. Thank God it is not so. " I do not know when I shall see you, unless you come to Rome at Christmas. " Do not forget me on my shelf, and believe me ever, •• Yours affectionately, " Maria G. Grey.'' Not less warm, nor less warmly appreciated, was a letter from Dr. Thorold, who had acted as the first chairman to the united governing body, after the re- construction which admitted the representatives of the r>rc\vers' and the Clothworkers' Companies. During his chairmanship, Dr. Thorold had been raised to the Bench, but, with all his new duties, as Bishop of Rochester, he had remained faithful to the work of which he had been one of the very earliest friends — " Selsdon Park, July fc,, 1879. "Dear Miss Buss, " I must write one line of warm and sincere congratula- tion to you, on what 1 may call the coronation day of the work to which you have given your life. "While I was careful privately to inform the Prince of Wales of the service you have so conspicuously rendered to the education of girls for so many years past, all that he and the Princess saw must only have confirmed their impression of the solidity of the work to which they gave their cheerful and ample recognition. " I say to you, God bless your work, and you in it, to the glory of His Holy Name ! "And I say it as one of your warm and sincere and mans friends. . . . " Most truly yours, '"A. W. ROFFI N. CHAPTER VI. WITH HER FELLOW-WORKERS. " In honour preferring one another." " The relationship between head-mistress and teachers was surely most unique, for Miss Buss seemed never to tire of having her teachers about her, and even in the holidays they were constantly at her country house." So writes one of the members of the staff, whose knowledge dates from the time when she was a "very naughty little girl of seven, constantly sent into the ' parlour,' " where she hid behind the door, waiting till, with a pained expression, never forgotten in all these years, Miss Buss would turn to say, " Marion, here again ! I am so sorry," and then take the weeping child on her lap, and talk till she could be sent away with the kiss that made her happy as well as good. That this loving influence was successful is proved by the sequel — " One day, to my great surprise, Miss Buss asked me if I would like to become a teacher in the school ! What I should have missed in my life if I had refused I dare not think, for, from that day to this, it has been a life-long pleasure to be with her, to share in even so small a degree her work, and, above all, to feel her inspiration ! " And so many more of the staff had, in like manner, SYMPATHY. 167 been pupils that the habit of "mothering" them went on, and was quite naturally extended to new-comers. From another of the staff we have, in three scenes, a life-story. The first shows Miss Buss at her happiest with a little child — " I cannot tell you how much I owe her — nearly everything, I think, that makes life worth living. I do not remember any time in my life when her name was not to me a loved and honoured one. " My sister was a pupil of the school before me, and when I was quite little I remember longing for my tenth birthday, when I should be old enough to go there myself. I did not, as a matter of fact, go till several years later, as I was rather a delicate child. My first introduction to Miss Buss must have been when I was very small, for my sister used to tell me how she took me into the office, and how Miss Buss set me on the table before her and put my two little feet together, as she told me I was not quite ready for her class just yet. How like that is to her way with little children ! I think I must have loved her from that very time ! " The child is a woman grown as we see her again — " I was in great trouble and perplexity, and in the midst of it went to spend my holidays with Miss Buss at Fe"camp. It was nearly midnight when we reached her, but she was sitting up for us, with some hot soup ready, and everything was thought of as it might have been by my own mother. I had no mother then ; but when Miss Buss took off my wraps with her own hands, and folded me in her arms, I felt that a second mother had indeed been given to me. Perhaps I felt this the more because I was with her at Heme Bay when the news came of my own mother's sudden death. It was a Sunday morning, and the trains would not allow of my going home till later in the day. It would have been a terrible time but for Miss Buss' tenderness. She seemed to feel with me as if the loss were her own. I shall never, never forget it." In sorrow, in joy, or in disappointment she was ever ready with comfort, with sympathy, and with cheer. The third scene is given in a letter, sent with the remark : " How characteristic it was of her warm sym- pathy with all with whom she had to do " — 1 68 WITH HER FELLOW-WORKERS. "Nov., 1SS1. " My dear Emily, " Old pupil and friend of so many years ! I send you my warmest congratulations. I am very glad for you and our dear friend Mrs. Bryant, also for Florence Eves and Constance Dicker. " It seems to us short-sighted mortals that it would be desirable to have our pleasures tt/miixed, but it never is so. My pleasure is alloyed by my dear R 's and E 's failure, and yours by the absence of your dear mother ! But ' all things work together for good,' if we will but believe. " Always yours lovingly, "Frances M. Buss. " To Miss Emily Findon, B.A." Equally to the point is another note, of which the recipient says : " The whole tone was so strong and so strengthening, so different from the many letters of kind, but more or less worrying, sympathy received at the time" — " Schlangenbad. " My dear A- , " I am very sorry to hear that you and X have failed to get through the ' Intermediate.' I send you my love and sympathy. Do not fret. You will succeed later on, when, as I hope, you will try again ; and your knowledge will be all the firmer for having to work longer. " You will, no doubt, carry out the proposed plan, viz. go to Cambridge for a year, and leave the degree till after ? You will have a very happy time at Cambridge, I know. " Have you heard how Y is getting on in Sweden? How well I remember my delightful holiday there." And with an account of life at a German spa, and messages to other members of the family, the letter ends, hopeful and cheery. It was always delightful to watch Miss Buss with those of her former " children " who had expanded into the dignity of B.A., or B.Sc, and were entitled to wear the gown and " mortar-board " appertaining to this new rank. No mother ever took more interest in her girls' GIR L- GRAB UA TES. I 69 first party frock or presentation robes than did Miss Buss in those early days in the then quite novel attire of her "girl-graduates." Mrs. Bryant had not been a pupil in the school, but she was young enough to pass for one, and the sight of her gorgeous gold-and-scarlct doctor's gown was a supreme joy to her older friend, to whom no such distinction had been possible in her own young days. There was never a touch of envy or of selfish regret in this sympathy with the winners of the honours for which she herself had longed in vain — no, not in vain, since that longing had helped to open the way to those who had since outstripped her in the race. Miss Toplis, in her sketch of Miss Buss, in the Educa- tional Review, calls attention to — " two characteristics which may perhaps be known only to those in daily contact with her. One was that jealousy and selfishness were impossible to her nature ; the other, her power of living in the lives of others. The success or distinction of friend or col- league was one of her greatest pleasures. No one could share such pleasures as Miss Buss did, and the loss of her ever-ready sympathy in joy or sorrow is one of the realities we cannot yet face." In such sympathy, Miss Buss certainly well earned the right to the exaltation expressed in a postscript to a letter on " guild " work to Mr. Garrod, when she says, apropos of the recent success of Miss Philippa Fawcett at Cambridge, " Thank God, we have abolished sex in education ! " There are some amusing little touches of the purely feminine in connection with these first academic gowns and hoods, which were presented by the staff to its first graduates at a fancy-dress ball given by Miss Buss in honour of the occasion. The hoods were made among themselves, the pattern being taken from that of Sir Philip Magnus, in the intervals of his inspection 1 70 WITH HER FELLOW- WORKERS. of the school. Mrs. Bryant cut them out, and the pieces left over of the yellow and brown silk are still in the drawer where thrifty housewives keep their pieces. It may be imagined that no small excitement pre- vailed among the girl-graduates about the first public appearance at Burlington House in the full dress. On the first occasion of the presentation of degrees to women, the shy counsel prevailed, and the ladies went up in their usual garb. The next step is thus described by Mrs. Bryant — " But the following year we called a meeting to settle among ourselves, if possible unanimously, the course to be pursued. I confess I resented the idea of being denied my academicals as much as I have thought it hard to appear as a number only in the Senior Cambridge lists years before. There was much hesita- tion on the part of several, however, but in the end I was instructed to write to the Registrar enclosing our resolution to wear the academic dress if no objection to this course was made by the senate. There was no lack of comedy in the situation — consulting a body of staid and serious gentlemen as to whether we should or should not wear the robes to which we were entitled by the University regulations. However, it was necessary to allay all doubt, and the message from the senate received in reply settled the question for that time and henceforth. We have often smiled over these little incidents, seeing what universal approval was at once won for our ' gowns and hoods.' And at school, on festive days, when these are worn, the poor Cambridge graduates- graduates in all but name— grieve because they have no such symbol with which to deck— it does not veil— their femininity." It may not be out of place here to give some ex- tracts from letters to Miss Buss from Mrs. William Grey which show how needlework is regarded by the leading educationalists. Speaking of the Maria Grey Training School (in connection with the College), Mrs. Grey writes — "Rome, Nov. 27, 1880. " I also wish to give a yearly prize of £2 to the school for two subjects. You have suggested Botany and Needlework. But as NEEDLE WORK. I 7 T 1 know nothing of botany, and have always said that needlework should be taught at home to girls above the elementary school class, I should prefer English or French. If, however, you have a special reason for wishing for a Botany prize, I will at once agree to that instead of the French." " Hotel du Louvre, Rome, Jan. 7, 1882. "Your pleasant and affectionate letter reached me some days ago. The kind feeling you express warms one's heart, at this distance from home, when one feels very acutely too often that one has drifted away from all who know, or care, or are cared for. One's life feels so useless, and the current of life seems so strong in England that those who can no longer go on with it have a sense of isolation which kind words like yours break in upon most soothingly. " I wanted to tell you that you have nearly, if not quite, con- verted me to the needlework in schools to which I have always been opposed on our council — not from any want of realizing the importance of the art, but because it is one that ought to be taught at home. I was a great worker till a few years ago. In all our young days we made everything we wore, and I was so fond of embroidery that I scarcely trusted myself to look at it in the morning, lest I should be tempted to waste my time upon it. I tell you this that you may see how little likely I am to undervalue the art ; and if mothers are so foolish or so ignorant as not to teach it, then, sooner than leave it untaught, I acknowledge that we ought to take it up. " But with our scanty time and overcrowded subjects, the difficulty is very great. This reminds me of what I thought a trood thin v '• 202, Camden Road, July n, 11 a.m. " Mr. Elliott is going to try the Duke of Edinburgh. I am to get rid of the Albert Hall, however, coute que eoi'ite. •• Everything is at a standstill. Never in my working life has there been such a complete yfrwtf." 24O THE HEAD-MISTRESSES 1 ASSOCIATION. "July 13. " I must write later to answer your notes fully, but, at 8 o'clock this morning, I went to our vicar, Mr. Cutts, for a note to the bishop's chaplain, whom I do not know. I then went to Mr. Elliott ; returned to breakfast, and then dashed out with the fixed determination not to return until the Prize Day arrangements had been made. " I drove in the storm to St. James' Square (London House), Bishop not there, but at Fulham ; drove to Fulham, sent in my note to the chaplain, who saw me at once, and asked me to go to the bishop. I said I wanted to ask a question, and would not disturb him if possible. So Mr. Gamier took in my message, ' Would the bishop preside for even half an hour at our meeting— on any hour and any day in the next fortnight.' " The bishop positively had not one hour available. He went through his list, but he would give me Monday, the 29//*, at 3 o'clock. Of course I accepted, rushed away to St. James' Hall— not to be had anyhow for two months— thence to Willis' Rooms, which we can have. " How much I regret allowing a committee to be formed ! If Mr. Elliott, Mr. Danson, and I had been empowered to act, we should have had one of the Princesses. There would have been no delay by notes going first to the chairman and then having to be sent to me. If I had had the note of Princess Louise's secretary at 8 a.m., by 10 I should have been at her house, and should certainly have got an introduction to Princess Mary. In this case, the memorial to the latter would have been in her hands by Saturday morning, instead of Tuesday ! and would have been accompanied by a note from either Princess Louise or Lord Lome. " Don't think me very egotistical, but don't expect me to summon a committee for the Prize Day again. " I shall quietly go my own way now, and do the things. That last committee took up two hours and twenty-five minutes of my time in the middle of the day, and for what? (I told you two hours, but made a mistake.) " I forgot to say I went to the printer, ordered all the invita- tions, and° expect them on Monday. But Willis' Rooms, though handsome, are not large. With every card we will send out the slip about Princess Louise's failure in her engagement." The meeting went off as well as these meetings always did. But next year the Princess Mary of Teck HUMILITY. 24I was secured without difficulty ; as well as afterwards several other members of the Royal Family, including even the Prince and Princess of Wales. It must have been at this period that an equally characteristic little story is told. Miss Buss, in the height of her vexation, sought comfort beside her sister and her boy. As she entered the room, she exclaimed, " This is what I have brought on myself, and for what ? " with an impatient stamp of her foot. Baby Frank lifted his great eyes solemnly to his aunt, and, with a deliberate stamp of his baby foot, echoed, " And for vot ? " on which, as she clasped him in her arms, all her indigna- tion vanished in a shower of kisses. But that she did not demand mere acquiescence from her friends is proved by many of her letters, one of which may be given, not only as showing her many- sidedness, but also as revealing the true humility which was the secret of her strength. She had been long overstrained by anxiety and sus- pense, and had to some extent lost patience under the many demands on her. At one time, indeed, she even entertained serious thoughts of resigning her post unless things could be made easier for her by the assurance of greater freedom of action. On the occasion of this particular letter, the usual talk had failed, and I must have written that same evening still more strongly, urging either a more complete submission to the in- evitable, or else some bold stroke for liberty. She thus responds — " Late as it is, and in spite of a distressing headache, I must just write a few words to say how much I love and thank you for your note. The advice in it I will try to follow. " Vet, dearest Annie, it tears me in pieces to have to be always asserting myself. But it seems to me to be impossible to go on without a certain amount of freedom of action. K 242 THE HEAD-MISTRESSES' ASSOCIATION. " Dearest Annie, I sobbed myself to sleep like a child, such a thing not having occurred for years. The Mystery of Pain ! — if it were a clear duly to bear it, I would go through anything, but 1 cannot see the duty, and can feel the pain. . . . " You must take me as I am, dear Annie, with all my failings. If I am too impetuous, too energetic, too rash, these are all part of such virtues as I may possess, and, without the two first, the work that I have done would never have been done ; and the last I do not think I am. Other feelings, of course, I have, unconscious and unknown to me. But take me as I am. " I had a long and grave talk to Miss , who counsels fight, but not on any personal ground. She says, 'Resign, if there is interference with the mistress' liberty of action. That is a public question, and one of public interest.' " She was so good and loving ; she was so tender ; and she is so wise and calm. " She told me some of her own worries, and said that some- times she quivered in every nerve at her own council meetings. People came in and asked for information, involving hours of work for no result ; ignored all that had been done, and talked as if they alone had done everything and knew everything. She urged me to try and be ////personal, so to speak ; to remember that these and similar difficulties would always occur where there are several people. She said that women were always accused of being too personal, and harm was done by giving a handle to such an assertion. " Dearest Annie ! I must try to follow your advice, and think of the work and not of myself. Please help me ! Be a true friend, and don't fear saying even unpleasant things to me if you think them deserved. I shall not quarrel. " Worried and annoyed as I have been, I have never in my whole life been cut by, or had a quarrel with, even the most absurd parent ! But you know I am to give in my resignation, if a public question, such as payment of teachers, hours of work etc., is raised." There were few head-mistresses who in those early- days escaped some such trouble. Referring to one very well-known instance, in 1874, Miss Buss remarks — " I see they are still in a state of fight at Milton Mount ; there seems to have been a great storm at the annual meeting. I am so SCHOOLMISTRESSES' ASSOCIATION. 2/\.$ sorry for Miss Hadland, who is one of the best and bravest women I know. I feel that she has fought for a principle, and not in mere self-assertion. It is hard discipline to be thwarted at every turn when she has only a single eye for the children's best education for this life and the next. Any worries that I have had in the past sink into insignificance compared with Miss Hadland's." The recurrence of such difficulties rendered it de- sirable that the head-mistresses should take counsel together, and try to secure some firm and settled line of action which might lead to the avoidance of misunder- standings between themselves and their governing bodies. There was already in existence a very useful "Schoolmistresses' Association," of which the head- mistresses were all members. But, as including assistant- mistresses, private governesses, and even the " mere amateur," these meetings were better adapted for the discussion of general educational questions than for the special difficulties of one branch of the profession. Miss Buss had been one of the most active members of the Schoolmistresses' x^ssociation, which had its origin in a suggestion made by Miss Davics, to which reference is made in a letter, dated December, 1865, from Miss Buss to Miss Davies — " I think your proposal about the meetings admirable. The first meeting with men, Mr. Fitch, or some one, in the chair ; the rest modelled on the Kensington Society. 1 But where you will get 1 The " Kensington Society," to which reference is here made, is thus described by Miss Davies — " The Kensington Society was not exactly an educational union, though it arose out of the agitation for the local examinations. I bad, in working for that, made acquaintance, partly by correspondence, with a good many people of kindred interests. It seemed a pity that we should lose sight of each other when that particular bit of work was accomplished ; so a little society was formed to meet and read papers from time to time. Mrs. Manning, the step-mother of Miss Adelaide Manning, was president, and as the meetings were often held at her house in Kensington, we took that name. Miss llu.-s was a member, but did not take an active part. This society lived, I think, for about three years." 244 THE HEAD-MISTRESSES' ASSOCIATION. your papers from, is the question ! There is so little leisure in a teacher's life. " I think it would be useful and pleasant to meet the Assistant- Commissioners, and hear some of their experience. Such a meeting might be annual, and the others quarterly. I mean a mixed meeting of men and women for the annual, because, after the Commission ceases to sit, I suppose the Assistant-Commissioners will disappear." The Schoolmistresses' Association was finally started in April, 1867, with Miss Davies as honorary secretary. Miss Buss became president in the second year. In an early report, reference is made to a suggestion from Miss Clough, which led to the first action having for its object co-operation among teachers. It was ascertained that — " While practically schoolmistresses were singularly isolated, some teachers having scarcely so much as a speaking acquaintance with any professional associate, such isolation was involuntary, and felt to be a great drawback to usefulness. It was agreed to meet together, at stated times, for the discussion of subjects specially interesting to teachers." A Library Committee, with Miss Gertrude King as secretary, undertook the formation of a Teachers' Library, and of a Registry for Professors. With the exception of the attempt of the Governesses' Benevolent Institution, this seems to have been the first effort made by any educational body towards duly qualified and certified teaching. The meeting mentioned in Miss Buss' letter was held, early in 1866, at the house of Miss Garrett (Mrs. Garrett-Anderson), and was attended by several of the Assistant -Commissioners, and by other persons in- terested in the new movements. Matters relating to the Schools Inquiry — still in progress— were discussed, as well as the question of education in general. ASSISTANT-MISTRESSES' ASSOCIATION. 245 A valuable series of papers on general educational points, by able writers, was issued by the association, and various technical questions were fully discussed ; but the larger movements, such as the Local Examinations, and the proposed Woman's College at Hitchin, occupy a very prominent place in the report which dwells on what is the true basis of any useful association — "Apart from any tangible results, it has been felt that the recognition of a common bond — the kindling of zeal and courage, by the contact of congenial minds — the cheering consciousness of sympathy in working together for a great end, amply justify the existence of such an association." The Schoolmistresses' Association continued its work until the increase of the new Endowed Schools made a division of its members into three distinct classes, head- mistresses, assistant-mistresses, and private governesses. The two first formed themselves into distinct associa- tions, while the third was absorbed by the Teachers' Guild, which also drew in the amateurs. Having fostered and protected this threefold fruitage up to the period of ripening, the parent association then fell apart, its work being done. The Teachers' Guild was originated by Miss Buss, at a meeting held on February 7, 1883, at the North London Collegiate School for Girls. On May 16 it was formally inaugurated at a meeting of the School- mistresses' Association, and it was then taken up warmly by the Head-mistresses' Association. Of the rise of the Assistant-mistresses' Association, Miss E. P. Hughes writes, referring to the help given by Miss Buss — " In 1884, at a little meeting in my room at Xewnham. it was decided to start the Assistant-mistresses' Association, the initiative being left to .Mrs. Corrie Grant, Miss Eves, an