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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c5ea7e0 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #69599 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69599) diff --git a/old/69599-0.txt b/old/69599-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d4b3cba..0000000 --- a/old/69599-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3682 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Dorothea Beale, by Elizabeth Helen -Shillito - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Dorothea Beale - Principal of the Cheltenham Ladies' College, 1858-1906 - -Author: Elizabeth Helen Shillito - -Release Date: December 21, 2022 [eBook #69599] - -Language: English - -Produced by: MWS and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at - https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - generously made available by The Internet Archive/American - Libraries.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOROTHEA BEALE *** - - - - - - [Illustration: DOROTHEA BEALE - - FROM A PAINTING BY J. J. SHANNON - - _Frontispiece_] - - - - - PIONEERS OF PROGRESS - WOMEN - - EDITED BY ETHEL M. BARTON - - - DOROTHEA BEALE - - PRINCIPAL OF THE CHELTENHAM LADIES’ - COLLEGE - - 1858-1906 - - - _WITH TWO PORTRAITS_ - - BY - ELIZABETH H. SHILLITO, B.A. (LOND.) - - - LONDON - SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING - CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE - NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY - 1920 - - “Some there are who go forth to their own life-work with the holy - hands of the dead who live laid on their hearts, who feel that they - have a debt to repay, who see a ray of life from afar cast upon all - they do, and bear about for ever a light within, which they must pass - on for the sake of the dead who live.” - - EDWARD THRING. - - - - - Great Souls who sail uncharted seas, - Battling with hostile winds and tide,-- - Strong hands that forged forbidden keys, - And left the door behind them wide. - - Diggers for gold where most had failed, - Smiling at deeds that brought them Fame,-- - Lighters of lamps that have not failed-- - Lend us your oil, and share your flame. - - - - - TO - - DR. ELSIE MAUD INGLIS - - WHOSE CRIMEA WAS SERBIA, - - BUT WHOSE POST-WAR WORK - IS IN ANOTHER WORLD - - - - - SYNOPSIS OF CHAPTERS. - - - CHAPTER I. - - PAGE - - Discoveries and enterprises of the Nineteenth Century--Effect on the - educational world--Girls’ education in age of Elizabeth and in - Nineteenth Century--Protests against the latter--Pioneers of - higher education--Our indebtedness to them 1 - - - CHAPTER II. - - Dorothea Beale--Parentage--Mrs. Cornwallis and her daughter--Their - influence on Dorothea Beale--Home life--Early education--School - life--Time of self-education--Attitude to games--Reading - in early life--Euclid--School in France--Some personal - characteristics--Religious and other influences of home 4 - - - CHAPTER III. - - History of Queen’s College--Early students--Rev. F. D. Maurice--His - opening address--Dorothea Beale’s attitude to teaching--Study - and friendship at Queen’s College--Appointment - there--Difficulties--Resignation--Impetuosity of nature--Some - inherent difficulties of women’s life 10 - - - CHAPTER IV. - - Clergy Daughters’ School at Casterton--Hasty acceptance of post - there--Beautiful situation of school--Evils--Personal - difficulties--Mr. Beale’s letters--Dorothea Beale’s dress and - appearance--Thoughts of resignation--Father’s advice--Appeal to - committee--Suspicions of High Church tendencies--Determination - to resign--Notice from committee--Acknowledged indebtedness - to the school--Appreciation--Work at home--History of England - begun--Spartan habits--Some philanthropic work--Offer - of service--Dawning conviction of real vocation--Her diary - begun--Extracts--Time of waiting--Religious life and beliefs 16 - - - CHAPTER V. - - Cheltenham Ladies’ College--Early history--The first - Principals--Advertisement for new Principal--Dorothea Beale - candidate--Tributes to character and ability--Alleged High Church - tendencies--Declaration of belief--Time of anxiety--Appointment as - Principal--Work at Ladies’ College--Personal appearance at this - time--Rule of silence--Precarious financial position of - school--Practice of economy--Question of renewing lease of Cambray - House--Mr. Brancker--His wise policy and administration--Some - reminiscences--The Fight against ignorance and prejudice--Dorothea - Beale’s inspiring leadership 27 - - - CHAPTER VI. - - Blue Book Report on condition of girls’ education--Dorothea Beale’s - evidence and theories with regard to women as teachers; effects - of higher education on health; idleness and health; the teaching - of music--Modern ideas on the teaching of this subject 38 - - - CHAPTER VII. - - Rearrangement of school hours at the Ladies’ College--Opposition - met and overcome--Gradual breaking down of prejudice--Gossip - and disloyalty--Dorothea Beale’s gift of inspiring - loyalty--Miss Belcher--Death of Dorothea Beale’s father--How - she spent holidays--Singleness of aim--Idea of Sisterhood of - Teachers--Expansion of Cheltenham College--Opposition to a - new building--Dr. Jex Blake’s plea--Farewell to Cambray - House--Continued growth--College incorporated under Companies’ - Acts--Boarding houses made an intrinsic part of - College--Defining of Principal’s powers--Cambray House again 43 - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - Cheltenham College magazine started--Dorothea Beale, editor--Her - “silver wedding”--“Old Girls’” Gift--Scheme of Guild - put forward and carried out--Emblem--Opening address--Dorothea - Beale’s remembrance of former pupils--Miss Newman’s - work--Continued after her death--St. Hilda’s, Oxford--St. - Hilda’s, East London--Dorothea Beale’s attitude to charitable - enterprises 51 - - - CHAPTER IX. - - A time of darkness--Effect on outlook and character--Some general - interests--Freshness of outlook--Pundita Ramabai--Interest in - Indian widows--Women policemen--Balfour’s Education Act, - 1902--Attitude to prizes--John Ruskin and the Ladies’ College--Paris - Exhibitions--Another Royal Commission on Education--Visits - of Empress Frederick and Princess Henry of Battenberg - to College--Epidemic of smallpox--Dorothea Beale and - vaccination--Personal honours--Officier d’Académie Française, Tutor - in Letters of Durham University, Corresponding member of - National Education Association, U.S.A., Freedom of Borough - of Cheltenham, LL.D. Edinburgh--Robes presented by staff--Three - weeks’ tour--A brief interval of ill-health--Story of the - Shannon portrait--College Jubilee celebrations 58 - - - CHAPTER X. - - Greatness of personality--Varied gifts--Prodigious power of - work--Great organising capacity--Organisation of the Ladies’ - College--Advice to teachers--Her sense of humour--The tricycle learnt - at 67--Her extreme sensitiveness--Power of sympathy--Her - outlook that of a religious poet--Her Scripture lessons--Her - views on marriage--Tribute of the Bishop of Stepney 70 - - - CHAPTER XI. - - Signs of the end--The last Guild meeting--The last term--A journey - to London--The doctor’s verdict--Operation--Waiting the call--A - morning of suspense--Laid to rest--Tributes to her - character and work 75 - - - CHAPTER XII. - - The modern world--The need of work--Power of education--Supreme - importance of home training--Responsibility of parents--Teaching - as a vocation--Personal fitness--Different kinds of - teaching--Elementary schools--Boarding schools--Demands of - the work--Its joys and advantages--The need of devoted teachers 79 - - - - - PREFACE. - - -I should like to acknowledge my indebtedness to all who have helped me -in the writing of this short biography: especially to Mrs. Raikes for -her kind permission to use her “Life of Dorothea Beale of Cheltenham,” -without which this book could not have been written; also for her -most generous help in many difficulties: and to Messrs. Constable, -the publishers, for their kind consent. It is impossible to name all -who have so willingly helped me, but I should like to mention Miss A. -M. Andrews of Cheltenham; Lieut-Colonel J. F. Tarrant for his help in -many ways; Mr. J. J. Shannon for kindly allowing a reproduction of Miss -Beale’s portrait; Messrs. Martyn of Cheltenham for their photograph; -“The Times,” Messrs. Macmillan, and other publishers, who have -permitted me to quote extracts from works which are still copyright. - - E. H. S. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - INTRODUCTORY. - - “Tho’ they to-day are passed - They marched in that procession where is no first or last.” - - --AUSTIN DOBSON. - - -The story of the nineteenth century is one of wonder: a story with -Romance written large on every page. It is a tale of great discovery -and enterprise in almost every sphere. Under the influence of its -discoveries, material life became transformed and new mental and -spiritual horizons appeared. The newly-acquired knowledge of forces -like steam and electricity opened up to the world undreamed-of -possibilities. Scientists at home and in distant places of the earth -discovered truths that did much to reveal God’s ways to men. In the -world of medicine new theories were applied to take from operations -their dread, and fatality from many diseases. In literature it was a -time of great riches: an age equal to any, not excepting the great -Elizabethan; an age of prophets and seers, of men and women expressing -in singleness of heart the truth as it was revealed to them. And those -of us who already live at some distance can hardly imagine a time when -Scott and Dickens, Browning and Tennyson, Ruskin and Carlyle, George -Eliot and Charlotte Brontë will not be held in high esteem by those who -love the great, the true, and the beautiful in literature. - -Springing out of these discoveries and revelations there naturally -arose a demand that the mind of man generally should be prepared -to enjoy this new world. Dissatisfaction with existing methods of -education began to be felt; and humble people who were unable to read -and write began to ask that they and their children should be taught. - -The education of girls at this time was particularly unsatisfactory, -though it had not always been so. In the age of Elizabeth, for example, -girls of the higher classes had received an excellent education. It was -customary then for girls to learn Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, and as Mrs. -Stopes points out in her interesting book on “Sixteenth Century Women -Students,” the number of really learned women was very great. I do not -know when these ideals of education gave way to lower ones, but readers -of Addison will remember that one of his aims in his _Spectator_ -essays was to rescue women from the utter frivolity and emptiness of -their lives. How scathing he is in his description of the way in which -ladies killed time! when the buying of a ribbon was held to be a good -morning’s work! - -In the early part of Queen Victoria’s reign, the education of girls -was indeed deplorable. An excessive amount of time was given to -accomplishments and to the study of deportment; the instruction -consisted, for the most part, of a smattering of many subjects: and the -whole process of education was shallow and superficial. If the women of -that day developed--as many did--force of character and of intellect, -it was rather in spite of their education than because of it. Numbers -of girls rose in revolt against this mental and spiritual starvation: -some managed to become well-educated without any outside help, but to a -great number this system meant either an utterly frivolous or extremely -dull grown-up life. - -Many were the voices raised in protest against this lack of education. -And as one reads the literature of this time one is greatly struck by -the number of men who pleaded for a different régime: not only leaders -of thought, like Tennyson and Ruskin, but ordinary men of the educated -classes. Perhaps as lookers on they saw most of the game, and into -their souls there entered a deep bitterness that those who might count -for so much counted for so little. - -But although men by their writings and speeches and actual help in -teaching, did much, it was on women that the real burden of this work -was to fall. Neither sex can fully educate, though it may teach the -other. In the main, the education of boys must be carried on by men; -and the education of girls by women. It would be impossible to give a -list of all the women who dedicated their powers to this work; who in -a very real sense gave their lives that those after them might live. -This little book is devoted to the story of one of the pioneers of -educational work, and is necessarily limited to the part that Dorothea -Beale played in this great enterprise. But Miss Beale, great as she -was, was only one of many. Whilst she was working out her ideals at -Cheltenham, other women in other schools and colleges were working -out theirs: Frances Buss at the North London Collegiate, Emily Davies -at Girton, Anne Clough at Newnham, Mrs. Reid at Bedford, Miss Pipe of -Laleham, and many others. Nor is it possible to say which of these did -the most important work. For we are dealing with that which cannot be -measured,--the things of the mind and spirit. - -Those of us who came late enough to enjoy some of the fruits of their -work, can only acknowledge our deep sense of gratitude to this noble -army of women who did so much. If the gates of knowledge are open to -us, it was their hand which turned the key: if we can enter nearly -every field of service, it was their feet which beat the track. If we -hold in our hands a lamp that makes many of the dark places bright, it -was they who kindled it and passed it on to us. - -The part we must play is no passive one. If the lamp is to be kept -burning, it must be fed by the oil of our devotion and our service. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - LIFE AT HOME AND AT SCHOOL. - - “The pilgrim’s discovery is when he looks into his own heart and finds - a picture of a city there. The pilgrim’s life is a journeying along - the roads of the world seeking to find the city which corresponds to - that picture.”--STEPHEN GRAHAM. - - -Dorothea Beale, who was born on March 21, 1831, was fortunate in her -parentage and early environment. Her father, Miles Beale, was a surgeon -who had been trained at Guy’s Hospital. He came of a family of literary -traditions, and he himself was a man of wide interests and learning. -Her mother, Dorothea Margaret Complin, was of Huguenot extraction and -belonged to a family distinguished for its ability, counting among its -members several “advanced” women. Mrs. Beale’s aunt, Mrs. Cornwallis, -the wife of a rector of Wittersham, Kent, was a woman of considerable -intellect and great spiritual gifts. She wrote several books of a -devotional character. One of these, “Preparation for the Lord’s -Supper with a Companion to the Altar,” contains much excellent advice -to ladies on the use and abuse of speech, the regulation of time, -indolence, desire of admiration, sickness, etc., breathing a devout -and earnest spirit, and revealing in the writer an attitude of great -severity towards herself. This little book, with its old-fashioned -appearance, seemed to me, as I read it, full of the spirit which -animated Mrs. Cornwallis’s celebrated great-niece. - -Her daughter, Caroline Frances Cornwallis, was a remarkable woman. Her -published letters are extremely interesting, and deal with a variety of -subjects, Italy, Education, Religion, Science, Philosophy. She wrote a -number of books in the series called “Small Books on Great Subjects”. -These were published anonymously, and were considered to be the work of -a man, at a time when the known authorship of a woman would have damned -any book. Miss Cornwallis often used to laugh up her sleeve at the -appreciation of critics who would undoubtedly have criticised her work -unfavourably had they known it was that of a woman. She had a frail -body, a courageous mind, and a devout spirit. At times she adopted a -cynical attitude towards men’s low estimate of the intellectual powers -of her sex. “Every man, you know, thinks he has a prescriptive right to -be better informed than a woman, unless he has science enough to see -that the said woman is up with him and therefore must know something.” -This was, however, just a strain of bitterness bred in a brilliant, -active mind handicapped by lack of facilities for real education, and -restricted on every side by the bounds of custom and prejudice. - -These two women undoubtedly influenced the future head of Cheltenham. -Mrs. Beale’s sister, Elizabeth Complin, had lived for some time with -the Cornwallises and was the medium through whom the young Beales came -into contact with their ideas and ideals. - -Dorothea Beale was also fortunate in being one of a large family. The -spirit of the home seems to have been one of love and service. There -was also a strong intellectual atmosphere, in which the children learnt -early to love the best in literature. Her father would often read aloud -to his children extracts from Shakespeare and other great writers, -and from him and her mother Dorothea began early to imbibe a love -of learning, and to find in literature some revelation of the great -spiritual realities. - -Dorothea’s education and that of the older members of the family was -at first under the guidance of a governess. It must have been quite -early in life that she received her first inkling of the incompetence -of teachers of that day. She remembered a rapid succession of teachers -whom Mrs. Beale was compelled to dismiss on account of their inability -to teach. There appears to have been only one satisfactory governess, a -Miss Wright, who was excellent: after she left, the girls were sent to -school. - -“It was a school,” says Dorothea Beale in her autobiography, -“considered much above the average for sound instruction: our -mistresses were women who had read and thought: they had taken pains -to arrange various schemes of knowledge: yet what miserable teaching -we had in many subjects: history was learned by committing to memory -little manuals, rules of arithmetic were taught, but the principles -were never explained. Instead of reading and learning the masterpieces -of literature, we repeated week by week the Lamentations of King -Hezekiah, the pretty, but somewhat weak, ‘Mother’s Picture’ of Cowper, -and worse doggerel verses on the solar system.” - -At the age of thirteen Dorothea was obliged to leave school on account -of ill-health. She always considered this a fortunate circumstance as -it enabled her to carry on her own education. No doubt a good deal of -time was lost in following the circuitous routes of all self-educators, -but the grit, determination, and power to overcome difficulties thereby -developed, probably more than compensated for this. Libraries, notably -those of the London Institute and Crosby Hall, at this time supplied -her with many good books. The Medical Book Club circulated some books -of general interest. She and her sisters were also able to attend -excellent lectures given at the Literary Institution, Crosby Hall, and -at the Gresham Institute. - -“Miss Beale never learned to play,” said Mrs. Raikes in a speech on -Foundress’ Day at the College after the beloved Principal had passed -away. “During her girlhood there was no hockey, tennis, net-ball, -swimming or other healthy exercise for girls; and Dorothea and her -sisters were thrown back for their pleasure on the joys of the mind. -Not only did Dorothea Beale never play herself, but she could never -quite see the need for other people to play. The playgrounds, etc., -which perforce grew up round Cheltenham Ladies’ College, were always -rather a stumbling-block to her, though she was wise enough to be led -by those who were more in touch in this respect with the spirit of the -late nineteenth and early twentieth century. - -“Her reading always inclined to the solid type, and in her girlhood she -came across few novels. - -“Her love of reading was never allowed to dissipate itself on -trivialities, and here she had a great advantage over girls of to-day, -for the ephemeral literature of this age--the endless magazines and -short stories--did not exist to tempt and gradually to fritter away a -good literary taste.” - -She was at this time very much interested in the life of Pascal who, -prevented by his father from acquiring a knowledge of mathematics, -discovered for himself the truths of Euclid. Perhaps, as Mrs. Raikes -suggests, it was Pascal’s example which inspired her to work through -the first six books of Euclid by herself. She plodded steadily through -the fifth book, not knowing that even at that time a few simple -algebraic principles were substituted for Euclid’s rather laborious -methods. To Dorothea Beale, as to many boys and girls, mathematics came -as a wonderful revelation; they opened up to her developing mind a new -world. In her subsequent work as a teacher she seems to have been able -to hand on to her pupils something of the thrill and wonder that she -herself experienced in these early days. - -In the year 1847 Dorothea was sent with two elder sisters to a Mrs. -Bray’s school for English girls in the Champs Elysées. This school is -perhaps best described in Miss Beale’s own words in the “History of -Cheltenham Ladies’ College”. - -“I was myself for a few months, in 1848, pupil in a school that was -considered grand and expensive. Mrs. Trimmer’s was the English History -used in the highest classes. We were taught to perform conjuring tricks -with the globe by which we obtained answers to problems without one -principle being made intelligible. We were even compelled to learn from -Lindley Murray lists of prepositions that we might be saved the trouble -of thinking.” - -She was glad, however, in later life of this and similar experiences. -It gave her some idea of the enemies of education she had to fight. It -made her realise how great was the need for the thorough training and -education of teachers and how little could be accomplished without it. - -In 1848 Mrs. Bray’s school came to an untimely end through the -Revolution of that year and Dorothea returned home at the age of -seventeen. Those who knew her at that time described her as “a grave -and quiet girl, with a sweet serious expression and deliberate speech: -also with a sunshiny smile and merry laugh on occasion. She was -remarkable, even in a studious, sedentary family, for her love of -reading and study.” According to one authority she was quite beautiful -as a girl. One evening she and her sister Eliza went to a dance, -Dorothea looking very lovely in a beautiful white dress. Eliza was -dancing with a young man, who asked the name of that beautiful girl. -“Oh!” said Eliza, delighted that he should admire Dorothea, “she’s my -sister. Do you think she’s like me?”--“Good gracious, no!” blurted out -the tactless young man. Eliza Beale used to tell this story with great -zest, fully enjoying the reflection on her own looks. - -In one part of her autobiography Dorothea Beale speaks of the -influences of her early life. - -“An aunt, my godmother, lived with us, and was often my friend in my -childish troubles.... The strongest influence [on my inner life] was -that of my sister Eliza. We were constantly together. She had a very -lively imagination, and on most nights would tell me stories that she -had invented. Early in the mornings she would transform our bedroom -into some wild magic scene and we would play at Alexander the Great -and ride Pegasus on the foot of our four-post bedstead.” - -Already she had begun to show some of the characteristics which were -so marked in later life, her devotion to duty, her keen intellectual -interests. She was prepared for Confirmation, in 1847, by the Rev. -Charles Mackenzie, to whose teaching Dorothea felt she owed much. Of -early religious influences and experiences she thus speaks in her MS. -autobiography. - -“There was the faith of my parents, the morning and evening prayer. -There was the Bible picture-book and the Sunday lessons. The church -we went to was an old one, St. Helen’s, and at the entrance were the -words: ‘This is none other than the House of God, and this is the Gate -of Heaven’. There were high pews and the service was almost a duet -between clergyman and clerk, yet I realised, even more than I ever have -in the most beautiful cathedral and perfect services, that the Lord was -in that place, even as Jacob realised in the desert what he had failed -to find at home.” - -Religion with her was never allowed to be simply an affair of the -emotions: it meant obedience, discipline, the rigid performance of -duty, but it was also a source of the deepest emotions. - -“I remember how, as the story of the Crucifixion was read, the church -would grow dark, as it seemed.... I know nothing of the substance of -the sermons now, but I remember the emotion they often called forth, -and how I with difficulty restrained my tears.... The hymns were a -great power in my life. I remember the joy with which I would sing, in -my own room, Ken’s Evening Hymn, and the awful joy of the Trinity Hymn -‘Holy, Holy, Holy’.” - -In later years she said that she could not remember a time when God was -not an ever-present Friend, a knowledge which sustained her through the -darkest periods of her life, and her many struggles. - -Whether she had at this time realised what her life-work was to be, -I cannot say, but it was at home that she began to enjoy her first -experience of teaching. Her brothers at the Merchant Taylors’ School -suffered much from the unintelligent teaching prevalent in the boys’ -schools of that day, and received help in their Latin and Mathematics -from their clever elder sister. All this work doubtless helped to -develop in Dorothea that clear vigorous mentality that characterised -the great Head Mistress of Cheltenham, and impressed still more -definitely on her mind the need for reforms in education. - -Duty seems to have been, even at this early age, the key-note of her -life, and she apparently bore an older girl’s usual share in domestic -affairs, helping with the mending and the usual work of the house. - -But this time at home was just a quiet breathing space before wider -opportunities of study were granted to her. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - AT QUEEN’S COLLEGE. - - “Can you remember ... when the great things happened for which you - seemed to be waiting? The boy, who is to be a soldier--one day he - hears a distant bugle: at once he knows. A second glimpses a bellying - sail: straightway the ocean path beckons to him. A third discovers a - college and towards its kindly lamp of learning turns young eyes that - have been kindled and will stay kindled to the end.”--JAMES LANE ALLEN. - - -The opening of Queen’s College marked a great advance in the cause -of girls’ and women’s education. It had its root in the Governesses’ -Benevolent Institution, which was founded for the purpose of helping -governesses in times of need. This was originated by the Rev. C. -G. Nicolay, but in the year 1843 the Rev. David Laing, vicar of -Holy Trinity Church, Kentish Town, was made honorary secretary. -It was he who first saw that an institution that existed merely -to relieve distress was unsatisfactory, and sought to establish, -rather, an organisation to prevent the need for relief. Accordingly, -he established a Registry for Teachers, and set on foot a scheme -for granting diplomas. The latter naturally led to the starting of -examinations, which revealed such appalling depths of ignorance in -those who were supposed to instruct others, that the need for their -tuition was realised. - -As is always the case in great movements many were thinking along the -same lines, and Miss Murray, Maid of Honour to the Queen, was at this -time meditating the starting of a College for Women, and was, as a -matter of fact, collecting funds for this purpose. As soon, however, -as she heard of Mr. Laing’s plans she handed over to him the money she -had collected. He consulted with the government about the establishment -of this college, and the Queen graciously allowed it to be named after -herself. A house in Harley Street, next door to the Governesses’ -Benevolent Institution, was taken. Professors from King’s College were -asked to give lectures, and to many women for the first time higher -education became a possibility. - -The committee, as at first constituted, included such well-known people -as Charles Kingsley, Sterndale Bennett, John Hullah, F. D. Maurice, and -R. C. Trench. It is still possible to see in book form the lectures -which inaugurated the work undertaken by Queen’s College. Though it -originated with the idea of helping governesses who wished to qualify -for their work, it numbered among its earliest students girls who were -to play an important part in many ways in the life of the nation. Among -the first pupils were Miss Buss, Adelaide Ann Proctor, Miss Jex-Blake, -and Dorothea Beale. At first there were no women lecturers or women -teachers, but many women offered their services as chaperones, and very -faithful they were in carrying out their trying and exacting duties. - -The name of the Rev. Frederick Denison Maurice will always be -associated with the founding of Queen’s College. Perhaps the name means -little to men and women of our generation, though he was not only a -great thinker but one of the pioneers of those who apply Christian -standards to social life. He founded a Working Men’s College, which -is still in existence, and took a great part in the work of Queen’s -College. He was compelled to resign his chair of theology at King’s -College, on account of his unorthodox beliefs, especially on the -question of eternal punishment. Throughout his life he suffered much -from charges of heresy, but he exercised a great influence on the -religious life of his day, and on that of subsequent generations. He -denounced any political economy based on selfishness, declaring it to -be false: the Cross, not self-interest, must be the ruling power of -the Universe. His lecture at the opening of Queen’s College was a most -inspiring one, and his words must have fallen on the ears of some of -the girls who listened to him like a call to high and noble service. - -“The vocation of a teacher,” said he, “is an awful one: you cannot do -her real good, she will do others unspeakable harm, if she is not aware -of its usefulness.” He spoke against the harm done by simply providing -her with necessaries. “You may but confirm her in the notion that the -training of an immortal spirit may be just as lawfully undertaken in a -case of emergency as that of selling ribands.” He went on to speak with -great decision about the need of a thorough education for those whose -special work was “to watch closely the first utterances of infancy, the -first dawnings of intelligence: how thoughts spring into acts, how acts -pass into habits”. - -It was probably about this time that Dorothea began to see what her -life-work was to be, and the noble inspiring words of this great -servant of God doubtless did much to strengthen in her mind the sense -of being called to high service. All through her career there is no -thought more marked than that of the loftiness of a teacher’s work. -From herself as well as from others of her calling she demanded that -consecration of body, mind and spirit without which there can be no -good work done. All who have read her “Addresses to Teachers,” and -other works on teaching, realise the high level on which she placed -the teacher’s calling, and the stress she laid on the need to pursue -continuously impossible ideals of goodness and efficiency. - -“All of us have to begin and we live in the intimate consciousness of -this thought: Here is a child of God committed to my care, I am to help -in so developing him in time that he may be a dweller in the eternal -world here and hereafter. I, too, must live an eternal life, in order -that I may draw forth that consciousness in him. I must behold the Face -of the Father, and so become a light to my children that, seeing the -light shine in me, they may glorify that Father.”[1] - -[1] “Addresses to Teachers,” I, by Dorothea Beale. - -Queen’s College was the greatest boon to Dorothea Beale. It gave -her the chance of getting first-rate teaching in Mathematics and -Greek. With Mr. Astley Cook she read, privately, Trigonometry, Conic -Sections, and Differential Calculus. Soon after she was asked to teach -Mathematics and became the first lady Mathematical tutor. As a teacher -she could, _ex officio_, go to any class she liked, and attended at -different times lectures on Latin, Greek, Mental Science, and German. - -One of her chief friends at this time was a girl of her own age, -Elizabeth Alston. The two used to study together, Elizabeth teaching -Dorothea singing, whilst her friend taught her to read the New -Testament in Greek. In later life she realised how much these singing -lessons had done for her, enabling her to use her voice without fatigue -for hours together. - -Training colleges for elementary school teachers were established -before there was anything of the kind for the teachers of better class -children, and it was the head of the Battersea Training College who -examined the candidates and awarded the diplomas for knowledge of -methods of teaching. - -At Queen’s College Dorothea Beale began to show signs of where her -power as a teacher would lie. Throughout life it was one of her -leading ideas that a teacher should be primarily an inspirer of her -pupils: that though she should never cease to prepare her work with -the greatest care, her aim should be chiefly to kindle the enthusiasm -that would make her pupils eager to learn for themselves. Even at this -early age she seems to have possessed this faculty, and long after she -left Queen’s College, she occasionally received letters from her former -pupils, saying how much her teaching had meant to them. - -Her time there, however, was not to be long. There arose difficulties -which she felt could not be tolerated. These were, briefly, that one -particular person had too much authority, while the women visitors had -too little, and what they had was gradually diminishing. This led to -many evils, notably the promotion of children into the upper section, -or college, from the lower section, or school, long before they were -able to derive any benefit from advanced tuition. - -Dorothea Beale returned from a summer holiday abroad in 1856 to find -these difficulties worse than ever. She and a friend thereupon sent in -their resignations, hoping to be able to avoid giving any explanation. -Dr. Plumptre, the Head, was, however, extremely anxious for her to -reveal the reason for her withdrawal, which she did very reluctantly. -After hearing her reasons for leaving, he acknowledged that she was -acting in accordance with her conscience and was trying to do what she -held to be her duty. Dorothea Beale throughout her life seems to have -had to fight against an impetuosity of nature which was in curious -opposition to that greatness of mind that enabled her to wait for -the carrying out of any great project. Her action in this connection -was characteristically impetuous, for before the correspondence was -concluded, she had accepted the post of Head Teacher at Casterton -School. - -Already we find that she had formulated some of the educational -theories she held through life. One of these, which she mentioned in -her letter to Dr. Plumptre, was that girls can be thoroughly educated -only by women: that though some classes may be taken profitably by -men, the education of girls as a whole must be in the hands of their -own sex. She showed also her appreciation of the need for thorough -groundwork, without which no advanced work can be well done. - -Though her action in this matter was characteristically impetuous, and -that of a young idealist, it revealed that strong sense of duty which -would not allow her to shrink from any painful experience, if the doing -of right was involved. - -Dorothea Beale, probably because she was one of a big family of girls, -was apparently spared one of the most perplexing problems of modern -girls and women. From the moment when she felt herself called to the -work of teaching she seems to have had no doubt that she was right to -obey the call, and was thus saved the torment of the woman worker who -is haunted by the thought of home needs unfulfilled. The only daughter -in a home, who feels herself called to work outside it, has one of the -most difficult of life’s problems to face. She has the knowledge that -an ageing father and mother need her, that, perhaps, she will have by -and by to earn her own living, and has in her heart the incessant call -of the work that claims her. There is no one solution to a case of -this kind: every case must be judged independently. It is a difficulty -as inherent as sex or any other vital part of life, and needs to be -honestly and frankly faced. To most girls in this position, I should -say: Get your training early, whilst your parents are still strong and -well, so that if the opportunity of doing work comes you may be ready. -Some girls who live in big towns are able to combine home duties with -outside work: though on those who are not strong this life of twofold -duty is often a great strain. Others, less fortunately placed, realise -that the two are alternatives, the choice must be made, and the more -imperative duty accepted. In this connection it is well to realise, I -think, that the harder duty is not _of necessity_ the right one. The -work one dislikes is not necessarily the work one ought to undertake, -though it may be. The attitude of many religious people in the past -has, I think, been quite wrong in this respect. God has given to all of -us special talents and aptitudes, in the exercise of which we find our -greatest happiness and do our best work. To believe that the Creator -always calls us to do the uncongenial task is, to my mind, to mock His -plans. If, however, the beloved task has to be deferred, and the need -of our loved ones claims us, there comes with the accepted duty peace -and rest of mind, and the waiting time may be used for preparation of -mind, heart, and character. To many men and more women, who have kept -before them the vision of the work they would do, has often come in a -quite unforeseen way an opportunity of doing it: and they have realised -how much richer and better their life is for their wider experience -during the time of waiting. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - A DIFFICULT YEAR AND A TIME OF WAITING. - - “Difficulties are the stones out of which all God’s houses are - built.”--ARCHBISHOP LEIGHTON. - - -All readers of “Jane Eyre” will remember the school, Lowood, to -which Jane was sent, and her terrible experiences, especially at the -beginning of her time there. The foundation in actual life of this -school of fiction, coloured by the Brontë temperament, with its evils -exaggerated for the purposes of art, is known by all to be the Clergy -Daughters’ School at Casterton. As we have seen in the last chapter, it -was to this school that Dorothea Beale had somewhat hastily resolved -to go after sending in her resignation to the Head of Queen’s College. -Probably she looked upon the offer of this post as an indication that -she was to sever her connection with the college in London. If in her -decision she was to blame, she certainly paid the price of her mistake. - -Casterton is near Kirkby Lonsdale, in a somewhat lonely district, -within sight of the rounded height of Ingleborough. Dear to the heart -of north-country people is this glorious wild country, but it must have -seemed terribly out of the world to a girl accustomed to the life of -London, to its libraries and lectures, and the many interests of the -metropolis. - -From the first Dorothea Beale felt herself oppressed and hindered by -numbers of things which she did not approve, and could not alter. The -girls wore a uniform which she found terribly depressing: the rules of -the school were extremely rigid, and the restrictions so many that she -felt the girls had no room for growth. To her, the whole organisation -of the place seemed wrong in principle, and the effect on the character -of the girls of a too rigid discipline appears to have been pernicious. -To one whose views on education were already clearly defined, the -having to “carry on” without any power to change what was wrong, must -have been an extremely trying experience. - -Nor was there much compensation in her own work of teaching: rather -the opposite. She found herself compelled to teach many subjects, far -more than she could do justice to: Scripture, Arithmetic, Mathematics, -Ancient and Modern Church History, Physical and Political Geography, -English Literature, Grammar and Composition, French, German, Italian, -and Latin. Holding such strong views as she did about the preparation -of lessons and the careful correction of children’s work, she must have -found this undue multiplication of subjects very unsatisfactory. There -can be, I suppose, for natures like Dorothea Beale’s, few things so -trying as circumstances which make a high standard of work impossible. -Her father’s letters to her at this time reveal the strong friendship -that existed between the two. She wrote home that she found the work -hard and her father replied, evidently with the idea of cheering her:-- - -“Employment is a blessed state, it is to the body what sleep is to the -mind.... I cannot be sorry when I hear that you are fully employed. I -am sure it will be usefully.... I feel I can bear your being so far and -so entirely away with some philosophy, and I am delighted that your -letters bear the tone of content, and that you have been taken notice -of by people who seem disposed to be kind to you.... Give an old man’s -love to all your pupils and may they make their fathers as happy as you -do.” - -The difficulties at Casterton, however, did not grow less, but tended -rather to increase. Her parents began to have some inkling of these, -and to feel very doubtful whether she ought to stay at Casterton. On -her birthday, March 21, her father wrote again:-- - -“God bless you and give you many birthdays. I fear the present is not -one of the most agreeable: it is spent at least in the path of what -you consider duty, and so will never be looked back upon but with -pleasure.... Do not, however, my dear girl, think of remaining long -in a position which may be irksome to you, for thus, I think, it will -hardly be profitable to others, and indeed I question whether you would -maintain your health where the employment was so great and duty the -only stimulus to action. You have heard me often quote: ‘The hand’s -best sinew ever is the heart’.” - -Two months later Mr. Beale wrote:-- - -“I long to see you again very much. I cannot get reconciled to your -position and feel satisfied that it is your place.... God bless you, -my dear girl, and blunt your feelings for the rubs of the world, and -quicken your vision for the beautiful and unseen of the world above -you.” - -The sensitiveness her father alludes to in this letter was one of -Dorothea Beale’s leading characteristics to the end of her life. -Though she welcomed and considered the criticism of competent people -and often acted on it she had a curiously sensitive shrinking from -adverse judgment: and this often cut her off from valuable advice. Her -shyness, too, kept her from the friendship of those who, like herself, -were too diffident to make advances. In it, however, lay one of her -chief powers, the subtle perception that enabled her to see almost into -the very souls of the girls she taught. Once, at Cheltenham, a child -refused to admit that she had done wrong. One morning Dorothea Beale -sent for the class teacher. “Send So-and-So to me,” she said, “I can -see from her face this morning that she will tell me all.” And she was -right. - -It was at Casterton that she adopted the simple style of dress that she -always preferred. One of her pupils thus describes her:-- - -“Her appearance, as I remember it then, was charming. Her figure was of -medium height. The rather pale oval face, high, broad forehead, large, -expressive grey eyes, all showed intellectual character. Her dress was -remarkable in its neatness. She wore black cashmere in the week, and a -pretty mouse-coloured grey dress on Sundays.” - -Possibilities of making improvements at Casterton now began to weigh on -her mind. Unless things were changed she felt she could not stay, but -she was not inclined to give up without an effort at amelioration. She -determined to take a very bold step and to appeal to the Committee. Her -father was kept in touch with all her plans at this time and wrote:-- - -“I think we must be content to wait, at any rate for the present, and -see if any good comes from your interview with the Committee. You -notice two points chiefly--the low moral tone of the school and the -absence of prizes [distinctions, responsibilities, etc.]. The want -of sympathy and love (the great source of woman’s influence in every -condition of life) was the prominent feature of the establishment in my -mind after talking it over with you. But nothing can flourish if love -be not the ruling incentive....” - -He goes on to say that he realises how much love and devotion she puts -into her work, but how useless it is when she is unsupported. - -“Weigh the matter well before this Christmas,” he continues, “and if -you find no changes are made, the same cold management continued, send -in your resignation.” - -Then the affectionate father concludes:-- - -“I cannot contemplate your not coming up at Christmas. As we grow older -each year makes us more desirous of the company of those we love; -perhaps, because we feel how soon we shall part with it altogether; -perhaps, because we are become more selfish, but such is the fact.” - -The six members of the Committee apparently consented with some -reluctance to hear Dorothea, but she did get a hearing and brought her -chief objections before them. The experience was not so trying as she -had anticipated, and the Committee appeared fairly conciliatory. She -explained--in speaking of the absence of prizes--that by this term she -meant rather distinctions, privileges, and opportunities of doing good. -She offered to resign, but the Committee said, “Oh, no, certainly not”. -And she came away feeling that her efforts might have some good result. - -Few people, whether individuals or collective bodies, can endure -criticism, and Dorothea Beale’s complaints seem to have caused a -great deal of discomfort in her relationship with those connected with -Casterton. This was increased very much by a suspicion that she was -not orthodox according to the evangelical low-church point of view. -She was considered “high,” and was suspected of holding extreme views -about baptismal regeneration, one of the storm centres of religious -controversy at this time. This caused even one of her chief friends on -the Committee to wish her to leave. - -With the tenacity of purpose that characterised her through life, -she tried to believe that it was right for her to stay and fight the -difficulties at Casterton. Gradually, however, the impossibility of -doing so became evident, and she wrote to her father:-- - -“I do not see how it is possible to do much good. I may work upon a -few individuals, but the whole tone of the school is unhealthy, and I -never felt anything like the depression arising from the constant jar -upon one’s feelings caused by seeing great girls professing not to care -about religion.” - -She suggested that she should send in her resignation, and her father -replied at length, giving her advice as to how to approach the -Committee, and again writing words of cheer:-- - -“Above all things take care of your health.... I am quite sure that -you have a long course of usefulness before you. The flattering regard -in which you are held at Queen’s College, and the constant means you -always have in London of constantly improving yourself, must teach you -somewhat of your own value. Though I would not indeed presume upon it -further than to give you confidence to act rightly.” - -It was near the end of November before Dorothea made her final decision -to send in her resignation. She had not time to carry out this decision -before she received the following note from the Committee:-- - -“On your last interview with the Committee you implied an intention -of resigning in case certain alterations should not be made by the -Committee.... - -“The Committee are of opinion that, under the circumstances, it would -be better that your connection with the school should cease after -Christmas next, they paying you a quarter’s salary in advance.” - -This note was received shortly before the Christmas holidays. - -It is easier to imagine than to describe the effect of this summary -dismissal on a highly sensitive girl, whose actions had throughout -been prompted by a sincere desire for the good of the school. It is -difficult to endure the sense of failure in youth before one has -had assurance of one’s own powers. Again at this time her father’s -sympathetic letters, reminding her of the high motives with which she -had undertaken this work, were a great comfort to her. In after years -Dorothea Beale acknowledged the value of this year at Casterton. No -life is perhaps complete without its times of failure, as she must -have felt her year at Casterton to be. For the world is full of men -and women who fail, and it is only by personal knowledge of their -experience that we can sympathise with them and help them to rise above -it. - -Many, however, appreciated the good work Dorothea Beale did at -Casterton, and her quiet and steady persistence in what she felt to be -right were not without their permanent influence on the school. Her -remembrance of this school was a source of pain to her, and yet, as the -years went on, she felt how much she owed to her experiences there. In -_The Times_ of November 19, 1906, there is an extract from a letter by -Canon A. D. Burton, Casterton Vicarage, Kirkby Lonsdale. - -“I have read with interest your account of Miss Beale’s life. I think, -however, it is possible that it may give an erroneous impression with -regard to her connection with Casterton, and it may be of interest -if I mention that I happen to know something of the feelings she -entertained towards the school. Rather more than a year ago she wrote -to say that it had long been in her mind to do something for the school -in grateful remembrance of the benefit which her connection with it -had been to her, and this wish finally took shape in the founding of a -scholarship to Cheltenham, and the first Casterton-Beale Scholar is at -the present time in residence at that college. - -“The Casterton Clergy Daughters’ School, like most other schools of -long standing, has a past which is not to be compared with its present. -That is no disparagement to it, but the reverse. Its present state is -one of high efficiency, but it is interesting that it was not on this -account only that Miss Beale wished her name to be always connected -with it, but because she felt herself in debt to it. ‘I owe much to -it,’ were her words. A few months ago she also presented to the school -an oil-painting of herself which was hung in the entrance hall.” - -She did not leave Casterton, however, without some acknowledgment on -the part of the authorities and others that her work and character -had been appreciated. It must also have been a solace to her when Dr. -Plumptre, hearing of her resignation, at once wrote and spoke of the -possibility of a mathematical tutorship at Queen’s College. - - * * * * * - -It was characteristic of Dorothea Beale that after she returned home -from Casterton with one part of her work finished and no other in -view, she did not idly waste her time but began a definite piece of -work--the writing of her history, “The Student’s Text-book of English -and General History”. The need of such a book was felt very strongly at -this time, partly because of the outcry against the papistical doctrine -inserted into Ince’s history, one of the most popular text-books of the -day. This book must have involved an enormous amount of work, though -it dealt only in outline with this vast subject. In the preface she -makes it clear to the student that no real knowledge of history can be -built upon such a slender foundation, and urges the need for filling -in the outlines by wide and thorough reading. Her history was not her -only occupation at this time; she did some visiting teaching--Latin and -Mathematics--at Miss Elwell’s school at Barnes. - -She realised the difficulty of working steadily at home, knowing the -thousand distractions, social and domestic, that come to divert a girl -from any definite pursuits. So she adopted the plan of writing her -history in a large empty room at the top of the house. Here she would -work without a fire on cold winter days. Whether this was an expression -of the desire for Spartan simplicity of life which she always had, or -was done simply to keep away members of the family who might wish to -come and chat, one cannot say. - -Dorothea Beale had evidently undertaken some work as secretary and -collector for the Church Penitentiary Association and for a Diocesan -Home at Highgate, working with Mrs. Lancaster. The latter greatly -appreciated her and her conscientious work, and realised what a -valuable helper she would be, if she could enlist her in this great -service. She approached her with the suggestion that she should take -the headship of the Home. Dorothea Beale considered the offer but -refused. This must have been a great test of faith in her own judgment. -Behind her were two experiences, both of which had ended in apparent -failure because of her inability to agree with the authorities. No -educational work was in view, and she must have questioned her own -wisdom in refusing this opportunity of service which came to her. -Yet it seems as if at this time there dawned on her mind the deep -conviction that she was called to educational work among her own class: -that with her temperament and ideas so much in advance of her own time -a headship was the only post that would give her the scope and freedom -that she needed if she was to do her best work. And so she waited, not -with idle hands and brain, but fully occupied with her history, her -teaching, and home duties. - -It was probably about this time that she began her Diary, which she -kept with some intervals until the year 1901. The purpose of it seems -to have been to keep a record not of outward events but rather of her -moral and spiritual life. In it we have one of the many evidences -of that sternness towards herself which she maintained in all -circumstances of life, even in illness. Earlier, perhaps, than most -people, she seems to have realised that her influence on others would -depend entirely on what she herself was. One or two quotations from her -journal will illustrate the purpose of it. - - _March 6._--History. Aunt E. came. Cross at not getting my own way. - Some idleness. Impatient manner. - - _April 14._--History. Elizabeth. Called on the Blenkarnes. Dined - at Chapter House. Idle. Indulgence in reading story at my time for - evening prayer. Unpunctual in morning. Thoughtless about Mama. - - _April 20._--History, 16th Century. Felt terribly cross. O grant me - calmness. - - _June 4._--Saw Mrs. Barret. Copied. Neglected prayer greatly. Very - worldly. - - _June 7._--Wrote letters. A terrible blank of worldliness. Idle. - - _June 9._--Wrote to Miss Elwell. Letter from Cheltenham. Copied - certificates. Worldly. Spoke angrily to A. - -At this time there are many allusions in her journal to crossness. -Probably it was the result of that supreme test of the active, -energetic mind--the enduring of uncertainty. In 1901 she wrote to a -friend about this period of her life:-- - -“Once I had an interval of work, and I thought perhaps God would not -give it me again--but after that interval He called me here. I think -now I can see better how I needed that time of comparative quiet and -solitude, and a time to think over my failures, and a time to be more -helpful to my family.” - -Whilst still young, Dorothea Beale formed the habit of frequent -attendance at early Communion, which she maintained all through her -busy life. Like the saintly men and women of all ages, she felt that -the more strenuous and exacting her work, the more she needed these -hours of Communion. The Sacraments of the Church as generally necessary -to salvation she believed to be two--Baptism and Holy Communion--but -the whole of life to her was sacramental. More and more as years passed -by did outward and visible things become to her the signs of inward and -spiritual realities: to her, and to those of her school of thought, -sacramentalism meant “the discovery of the river of the water of life -flowing through the whole desert of human existence”. - -But Dorothea Beale was no dreamy, unpractical mystic, holding herself -aloof from the practical difficulties of life. She realised that there -is little value in a religion that cannot find expression in the life -of every day; and little strength in the soul that is not continually -fortified by the struggle of work and the carrying out of duty. - -“The religion of Dorothea Beale,” says Mrs. Raikes, “was far indeed -from being a mere succession of beautiful and comforting thoughts. It -meant authority. It involved all the difficulties of daily obedience, -it meant the fatigue of watching, the pains of battle, sometimes -the humiliation of defeat. Intense as was her feeling on religious -subjects, it was never permitted to go off in steam, as she would term -it, but became at once a practical matter for everyday life.” - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - SMALL BEGINNINGS. - - O, I am sure they really came from Thee, - The urge, the ardour, the unconquerable will, - The potent, felt, interior command, stronger than words, - A message from the Heavens whispering to me even in sleep. - These speed me on. - - --WALT WHITMAN, “Prayer of Columbus”. - - -Until about 1825, Cheltenham was simply a small market-town, -famous for its mild climate and fertile soil, but at this time its -medicinal springs were discovered, and it became the fashion for -royalty and aristocracy to take the waters. Between 1801 and 1840 -the population of Cheltenham increased tenfold. In 1843, Cheltenham -College, a proprietary school for boys, was opened. Ten years later, -on September 30, 1853, a meeting was held in the house of the Rev. -H. Walford Bellairs, who was Her Majesty’s Inspector of Schools in -Gloucestershire, and a prospectus was drawn up of “A College in -Cheltenham for the education of young ladies and children under eight”. - -The instruction was to include the Liturgy of the Church of England, -grammar, geography, arithmetic, French, drawing, needlework. The fees -were to range from 6 guineas to 20 guineas a year, and the capital was -to consist of £2000 in £10 shares. The entire management and control -were to be in the hands of the founders, the Rev. H. W. Bellairs; the -Rev. W. Dobson, Principal of Cheltenham College; the Rev. H. A. Holden, -Vice-Principal; Lieutenant-Colonel Fitzmaurice; Dr. S. E. Comyn; and -Mr. Nathaniel Hartland. - -They appointed as Principal Mrs. Procter, the widow of Colonel Procter, -and as Vice-Principal her daughter, Miss Procter, who was understood -to be the actual head. Mrs. Procter was to furnish the wisdom and -stability of mature years, Miss Procter the youth and vigour necessary -for teaching. A younger sister held the post of secretary. - -At first it was intended that the college should be restricted to day -pupils, but it was soon found that this would limit its usefulness, -and some months before the opening of the school the proprietors had -arranged for three boarding-houses, the fees of which were extremely -low, being only £40 a year. - -Cheltenham Ladies’ College was laid on good foundations. The founders -had an ardent desire for a thorough and liberal education, and their -ideas were well carried out from the very beginning of the school’s -career. The teaching appears to have been of a high order, the teachers -were people of conscience and ability. In her “History of Cheltenham -Ladies’ College,” Miss Beale quotes from old pupils who spoke most -highly of the early days. - -The school was opened on February 13, 1854, in Cambray House, where the -great Duke of Wellington had once stayed for about six weeks. It was -a fine square-built house with a beautiful garden. By the end of the -first year the 100 pupils had increased to 150; the second year also -marked an increase. But after that the numbers began to go down, until -at the end of 1857 the numbers had fallen to 89, and the capital had -begun to diminish. - -Some disagreement on educational methods then arose between Miss -Procter and the Committee, with the result that the former resigned and -started another school in Cheltenham, which was continued for thirty -years. - -The Principal’s letter to the Committee on her departure shows her -scrupulous care of the property of others:-- - - “MY DEAR SIR, - - “I thank you much for your kind letter enclosing your cheque for £41 - 10s. 6d. - - “I take this opportunity of sending you the keys of the college. The - house has been cleaned throughout. The chimneys have all been swept. - - “Some few stores--nearly ¹⁄₄ cwt. of soap, some dip candles, and two - new scrubbing brushes--are in the closet in the pantry. - - “The new zinc ventilator is in the press used for the drawing - materials. - - “Two cast-iron fenders, of mine, have been removed from two of the - class-rooms. - - “I remain, my dear Sir, - “Yours very sincerely, - “S. ANNE PROCTER.” - -It was in May, 1858, that the advertisement for a new Principal of -Cheltenham College appeared in various papers. - - CHELTENHAM LADIES’ COLLEGE. - - “A vacancy having occurred in the office of lady Principal, candidates - for the appointment are requested to apply by letter (with references) - before June 1 to J. P. Bell, Esq., Hon. Sec., Cheltenham. - - “A well educated and experienced lady (between the ages of thirty-five - and forty-five) is desired, capable of conducting an institution with - not less than one hundred day pupils. - - “A competent knowledge of German and French, and a good acquaintance - with general English literature, arithmetic, and the common branches - of female education, are expected. - - “Salary, upwards of £200 a year, with furnished apartments and other - advantages. - - “No testimonials to be sent until applied for, and no answers will be - returned except to candidates apparently eligible.” - -Dorothea Beale applied for this post and was accepted as a candidate -for the headship. She had now to set about getting testimonials and -recommendations. Some of these are interesting. - -Miss Elwell, at whose school she had taught, wrote:-- - -“You have succeeded in making subjects usually styled dry, positively -attractive, whilst your plan has been successful in forming not merely -superficial scholars, even whilst producing results in a remarkably -short period.” - -Her friend, Elizabeth Ann Alston, wrote:-- - -“Of her power of teaching others and making them delight in their -studies, there is no doubt. But you do not know her, as I do, in her -home and daily life: there all look up to her and seek her counsel.” - -Many testimonials were given as to her character and work, and these -made such a favourable impression on the Cheltenham Committee that she -was summoned for an interview on June 14. - -She evidently had not any suitable clothes to wear on such a formidable -occasion, and had to borrow a blue silk frock from her sister Eliza. -Perhaps the work on her history had prevented her from attending to -her wardrobe. She was appointed and everything seemed happily settled. -One can imagine with what joy she looked forward to this opportunity -of doing the work she longed to do untrammelled by bonds made by those -of differing ideas. After all these months of waiting she had at last -obtained her heart’s desire. - -But the stigma of leaving Casterton was not easily removed, and a great -blow awaited her. - -On July 12 she received a letter from Mr. J. Penrice Bell, the -Honorary Secretary of the Committee, saying that he had received from -two gentlemen letters about her religious views, that might make it -necessary for the Cheltenham Ladies’ College Committee to reconsider -their decision. He quoted briefly their allegations:-- - -“‘She, Miss Beale, is very High Church, to say the least, and holds -ultra views of baptismal regeneration.’ ... ‘She has also a serious -and deep religious feeling, and a self-denying character. _But_ she is -decidedly High Church. Her opinions on the vital and critical question -of sacramental grace are altogether those of the High Church or -Tractarian school.’” - -To a sensitive girl like Dorothea Beale this was indeed a shock, -but she was determined not to lose the desired work through any -misunderstanding, and replied at once to Mr. Bell explaining her views -on baptism, which were said to be “extreme”:-- - -“If you understand by the _opus operatum_ ‘efficacy’ of baptism that -all who are baptized are therefore saved.... I explicitly state that -I do not hold that doctrine. I believe baptism to be ‘an outward and -visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace given unto us: to be the -appointed means for admitting members into the Church of Christ’.” - -The allegation that she belonged to the High Church party she dealt -with:-- - -“Your second question [i.e. did she belong to the High Church?] ... -cannot be categorically answered, since it has never been defined what -are the opinions of the High Church party; I would say that I differ -from some who assume that title.... I think no one could entertain a -greater dread than I of those Romish opinions entertained by some ‘who -went out from us, but were not of us’: indeed, during the last six -months, I have been engaged in preparing an English history for the use -of schools, _because_ Ince’s “Outlines” (a book used in your college) -inculcates Romish doctrines.” - -The conclusion of her letter shows how clearly she realised the effect -that might be produced if the Committee revoked their decision:-- - -“I have endeavoured to be perfectly candid: should the Council decide -that my views are so unsound that I am unfit to occupy the position to -which I have been appointed, I shall trust that they will allow me to -make as public a statement of my opinions as they are obliged to make -of my dismissal, for I shall feel that after this no person of moderate -views will trust me, and my own conscience would not allow me to work -with the extreme party in either High or Low Church.” - -The suspense whilst the Committee’s decision hung in the balance must -have been great. Her diary indicates this:-- - - _July 12._--Mr. Bell’s letter about High Church from Cheltenham, and - my answer. Some vanity. (Prayer) for resignation. - - _July 14._--Letter from Cheltenham. Neglect of prayer. Several times - rude. - -The Committee, however, seem to have been satisfied with her letter to -Mr. Bell, and another to Mr. Bellairs, in which she referred him to -two friends who knew what her religious views were, sending him also -two books, “which I have published without my name--not because I was -ashamed of expressing what I thought right, but because one naturally -shrinks from expressing without necessity one’s inner religious life”. - -They still had one more question, which Mr. Bell asked in his next -letter:-- - -“Holding the opinions you have expressed, should you consider it a -duty and feel it incumbent on you to inculcate them in your Divinity -instruction to the pupils?” - -To this she replied:-- - -“I quite feel it to be a Christian duty, if it be possible, to live -peaceably with all men, not giving heed to those things which minister -questions rather than godly edifying, but I am sure you would feel -I should be unworthy of your confidence could I through any fear of -consequences resort to the least untruthfulness.” - - [Illustration: DOROTHEA BEALE IN 1859 - - p. 32] - -The difficulty was thus ended, and Dorothea Beale entered her -kingdom. In spite of the many possibilities of giving offence, from -the beginning she made the Scripture lessons the very centre of her -teaching. To these she went herself not only with her carefully -prepared work but with her heart and soul equally equipped. She -demanded equal reverence in her pupils, and during times of building at -the college the noise of the hammer was suspended when these lessons -were being given. - -There is little record about the beginning of her work at Cheltenham. -Twice Miss Brewer, who was to be Vice-Principal, called upon her: -and there are one or two entries in her diary about “shopping” and -“turning-out”. Even the date (August 4) on which she set out for -Cheltenham with her mother is only known by deduction. One can imagine, -however, the spirit in which Dorothea Beale set out into the unknown. -Was it to be failure or success? Were her powers equal to the many -difficulties that lay before her? Would the Committee turn out to be -the kind of people with whom she could work? But we know enough to be -sure that she looked to God as her guide in all things, and that in -offering herself for this great work of education she laid her life and -all her powers at His feet. - -Dorothea Beale’s first two years at Cheltenham were a struggle from -beginning to end. When she arrived the College had begun to go down, -and many of the elder girls had left with Miss Procter, so that the -oldest pupils were now only thirteen or fourteen years of age. Mrs. -Raikes in her “Life,” quotes a description of her from a pupil who was -at the school when she arrived:-- - -“I can see her now as she appeared in reality--the slight, young -figure, the very gentle, gliding movements, the quiet face with the -look of intense thoughtfulness and utter absence of all poor and common -stress and turmoil, the intellectual brow, the wonderful eyes with -their calm outlook and their expression of inner vision.” - -One of her first decisions was to continue and make permanent the -rule of silence, which Miss Procter had introduced at the beginning -of the college. She was, at first, full of doubts as to the wisdom of -this rule but was so well satisfied with the results that she never -saw any reason to alter it. Pupils were allowed to speak only with a -teacher’s permission, which was always given when it was necessary. -Her reasons for the ordaining of this rule were to inculcate habits of -self-control, to prevent the making of friendships of which parents -might not approve, to secure concentration and good discipline. It was -very rigidly enforced, and if a girl broke it only a few times in the -term a remark to that effect was inevitably put into her Report. One -of the jokes frequently made against the Ladies’ College was that no -Cheltenham girl could talk! - -The history of these two years is given very graphically in Miss -Beale’s History of the College, from which the following account is -almost entirely taken. When Miss Beale was appointed there were only -sixty-nine girls left, of whom fifteen had already given notice (of -these only one actually left). Only £400 was left out of the original -capital. The ladies who had kept boarding-houses gave up on account of -the uncertainty, and several of the original shareholders sold their -£10 shares for £5. - -“Several birds of prey,” said Miss Beale, “were seen hovering about -expecting the demise of the College, and it would probably have ceased -to exist had there not remained two years of the Cambray lease, for -the rent of which £200 a year had to be found. It is impossible to -give an adequate idea of the hard struggle for existence maintained -during the next two years, and of the minute economies which had to be -practised. _Haec nunc meminisse juvat._ The Principal was blamed for -ordering prospectuses without leave at the cost of fifteen shillings, -and the second-hand furniture procured would not have delighted people -of æsthetic taste. Curtains were dispensed with as far as possible, and -it was questioned whether a carving-knife was required by the Principal -in her furnished apartments.” - -The teaching staff was reduced as far as possible and the Principal -and Vice-Principal gave up their half-holiday to chaperone those girls -who took lessons from masters. The Principal did a great deal of -teaching at this time including Scripture throughout the College. - -Everything that could be done in those two years to curtail expenditure -was done. The gain or loss of one pupil was considered an important -event. One day Miss Beale was at dinner when a father called with two -girls. The maid sent him away, saying that her mistress was at dinner. -Miss Beale, however, sent her at once in pursuit after the departing -visitors. She spoke to the maid afterwards about this matter and said, -“I am never at dinner”. - -At the end of these two years the lease of Cambray House expired, and, -though the deficit was less at the end of 1860 than in 1859, there -was not a single member of the Committee who was willing to take the -responsibility of renewing the lease. Many causes conspired to make the -school unpopular at this time, and the question of giving it up had to -be seriously considered. - -Just when things were at their worst a deliverer appeared in the person -of Mr. J. Houghton Brancker, who was asked to audit the accounts. -After a thorough investigation this gentleman gave his verdict that -it was impossible for the school ever to pay its way with the then -system of fees. Accordingly he drew up a scheme which he considered -satisfactory, lowering the ordinary fees, but making music and drawing, -which had hitherto been included in the ordinary curriculum, extra -subjects. Mr. Brancker was asked to join the Council; under his able -rule as chancellor of the exchequer, the College finances began to -improve, and grinding anxiety about money matters soon became a thing -of the past. Cambray House was taken by the year until things were in -a more satisfactory state, but such a precaution was unnecessary, as -the College after this had a career of almost unbroken progress and -prosperity. - -Financial difficulties were not, however, the only ones that Miss Beale -had to fight, nor were they the hardest. Far greater foes to her peace -of mind were those of ignorance, prejudice, and lack of ideals about -girls’ education. Practical difficulties, too, stood in the way of high -attainment. Dorothea Beale relates some of these in her “History of the -Ladies’ College”. It was said that college life would “turn girls into -boys”. Day schools for girls were unpopular, and the custom of having -morning and afternoon school caused parents a great deal of trouble in -sending maids with their children. Teachers were scarce and those to be -had were very inferior. - -“Do you prepare your lessons?” asked Dorothea Beale of a candidate. - -“Oh no!” she replied, “I never teach anything I don’t understand.” - -Parents looked with horror on the teaching of mathematics and even -advanced arithmetic, in spite of the poverty to which ignorance of -investments often reduced women. - -Some reminiscences of former pupils give a little idea of what Dorothea -Beale was like in her teaching and in her relationship to her children. - -“I never remember her raising her voice, scolding us, being satirical -or impatient with dullness or inattention. She was not satirical even -when a small girl, on being asked what criticism might be passed -on Milton’s treatment of “Paradise Lost,” ventured the audacious -suggestion that the poet was ‘verbose’.” - -Her methods were designed to encourage rather than to repress. A pupil -recalls “an afternoon when she visited the needlework room and found -me being most justly blamed for inefficiency. In kindly tones she said -to the shy and clumsy culprit: ‘You ought to sew well, for your mother -has such beautiful long fingers,’ and somehow I felt comforted and -encouraged. Then there was a day when I summoned up courage to go and -tell her that I had been guilty of some small disobedience as well as -others who had been detected and punished. She seized the opportunity -of impressing upon me that as I was (though only fourteen) a teacher -in my father’s Sunday School--a fact of which I did not know she was -aware--I must surely see that obedience to rule was necessary. I can -still hear the low, earnest tones in which she made her appeal to my -sense of justice and right.” - -At this period of her life her power was probably as great as it ever -was, though the scope was comparatively narrow. - -“It is my peculiar privilege,” writes one, “to have spent all my -college career in her class, to go through years of her special -personal teaching. In later days when the College assumed large -dimensions, such an experience must have been rare; to those who could -claim it, it meant a potent influence for life. How vividly can I -recall her sitting on her little daïs, scanning the long schoolroom -and discovering anything amiss at the far end of it; or making a tour -of inspection to the various classes with a smiling countenance that -banished terror.” - -Her personal relationship to any of her children in sorrow was always a -very tender one. - -“When I was almost a child at College I lost my mother and shall never -forget Miss Beale’s tender sympathy and help. She took such interest -in my preparation for Confirmation and brought me herself to my first -Communion--just she and I alone: a day I shall always remember. All -through my girlhood she was a kind and ready adviser, and continued her -interest throughout my married life. One always felt whatever happened -to one, ‘Now I must tell Miss Beale’.” - -So with the varied joys of teaching, and the difficulties of narrow -means, and the opposition of supporters of the old régime, did Dorothea -Beale’s life at Cheltenham begin. - -Forty years later she wrote of this time:-- - -“How often I was full of discouragement. It was not so much the want of -money as the want of ideals that depressed me. If I went into society I -heard it said: ‘What is the good of education for our girls? They have -not to earn their living.’ Those who spoke did not see that, for women -as for men, it is a sin to bury the talents God has given: they seemed -not to know that the baptismal right was the same for girls as for -boys, alike enrolled in the army of light, soldiers of Jesus Christ.” - -No knight of olden times who rode forth against the evils of his day -needed greater courage than this woman who set out to destroy the evils -of prejudice, custom, and ignorance. I have spoken sometimes with her -“old girls,” who were with her in the early days, and were among the -first to enter on paths untrodden by women’s feet. They were like men -who seek a new land; no sacrifice seemed too great; no toil seemed too -hard. Following their dauntless leader they knew themselves to be the -vanguard of a great army of women infinite in number and of unknown -power. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - ON EDUCATION. - - “Knowledge is now no more a fountain sealed.”--TENNYSON, “The - Princess”. - - -In order to understand Dorothea Beale’s work and that of her many -contemporaries who were working towards the same end, it is necessary -to know something of the depths to which girls’ education had sunk in -that day. All readers of Ruskin’s “Sesame and Lilies” are familiar -with his bitter invective against the attitude of parents towards this -important question, and his passionate appeal for reform. And Ruskin -was only one of the many men who realised the pity of the paltry and -superficial education that girls received, and the extent to which the -whole world suffered on this account. So strong had public feeling -become among the better educated on this burning question that, in the -year 1864, a Schools’ Inquiry Commission was instituted; and as far as -possible a thorough investigation was made of the subject. Reports on -Girls’ Schools were given by Mr. Fitch, Mr. Bryce, and others. - -To all interested in education the Blue Book is an extremely -interesting document. The evidence and reports are based on what was -seen and known, and present a terrible indictment of the then condition -of girls’ schools. - -“Although,” says Mr. Bryce, “the world has now existed for several -thousand years, the notion that women have minds as cultivable and -worth cultivating as men’s minds is still regarded by the ordinary -British parent as an offensive, not to say a revolutionary, paradox.” - -Dorothea Beale’s report, the one with which we are most concerned here, -is very comprehensive, and gives not only her theories of education but -also an account of the methods employed in her school. The questions -asked give a good idea of the many questions that disturbed the minds -of thoughtful people of that day; the anxiety lest higher education -should injure the health of girls; the fear of the over-stimulating -effects of examinations, of the publicity of examination results and of -the possible effects on girls’ natural reserve and modesty. - -In her reply to the various questions asked, Dorothea Beale gave a -good deal of information about her own school and the condition of -education it revealed. The Entrance Examination at Cheltenham showed as -a rule deplorable results. Frequently girls came from expensive schools -incapable of writing, spelling, or composing in their own language, -almost ignorant of French grammar and scarcely able to work correctly -the simplest sums in arithmetic. - -“I think the remedy for bad work,” said she, “is to bring such work -to the light. I think it is because it has all been carried on in -darkness, because the parents are not able to distinguish between good -and bad, and nobody knows that things have reached such a state.” - -She then went into some particulars about the work at Cheltenham -Ladies’ College, hours of work, the rule by personal influence -rather than by punishments, the law of silence and her approval of -examinations as leading to more thorough work. She also went into the -reasons why she considered that women were better educators of girls -than men, and _ceteris paribus_ were quite equal to them as teachers. -The education of boys at that time she considered to be rather -unsatisfactory, and too limited in scope. She did not believe that boys -and girls should be taught on absolutely different lines, as that would -undoubtedly hinder friendship and _camaraderie_ in marriage as well as -in ordinary social intercourse. - -On the question of health Miss Beale was most emphatic. She did not -believe that study alone injured health, and in her belief she is more -in sympathy with the thought of to-day than with that of twenty or -thirty years ago. Examinations and study in the early days of higher -education for women seemed to work a good deal of havoc with health. -But when we look back in the light of modern thought much of the harm -seems to have been wrought by unscientific arrangement of hours of -work--it was considered heroic to “burn the midnight oil”; the eating -of insufficient or unsuitable food; the undertaking of strenuous work -by delicate girls unfit for hard work of any kind; and the lack of -wholesome recreation. - -When she was asked by Mr. Acland about the effect of eagerness in study -on the health of girls about sixteen, she replied:-- - -“I think it improved their health very much, and I am sure great -harm is often done by a hasty recommendation to throw aside all study -when a temperate and wisely regulated mental diet is really required. -They will not do nothing--you cannot say to the human mind that it -shall absolutely rest; but if they have not wholesome and proper and -unexciting occupations they will spend their time on sensational novels -and things much more injurious to their health. When I have heard -complaints about health being injured by study, they have proceeded -from those who have done least work at college. Indeed I do not know -of any case of a pupil who has really worked and whose health has been -injured: we have had complaints in a few cases where the girls have -been decidedly not industrious.” - -The following emphatic statement expresses the opinion of most -educationalists on the deplorable effect that “just going to live -at home” has on the health of many girls. There are few things that -teachers of senior girls dread more than an aimless life in a home -where there are no responsibilities and no definite duties. There is no -real reason, of course, why this should be so, as a girl of leisure at -home has often opportunities of doing work that no one else can do; but -many lack the energy and enterprise for seeking out such work, and are, -in consequence, idle and miserable:-- - -“For one girl in the higher middle classes who suffers from overwork, -there are, I believe, hundreds whose health suffers from the feverish -love of excitement, from the irritability produced by idleness and -frivolity and discontent. I am persuaded, and my opinion has been -confirmed by experienced doctors, that the want of wholesome occupation -lies at the root of much of the languid debility of which we hear so -much after girls have left school.” - -She also gave some account of her own methods of teaching. French -and German were studied before Latin and Greek. In Geometry she -always dealt with the propositions as riders, and employed methods -which, twenty years later, became common in all schools. This was -somewhat extraordinary at a time when many children, boys and girls -alike, understood so little of what was required, that they learned -the propositions by heart. Science was taught so as to create -not specialists but human beings with an intelligent but general -understanding of the phenomena of everyday life. It is interesting -to read in a pamphlet published this year, 1919, by the Ministry -of Reconstruction, that much of the present day lack of interest -in Science is due to the lack of general training of this kind. -Foundations are laid at school as if every man and every woman were -going to be a scientist, and the average boy and girl leave school with -a certain amount of skill in measuring and weighing, but with none of -that illuminating general knowledge that makes the world so vastly -interesting. - -In religious teaching, “we try,” said Dorothea Beale, “to make our -teaching practical as regards the daily duties of life upon which we -are all agreed, instead of dwelling on points of doctrine wherein we -differ”. - -Dorothea Beale was always anxious to work in sympathy with parents, not -in antagonism to their aims. She realised, as does every wise teacher, -that parents see a quite different side of their children and was glad -of any information that might be a help in understanding the child. She -was very desirous that people should be frank with her if there was any -cause of dissatisfaction with the school, and was most anxious to know -if a child was at all overworked. Any complaint of this kind was at -once dealt with, and if a child was overworked the remedy of dropping -one or two subjects was usually applied. - -Along with other educationalists of that day Miss Beale deplored -the excessive amount of time given to the practice of the piano, -complaining that it absorbed energies that ought to be used for the -general culture of the mind. She suggested that no girl should give -more than one hour a day to the piano, unless she had decided talent, -that parents should cease to attach so exaggerated a value to this -accomplishment, and that those who had a natural incapacity should be -allowed to leave off music altogether. - -Our generation is beginning at last to allow music for girls to take -only its fair share of time along with other subjects and to train the -mind and soul to appreciate rather than the hands merely to perform. We -are beginning to realise that born musicians are few, though the need -for music in life is universal. To train the ear to hear, the body to -feel rhythm, is held to be more important than the mere technique of -piano-playing. - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - GROWTH. - - Men say the dreams of twenty-two - The winds of thirty shall undo.... - We prove them liars, do we not? - Which of our dreams have we forgot? - - --FRANK BETTS. - - -“At the end of five years’ hard struggle,” writes Dorothea Beale in -1863, “it was pleasant to read in the (Examiner’s) Report: ‘This -examination has convinced us that the plan and working of this -institution are admirable and calculated to supply a growing want -in our community ... that of a real and solid higher education for -ladies’.” - -The year 1864 was a turbulent one. The Principal had long been -dissatisfied with the college hours, feeling that they were most -unsatisfactory for teachers and children. The new plan was to have -school from 9.10 a.m. to 1 o’clock, thus increasing the length of -morning school and having no school in the afternoon. This led to a -great outcry in the town. The local papers condemned the innovation. -Teachers who wanted a half-holiday every afternoon were said to be -idle. Parents complained that the children would be on their hands all -the afternoon and they would have to engage governesses. There was -practically war between the local people and the College authorities. -The Council and Dorothea Beale felt very strongly on this matter, -realising indeed that the future of the school probably depended on -the carrying out of their plans. A memorial signed by the shareholders -and others was sent, and the Council replied that the plan would be -tried for one term, at the end of which they would consult the wishes -of the parents. So successful, however, was the scheme that at a -General Meeting held at the end of the time mentioned, only eight -voted in favour of the old régime. As every one knows, the plan which -Dorothea Beale introduced against such strong opposition has since -that time been adopted by every High School, and has in the main made -for a higher standard of work, and better health, both in pupils and -in teachers. A number of children, as a rule, go to school in the -afternoon, but it is chiefly for preparation and lighter lessons, such -as drawing and needlework. - -By 1864, under Mr. Brancker’s careful administration, all anxiety about -financial matters had come to an end. The Principal continued, however, -to do much of the teaching herself, and the girls who were there at -this time always reckoned themselves particularly fortunate that they -came so directly under the influence of the Head. In later days this -was, of course, impossible. All the classes were held in the big hall, -but as soon as possible a schoolroom was provided for the lowest -division. Dorothea Beale, as a rule, took her classes there, except -very small ones which she often took in her own private rooms. - -The strongholds of prejudice began to crumble. It became easier to -teach Mathematics, Physics, etc., as a little of the old antagonism -began to disappear and the number of the senior girls increased. - -About this time she drew up her tabular scheme for learning English -and World History. Many thought this system would bring a new era in -the learning of dates, etc., but it does not seem to have been very -generally adopted. - -In these early days at Cheltenham Dorothea Beale was often distressed -by gossip and back-biting. She was always particularly sensitive to -this kind of thing, and her actions were at times subject to the -criticism even of friends. But she gradually learnt to trouble less -about outside adverse opinion, though she would never have been able -to tolerate the least suspicion of criticism and disloyalty within the -school. On one occasion an untrue rumour of a serious nature was set on -foot against one of the boarding-house mistresses. Some in the College -had listened to this rumour and the Principal spoke to the teachers on -the subject. - -“Now I have nothing to do to judge them that are without. We must -cheerfully bear evil-speaking. But if it comes from within the matter -is for that reason a serious one; for this reason I feel it must be -traced up to its source.... I feel I can appeal to you as lovers of -truth, as those who feel that no advantages of education, of health, or -any other, can compensate for the disadvantages which would arise to -any children who lived in an atmosphere of evil-speaking, lying, and -slandering.” - -More than most Heads, perhaps, Dorothea Beale had the gift of inspiring -loyalty in her staff. As the College grew older the teachers were -largely recruited from Old Girls. Some women there now, no longer -young, have been at the College since childhood. It would be impossible -to mention the number of teachers whose love and devotion to their -Principal did much to ease her work and cheer her spirit. Perhaps -of these none did more for her than the first Head Teacher whom she -herself had trained. This was Miss Belcher, later Head of the great -school at Bedford. She was in many ways of the greatest help to Miss -Beale, not only in practical things but in her spiritual influence. -In addressing the Head Mistresses’ Conference just before her death, -Dorothea Beale spoke of some of the Heads of schools who had been -trained at Cheltenham. Very affectionately she spoke of Miss Belcher, -and told a story of her great loyalty to the College. - -Miss Belcher and another teacher, at a time when headships were very -rare, came to her and told her that they had determined to apply for -one. Miss Beale said, “Events are imminent which will shake the College -to its very foundations”. They said, “We shall not apply”. - -Her early days at Cheltenham were very full, so much so that her father -wrote in a teasing spirit:-- - -“You always write as if you were at the top of your speed, and this -is not good. I doubt not you have a great deal to occupy your time -and your attention, but pray do not be always in a hurry, you will -inevitably break down if you are so--you will lose in power what you -gain in speed as certainly as in mechanics: and with greater danger to -the regularity of the machine.... I am really fearful to take up your -time.... I daresay now that you are scrambling through my note without -that respect to which the writer and the subject are entitled. But pray -remember that to neglect (the care of your health) is the worst economy -in the world.” - -In 1862 Dorothea Beale had the great sorrow of her father’s death, an -event which left a great blank in her life. - -Holidays at this time were spent partly at Cheltenham, partly abroad. -When on the Continent she visited schools and gained new ideas for -her work. For, to her, life and work were one. Nearly everything she -did bore directly or indirectly on the one purpose of her life. It is -impossible to enter into the spirit of her life unless one realises -this singleness of aim. No nun, bound to her vocation by holy vows, -could be more dedicated than was Dorothea Beale to the great work of -education. It was to her the call of the Master to forsake all and -follow Him. - -This spirit in her expressed itself in many ways; in her simplicity of -life, which she maintained always. Her way of living was always plain, -as was her style of dress. In later life she dressed more grandly, but -this was forced upon her by others who felt she ought to do so, and -was not the expression of her own wishes. When she went to Cheltenham, -she decided for the sake of her work not to go out in the evenings. -I believe, as a matter of fact, that it was quite easy to keep this -resolution, as Cheltenham society was extremely “exclusive” at that -time, and was not sufficiently assured of the social position of women -teachers to invite them out to anything except perhaps a quiet tea. - -Dorothea Beale had very little small talk, and was too quietly -thoughtful to be a great success socially. She was quite content to -go on steadily with her teaching, her careful preparation of lessons, -her painstaking correction of the children’s work, her thoughts and -plans for wider work, all of which were slowly but surely laying the -foundations of a new intellectual world for women. One of the ideas -which she was never able to carry out was that of a Sisterhood of -Teachers, consisting of a band of teachers who should live frugal, -self-denying lives in a Community under a Mother Superior. These should -have no personal possessions, but should live, as nuns do, a life -devoted to their vocation. Later in life she became less anxious for -such a Sisterhood, believing that the inward spirit of consecration -could exist equally well without the outward and visible signs of -devotion. - -In our day we urge the necessity of having interests outside our -special calling; to have hobbies, games, or a different kind of work -which will be recreative; to have, as it were, in our brain several -lines of rails to prevent the chief one from getting worn out. But -though we have become more scientific in the management of life the -main fact remains the same, that the work to which we are called is a -stern mistress and will demand our whole-hearted service. - -Growth is rarely a painless process, and Dorothea Beale felt that some -of her greatest difficulties began after the College entered on its -period of rapid development. By the year 1871, it had grown too big -for Cambray House, and a site for a new building was purchased for the -sum of £800. This purchase had to be endorsed by the Annual Meeting of -Shareholders in June, but this was considered a mere formality. A good -many shareholders, however, were interested in the Cambray property, -and the meeting decided not to ratify the purchase but to re-sell the -land. This was a great shock to the Council and the Principal, who -knew the need for having bigger and better premises, and the Council -announced their intention of resigning. - -A special General Meeting was called for September 30. At this meeting -Dr. Jex-Blake, the Principal of Cheltenham College, who was in the -chair, pleaded most eloquently the cause of the Ladies’ College. I will -quote part of his speech as showing something of the esteem in which -the College was held at this date. - -“Teachers so able and energetic and successful,” said he, “have a -right to the greatest consideration and the very best arrangements -for teaching. A Ladies’ College so distinguished, second to none in -England, has a right to every advantage that can be secured for it: -a right to be lodged in a building of its own: a building perfect -in its internal arrangements, and outwardly of some architectural -attractiveness: one that should be a College and should look like a -College.” - -At this meeting those who desired extension carried the day, and soon -the erection of the new buildings was begun. On Lady Day, 1873, the -College moved into the new building. So quietly and unobtrusively was -this done, that hardly a single half-hour of lessons was lost. Many -extensions followed, including the addition of art and music wings, -and kindergarten rooms. Those who were at the College in those days -were familiar with the continual noise of building; in 1882 it ceased: -“after this the sound of the hammer was not heard for nearly four -years.” Dorothea Beale’s policy of building was a sound one: it was -to plan for extensions long before they were necessary, but to build -little by little as the premises were needed and money was ready for -the purpose. - -About this time many questions arose that had to be settled once -and for all. One was whether the College was to be simply a local -day school, or an institution for the furthering of women’s higher -education generally: another was the government of the College and -the defining of the Principal’s powers: a third was whether the -boarding-houses should become an intrinsic part of the College. Around -all these questions storms arose and the Principal began to feel that -in leaving Cambray House she had left behind her peace and happiness. - -The College was finally incorporated under the Companies’ Acts, and the -government of it revised and radically altered. The Principal’s powers -were more clearly defined, and the Council decided to take over full -responsibility for the boarding-houses. - -About this last decision she wrote to her friend, Miss Arnold, the -headmistress of the Truro High School:-- - -“I think I told you that after many years, I have prevailed upon our -Council to take the whole risk of the boarding-houses--the pecuniary -risk is of course very great, and in case of war or sudden depression -I don’t exactly see how we should meet it, but one must have risks and -we find the moral risks of not taking pecuniary ones so great that we -decided for the latter--and indeed we had to pay pretty considerable -sums in law expenses and to get rid of unjust claims too. We could -not _prove_ that these ladies had not lost money, if they said they -had--and if they were bad managers they did perhaps lose--and an outcry -was raised that we ruined poor ladies.” - -Of her attitude towards a Principal’s position and powers, part of a -letter from Miss Buss to Miss Ridley gives some idea. - -“I had a long and grave talk with Miss Beale, who counsels fight, but -not on any personal ground. She says: ‘Resign if there is interference -with the mistress’s 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 sometimes she quivered in every nerve at her own Council -meetings.” - -At the end of these various controversies it was realised that the -College could not be a merely local institution, but had a great future -before it, and was destined to play a very important part in the higher -education of women from every part of the country. - -I must not close this chapter without giving a brief account of the -much-loved Cambray House, in which the Ladies’ College started. For a -time after the College left it was a boys’ school, but in 1889, Miss -Beale had the chance of re-purchasing it for £2,000 and using it as a -boarding-house and overflow school for girls awaiting admission to the -College. In 1895 it was enlarged, and in 1897 the Principal, by Deed of -Gift, made it over to the College, though she still ran it on her own -account. Not until 1906 was it actually reckoned part of the College. -This is only one of the many instances of how Dorothea Beale spent or -invested her own money for the growth and welfare of the College. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - WORK OF LOVE. - - “The fellowship we long for is one in which men shall be themselves - as well as fellows to each other, in which each shall know his own - desire, and there shall be a harmony among them because of a holy - concord in their desires.”--CLUTTON BROCK. - - -In the year 1880, the College Magazine was started under the editorship -of Dorothea Beale, who remained its editor until her death in 1906. Nor -was she only the editor, but a very frequent contributor: many of her -articles which may be seen collected in book form first appeared in -the Cheltenham Ladies’ College Magazine. The contributors were chiefly -old pupils, though Dorothea Beale sometimes sought contributions from -writers outside College circles. Shortly after the magazine was started -it became a vehicle for news of old pupils, and was a means of binding -past and present students together. It is interesting to see in old -College Magazines the names of those who are now well-known in the -literary world--Beatrice Harraden and others. - -The year 1883 was what the pupils called Miss Beale’s “Silver Wedding”: -as she had then been twenty-five years at the College. The Old Girls -were anxious to give her a present on that occasion, and the Principal -asked that they should give something to the College. The gift took the -form of a beautiful organ, to be placed in the First Division Room--the -largest hall at that time--above the Principal’s daïs. - -The meeting of Old Girls was fixed for July 6 and 7. Less than a month -before it, Dorothea Beale had the sorrow of losing her great friend, -Mrs. Owen. She went on, as was her wont, with the preparations for the -“silver wedding” assembly, quietly and calmly, not letting her own -private griefs intrude on her public duties. - -The Principal received her guests at eight o’clock on Friday evening. -About a thousand old pupils were present. To many of them the building -was quite new, and they were charmed with the beauty of it, decorated -for the occasion by flowers and plants everywhere. - -On the Saturday morning she had a large breakfast party, and prayers -were held in the great hall. It must have been a thrilling experience -for Dorothea Beale to hear for the first time so many of her Old Girls -sing, “O God, our help in ages past,” to the accompaniment of the new -organ. After prayers she gave an address, chiefly on music. She spoke -first of the different kinds of music, the noble and the ignoble, the -lofty and the base: the music which, like the song of the lotus-eaters, -lulls us to forget all sense of duty, and obligation to home and -kindred, and that which arouses all our highest powers. She spoke then -of the different music of life, of nature, of faith, of every human -soul. - -The end of this speech expressed an idea that had been in her mind for -a long time, that of forming a guild of former pupils. The fundamental -aims of the Guild would be to bind old students to their Alma Mater: to -keep them, by means of the magazine and Old Girls’ meetings, in touch -with one another: to enable them to help one another: and perhaps by -and by to take up some corporate work. - -This suggestion of an Old Pupils’ Association was taken up at once, and -a meeting was fixed for the following year. - -A year later the Guild was established. The daisy had been chosen as -the emblem of the Guild and a brooch had been devised, the design -combining the flower and the monogram of the College. The guests were -welcomed on Tuesday evening, July 8, 1884, and on Wednesday morning -after prayers Dorothea Beale gave the inaugural address of the Guild. -Her outlook on life was essentially that of the devout poet, who sees -in the visible world the signs and symbols of spiritual truths. To her, -the daisy, the emblem of the Guild, was full of suggestion. She dealt -with allusions to the daisy in our poets, explaining why they loved -this little humble flower. She spoke of its sturdy independence--“You -never see it turning towards other flowers: it can only look up”. -She took the independence of the daisy as a symbol of the friendship -of middle and later life, the friendship which means little direct -intercourse, only the consciousness of a union in spirit and a looking -towards the same ends. - -“We have chosen the daisy as our emblem, the single eye, the true -sunflower, the real heliotrope that stands ever gazing upward. It is -changed into an image of the sun himself: it is like a censer ever -burning towards heaven, a speck of heavenly beauty, a star come down to -brighten the dark places of the earth.” - -The Guild meetings were held every second year, and were a source -of great pleasure, interest, and inspiration to those who had known -Dorothea Beale as Principal. - -“She had a wonderful memory,” writes one of her former pupils, “for -her Old Girls, especially for those who, like me, belonged to the old -days of Cambray House, and could remember the excitement and delight -of going into the new building. I shall never forget the warmth of her -greeting at that last Guild or how at the ‘At Home’ in the evening she -stopped me in the corridor to say, ‘I was told that all five C----’s -were here, and I have only seen four. Where is M----?’ I believe that -there were about 1200 Old Girls there, and to think of her keeping -count like that of those whom she had seen was simply amazing.” - -Pupils of a later date, who thought Dorothea Beale had hardly known -them at College, were often astonished to find that their old Principal -not only knew them, but remembered incidents of their College days, or -events which happened afterwards. - -An older girl and her sister were both sent to College and the latter -left from the third division because her people left Cheltenham; but -her elder sister, Gertrude, stayed on and eventually joined the Guild. -Years after the younger one met the Principal and went up to speak to -her and, never thinking that she could possibly remember her, meant to -explain who she was. But before she could do so Miss Beale, on seeing -her, began without any preliminaries: “Why has your sister left the -Guild?” - -In the year 1876 Miss Margaret Newman had made an offer to Dorothea -Beale that she would start a boarding-house for students who wished -to become teachers and found it difficult to obtain the necessary -training. She offered to pay £75 a year towards expenses, and in -addition to give her time and services. This involved a good deal of -strain and work, as it meant living in a small house with only one -maid, and having in addition the responsibility of the girl students. -At the end of one year Miss Newman became ill and died after a short -illness. Those who knew her felt that death had been hastened by the -devoted work for which she had hardly had sufficient strength. Her -work, however, was not ended. In the brief space of one year Miss -Newman had won such love and affection for herself and such sympathy -with her noble object that people felt her work must go on. It was this -strong feeling which made Dorothea Beale depart from her usual plan -of not asking for money. As soon as she asked, £1200 was immediately -given, half of it by the College staff. - -“She had left,” said Dorothea Beale, “a legacy of £100 to carry it on, -and, as has been mentioned, further sums were given by friends, and -about £600 by the College staff. The number of students had steadily -increased, and it was determined by the trustees in whom the management -was vested to build a residential college and trust to the small -profits each year gradually to pay off the debt thereby incurred. They -therefore purchased the site on Bayshill, and arrangements were made -for the erection of the building to designs prepared by Mr. Middleton. -Cheltenham was one of the first colleges to establish training for -Secondary Teachers. After much thought it was decided to call the new -hall of residence St. Hilda’s. - -“St. Hilda’s,” said she, “seemed a particularly appropriate ideal for -our students. She was consecrated by Bishop Aidan and made Head of -the most important house of education of her day. She had, Bede tells -us, been diligently instructed by learned men and she was the patron -of our earliest poet, Caedmon. She insisted much that those under her -direction should attend to the reading of the Holy Scriptures. She -taught the strict observance of justice and other virtues, particularly -of peace and charity.” - -On November 27, 1885, the building was formally opened. A beautiful -statue of St. Hilda was presented by a brother of some old pupils. -She holds in her hand the Vulgate open at the words “Videmus nunc per -speculum in aenigmate: tune autem facie ad faciem. Nunc cognosco ex -parte: tunc autem cognoscam sicut et cognitus sum” (1 Cor. xiii. 12). -Over the door are the words of Plato, χαλεπὰ τὰ καλά. On the study -walls are these texts--“Shew Thy servants Thy work and their children -Thy glory”: “Knowledge puffeth up, charity buildeth up”: “Let nothing -be done through strife or vain-glory”. - -Seven years later another Saint Hilda’s was established, this time at -Oxford. - -Dorothea Beale had for long years realised the enormous advantage -to students of living for a time in the atmosphere of the older -Universities. She thought that a time at Oxford or Cambridge could give -to a student, who had already begun her teaching career, inspiration -and mental stimulus that nothing else could give. Her idea was -that they should have a year for general reading, rather than for -examination work, though those who wished to take examinations should -be allowed to do so. - -In 1892, Miss Beale purchased from Dr. Child, Cowley House, Oxford, a -beautifully situated house, overlooking Christ Church meadows. The work -was begun in October, 1893, there being at that time seven students -with Mrs. Burrows as Principal. It was formally opened on November 6, -the mid-term holiday of Cheltenham Ladies’ College, and many of the -staff and pupils went to the opening ceremony. - -St. Hilda’s work was soon extended in another direction, not indeed -along Dorothea Beale’s lines, though she was too wise to offer any -opposition. In the year 1888 a meeting of the Guild was held, and the -proposal was made that it should take up some definite outside work. -There were several proposals, but an overwhelming majority of the Guild -decided on the plan of starting a settlement in the East End of London. -As a result of this decision Mayfield House, close to Bethnal Green, -was taken by the Committee. Dorothea Beale was greatly disappointed and -did not conceal the fact. At a General Guild Meeting in alluding to -this subject she said:-- - -“I trust we shall be able to try to win harmony out of notes not -altogether concordant. Some of us come with a feeling of disappointment -that the scheme we desired has been rejected--I am one of these. I not -only accept my defeat, I feel sure that you have sought guidance of -that inward oracle which must ever be our supreme rule, you have done -what conscience bade and so it is right. As regards my own scheme, I -only allude to it to say that, having now to continue it single-handed, -I cannot help you as much as I could wish, and I just refer to it -to-day in the hope that you will remember it when I am no longer here.” - -After some years of work at Mayfield House a house was built specially -for the Guild settlement close to Shoreditch Church. The latter was -opened in 1895. The Guild took up this task in the East End with great -enthusiasm, and many of the members were willing to sacrifice time and -money to help on the work they had undertaken. - -Dorothea Beale seems never to have taken kindly to charitable work. -She had a great horror of the demoralisation caused by the giving of -“doles”. Many of her friends thought that she realised little of the -suffering and demoralisation caused by extreme poverty. After a time -she became much more interested in the Guild settlement, realising -what a valuable centre it formed for training young workers. It was -this aspect of the work rather than its charitable purpose that -appealed to her most strongly. All through her life she touched with a -very doubtful hand enterprises connected with giving to individuals. -She felt very strongly that the effect was in almost every case -demoralising. When free meals for necessitous school children were -introduced, she was very much concerned about them, dreading the -weakening of parental responsibility. She knew little of the poor, -however, and of the evil effects of poverty itself, and was in -consequence less harassed by doubts than those of us who see these -social problems following one another in an endless vicious circle. -In this connection one might mention that she never cared much for -scholarships, though as time went on she accepted one or two for -the College, and she herself founded one at Casterton School. She -preferred to lend money to those who wished for training which they -could not afford. During her time at Cheltenham she lent money to many -students: it had to be returned when the student began to earn money, -and in hardly any cases did the student fail to do so. She felt very -strongly that people value much more highly that for which they have to -struggle, and had an almost morbid dread of the demoralising effect of -charity on character. - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - - INTERESTS, HONOURS, AND A JOURNEY. - - “Glory of Virtue, to fight, to struggle to right the wrong. - Nay, but she aimed not at glory, no lover of glory she: - Give her the glory of going on and still to be.” - - --TENNYSON. - -Those who are called to a great work often pass through times of -darkness, during which they lose for a time their vision of the eternal -realities which have meant everything to them. Dorothea Beale about the -middle of her work at Cheltenham passed through such an experience. -With weak health and clouded faith she strove, however, to live in the -spirit of Matthew Arnold’s lines-- - - Tasks in hours of insight willed - May be through hours of gloom fulfilled, - -and only a few intimate friends knew what she suffered at this time. - -A few extracts from her journal at this time show something of the ups -and downs of her illness, and the courage with which she fought what -at first she did not realise to be illness. Her diary of 1878 contains -many such entries as:-- - - _February 26._--I have idled away precious time, neglected individual - work. Because my own will is weak I could not strengthen [another]. - - _February 27._--In bed all day. There are duties still undone though I - see death near. - - _February 28._--Not in college. Much time wasted and [I was] - disobedient to the voice of duty. - - _March 15._--A little more work for my children to-day. I thank Thee - for some help. May I consecrate time and energies to Thee. - - _April 5._--Tried, but not successfully, with my Confirmation - children. Feeling too ill to do well. Thy Will be done. - -In 1882 she passed through a time of great darkness and depression, -but she finally won through as one of her indomitable spirit was bound -to do. - -When this experience had passed Dorothea Beale had changed. Her -religion had become more spiritual; her knowledge of other souls more -intimate; her desire to help those passing through similar experiences, -intense. One of the immediate results of her time of difficulty was -the starting of Quiet Days or Retreats for teachers at Cheltenham at -the end of the summer term, alternatively with the biennial Guild -meetings. To her, a teacher’s work was first and foremost spiritual; -and she realised the need of times of refreshment and re-establishment -in the faith for those who are continually “giving out”. The Quiet Days -she established proved a great help to many teachers from all parts, -and her letters to old pupils and others passing through times of -difficulty reveal a great insight only given by personal experience. - -To her friend, Miss Belcher, she wrote:-- - -“We were all so full of hope at first and are much disappointed that -relief has not come; ... I think, perhaps, you may be specially -suffering for one, that her faith may be once more awakened. Every -sufferer thus ‘lifted up’ does in a measure draw the hearts of others -to Him through whom we are able to reveal the power of faith.” - -To another she wrote:-- - -“I have just heard of this fresh trouble. Surely you must be intended -to do some work for others specially needing heart’s blood. This paper -was put into my hands just as I heard of your fresh disappointment and -anxiety.” - -The mediatorial and purifying purpose of suffering is an idea -frequently found in her writing. The South African War was a great -burden on her mind. In 1900 she wrote:-- - -“It is difficult to keep up one’s active powers with this nightmare; -one is so sure that all suffering is intended to be purifying and we -must glorify God in the fires.” - -Dorothea Beale always had a great objection to desultory work, and -though she of necessity touched many interests wider than those of -Cheltenham, she kept the main part of her time and strength for her -own particular work. Her association with various enterprises was -always greatly valued, and her work and influence were felt to be a -great help. Some of the educational work in which she was specially -interested and took a part was represented by the Head-Mistresses’ -Association, the Teachers’ Guild, the Froebel Society, the Child Study -Association, the Parents’ National Union, and Sunday Schools. She -would send delegates from the College to consider any new educational -system. A local institution that always claimed her sympathy was a -Working Men’s College started at Cheltenham and greatly helped by her -friends, Mr. and Mrs. Owen. She read a paper there on one occasion, on -self-support and self-government. - -“I do not think there are many,” she said, “belonging to this College, -who could not pay a few shillings annually. Self-denial adds value -to energy.... Everybody does not agree with me. Some think you will -misunderstand--think we do not want to help. I do not think you will; -to judge by my own feelings I like to be independent.” - -Then she spoke of the early difficulties at the Ladies’ College and the -lack of money during her first years there. - -“I am quite sure,” she went on, “that our College would not have been -what it is if we had had money to fall back upon. I might myself have -left the helm and gone to sit quietly in the cabin while the vessel -drifted on to the rocks.” - -Dorothea Beale kept throughout life a youthfulness of outlook which -made her able to enthuse over things that strongly attracted her -attention and interest. One day some one brought to her on a lily-leaf -a dragon-fly emerging from the pupa. To her mind, as to Mrs. Gatty’s, -this became a symbol of the resurrection. All that summer the college -heard much of the thought it had suggested, and many were the -“transformations” witnessed. She wrote a paper--“Is Death the End?” -and wanted to read it at a little mission maintained by her friends, -Mr. and Mrs. Owen. They would not allow her to do so, though she was -perfectly sure she would be able to interest the poor people. This -reminds the writer of a similar incident. A lady had given what she -believed to be a thrilling lecture on the dragon-fly to a number of -East End girls. They listened most attentively and seemed greatly -interested. But the lecturer’s self-satisfaction received something of -a shock when at the end she heard one girl say to another in a very -Cockney accent, “Why, it’s nothing but a fly, after all!” Probably Mr. -and Mrs. Owen were right. - -Dorothea Beale was not directly interested in missionary work until -the year 1883, when Pundita Ramabai was sent by the Wantage Sisters -to study at Cheltenham College. Under her influence she studied Hindu -religion and philosophy, and became greatly concerned about the -condition of widows in India. When Ramabai established her Home for -Widows at Mukti, Dorothea Beale became a regular and large subscriber. -Among her papers was found an appeal evidently intended to reach the -minds of educated Hindus. - -“My heart,” she wrote, “is stirred by sorrow and pity for those -suffering widows of India; but there are some whom I pity more--those -who inflict the sorrow on them, since it is far better to suffer than -to do wrong.... But what grieves me, too, is the thought of the waste -of all that wonderful amount of energy and life that God has given your -country-women in order to bless others. - -“If the men of India believe in God’s goodness and wisdom, as I think -they must, even though they may not trust Him, they must think He has -not made all those widows to be a burden and a misery to themselves and -others, but to do good work. What mistakes people make when they think -they are wiser than God. - - * * * * * - -“I can remember when ‘Old Maid’ was a term of contempt in England, but -it is not so now; you have seen me and sixty old maids working together -happy and content, and if I could send out a hundred women where I -can now send one, I should not have too many, so constant are the -demands for ‘old maids,’ as you would call them--for teachers, nurses, -missionaries, and all sorts of good work.... India will some time feel -all that her wasted women’s life can do.” - -With regard to missionary work for girls, she was always afraid lest -the glamour and romance of it should tempt them away from obvious -duties at home. - -Dorothea Beale, perhaps because of her early acquaintance with Mrs. -Lancaster’s work, was always ready to support any agencies for the -protection of girls and women. As far back as ’86 she wrote:-- - -“I would ... urge the formation of a body of women-policemen who could -safely do work which could not be undertaken by men-policemen or -clergymen. These should undertake to watch over registries for women, -shops where women work, to establish labour registers themselves and -take care that women were not paid starvation wages; to enter (under -protection) suspected houses; to watch railway stations, shops,” etc. - -She was always anxious for the vote to be granted to women, knowing -that many reforms were impossible without it. She was saddened by Mr. -Balfour’s Education Bill of 1902, feeling that by the abolition of -School Boards on which women had been well represented, the cause of -the vote had received a serious “set-back”. - -Many other causes received her sympathy and financial help. Agnes -Weston’s work among sailors always appealed to her, as did also all -efforts to set discharged prisoners on their feet again. She had, too, -a warm spot in her heart for sufferers of her own class, impoverished -women teachers and other workers. - -Dorothea Beale never cared much for prizes. She felt that the work -ought to be done for the work’s sake, as it indeed was at Cheltenham. -There were prizes given on the examination results and standards -reached, but these were simply fetched by the prize-winners from the -secretary’s room at the beginning of the next term. No emphasis was -laid upon them and they were rather an acknowledgment of good work than -something to be striven for. - -The College itself did little to attract public attention. It had no -speech-day to draw celebrities to it, and went on year after year -unnoticed save by those associated with it, and those who had a real -interest in education. - -In the eighties, however, outside people began to honour the College in -various ways. John Ruskin was one of the first to do so, by presenting -it with some beautiful old manuscripts and printed books. He often -criticised the College Magazine. On one occasion he hurt the editor -deeply by criticising the verses of a dear friend. To her protest he -replied:-- - - “DEAR MISS BEALE, - - “I am grieved very deeply to have written what I did of your dead - friend’s verses. If you knew how full my own life has been of sorrow, - how every day of it begins with a death-knell, you would bear with me - in what I will yet venture to say to you as the head of a noble school - of women’s thought, that no personal feelings should ever be allowed - to influence you in what you permit your scholars either to read or to - publish.” - -And again, a little later:-- - - “DEAR MISS BEALE, - - “So many thanks, and again and again I ask your pardon for the pain I - gave you. I had no idea of the kind of person you were, I thought you - were merely clever and proud. - - “These substituted verses are lovely. - “Ever gratefully yours, - “J. R.” - -In 1889 and 1900, the Ladies’ College won gold medals for its -educational exhibits at the Paris Exhibitions. In 1894 Dorothea -Beale was called to give evidence before another Royal Commission -for inquiring into the condition of girls’ schools. In 1897, the -Empress Frederick visited the college, and in 1899 Princess Henry of -Battenberg, the latter to unveil a marble bust of Queen Victoria. - -In the year 1898 there was an outbreak of smallpox in England. It was -particularly bad in Gloucestershire, and five times it broke out in -Cheltenham. - -“Cheltenham,” says Mrs. Raikes, “largely owed its immunity to the -exertions of the Lady Principal, who insisted on re-vaccination where -it was necessary for every one connected with the college. This meant -not only teachers, pupils, servants, but all who had to do with any -college girl in any capacity--all in the homes of the day-pupils--all -in the shops which served the boarding-houses--the whole railway staff -at the different stations. The College custom was too good to lose and -she carried her point. Such a drastic measure had its comic side, as -was perceived by the saucy butcher boy, who shouted to a boarding-house -cook, “I must know if you are vaccinated before I deliver this meat”. - -The father of a girl who had an important examination in a few weeks -refused to allow her to be vaccinated. The Head refused to keep her, -and a cab was actually at the door to take her away when a telegram -came from the girl’s father--“May do as she pleases”--which took away -the necessity for the cab. - -For personal honours Dorothea Beale cared not at all, but she valued -them because they reflected glory on the College. Towards the end of -her life many honours were bestowed upon her. She was greatly honoured -at the International Congresses of Education held in Paris in 1889. -Later she was made Officier de l’Académie, and in 1890, the Société -des Professeurs de Langues Vivantes held its meeting at Cheltenham. -Durham University next conferred upon her the distinction of Tutor in -Letters. In 1898 she was elected a Corresponding Member of the National -Educational Association, U.S.A. An honour unusual for a woman was -conferred on Dorothea Beale, in 1901, when she received the freedom of -the Borough of Cheltenham. In the words of the Town Council resolution -it was decreed:-- - - “That in recognition of the great work she has done for the education - of women in England, and especially of the unique position to which - under her direction the Cheltenham Ladies’ College has attained among - the educational institutions of the country, Miss Dorothea Beale be, - in pursuance and exercise of the Honorary Freedom of the Boroughs’ - Act, 1885, admitted to the Honorary Freedom of this Borough.” - -Dorothea Beale in her reply said:-- - - “To invite a woman to be a Freeman of a town is, I venture to believe, - an expression of the thought that not the individual, but the family - with its twofold life, is the true unit and type of the State, that - social and civil and national prosperity depend on the communion of - labour, and that the ideal commonwealth is realised only in proportion - as the dream of one of our poets is fulfilled, and men and women - - ‘Walk this world - Yoked in all exercise of noble ends.’” - - -Shortly after this she was co-opted a member of the Advisory Board of -the University of London. - -The highest honour Dorothea Beale received came in 1902. It was an -invitation from the University of Edinburgh to receive the LL.D. -degree. Her students and staff were delighted, and the latter -determined to present her with her robes. These were the most beautiful -and costly they could procure. The degree was conferred in the McEwan -Hall of the University. Others who received the degree at the same time -were the Lord Chief Justice of England (Lord Alverstone), Mr. Asquith, -Mr. Austin Dobson, Sir John Batty Tuke, and Dr. Rucker, Principal of -the University of London. Only once before had the University conferred -this honour on a woman. - -Sir Ludovic Grant in summing up Dorothea Beale’s claim to a national -recognition gave an excellent epitome of her work:-- - -“No feature of the national progress during the last fifty years is -more remarkable than the revolution which has transformed our girls’ -schools from occidental zenanas into centres of healthy activity. In -the great crusade which has been crowned with this most desirable -consummation the foremost champion was the cultured and intrepid -lady who guides the destinies of the Ladies’ College, Cheltenham. It -was largely due to Miss Beale’s indomitable advocacy on platform and -on paper, that the barriers of parental prejudice were broken down, -that the ancient idols, venerated by a former generation--Mangnall, -Pinnock, and Lindley Murray--were shattered, and that barren catechism -and lifeless epitome were compelled to give place to fructifying -studies, and the futile promenade to invigorating recreations. I need -not remind you that Miss Beale’s apostolic ardour is equalled by her -administrative abilities. When she went to Cheltenham her pupils were -counted by tens: to-day they are to be counted by hundreds, and the -institution in respect of organisation and educational efficiency will -bear comparison with the best of the great English public schools. -Among the collateral benefits resulting from the great movement for -the higher education of women, in which Miss Beale has played so -conspicuous a part, not the least important is the power which the -Scotch Universities have obtained of conferring their honorary degrees -upon women, and therefore it is with no ordinary satisfaction that -the University of Edinburgh now exercises this power by begging Miss -Beale’s acceptance of an honour which has been brought within the reach -of her sex largely through her own endeavours.” - -She wrote to the Vice-Principal a delightful account of the ceremony, -which she seems to have thoroughly enjoyed. - -“I am persuaded,” said she, “that my robes were far superior to any -other.” From Edinburgh she went to Glasgow where she found herself in -the midst of “Old Girls”. - -“We are often in spirit in Cheltenham,” wrote she, “and I must send -you a few last words to wish you all very happy holidays.... On Monday -a large number of distinguished people were invited to meet us, and -yesterday afternoon we had a party of about thirty Cheltonians. In the -evening we dined with Professor and Mrs. George Adam Smith. I sat next -to Professor Jones, who has written a book on Browning, and on the -other side was the Rector, Dr. Story.... I think we shall come back -refreshed and with some new ideas.” - -She went from Glasgow to stay with other old pupils in Scotland, -then to Newcastle, where she was asked to launch a ship. She -evidently thought this would be a very damp proceeding and arrived -in india-rubber shoes and a dress thoroughly looped up. “Much as she -disliked adventure,” says Mrs. Raikes, “she was prepared to march into -the Tyne if the glory of the Ladies’ College demanded it.” - -This three weeks’ tour she thoroughly enjoyed, and came back refreshed -and strengthened and warmed in heart by the love and kindness of her -“Old Girls” and the appreciation shown her everywhere. - -In the autumn of 1902 she was compelled to give up work for a time. Her -sight was causing anxiety and she was not allowed either to read or -to write. Miss Berridge went with her to Bath and wrote of their life -together:-- - -“We brought with us Adam Smith’s work on the “Minor Prophets” and -also Jane Austen’s “Persuasion”. At first we stuck to the “Prophets,” -but at last Jane got a hearing and since then she has utterly -ousted the “Prophets”. It has been rather amusing to note how many -excellent reasons there were for giving Jane the preference. Miss -Beale was--tired--or sleepy--or not very well and could not attend -to anything that required thought, or it was near lunch--or tea--or -supper-time and therefore it was not worth while, etc., etc., and I -think she has really liked the story very much.... Miss Beale is very -much better, though of course far from being her former energetic self. -But we have still more than a fortnight before us and if she makes as -much progress in that time as she has done in the fortnight just gone, -we may be very well satisfied.” - -She recovered wonderfully and was back at her work at the end of term. -But from this time she seems to have realised the need for greater care -of her health and the next summer she took a “Kur” at Oeynhausen. - -It was about this time that those who knew and loved Dorothea Beale -began to realise that some day the great Head would be removed and -that there was no worthy memorial of her: no portrait which would -remind her “children” of their school mother, and would speak to future -generations of the Foundress to whom they owed so much. - -The Council first approached her through their chairman, Sir Samuel -Johnson. She suggested in reply that Miss Stirling, who had a modelling -class at the College, should model her portrait in clay or terra-cotta. - -After this the Council’s request took the form of a resolution. To -this Dorothea Beale replied that she had a very great objection to a -portrait of herself being hung up during her life: that it would use up -funds needed for improvements in the College, and that it would give -people an exaggerated idea of the work that she had been allowed to do -for the College. - -Again she suggested that Miss Stirling should make a model in clay, -which could be executed in stone by Mr. Martyn. - -The final appeal was made by the Guild meeting of 1902, after which -Dorothea Beale surrendered, and allowed her portrait to be painted by -Mr. J. J. Shannon. In her reply to those who were so desirous of having -a worthy memorial of their revered and loved Principal, she said:-- - -“The unbiassed artist represents his subject as she is, not as she -seems to be to those who are good enough to overlook her defects and -love her in spite of them.” - -Whilst the Principal was sitting for Mr. Shannon, various friends -read aloud to her. “Lorna Doone” was one of the books. It “amused the -painter,” Dorothea Beale said. - -The portrait, a very attractive one, was presented by the Duchess of -Bedford on November 8, 1904. In Dorothea’s Beale’s reply, she said that -she looked on the desire for a portrait as one not for a person but for -a Principal, a representative who would live on long after the person -had passed away. The illuminated book containing the names of the -donors she looked upon as a personal gift. - -The College Jubilee celebrations were held in May, 1905. Lord -Londonderry opened a large new wing for science teaching, and -well-known people spoke at this gathering, which was the only public -Commemoration the college had had. - - - - - CHAPTER X. - - SOME CHARACTERISTICS AND IDEAS. - - “Universal History ... is at bottom, the History of the Great Men who - have worked here.”--CARLYLE. - - -Dorothea Beale is one of the few people to whom we can apply the -adjective great. As one reads the story of her life this quality is -very clearly marked. She was great in her thoughts, great in her plans, -great in her deeds. It is impossible to define greatness, but it is a -quality that is easily recognisable by those who have the power to see. - -She had a well-balanced brain, an extremely desirable possession in -an educationalist. Whether she would have done superlatively good -work in one subject, had she specialised, it is impossible to say, -but she certainly did extremely good work in many subjects--History, -Mathematics, Philosophy, Languages--to mention only a few. Such -all-round capacity is very valuable in a Head Mistress, as it enables -her to judge fairly the teaching that is being given in almost every -subject. Intellectually she was abnormally active: rest was to her an -impossibility, and up to the end of her life she kept this marvellous -mental energy. The amount of work she was able to do was prodigious: -her administrative duties, her teaching, her literary essays--she wrote -a considerable amount--her vast correspondence, implied a mass of work -that few people could get through. Her great powers made it rather -difficult for her to understand people of limited capacity, though she -tried to do so. Dorothea Beale was a great organiser. Teachers who -went to the Ladies’ College from other schools were amazed at the -perfect organisation, and were greatly impressed by the way in which -Dorothea Beale kept in touch with everything. She was like a centre to -which were attached invisible wires from every girl and every teacher. -One of her leading ideas was to work through her staff. She knew she -could accomplish infinitely more with their sympathy and help than by -trying to do things herself. A piece of advice she frequently offered -to her teachers was to get others to do anything they could, so as to -leave their own energies for the essential part of their work, the part -that no one else could do. The doctrine of conservation of energy she -preached much to her staff. She dreaded for them the exhausting effect -of even too much enthusiasm. Holidays, she said, were to be used for -the refreshment of body, mind, and soul: and she advised them to avoid -anything that might impair their health. - -Her humour was subtle and not always understood. She frequently said -most humorous things with a perfectly grave face, so that people who -did not understand her often quoted her jokes to prove her lack of -humour. One day she said to the girls that she believed her friend, -Mr. X., always made a plan of learning poetry while he shaved, and she -commended it to them as a practice they should all immediately follow! - -As life went on, I believe, Dorothea Beale became rather unpractical in -personal matters, and when she had to do things for herself did them -with difficulty. Happily she usually had some one to look after her. - -“I had a great deal of talk with her,” wrote one of her Old Girls, “at -one of the Head Mistresses’ Conferences, and I remember her giving me -such an amusing account of her attempts to blow up an air-cushion for -herself, that we both laughed until the tears ran down our faces.” - -At the age of sixty-seven Dorothea Beale took to cycling. At first -she attempted a bicycle, but this was somewhat difficult at that -advanced age, so she took the advice of her friends and rode, instead, -a tricycle. Most mornings about seven o’clock she was to be seen riding -along the Cheltenham streets. “The milkmen know how to keep out of my -way,” she used laughingly to say. The tricycle was a source of great -pleasure to her, as it enabled her to get out easily and quickly into -quiet country, where she could enjoy the beauty and solitude of nature. - -Her writing became rather illegible, though in youth it was good. There -is a story told of her which sounds to me rather the kind of anecdote -that is applied to different people in succession. After a Scripture -class a girl received back a written exercise with a remark by Dorothea -Beale at the end. The girl gazed at the remark, looking at it in every -possible way, but could not decipher it. The book was handed round the -class, but no one could read the red-ink hieroglyphics. Finally some -genius hit on the interpretation--“Write legibly!” - -The living monument of Dorothea Beale’s work is a testimony to her -greatness of soul, her patience and her power to wait. Yet, curiously -enough, she was in smaller things often very impetuous: sometimes she -forgot decisions made hastily and difficulties ensued. - -All her life Dorothea Beale had to fight against extreme sensitiveness -and shyness. She, who never shrank from any duty, however difficult, -often shrank from the society of those who might be unsympathetic, -and was sorely wounded by adverse criticism. Yet in a larger sense, -she did not trouble about the judgment of others, accustomed as she -was throughout life to submit herself to a Higher Judge. She found -it difficult to make advances to other people and always welcomed -the fearless, happy girls who ventured to treat her as a comrade and -friend. No doubt this sensitiveness helped her much in her dealings -with others. It gave her the power of sympathising, especially in times -of sorrow and difficulty: one has only to read some of her letters to -see how powerful she was in this way. A few extracts will illustrate -this point:-- - -“I need not tell you I have felt much for you. One could not have -wished the suffering prolonged, and yet one does not feel the loss -less. Happily, one seems generally to forget, when all is over, the -last painful incidents of the sickness, and to remember the past years. -Few have had a more devoted mother. How proud she was of your success!” - -To another, on her father’s death:-- - -“I must write you one line of sympathy in this great sorrow. I know how -much you loved your dear father and had longed for this visit, and now -there will be a great blank. You will not think now, ‘how glad he will -be if I do well’.” - -To one going through great spiritual struggle:-- - -“Indeed, dear child, I do feel for you. When you are freer you must -come and see me and we will talk over things. I shall not think you -wicked but believe that you do want to know God, and that He is sorry -for you because you do care, but cannot see.” - -To her dear friend, Miss Belcher, when the latter was suffering from -the illness which was to bring the end:-- - -“I am looking forward to Friday. I thought of you so much on this the -Physician’s [St. Luke’s] day as we sang that beautiful Hymn and Psalm -xxx: and our window told of the raising of the daughter by the Healer.” - -Dorothea Beale presented the perhaps not unusual combination of the -practical woman of affairs and the mystic. Her business capacity and -power of organisation were remarkable, and yet she had essentially the -mind of a poet. Hers was the type of mind that is continually seeing -a revelation of the spiritual in all material things, in history, in -literature, and in sympathy with kindred souls. - -Her Scripture lessons she considered one of the chief parts of her -work. She always took the greatest care with her preparation for these -classes and made them the subject of prayer. Some used to complain that -her lessons were vague, and not intelligible, but even those who did -not understand felt a greatness and an uplifting power which were a -help to them. - -In 1880 she wrote to a young teacher. “I used to prepare my lessons on -my knees (don’t say this to others). You would find it a help, I think, -to do this sometimes.” - -Her literature lessons were rather unusual. She dealt with the great -writers in a great way, and used these lessons for conveying moral -teaching that could not very well be given in Scripture lessons. -Browning she loved, and her senior girls never left school without -having been introduced by Dorothea Beale to some of his great, shorter -poems. Her book on Literary Studies gives one an idea of how she -dealt with literature in her classes. There is in this book a very -interesting dialogue, between a person of the seventeenth and one of -the nineteenth century on the theology of “Paradise Lost”. After an -interesting discussion on the different conceptions of God and His ways -the seventeenth century representative says:-- - -“You do not do justice to us. You do not think Bunyan meant us to -believe Christian took a real journey away from a particular town. Why -do you suppose Milton meant that Satan was thrown out of a special -place in this, which we call space? You do not think that the Red Cross -Knight was believed by Spenser, or Christian by Bunyan, to have been -immersed in a dark dungeon.” - -On the subject of marriage Dorothea Beale had very high ideals. She -urged girls to become independent by their own efforts, so that they -should never be tempted to a mercenary marriage. She was very scornful -of the type of modern novel that represents men and women as slaves of -their passions, unrestrained by the bonds of marriage or the claims of -morality. Before she finally accepted her vocation Dorothea Beale was -herself for a short time engaged to be married: but the engagement came -to an end, and the work of a great school, instead of a quiet home, -became her part in life. - -Her literary activities were considerable. She wrote on a good many -subjects, but chiefly on those connected with her work. Some of her -essays were published in the College Magazine, others in periodicals. -All her work gives one much food for thought. - -The Bishop of Stepney, at the memorial service held for Dorothea Beale -in St. Paul’s Cathedral, gave a very true epitome of the things that -Dorothea Beale stood for. - -“She gave a proof that the personality of a teacher was the most -indispensable and enduring power in education. The main object of all -her work at Cheltenham and elsewhere was not so much to instruct the -mind as to inspire the character. She held before herself a clear ideal -of what a cultivated woman ought to be, strong and self-controlled, -filling her life with the highest interests, developing herself to the -utmost for the glory of God and the service of man.” - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - - ANOTHER JOURNEY. - - “The King there in His beauty - Without a veil is seen: - It were a well-spent journey - Though seven deaths lay between.” - - --“Hymn from the last words of Samuel Rutherford.” - - -To those whose life is extended to even the lower limit of the -Psalmist, the world becomes rather sad and lonely. Gradually, one by -one, friends and relations of their own generation pass away, and there -are few left with the same memories and the same outlook. Dorothea -Beale enjoyed perhaps one of the greatest blessings life can give, -that of being able to work until the end. Like all energetic souls -she wished to die “in harness,” and that wish was granted. But on the -personal side her life had become very lonely, though it was brightened -by the love of her “children”. - -Some months before the end she was haunted by the suspicion of fatal -disease, but of this others knew nothing. In the Guild meeting of 1906 -there hovered the feeling that perhaps it was the last over which the -loved Principal, now old and frail, would preside. “Old Girls” linger -affectionately on her last speech; it was full of humorous touches, and -ripples of laughter were continually passing through the audience. In -it she made her appeal for greater earnestness, greater devotion, so -that all the Guild members might be able to say--using the motto of St. -Hilda’s, Oxford--_Non frustra vixi._ - -In the holidays she did a good deal of work connected with the College -and began term as usual, though some who knew her well realised that -she was hardly fit for the strain of her work. - -Her “Old Girls” linger lovingly on that last term. On the first day -she gave, as she usually did, a short address to the teachers and -children. She spoke on one of her favourite themes--the Parable of -the Talents--and dwelt chiefly on the joy and privilege of being -fellow-workers with God. - -On October 16, Dorothea Beale had to go to a College Council Meeting -in London. By accident, she missed Miss Alice Andrews whom she was to -meet at Oxford and went up to London alone. As soon as she arrived in -London she went to see her doctor, an “Old Girl,” Dr. Aldrich Blake. -The doctor confirmed her worst suspicions and recommended an immediate -operation. Later, she wrote about this visit:-- - -“On Tuesday (October 16) I went up to London hurriedly at 6.37, full -of the thought of what was before me. I went straight to Dr. Aldrich -Blake, an old pupil. She condemned me. Then I saw, as I had arranged, a -new attendant. I looked into shops and felt giddy, and went on to the -place of meeting, where I saw two others, and lastly several friends.” - -After this she proceeded to the Council meeting, where she read her -annual report with no sign of fatigue. On her return to Cheltenham Dr. -Cardew confirmed Dr. Aldrich Blake’s opinion, and it was arranged that -she should enter a local nursing home on October 22. Up to the last -moment she did her work, taking prayers, her Scripture lesson--which -struck the girls as a most remarkable one--and doing her corrections -until the end of that day. Some few friends knew of the trial that -awaited her and to one or two others she expressed the doubt whether -she would ever return. After the operation all went well, until Sunday, -the 28th, when she became obviously worse. She rallied somewhat, -however, but the day after nervous prostration set in and after that -there was practically no hope. Mrs. Raikes tells very vividly the story -of the morning at Cheltenham (November 9) when the bulletin was issued -“Miss Beale is sinking”:-- - -“‘We went through the morning,’ says Miss Sturge, ‘feeling like Elisha, -“Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head -to-day? Yea, I know it, hold ye your peace!”’” - -Not in Cheltenham only but far and wide her children were praying -for her: watching for news, and remembering and repeating to each -other things she had said. It was stormy weather, and more than one -thought of Wordsworth’s lines--lines which she had often read to her -class--written when he was expecting to hear of the death of Charles -James Fox:-- - - A power is passing from the earth - To breathless nature’s dark abyss! - -Dorothea Beale died on Friday, November 9, at 12.15 during college -hours. It was thought best that the girls should hear of her death -before leaving. When all were assembled in the Princess Hall the -Vice-Principal said:-- - -“It has pleased God to take from us our beloved Principal.” In a -few words she told the history of the last few days, and then said: -“We feel that it is what she would have desired--no long waiting in -suffering or helplessness, but to go home straight from her work with -her splendid powers scarcely impaired:-- - - Nothing is here for tears, nothing to wail - Or knock the breast: no weakness, no contempt, - Dispraise or blame: nothing but well and fair - And what may quiet us in a death so noble. - -‘The readiness is all.’ Let us bear our grief with calmness and -dignity. We know that it would be her wish that work should go on as -usual.... We believe that love lives on, and that the noble work she -did for fifty years has done much for England and for womanhood, and -that not only we who have been blessed by her gracious presence, but -generations also to come shall reap the fruit of her toil and rise up -and call her blessed. Let us pray.” - -Then followed a thanksgiving adapted from the form of Memorial Service -issued by authority in January, 1901, after the death of Queen Victoria. - -Dorothea Beale had prepared for death as she had prepared for life and -had left instructions that her “perishable body” should be cremated so -as not to be a source of disease to others, and that those who loved -her should not buy any flowers for her funeral, but could if they -wished, bring a few wild flowers or some from their own gardens, but -she did not wish any wholesale destruction of life. - -Her body was buried in Gloucester Cathedral, where the funeral took -place on November 16. Eight hundred girls then at the College came -voluntarily and walked silently in twos from the station to the -Cathedral, which was crowded largely with former pupils. - -At the same time a Memorial Service was held in St. Paul’s Cathedral. - -In other churches in different parts of the country thanks were offered -for the life and work of Dorothea Beale. Many newspapers published true -and beautiful appreciations of her work, life, and character, and all -felt that a great leader had gone from the earth. - -So in honour passed away one whose work had small beginnings: who -through difficulty, misunderstanding and prejudice pursued the vision -she saw in youth and lived to see, as perhaps few do see, her dream -realised. Such as Dorothea Beale can never die. She lives still in her -College at Cheltenham, and in the great work carried on there: in her -“children,” who in many lands and many spheres of work still live in -the spirit of their great Head: and in the grateful remembrance of all -women who have been able without hindrance to quench their thirst at -the fount of knowledge. - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - - THE VOCATION OF TEACHING. - - “The power of any life lies in its expectancy.”--PHILLIPS BROOKS. - - “Usefulness is the rent we pay for room upon the earth.”--DOROTHEA - BEALE. - - -It is only thirteen years since Dorothea Beale passed over to the other -side to enter on the greater service which we believe is granted to all -who toil here in singleness of heart. In her theories of education, in -her outlook on life, she was of our day. Her methods of teaching are -still employed in our best schools, and the teacher can still find her -essays on teaching suggestive and helpful. - -Yet we live in another world. Since August 1914, we have passed through -experiences that have changed for ever the values of things. Nothing -can ever be the same again. We of our generation are faced not with -one little difficulty or another but with the building of a new world. -The old civilisation lies in dust at our feet. With it have gone many -things that were very dear to us, our security, our comfort, our -national serenity, our happy-go-lucky individualism. With it, too, have -gone the best of our young manhood, those on whom much of the work of -the immediate future was to rest. - -Nor is it without significance that to women at this hour have come for -the first time direct power in politics and opportunity to do any work -of which they are capable. On them must fall the work that the dead and -disabled would have done. To the men of England and of other countries -came the call to give their lives: to the women no less comes the same -call. - -Perhaps the greatest need of the world just now is work: not only -for the production of material necessities, but for its steadying, -sanity-restoring power. After four years of the passions and sorrows of -war, mankind has not yet regained its mental balance; and in honest, -steady work, it will perhaps most surely win again the gift it has lost. - -In the building of a new world there is no force so great as that of -education in its many aspects, the most important of which is that of -the home. Teachers realise that what is done at school is as nothing -compared with the enormous power of home education, composed as it is -of all the influences of early childhood. Parents must always be the -chief educators, and for this reason parenthood must be one of the most -sacred of human relationships and one of the highest callings. It is -at home a child learns to look at the great things of life from the -right or the wrong angle: it is at home he learns to reverence the good -and the true or to hold them in contempt. Parenthood requires a great -preparation of heart and soul, for it brings with it the greatest -of all responsibilities, that of guiding human souls into the right -pathway. - -Of late years the need for teachers has been great, the supply being -less than the demand. Many teachers are still needed, and to the girl -of intellectual interests and power who is seeking a profession, the -question may well arise, whether she should adopt that of a teacher. -There are many matters to be faced in considering this. - -Teaching brings with it few of the rewards for which the ordinary -person craves. Financially, its prizes are few: for the most part -it is a badly-paid profession, especially considering the years of -training it involves. It brings with it little renown. Even the -greatest teachers are known in a comparatively narrow circle, at any -rate during their lives. Praise and appreciation are almost unknown, -whilst criticism is given, as was the medicine of last century, in -large doses and at frequent intervals. If it is properly done, the work -is hard. Real teaching implies ceaseless learning. It is imperative -to keep a mind open to all new thought and new ideas, not only in the -educational work but in the world at large. It is necessary, too, to -acquire the wisdom to deal with what is new, so that to some extent -the true may be separated from the false, the lofty from the base. It -is a work, moreover, that is a perpetual test of character, worth, and -spirit. There are no teachers worthy of the name, who do not frequently -shrink from the magnitude of their task and tremble at their own lack -of power. The teacher is called to incessant mental and spiritual work. -Only as he or she lives an active life in mind and soul can he hope to -have any success in training the young for life. - -But the chief question after all is that of personal fitness. There are -two essentials; the first is a love of children; the second is some -love of study and of teaching. There can be no good work done without -love of the children we teach: a teacher who does not love children -would probably be serving God better if she were breaking stones by the -roadside. The love of the work itself increases as time goes on. As a -rule the desire to teach indicates some aptitude for the work; though -between the eager expectancy of the untried student and the quiet joy -of the skilled teacher, lie many dark valleys which must perforce be -passed. This, however, is not peculiar to teaching. It is common to all -work of a personal nature, in fact is inherent in all high living. - -For those who wish to teach, the great problem arises: “What kind of -teaching shall I undertake?” It is a difficult one to solve. - -In England the different kinds of teaching for girls are very clearly -defined. Socially, educational establishments are pretty clearly -differentiated. There is the elementary school for the children of -those whom, for want of a better name, we call the people. Next, the -high school or secondary school, largely for the children of the middle -classes. Lastly, the public school for the boys and the public or -private school for the girls of the wealthy and the aristocracy. These -all usually have their kindergarten or preparatory departments which -offer attractive work to those gifted in dealing with little children. - -There is a great need to-day of real peace. International war, hardly -ended, has been succeeded by internal strife of a very serious nature: -at the root of this lies much deep bitterness, the result of the -failure of the different classes of the community to understand one -another. If a number of girls of the middle and upper classes, who feel -that they are called to the work of teaching, would take up work in the -Elementary Schools or the new Continuation Schools, it would do much, I -believe, to bring about a better understanding between class and class. -In this way each would get to know something of the other and the -ideals and knowledge of those who have had greater advantages would -begin to permeate our national life. - -Dorothea Beale tried at one time of her work to establish a school of -training for such teachers, but the difficulties put in her way by the -Government of that day made the continuation of the work impossible. -With an educationalist at the Board of Education many difficulties have -been and will be removed, and elementary teaching with smaller classes, -higher pay, and better buildings, is made more possible for those who -wish to embark on it. It is useless, however, to take up this work -unless one has in one’s heart a great love for little children, whether -dirty or clean, ragged or well-cared for. The elementary schools have -not yet adopted the high school system of morning lessons and afternoon -preparation, and this makes the hours of teaching long. The corrections -and necessary preparation are usually less than in a high school: the -holidays are shorter, but are gradually being lengthened. - -Some, however, are quite incapable of understanding those outside -their own social class: and such would be foolish to attempt work in -the elementary schools. They would do better in high, secondary, or -boarding schools. The last are not popular amongst present day girl -teachers, largely because of the restrictions. Yet in a boarding school -a true teacher has opportunities which never come into a day-school -teacher’s life. In many ways it is a much more satisfactory sphere, -provided the Head realises that no teacher can do good work without -ample leisure and opportunity for a life of her own apart from the -school. More and more are our generation realising that outside -interests are absolutely essential for a teacher if he or she is going -to be a person of real power and influence. Apart from the knowledge -of one’s own subject there is nothing so necessary in a teacher as a -knowledge of life; not simply the life of the schoolroom, but of life -in its many branches. It is often said that unmarried women teachers -never grow up. They pass from school to college, and from college back -to school, and never quite lose the schoolgirl point of view. It is -often the greatest boon to a teacher to be obliged to give up her own -work for a year or two at some period of her life and to live in a -world where people do not measure time by terms or mark out the day by -bells. But in any case a teacher can always have some interest that has -nothing to do with teaching and has no direct bearing on her work. Such -interests do much to prevent overstrain. - -The training for teaching is very thorough and long. That for secondary -or high school work is usually expensive; but the cost of training for -elementary school teaching is much less, as the Government have their -own training colleges. After January, 1921, all teachers registered -by the Government will have to be trained not only educationally but -in the art of teaching. Degrees, now, are almost a _sine quâ non_, or -are at any rate very desirable. All universities admit women to their -degree examinations, though Oxford and Cambridge do not yet grant -degrees. - -It is a profession where a good standard of health is desirable, though -people of a sensitive, nervous temperament are often the best teachers. -A tired teacher is, _ipso facto_, a failure: it is, therefore, work in -which the preservation of freshness of mind and body becomes a special -duty. In the best schools the hours of teaching are short, and long -holidays, wisely spent, ought to keep the health vigorous. The right -use of holidays is frequently overlooked, especially by young teachers, -who often spend them in the fulfilment of claims as strenuous as their -work, and return to school used-up and unfit for their duties--a form -of dishonesty not always recognised as such. - -In considering teaching as a possible calling the advantages of the -long holidays are worthy of consideration. They give opportunities of -friendship, life with one’s own family, travel, study, and pleasures of -many kinds. It is good, too, in these busy days that a few people have -intervals of leisure in which they have time to sympathise with others, -and to think of the little things of life that are in reality the great -things. Holidays may be the greatest boon not only to oneself, but to -all the people one meets. - -Particulars about the training for teaching are to be found in many -books. Two which come readily to my mind are “The Teacher’s Year Book” -and “The Englishwoman’s Year Book”. The registrars of the different -universities are always glad to supply particulars if asked. The Board -of Education will give details about elementary school teaching: these -change somewhat every few years. There are many helps for those who -intend to be teachers, the chief being the scholarships offered by the -different colleges to those who could not without aid afford the fees. -This is especially true of some of the newer universities. Many large -schools also offer help to their pupils who have the ability and desire -to go on to the universities. - -To the girl who feels in her the desire to teach, and has the power -necessary for the task, I should say, “Accept your work, and I am sure -you will have no reason to regret your decision.” For with all its -hardships, all its endless striving after impossible ideals, it is a -work which can really be one’s life: and surely such work is always the -happiest. - -It has many joys. There are few in life greater than that of seeing -gradually awaken in a child interest and keenness where before there -has been apathy and dullness. To be able to give life to dry bones of -knowledge, to rouse from its torpor the still sleeping mind, to turn -the faces of the children we teach towards the light is surely well -worth doing. - -It has many opportunities. The teacher’s task is not to teach -opinions, but to lay the foundations of sound moral standards on which -all true opinion must rest. - -The world needs teachers: not the perfunctory worker who takes up -one of the most sacred of callings as a means of livelihood, but the -teacher who is willing to consecrate herself for the work. - -At the end of that powerful novel of Robert Herrick’s, “The Healer,” -is a vivid scene. The old doctor, whose gift had been lost through the -exacting claims of an unsuitable marriage, is walking arm-in-arm with a -young student. The older man has recognised in the younger the power he -himself once had, the gift of healing. Very affectionately he lays his -hand on the lad’s shoulder. - -“Remember,” he says--I quote from memory--“this gift of yours will -demand whole-hearted devotion and will be satisfied with nothing less -than your life.” - -So with the work of teaching. It is a profession that demands -whole-hearted devotion. To those who give to it their lives it brings -many joys, great opportunities, and the satisfaction that constant -giving alone bestows. It has many dangers and many temptations, but -these lose much of their power over the teacher who tries to realise in -practice as well as in theory:-- - -“That the influence of personal character has been from the first the -great means of bearing truth into men’s hearts.” - - - - - BIBLIOGRAPHY. - - - Raikes. “Dorothea Beale of Cheltenham.” Constable. - - Beale. “Addresses to Teachers.” Longmans. - - Beale. “Studies in Literature, New and Old.” Longmans. - - Beale, Soulsby, and Dove. “Work and Play in Girls’ Schools.” Longmans. - - “Reports issued by the Schools’ Inquiry Commission on the Education - of Girls. Reprinted with extracts from the evidence and a paper by D. - Beale.” 1864. - - Beale. “On the Education of Girls.” (Paper read at Social Science - Congress, 1865.) - - _The Times._ November, 1906. January, 1907. - - _Cheltenham Ladies’ College Magazine._ 1880 and onwards. - - - - - A SHORT BIBLIOGRAPHY OF EDUCATIONAL WORKS. - - - Basil Matthews (Editor). “Essays in Vocation.” Humphrey Milford. 3s. - (A second and third series are in course of preparation.) - - Thring. “The Theory and Practice of Teaching.” - - Thring. “Education and School.” Macmillan. 6s. - - Thring. “Teaching, Learning, and Life.” Allenson. 1s. - - James. “Talks to Teachers.” - - Paget. “The Hallowing of Work.” Rivington. 2s. - - Clutton Brock. “The Ultimate Belief.” Constable. 2s. - - Kidd. “The Science of Power.” Methuen. 6s. - - Holmes. “What is and What might be.” Constable. 4s. 6d. - - Holmes. “In Defence of What is and What might be.” Constable. 4s. 6d. - - Montessori. “The Montessori Method.” Heinemann. 7s. 6d. - - Mumford. “The Dawn of Religion in the Mind of the Child.” Longmans. 1s. - - Macmillan. “The Camp School.” Allen & Unwin. 3s. 6d. Also “The Child - and the State.” Nat. Labour Press. - - Eileen Power, M.A. “A Bibliography for Teachers of History.” Women’s - International League. 2s. - - Pollard. “Educational Value of the Study of History.” Leaflet 36. 6d. - (Historical Association, 22 Russell Square.) - - Dewey. “Schools of To-morrow.” Dent. 5s. - - Hughes. “Citizens to be.” Constable. 4s. 6d. - - Paton. “The Child and the Nation.” S.C.M. 1s. - - Richmond. “Education for Liberty.” Collins, 6s. - - Simpson. “An Adventure in Education.” Sidgwick & Jackson, 3s. 6d. - - A. C. Benson (and others). “Cambridge Essays on Education.” Camb. Univ. - Press. 8s. - - Welton. “The Psychology of Education.” MacMillan & Co. - - Welton. “What do we mean by Education?” MacMillan & Co. 7s. 6d. - - Paul. “Some Christian Ideals in the Teaching Profession.” Student - Christian Movement. 3s. - - Hayward & Freeman. “The Spiritual Foundations of Reconstruction.” P. - S. King & Sons. 10s. 6d. - - Nunn. “Education, its Data and First Principles.” Arnold. 6s. - - Richmond. “The Curriculum.” Constable. 5s. - - - ABERDEEN: THE UNIVERSITY PRESS. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOROTHEA BEALE *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Dorothea Beale</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>Principal of the Cheltenham Ladies' College, 1858-1906</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Elizabeth Helen Shillito</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: December 21, 2022 [eBook #69599]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: MWS and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOROTHEA BEALE ***</div> -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img001"> -<img src="images/001.jpg" class="w50" alt="A"> -</span></p> -<p class="center caption">DOROTHEA BEALE<br>FROM A PAINTING BY J. J. SHANNON<br><i>Frontispiece</i></p> - - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter bbox"> -<p class="center xbig">PIONEERS OF PROGRESS<br><span class="small"> -WOMEN</span></p> -</div> -<div class="bbox"> -<p class="center p2"> -<span class="small"><span class="smcap">Edited by</span> ETHEL M. BARTON</span><br> -</p> -<h1>DOROTHEA BEALE -</h1> -<p class="center big"> -PRINCIPAL OF THE CHELTENHAM LADIES’ COLLEGE<br><br> -1858-1906<br> -</p> -<p class="center p2"> -<i>WITH TWO PORTRAITS</i></p> -<p class="center p2"> -BY<br> -<span class="big">ELIZABETH H. SHILLITO, B.A. (<span class="smcap">Lond.</span>)</span><br> -</p></div> -<div class="bbox"> -<p class="center"> -LONDON<br> -SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE<br> -<span class="small">NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY<br> -1920</span><br> -</p></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“Some there are who go forth to their own life-work with the holy -hands of the dead who live laid on their hearts, who feel that they -have a debt to repay, who see a ray of life from afar cast upon all -they do, and bear about for ever a light within, which they must pass -on for the sake of the dead who live.”</p> - -<p class="right"> -<span class="smcap">Edward Thring.</span><br> -</p> -</div> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</span></p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Great Souls who sail uncharted seas,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Battling with hostile winds and tide,—</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Strong hands that forged forbidden keys,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And left the door behind them wide.</span><br> -<br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Diggers for gold where most had failed,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Smiling at deeds that brought them Fame,—</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lighters of lamps that have not failed—</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Lend us your oil, and share your flame.</span><br> -</p> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</span></p> - - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p class="center p2"> -TO<br> -<br> -<span class="big"><span class="smcap"><abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr></span> ELSIE MAUD INGLIS</span><br> -WHOSE CRIMEA WAS SERBIA,<br> -BUT WHOSE POST-WAR WORK<br> -IS IN ANOTHER WORLD<br> -</p></div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="SYNOPSIS_OF_CHAPTERS">SYNOPSIS OF CHAPTERS.</h2> -</div> -<table class="autotable"> -<tr><th></th><th class="tdr">PAGE</th></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a></td></tr> -<tr><td>Discoveries and enterprises of the Nineteenth Century—Effect on the - educational world—Girls’ education in age of Elizabeth and in - Nineteenth Century—Protests against the latter—Pioneers of - higher education—Our indebtedness to them -</td><td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a></td></tr> -<tr><td>Dorothea Beale—Parentage—Mrs. Cornwallis and her daughter—Their - influence on Dorothea Beale—Home life—Early education—School - life—Time of self-education—Attitude to games—Reading - in early life—Euclid—School in France—Some personal - characteristics—Religious and other influences of home</td><td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_4">4</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a></td></tr> -<tr><td>History of Queen’s College—Early students—<abbr title="reverend">Rev.</abbr> F. D. Maurice—His - opening address—Dorothea Beale’s attitude to teaching—Study - and friendship at Queen’s College—Appointment there—Difficulties—Resignation—Impetuosity - of nature—Some - inherent difficulties of women’s life</td><td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_10">10</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a></td></tr> -<tr><td>Clergy Daughters’ School at Casterton—Hasty acceptance of post - there—Beautiful situation of school—Evils—Personal difficulties—<abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> - Beale’s letters—Dorothea Beale’s dress and appearance—Thoughts - of resignation—Father’s advice—Appeal to committee—Suspicions - of High Church tendencies—Determination - to resign—Notice from committee—Acknowledged indebtedness - to the school—Appreciation—Work at home—History of England - begun—Spartan habits—Some philanthropic work—Offer - of service—Dawning conviction of real vocation—Her diary - begun—Extracts—Time of waiting—Religious life and beliefs</td><td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_16">16</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a></td></tr> -<tr><td>Cheltenham Ladies’ College—Early history—The first Principals—Advertisement - for new Principal—Dorothea Beale candidate—Tributes - to character and ability—Alleged High Church tendencies—Declaration - of belief—Time of anxiety—Appointment as - Principal—Work at Ladies’ College—Personal appearance at this - time—Rule of silence—Precarious financial position of school—Practice - of economy—Question of renewing lease of Cambray - House—<abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Brancker—His wise policy and administration—Some - reminiscences—The Fight against ignorance and prejudice—Dorothea - Beale’s inspiring leadership</td><td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_27">27</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a></td></tr> -<tr><td>Blue Book Report on condition of girls’ education—Dorothea Beale’s - evidence and theories with regard to women as teachers; effects - of higher education on health; idleness and health; the teaching - of music—Modern ideas on the teaching of this subject</td><td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_38">38</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a></td></tr> -<tr><td>Rearrangement of school hours at the Ladies’ College—Opposition - met and overcome—Gradual breaking down of prejudice—Gossip - and disloyalty—Dorothea Beale’s gift of inspiring - loyalty—Miss Belcher—Death of Dorothea Beale’s father—How - she spent holidays—Singleness of aim—Idea of Sisterhood of - Teachers—Expansion of Cheltenham College—Opposition to a - new building—<abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr> Jex Blake’s plea—Farewell to Cambray - House—Continued growth—College incorporated under Companies’ - Acts—Boarding houses made an intrinsic part of - College—Defining of Principal’s powers—Cambray House - again</td><td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_43">43</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a></td></tr> -<tr><td>Cheltenham College magazine started—Dorothea Beale, editor—Her - “silver wedding”—“Old Girls’” Gift—Scheme of Guild - put forward and carried out—Emblem—Opening address—Dorothea - Beale’s remembrance of former pupils—Miss Newman’s - work—Continued after her death—<abbr title="saint">St.</abbr> Hilda’s, Oxford—<abbr title="saint">St.</abbr> - Hilda’s, East London—Dorothea Beale’s attitude to charitable - enterprises</td><td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_51">51</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a></td></tr> -<tr><td>A time of darkness—Effect on outlook and character—Some general - interests—Freshness of outlook—Pundita Ramabai—Interest in - Indian widows—Women policemen—Balfour’s Education Act, - 1902—Attitude to prizes—John Ruskin and the Ladies’ College—Paris - Exhibitions—Another Royal Commission on Education—Visits - of Empress Frederick and Princess Henry of Battenberg - to College—Epidemic of smallpox—Dorothea Beale and vaccination—Personal - honours—Officier d’Académie Française, Tutor - in Letters of Durham University, Corresponding member of - National Education Association, U.S.A., Freedom of Borough - of Cheltenham, LL.D. Edinburgh—Robes presented by staff—Three - weeks’ tour—A brief interval of ill-health—Story of the - Shannon portrait—College Jubilee celebrations</td><td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_58">58</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</a></td></tr> -<tr><td>Greatness of personality—Varied gifts—Prodigious power of work—Great - organising capacity—Organisation of the Ladies’ College—Advice - to teachers—Her sense of humour—The tricycle learnt - at 67—Her extreme sensitiveness—Power of sympathy—Her - outlook that of a religious poet—Her Scripture lessons—Her - views on marriage—Tribute of the Bishop of Stepney</td><td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_70">70</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</a></td></tr> -<tr><td>Signs of the end—The last Guild meeting—The last term—A journey - to London—The doctor’s verdict—Operation—Waiting the call—A - morning of suspense—Laid to rest—Tributes to her - character and work</td><td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_75">75</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</a></td></tr> -<tr><td>The modern world—The need of work—Power of education—Supreme - importance of home training—Responsibility of parents—Teaching - as a vocation—Personal fitness—Different kinds of - teaching—Elementary schools—Boarding schools—Demands of - the work—Its joys and advantages—The need of devoted - teachers</td><td class="tdr page"><a href="#Page_79">79</a></td></tr></table> -<p> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</span></p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="PREFACE">PREFACE.</h2> -</div> - - -<p>I should like to acknowledge my indebtedness to all who have helped me -in the writing of this short biography: especially to Mrs. Raikes for -her kind permission to use her “Life of Dorothea Beale of Cheltenham,” -without which this book could not have been written; also for her -most generous help in many difficulties: and to Messrs. Constable, -the publishers, for their kind consent. It is impossible to name all -who have so willingly helped me, but I should like to mention Miss A. -M. Andrews of Cheltenham; Lieut-Colonel J. F. Tarrant for his help in -many ways; <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> J. J. Shannon for kindly allowing a reproduction of Miss -Beale’s portrait; Messrs. Martyn of Cheltenham for their photograph; -“The Times,” Messrs. Macmillan, and other publishers, who have -permitted me to quote extracts from works which are still copyright.</p> - -<p class="right">E. H. S. -</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.<br><span class="small">INTRODUCTORY.</span></h2></div> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 7em;">“Tho’ they to-day are passed</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They marched in that procession where is no first or last.”</span><br> -<br> -<span style="margin-left: 10em;">—<span class="smcap">Austin Dobson.</span></span><br> -</p> - - -<p>The story of the nineteenth century is one of wonder: a story with -Romance written large on every page. It is a tale of great discovery -and enterprise in almost every sphere. Under the influence of its -discoveries, material life became transformed and new mental and -spiritual horizons appeared. The newly-acquired knowledge of forces -like steam and electricity opened up to the world undreamed-of -possibilities. Scientists at home and in distant places of the earth -discovered truths that did much to reveal God’s ways to men. In the -world of medicine new theories were applied to take from operations -their dread, and fatality from many diseases. In literature it was a -time of great riches: an age equal to any, not excepting the great -Elizabethan; an age of prophets and seers, of men and women expressing -in singleness of heart the truth as it was revealed to them. And those -of us who already live at some distance can hardly imagine a time when -Scott and Dickens, Browning and Tennyson, Ruskin and Carlyle, George -Eliot and Charlotte Brontë will not be held in high esteem by those who -love the great, the true, and the beautiful in literature.</p> - -<p>Springing out of these discoveries and revelations there naturally -arose a demand that the mind of man generally should be prepared -to enjoy this new world. Dissatisfaction with existing methods of -education began to be felt; and humble people who were unable to read -and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</span> write began to ask that they and their children should be taught.</p> - -<p>The education of girls at this time was particularly unsatisfactory, -though it had not always been so. In the age of Elizabeth, for example, -girls of the higher classes had received an excellent education. It was -customary then for girls to learn Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, and as Mrs. -Stopes points out in her interesting book on “Sixteenth Century Women -Students,” the number of really learned women was very great. I do not -know when these ideals of education gave way to lower ones, but readers -of Addison will remember that one of his aims in his <i>Spectator</i> -essays was to rescue women from the utter frivolity and emptiness of -their lives. How scathing he is in his description of the way in which -ladies killed time! when the buying of a ribbon was held to be a good -morning’s work!</p> - -<p>In the early part of Queen Victoria’s reign, the education of girls -was indeed deplorable. An excessive amount of time was given to -accomplishments and to the study of deportment; the instruction -consisted, for the most part, of a smattering of many subjects: and the -whole process of education was shallow and superficial. If the women of -that day developed—as many did—force of character and of intellect, -it was rather in spite of their education than because of it. Numbers -of girls rose in revolt against this mental and spiritual starvation: -some managed to become well-educated without any outside help, but to a -great number this system meant either an utterly frivolous or extremely -dull grown-up life.</p> - -<p>Many were the voices raised in protest against this lack of education. -And as one reads the literature of this time one is greatly struck by -the number of men who pleaded for a different régime: not only leaders -of thought, like Tennyson and Ruskin, but ordinary men of the educated -classes. Perhaps as lookers on they saw<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</span> most of the game, and into -their souls there entered a deep bitterness that those who might count -for so much counted for so little.</p> - -<p>But although men by their writings and speeches and actual help in -teaching, did much, it was on women that the real burden of this work -was to fall. Neither sex can fully educate, though it may teach the -other. In the main, the education of boys must be carried on by men; -and the education of girls by women. It would be impossible to give a -list of all the women who dedicated their powers to this work; who in -a very real sense gave their lives that those after them might live. -This little book is devoted to the story of one of the pioneers of -educational work, and is necessarily limited to the part that Dorothea -Beale played in this great enterprise. But Miss Beale, great as she -was, was only one of many. Whilst she was working out her ideals at -Cheltenham, other women in other schools and colleges were working -out theirs: Frances Buss at the North London Collegiate, Emily Davies -at Girton, Anne Clough at Newnham, Mrs. Reid at Bedford, Miss Pipe of -Laleham, and many others. Nor is it possible to say which of these did -the most important work. For we are dealing with that which cannot be -measured,—the things of the mind and spirit.</p> - -<p>Those of us who came late enough to enjoy some of the fruits of their -work, can only acknowledge our deep sense of gratitude to this noble -army of women who did so much. If the gates of knowledge are open to -us, it was their hand which turned the key: if we can enter nearly -every field of service, it was their feet which beat the track. If we -hold in our hands a lamp that makes many of the dark places bright, it -was they who kindled it and passed it on to us.</p> - -<p>The part we must play is no passive one. If the lamp is to be kept -burning, it must be fed by the oil of our devotion and our service.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.<br><span class="small">LIFE AT HOME AND AT SCHOOL.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“The pilgrim’s discovery is when he looks into his own heart and finds -a picture of a city there. The pilgrim’s life is a journeying along -the roads of the world seeking to find the city which corresponds to -that picture.”—<span class="smcap">Stephen Graham.</span></p> -</div> - - -<p>Dorothea Beale, who was born on March 21, 1831, was fortunate in her -parentage and early environment. Her father, Miles Beale, was a surgeon -who had been trained at Guy’s Hospital. He came of a family of literary -traditions, and he himself was a man of wide interests and learning. -Her mother, Dorothea Margaret Complin, was of Huguenot extraction and -belonged to a family distinguished for its ability, counting among its -members several “advanced” women. Mrs. Beale’s aunt, Mrs. Cornwallis, -the wife of a rector of Wittersham, Kent, was a woman of considerable -intellect and great spiritual gifts. She wrote several books of a -devotional character. One of these, “Preparation for the Lord’s -Supper with a Companion to the Altar,” contains much excellent advice -to ladies on the use and abuse of speech, the regulation of time, -indolence, desire of admiration, sickness, etc., breathing a devout -and earnest spirit, and revealing in the writer an attitude of great -severity towards herself. This little book, with its old-fashioned -appearance, seemed to me, as I read it, full of the spirit which -animated Mrs. Cornwallis’s celebrated great-niece.</p> - -<p>Her daughter, Caroline Frances Cornwallis, was a remarkable woman. Her -published letters are extremely interesting, and deal with a variety of -subjects, Italy, Education, Religion, Science, Philosophy. She wrote a -number of books in the series called “Small Books on Great Subjects”. -These were published anonymously, and were considered to be the work of -a man, at a time when the known authorship of a woman would have damned -any book. Miss Cornwallis often used to laugh<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</span> up her sleeve at the -appreciation of critics who would undoubtedly have criticised her work -unfavourably had they known it was that of a woman. She had a frail -body, a courageous mind, and a devout spirit. At times she adopted a -cynical attitude towards men’s low estimate of the intellectual powers -of her sex. “Every man, you know, thinks he has a prescriptive right to -be better informed than a woman, unless he has science enough to see -that the said woman is up with him and therefore must know something.” -This was, however, just a strain of bitterness bred in a brilliant, -active mind handicapped by lack of facilities for real education, and -restricted on every side by the bounds of custom and prejudice.</p> - -<p>These two women undoubtedly influenced the future head of Cheltenham. -Mrs. Beale’s sister, Elizabeth Complin, had lived for some time with -the Cornwallises and was the medium through whom the young Beales came -into contact with their ideas and ideals.</p> - -<p>Dorothea Beale was also fortunate in being one of a large family. The -spirit of the home seems to have been one of love and service. There -was also a strong intellectual atmosphere, in which the children learnt -early to love the best in literature. Her father would often read aloud -to his children extracts from Shakespeare and other great writers, -and from him and her mother Dorothea began early to imbibe a love -of learning, and to find in literature some revelation of the great -spiritual realities.</p> - -<p>Dorothea’s education and that of the older members of the family was -at first under the guidance of a governess. It must have been quite -early in life that she received her first inkling of the incompetence -of teachers of that day. She remembered a rapid succession of teachers -whom Mrs. Beale was compelled to dismiss on account of their inability -to teach. There appears to have been only one satisfactory governess, a -Miss Wright, who was excellent: after she left, the girls were sent to -school.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</span></p> - -<p>“It was a school,” says Dorothea Beale in her autobiography, -“considered much above the average for sound instruction: our -mistresses were women who had read and thought: they had taken pains -to arrange various schemes of knowledge: yet what miserable teaching -we had in many subjects: history was learned by committing to memory -little manuals, rules of arithmetic were taught, but the principles -were never explained. Instead of reading and learning the masterpieces -of literature, we repeated week by week the Lamentations of King -Hezekiah, the pretty, but somewhat weak, ‘Mother’s Picture’ of Cowper, -and worse doggerel verses on the solar system.”</p> - -<p>At the age of thirteen Dorothea was obliged to leave school on account -of ill-health. She always considered this a fortunate circumstance as -it enabled her to carry on her own education. No doubt a good deal of -time was lost in following the circuitous routes of all self-educators, -but the grit, determination, and power to overcome difficulties thereby -developed, probably more than compensated for this. Libraries, notably -those of the London Institute and Crosby Hall, at this time supplied -her with many good books. The Medical Book Club circulated some books -of general interest. She and her sisters were also able to attend -excellent lectures given at the Literary Institution, Crosby Hall, and -at the Gresham Institute.</p> - -<p>“Miss Beale never learned to play,” said Mrs. Raikes in a speech on -Foundress’ Day at the College after the beloved Principal had passed -away. “During her girlhood there was no hockey, tennis, net-ball, -swimming or other healthy exercise for girls; and Dorothea and her -sisters were thrown back for their pleasure on the joys of the mind. -Not only did Dorothea Beale never play herself, but she could never -quite see the need for other people to play. The playgrounds, etc., -which perforce grew up round Cheltenham Ladies’ College, were always -rather a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</span> stumbling-block to her, though she was wise enough to be led -by those who were more in touch in this respect with the spirit of the -late nineteenth and early twentieth century.</p> - -<p>“Her reading always inclined to the solid type, and in her girlhood she -came across few novels.</p> - -<p>“Her love of reading was never allowed to dissipate itself on -trivialities, and here she had a great advantage over girls of to-day, -for the ephemeral literature of this age—the endless magazines and -short stories—did not exist to tempt and gradually to fritter away a -good literary taste.”</p> - -<p>She was at this time very much interested in the life of Pascal who, -prevented by his father from acquiring a knowledge of mathematics, -discovered for himself the truths of Euclid. Perhaps, as Mrs. Raikes -suggests, it was Pascal’s example which inspired her to work through -the first six books of Euclid by herself. She plodded steadily through -the fifth book, not knowing that even at that time a few simple -algebraic principles were substituted for Euclid’s rather laborious -methods. To Dorothea Beale, as to many boys and girls, mathematics came -as a wonderful revelation; they opened up to her developing mind a new -world. In her subsequent work as a teacher she seems to have been able -to hand on to her pupils something of the thrill and wonder that she -herself experienced in these early days.</p> - -<p>In the year 1847 Dorothea was sent with two elder sisters to a Mrs. -Bray’s school for English girls in the Champs Elysées. This school is -perhaps best described in Miss Beale’s own words in the “History of -Cheltenham Ladies’ College”.</p> - -<p>“I was myself for a few months, in 1848, pupil in a school that was -considered grand and expensive. Mrs. Trimmer’s was the English History -used in the highest classes. We were taught to perform conjuring tricks -with the globe by which we obtained answers to problems<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</span> without one -principle being made intelligible. We were even compelled to learn from -Lindley Murray lists of prepositions that we might be saved the trouble -of thinking.”</p> - -<p>She was glad, however, in later life of this and similar experiences. -It gave her some idea of the enemies of education she had to fight. It -made her realise how great was the need for the thorough training and -education of teachers and how little could be accomplished without it.</p> - -<p>In 1848 Mrs. Bray’s school came to an untimely end through the -Revolution of that year and Dorothea returned home at the age of -seventeen. Those who knew her at that time described her as “a grave -and quiet girl, with a sweet serious expression and deliberate speech: -also with a sunshiny smile and merry laugh on occasion. She was -remarkable, even in a studious, sedentary family, for her love of -reading and study.” According to one authority she was quite beautiful -as a girl. One evening she and her sister Eliza went to a dance, -Dorothea looking very lovely in a beautiful white dress. Eliza was -dancing with a young man, who asked the name of that beautiful girl. -“Oh!” said Eliza, delighted that he should admire Dorothea, “she’s my -sister. Do you think she’s like me?”—“Good gracious, no!” blurted out -the tactless young man. Eliza Beale used to tell this story with great -zest, fully enjoying the reflection on her own looks.</p> - -<p>In one part of her autobiography Dorothea Beale speaks of the -influences of her early life.</p> - -<p>“An aunt, my godmother, lived with us, and was often my friend in my -childish troubles.... The strongest influence [on my inner life] was -that of my sister Eliza. We were constantly together. She had a very -lively imagination, and on most nights would tell me stories that she -had invented. Early in the mornings she would transform our bedroom -into some wild magic scene and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</span> we would play at Alexander the Great -and ride Pegasus on the foot of our four-post bedstead.”</p> - -<p>Already she had begun to show some of the characteristics which were -so marked in later life, her devotion to duty, her keen intellectual -interests. She was prepared for Confirmation, in 1847, by the <abbr title="reverend">Rev.</abbr> -Charles Mackenzie, to whose teaching Dorothea felt she owed much. Of -early religious influences and experiences she thus speaks in her MS. -autobiography.</p> - -<p>“There was the faith of my parents, the morning and evening prayer. -There was the Bible picture-book and the Sunday lessons. The church -we went to was an old one, <abbr title="saint">St.</abbr> Helen’s, and at the entrance were the -words: ‘This is none other than the House of God, and this is the Gate -of Heaven’. There were high pews and the service was almost a duet -between clergyman and clerk, yet I realised, even more than I ever have -in the most beautiful cathedral and perfect services, that the Lord was -in that place, even as Jacob realised in the desert what he had failed -to find at home.”</p> - -<p>Religion with her was never allowed to be simply an affair of the -emotions: it meant obedience, discipline, the rigid performance of -duty, but it was also a source of the deepest emotions.</p> - -<p>“I remember how, as the story of the Crucifixion was read, the church -would grow dark, as it seemed.... I know nothing of the substance of -the sermons now, but I remember the emotion they often called forth, -and how I with difficulty restrained my tears.... The hymns were a -great power in my life. I remember the joy with which I would sing, in -my own room, Ken’s Evening Hymn, and the awful joy of the Trinity Hymn -‘Holy, Holy, Holy’.”</p> - -<p>In later years she said that she could not remember a time when God was -not an ever-present Friend, a knowledge which sustained her through the -darkest periods of her life, and her many struggles.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</span></p> - -<p>Whether she had at this time realised what her life-work was to be, -I cannot say, but it was at home that she began to enjoy her first -experience of teaching. Her brothers at the Merchant Taylors’ School -suffered much from the unintelligent teaching prevalent in the boys’ -schools of that day, and received help in their Latin and Mathematics -from their clever elder sister. All this work doubtless helped to -develop in Dorothea that clear vigorous mentality that characterised -the great Head Mistress of Cheltenham, and impressed still more -definitely on her mind the need for reforms in education.</p> - -<p>Duty seems to have been, even at this early age, the key-note of her -life, and she apparently bore an older girl’s usual share in domestic -affairs, helping with the mending and the usual work of the house.</p> - -<p>But this time at home was just a quiet breathing space before wider -opportunities of study were granted to her.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.<br><span class="small">AT QUEEN’S COLLEGE.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“Can you remember ... when the great things happened for which you -seemed to be waiting? The boy, who is to be a soldier—one day he -hears a distant bugle: at once he knows. A second glimpses a bellying -sail: straightway the ocean path beckons to him. A third discovers a -college and towards its kindly lamp of learning turns young eyes that -have been kindled and will stay kindled to the end.”—<span class="smcap">James Lane -Allen.</span></p> -</div> - - -<p>The opening of Queen’s College marked a great advance in the cause -of girls’ and women’s education. It had its root in the Governesses’ -Benevolent Institution, which was founded for the purpose of helping -governesses in times of need. This was originated by the <abbr title="reverend">Rev.</abbr> C. -G. Nicolay, but in the year 1843 the <abbr title="reverend">Rev.</abbr> David Laing, vicar of -Holy Trinity Church, Kentish Town, was made honorary secretary. -It was he who first saw that an institution<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</span> that existed merely -to relieve distress was unsatisfactory, and sought to establish, -rather, an organisation to prevent the need for relief. Accordingly, -he established a Registry for Teachers, and set on foot a scheme -for granting diplomas. The latter naturally led to the starting of -examinations, which revealed such appalling depths of ignorance in -those who were supposed to instruct others, that the need for their -tuition was realised.</p> - -<p>As is always the case in great movements many were thinking along the -same lines, and Miss Murray, Maid of Honour to the Queen, was at this -time meditating the starting of a College for Women, and was, as a -matter of fact, collecting funds for this purpose. As soon, however, -as she heard of <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Laing’s plans she handed over to him the money she -had collected. He consulted with the government about the establishment -of this college, and the Queen graciously allowed it to be named after -herself. A house in Harley Street, next door to the Governesses’ -Benevolent Institution, was taken. Professors from King’s College were -asked to give lectures, and to many women for the first time higher -education became a possibility.</p> - -<p>The committee, as at first constituted, included such well-known people -as Charles Kingsley, Sterndale Bennett, John Hullah, F. D. Maurice, and -R. C. Trench. It is still possible to see in book form the lectures -which inaugurated the work undertaken by Queen’s College. Though it -originated with the idea of helping governesses who wished to qualify -for their work, it numbered among its earliest students girls who were -to play an important part in many ways in the life of the nation. Among -the first pupils were Miss Buss, Adelaide Ann Proctor, Miss Jex-Blake, -and Dorothea Beale. At first there were no women lecturers or women -teachers, but many women offered their services as chaperones, and very -faithful they were in carrying out their trying and exacting duties.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</span></p> - -<p>The name of the <abbr title="reverend">Rev.</abbr> Frederick Denison Maurice will always be -associated with the founding of Queen’s College. Perhaps the name means -little to men and women of our generation, though he was not only a -great thinker but one of the pioneers of those who apply Christian -standards to social life. He founded a Working Men’s College, which -is still in existence, and took a great part in the work of Queen’s -College. He was compelled to resign his chair of theology at King’s -College, on account of his unorthodox beliefs, especially on the -question of eternal punishment. Throughout his life he suffered much -from charges of heresy, but he exercised a great influence on the -religious life of his day, and on that of subsequent generations. He -denounced any political economy based on selfishness, declaring it to -be false: the Cross, not self-interest, must be the ruling power of -the Universe. His lecture at the opening of Queen’s College was a most -inspiring one, and his words must have fallen on the ears of some of -the girls who listened to him like a call to high and noble service.</p> - -<p>“The vocation of a teacher,” said he, “is an awful one: you cannot do -her real good, she will do others unspeakable harm, if she is not aware -of its usefulness.” He spoke against the harm done by simply providing -her with necessaries. “You may but confirm her in the notion that the -training of an immortal spirit may be just as lawfully undertaken in a -case of emergency as that of selling ribands.” He went on to speak with -great decision about the need of a thorough education for those whose -special work was “to watch closely the first utterances of infancy, the -first dawnings of intelligence: how thoughts spring into acts, how acts -pass into habits”.</p> - -<p>It was probably about this time that Dorothea began to see what her -life-work was to be, and the noble inspiring words of this great -servant of God doubtless did much to strengthen in her mind the sense -of being called<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</span> to high service. All through her career there is no -thought more marked than that of the loftiness of a teacher’s work. -From herself as well as from others of her calling she demanded that -consecration of body, mind and spirit without which there can be no -good work done. All who have read her “Addresses to Teachers,” and -other works on teaching, realise the high level on which she placed -the teacher’s calling, and the stress she laid on the need to pursue -continuously impossible ideals of goodness and efficiency.</p> - -<p>“All of us have to begin and we live in the intimate consciousness of -this thought: Here is a child of God committed to my care, I am to help -in so developing him in time that he may be a dweller in the eternal -world here and hereafter. I, too, must live an eternal life, in order -that I may draw forth that consciousness in him. I must behold the Face -of the Father, and so become a light to my children that, seeing the -light shine in me, they may glorify that Father.”<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> “Addresses to Teachers,” I, by Dorothea Beale.</p> - -</div> - -<p>Queen’s College was the greatest boon to Dorothea Beale. It gave -her the chance of getting first-rate teaching in Mathematics and -Greek. With <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Astley Cook she read, privately, Trigonometry, Conic -Sections, and Differential Calculus. Soon after she was asked to teach -Mathematics and became the first lady Mathematical tutor. As a teacher -she could, <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">ex officio</i>, go to any class she liked, and attended -at different times lectures on Latin, Greek, Mental Science, and German.</p> - -<p>One of her chief friends at this time was a girl of her own age, -Elizabeth Alston. The two used to study together, Elizabeth teaching -Dorothea singing, whilst her friend taught her to read the New -Testament in Greek. In later life she realised how much these singing -lessons had done for her, enabling her to use her voice without fatigue -for hours together.</p> - -<p>Training colleges for elementary school teachers were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</span> established -before there was anything of the kind for the teachers of better class -children, and it was the head of the Battersea Training College who -examined the candidates and awarded the diplomas for knowledge of -methods of teaching.</p> - -<p>At Queen’s College Dorothea Beale began to show signs of where her -power as a teacher would lie. Throughout life it was one of her -leading ideas that a teacher should be primarily an inspirer of her -pupils: that though she should never cease to prepare her work with -the greatest care, her aim should be chiefly to kindle the enthusiasm -that would make her pupils eager to learn for themselves. Even at this -early age she seems to have possessed this faculty, and long after she -left Queen’s College, she occasionally received letters from her former -pupils, saying how much her teaching had meant to them.</p> - -<p>Her time there, however, was not to be long. There arose difficulties -which she felt could not be tolerated. These were, briefly, that one -particular person had too much authority, while the women visitors had -too little, and what they had was gradually diminishing. This led to -many evils, notably the promotion of children into the upper section, -or college, from the lower section, or school, long before they were -able to derive any benefit from advanced tuition.</p> - -<p>Dorothea Beale returned from a summer holiday abroad in 1856 to find -these difficulties worse than ever. She and a friend thereupon sent in -their resignations, hoping to be able to avoid giving any explanation. -<abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr> Plumptre, the Head, was, however, extremely anxious for her to -reveal the reason for her withdrawal, which she did very reluctantly. -After hearing her reasons for leaving, he acknowledged that she was -acting in accordance with her conscience and was trying to do what she -held to be her duty. Dorothea Beale throughout her life seems to have -had to fight against an impetuosity of nature which was in curious -opposition<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</span> to that greatness of mind that enabled her to wait for -the carrying out of any great project. Her action in this connection -was characteristically impetuous, for before the correspondence was -concluded, she had accepted the post of Head Teacher at Casterton -School.</p> - -<p>Already we find that she had formulated some of the educational -theories she held through life. One of these, which she mentioned in -her letter to <abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr> Plumptre, was that girls can be thoroughly educated -only by women: that though some classes may be taken profitably by -men, the education of girls as a whole must be in the hands of their -own sex. She showed also her appreciation of the need for thorough -groundwork, without which no advanced work can be well done.</p> - -<p>Though her action in this matter was characteristically impetuous, and -that of a young idealist, it revealed that strong sense of duty which -would not allow her to shrink from any painful experience, if the doing -of right was involved.</p> - -<p>Dorothea Beale, probably because she was one of a big family of girls, -was apparently spared one of the most perplexing problems of modern -girls and women. From the moment when she felt herself called to the -work of teaching she seems to have had no doubt that she was right to -obey the call, and was thus saved the torment of the woman worker who -is haunted by the thought of home needs unfulfilled. The only daughter -in a home, who feels herself called to work outside it, has one of the -most difficult of life’s problems to face. She has the knowledge that -an ageing father and mother need her, that, perhaps, she will have by -and by to earn her own living, and has in her heart the incessant call -of the work that claims her. There is no one solution to a case of -this kind: every case must be judged independently. It is a difficulty -as inherent as sex or any other vital part of life, and needs to be -honestly and frankly faced. To most girls in this position, I should -say: Get your training early, whilst your parents are still strong and -well,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</span> so that if the opportunity of doing work comes you may be ready. -Some girls who live in big towns are able to combine home duties with -outside work: though on those who are not strong this life of twofold -duty is often a great strain. Others, less fortunately placed, realise -that the two are alternatives, the choice must be made, and the more -imperative duty accepted. In this connection it is well to realise, -I think, that the harder duty is not <em>of necessity</em> the right -one. The work one dislikes is not necessarily the work one ought to -undertake, though it may be. The attitude of many religious people in -the past has, I think, been quite wrong in this respect. God has given -to all of us special talents and aptitudes, in the exercise of which we -find our greatest happiness and do our best work. To believe that the -Creator always calls us to do the uncongenial task is, to my mind, to -mock His plans. If, however, the beloved task has to be deferred, and -the need of our loved ones claims us, there comes with the accepted -duty peace and rest of mind, and the waiting time may be used for -preparation of mind, heart, and character. To many men and more women, -who have kept before them the vision of the work they would do, has -often come in a quite unforeseen way an opportunity of doing it: and -they have realised how much richer and better their life is for their -wider experience during the time of waiting.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.<br><span class="small">A DIFFICULT YEAR AND A TIME OF WAITING.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“Difficulties are the stones out of which all God’s houses are -built.”—<span class="smcap">Archbishop Leighton.</span></p> -</div> - - -<p>All readers of “Jane Eyre” will remember the school, Lowood, to -which Jane was sent, and her terrible experiences, especially at the -beginning of her time there. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</span> foundation in actual life of this -school of fiction, coloured by the Brontë temperament, with its evils -exaggerated for the purposes of art, is known by all to be the Clergy -Daughters’ School at Casterton. As we have seen in the last chapter, it -was to this school that Dorothea Beale had somewhat hastily resolved -to go after sending in her resignation to the Head of Queen’s College. -Probably she looked upon the offer of this post as an indication that -she was to sever her connection with the college in London. If in her -decision she was to blame, she certainly paid the price of her mistake.</p> - -<p>Casterton is near Kirkby Lonsdale, in a somewhat lonely district, -within sight of the rounded height of Ingleborough. Dear to the heart -of north-country people is this glorious wild country, but it must have -seemed terribly out of the world to a girl accustomed to the life of -London, to its libraries and lectures, and the many interests of the -metropolis.</p> - -<p>From the first Dorothea Beale felt herself oppressed and hindered by -numbers of things which she did not approve, and could not alter. The -girls wore a uniform which she found terribly depressing: the rules of -the school were extremely rigid, and the restrictions so many that she -felt the girls had no room for growth. To her, the whole organisation -of the place seemed wrong in principle, and the effect on the character -of the girls of a too rigid discipline appears to have been pernicious. -To one whose views on education were already clearly defined, the -having to “carry on” without any power to change what was wrong, must -have been an extremely trying experience.</p> - -<p>Nor was there much compensation in her own work of teaching: rather -the opposite. She found herself compelled to teach many subjects, far -more than she could do justice to: Scripture, Arithmetic, Mathematics, -Ancient and Modern Church History, Physical and Political Geography, -English Literature, Grammar and Composition,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</span> French, German, Italian, -and Latin. Holding such strong views as she did about the preparation -of lessons and the careful correction of children’s work, she must have -found this undue multiplication of subjects very unsatisfactory. There -can be, I suppose, for natures like Dorothea Beale’s, few things so -trying as circumstances which make a high standard of work impossible. -Her father’s letters to her at this time reveal the strong friendship -that existed between the two. She wrote home that she found the work -hard and her father replied, evidently with the idea of cheering her:—</p> - -<p>“Employment is a blessed state, it is to the body what sleep is to the -mind.... I cannot be sorry when I hear that you are fully employed. I -am sure it will be usefully.... I feel I can bear your being so far and -so entirely away with some philosophy, and I am delighted that your -letters bear the tone of content, and that you have been taken notice -of by people who seem disposed to be kind to you.... Give an old man’s -love to all your pupils and may they make their fathers as happy as you -do.”</p> - -<p>The difficulties at Casterton, however, did not grow less, but tended -rather to increase. Her parents began to have some inkling of these, -and to feel very doubtful whether she ought to stay at Casterton. On -her birthday, March 21, her father wrote again:—</p> - -<p>“God bless you and give you many birthdays. I fear the present is not -one of the most agreeable: it is spent at least in the path of what -you consider duty, and so will never be looked back upon but with -pleasure.... Do not, however, my dear girl, think of remaining long -in a position which may be irksome to you, for thus, I think, it will -hardly be profitable to others, and indeed I question whether you would -maintain your health where the employment was so great and duty the -only stimulus to action. You have heard me often quote: ‘The hand’s -best sinew ever is the heart’.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</span></p> - -<p>Two months later <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Beale wrote:—</p> - -<p>“I long to see you again very much. I cannot get reconciled to your -position and feel satisfied that it is your place.... God bless you, -my dear girl, and blunt your feelings for the rubs of the world, and -quicken your vision for the beautiful and unseen of the world above -you.”</p> - -<p>The sensitiveness her father alludes to in this letter was one of -Dorothea Beale’s leading characteristics to the end of her life. -Though she welcomed and considered the criticism of competent people -and often acted on it she had a curiously sensitive shrinking from -adverse judgment: and this often cut her off from valuable advice. Her -shyness, too, kept her from the friendship of those who, like herself, -were too diffident to make advances. In it, however, lay one of her -chief powers, the subtle perception that enabled her to see almost into -the very souls of the girls she taught. Once, at Cheltenham, a child -refused to admit that she had done wrong. One morning Dorothea Beale -sent for the class teacher. “Send So-and-So to me,” she said, “I can -see from her face this morning that she will tell me all.” And she was -right.</p> - -<p>It was at Casterton that she adopted the simple style of dress that she -always preferred. One of her pupils thus describes her:—</p> - -<p>“Her appearance, as I remember it then, was charming. Her figure was of -medium height. The rather pale oval face, high, broad forehead, large, -expressive grey eyes, all showed intellectual character. Her dress was -remarkable in its neatness. She wore black cashmere in the week, and a -pretty mouse-coloured grey dress on Sundays.”</p> - -<p>Possibilities of making improvements at Casterton now began to weigh on -her mind. Unless things were changed she felt she could not stay, but -she was not inclined to give up without an effort at amelioration. She -determined to take a very bold step and to appeal to the Committee. Her -father was kept in touch with all her plans at this time and wrote:—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</span></p> - -<p>“I think we must be content to wait, at any rate for the present, and -see if any good comes from your interview with the Committee. You -notice two points chiefly—the low moral tone of the school and the -absence of prizes [distinctions, responsibilities, etc.]. The want -of sympathy and love (the great source of woman’s influence in every -condition of life) was the prominent feature of the establishment in my -mind after talking it over with you. But nothing can flourish if love -be not the ruling incentive....”</p> - -<p>He goes on to say that he realises how much love and devotion she puts -into her work, but how useless it is when she is unsupported.</p> - -<p>“Weigh the matter well before this Christmas,” he continues, “and if -you find no changes are made, the same cold management continued, send -in your resignation.”</p> - -<p>Then the affectionate father concludes:—</p> - -<p>“I cannot contemplate your not coming up at Christmas. As we grow older -each year makes us more desirous of the company of those we love; -perhaps, because we feel how soon we shall part with it altogether; -perhaps, because we are become more selfish, but such is the fact.”</p> - -<p>The six members of the Committee apparently consented with some -reluctance to hear Dorothea, but she did get a hearing and brought her -chief objections before them. The experience was not so trying as she -had anticipated, and the Committee appeared fairly conciliatory. She -explained—in speaking of the absence of prizes—that by this term she -meant rather distinctions, privileges, and opportunities of doing good. -She offered to resign, but the Committee said, “Oh, no, certainly not”. -And she came away feeling that her efforts might have some good result.</p> - -<p>Few people, whether individuals or collective bodies, can endure -criticism, and Dorothea Beale’s complaints<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</span> seem to have caused a -great deal of discomfort in her relationship with those connected with -Casterton. This was increased very much by a suspicion that she was -not orthodox according to the evangelical low-church point of view. -She was considered “high,” and was suspected of holding extreme views -about baptismal regeneration, one of the storm centres of religious -controversy at this time. This caused even one of her chief friends on -the Committee to wish her to leave.</p> - -<p>With the tenacity of purpose that characterised her through life, -she tried to believe that it was right for her to stay and fight the -difficulties at Casterton. Gradually, however, the impossibility of -doing so became evident, and she wrote to her father:—</p> - -<p>“I do not see how it is possible to do much good. I may work upon a -few individuals, but the whole tone of the school is unhealthy, and I -never felt anything like the depression arising from the constant jar -upon one’s feelings caused by seeing great girls professing not to care -about religion.”</p> - -<p>She suggested that she should send in her resignation, and her father -replied at length, giving her advice as to how to approach the -Committee, and again writing words of cheer:—</p> - -<p>“Above all things take care of your health.... I am quite sure that -you have a long course of usefulness before you. The flattering regard -in which you are held at Queen’s College, and the constant means you -always have in London of constantly improving yourself, must teach you -somewhat of your own value. Though I would not indeed presume upon it -further than to give you confidence to act rightly.”</p> - -<p>It was near the end of November before Dorothea made her final decision -to send in her resignation. She had not time to carry out this decision -before she received the following note from the Committee:—</p> - -<p>“On your last interview with the Committee you<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</span> implied an intention -of resigning in case certain alterations should not be made by the -Committee....</p> - -<p>“The Committee are of opinion that, under the circumstances, it would -be better that your connection with the school should cease after -Christmas next, they paying you a quarter’s salary in advance.”</p> - -<p>This note was received shortly before the Christmas holidays.</p> - -<p>It is easier to imagine than to describe the effect of this summary -dismissal on a highly sensitive girl, whose actions had throughout -been prompted by a sincere desire for the good of the school. It is -difficult to endure the sense of failure in youth before one has -had assurance of one’s own powers. Again at this time her father’s -sympathetic letters, reminding her of the high motives with which she -had undertaken this work, were a great comfort to her. In after years -Dorothea Beale acknowledged the value of this year at Casterton. No -life is perhaps complete without its times of failure, as she must -have felt her year at Casterton to be. For the world is full of men -and women who fail, and it is only by personal knowledge of their -experience that we can sympathise with them and help them to rise above -it.</p> - -<p>Many, however, appreciated the good work Dorothea Beale did at -Casterton, and her quiet and steady persistence in what she felt to be -right were not without their permanent influence on the school. Her -remembrance of this school was a source of pain to her, and yet, as the -years went on, she felt how much she owed to her experiences there. -In <i>The Times</i> of November 19, 1906, there is an extract from a -letter by Canon A. D. Burton, Casterton Vicarage, Kirkby Lonsdale.</p> - -<p>“I have read with interest your account of Miss Beale’s life. I think, -however, it is possible that it may give an erroneous impression with -regard to her connection with Casterton, and it may be of interest -if I mention that I happen to know something of the feelings she -entertained<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</span> towards the school. Rather more than a year ago she wrote -to say that it had long been in her mind to do something for the school -in grateful remembrance of the benefit which her connection with it -had been to her, and this wish finally took shape in the founding of a -scholarship to Cheltenham, and the first Casterton-Beale Scholar is at -the present time in residence at that college.</p> - -<p>“The Casterton Clergy Daughters’ School, like most other schools of -long standing, has a past which is not to be compared with its present. -That is no disparagement to it, but the reverse. Its present state is -one of high efficiency, but it is interesting that it was not on this -account only that Miss Beale wished her name to be always connected -with it, but because she felt herself in debt to it. ‘I owe much to -it,’ were her words. A few months ago she also presented to the school -an oil-painting of herself which was hung in the entrance hall.”</p> - -<p>She did not leave Casterton, however, without some acknowledgment on -the part of the authorities and others that her work and character -had been appreciated. It must also have been a solace to her when <abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr> -Plumptre, hearing of her resignation, at once wrote and spoke of the -possibility of a mathematical tutorship at Queen’s College.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>It was characteristic of Dorothea Beale that after she returned home -from Casterton with one part of her work finished and no other in -view, she did not idly waste her time but began a definite piece of -work—the writing of her history, “The Student’s Text-book of English -and General History”. The need of such a book was felt very strongly at -this time, partly because of the outcry against the papistical doctrine -inserted into Ince’s history, one of the most popular text-books of the -day. This book must have involved an enormous amount of work, though -it dealt only in outline with this vast subject. In<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</span> the preface she -makes it clear to the student that no real knowledge of history can be -built upon such a slender foundation, and urges the need for filling -in the outlines by wide and thorough reading. Her history was not her -only occupation at this time; she did some visiting teaching—Latin and -Mathematics—at Miss Elwell’s school at Barnes.</p> - -<p>She realised the difficulty of working steadily at home, knowing the -thousand distractions, social and domestic, that come to divert a girl -from any definite pursuits. So she adopted the plan of writing her -history in a large empty room at the top of the house. Here she would -work without a fire on cold winter days. Whether this was an expression -of the desire for Spartan simplicity of life which she always had, or -was done simply to keep away members of the family who might wish to -come and chat, one cannot say.</p> - -<p>Dorothea Beale had evidently undertaken some work as secretary and -collector for the Church Penitentiary Association and for a Diocesan -Home at Highgate, working with Mrs. Lancaster. The latter greatly -appreciated her and her conscientious work, and realised what a -valuable helper she would be, if she could enlist her in this great -service. She approached her with the suggestion that she should take -the headship of the Home. Dorothea Beale considered the offer but -refused. This must have been a great test of faith in her own judgment. -Behind her were two experiences, both of which had ended in apparent -failure because of her inability to agree with the authorities. No -educational work was in view, and she must have questioned her own -wisdom in refusing this opportunity of service which came to her. -Yet it seems as if at this time there dawned on her mind the deep -conviction that she was called to educational work among her own class: -that with her temperament and ideas so much in advance of her own time -a headship was the only post that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</span> would give her the scope and freedom -that she needed if she was to do her best work. And so she waited, not -with idle hands and brain, but fully occupied with her history, her -teaching, and home duties.</p> - -<p>It was probably about this time that she began her Diary, which she -kept with some intervals until the year 1901. The purpose of it seems -to have been to keep a record not of outward events but rather of her -moral and spiritual life. In it we have one of the many evidences -of that sternness towards herself which she maintained in all -circumstances of life, even in illness. Earlier, perhaps, than most -people, she seems to have realised that her influence on others would -depend entirely on what she herself was. One or two quotations from her -journal will illustrate the purpose of it.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p><i>March 6.</i>—History. Aunt E. came. Cross at not getting my own -way. Some idleness. Impatient manner.</p> - -<p><i>April 14.</i>—History. Elizabeth. Called on the Blenkarnes. Dined -at Chapter House. Idle. Indulgence in reading story at my time for -evening prayer. Unpunctual in morning. Thoughtless about Mama.</p> - -<p><i>April 20.</i>—History, 16th Century. Felt terribly cross. O grant -me calmness.</p> - -<p><i>June 4.</i>—Saw Mrs. Barret. Copied. Neglected prayer greatly. -Very worldly.</p> - -<p><i>June 7.</i>—Wrote letters. A terrible blank of worldliness. Idle.</p> - -<p><i>June 9.</i>—Wrote to Miss Elwell. Letter from Cheltenham. Copied -certificates. Worldly. Spoke angrily to A.</p> -</div> - -<p>At this time there are many allusions in her journal to crossness. -Probably it was the result of that supreme test of the active, -energetic mind—the enduring of uncertainty. In 1901 she wrote to a -friend about this period of her life:—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</span></p> - -<p>“Once I had an interval of work, and I thought perhaps God would not -give it me again—but after that interval He called me here. I think -now I can see better how I needed that time of comparative quiet and -solitude, and a time to think over my failures, and a time to be more -helpful to my family.”</p> - -<p>Whilst still young, Dorothea Beale formed the habit of frequent -attendance at early Communion, which she maintained all through her -busy life. Like the saintly men and women of all ages, she felt that -the more strenuous and exacting her work, the more she needed these -hours of Communion. The Sacraments of the Church as generally necessary -to salvation she believed to be two—Baptism and Holy Communion—but -the whole of life to her was sacramental. More and more as years passed -by did outward and visible things become to her the signs of inward and -spiritual realities: to her, and to those of her school of thought, -sacramentalism meant “the discovery of the river of the water of life -flowing through the whole desert of human existence”.</p> - -<p>But Dorothea Beale was no dreamy, unpractical mystic, holding herself -aloof from the practical difficulties of life. She realised that there -is little value in a religion that cannot find expression in the life -of every day; and little strength in the soul that is not continually -fortified by the struggle of work and the carrying out of duty.</p> - -<p>“The religion of Dorothea Beale,” says Mrs. Raikes, “was far indeed -from being a mere succession of beautiful and comforting thoughts. It -meant authority. It involved all the difficulties of daily obedience, -it meant the fatigue of watching, the pains of battle, sometimes -the humiliation of defeat. Intense as was her feeling on religious -subjects, it was never permitted to go off in steam, as she would term -it, but became at once a practical matter for everyday life.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.<br><span class="small">SMALL BEGINNINGS.</span></h2></div> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O, I am sure they really came from Thee,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The urge, the ardour, the unconquerable will,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The potent, felt, interior command, stronger than words,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A message from the Heavens whispering to me even in sleep.</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">These speed me on.</span><br> -<br> -<span style="margin-left: 10em;">—<span class="smcap">Walt Whitman</span>, “Prayer of Columbus”.</span><br> -</p> - - -<p>Until about 1825, Cheltenham was simply a small market-town, -famous for its mild climate and fertile soil, but at this time its -medicinal springs were discovered, and it became the fashion for -royalty and aristocracy to take the waters. Between 1801 and 1840 -the population of Cheltenham increased tenfold. In 1843, Cheltenham -College, a proprietary school for boys, was opened. Ten years later, -on September 30, 1853, a meeting was held in the house of the <abbr title="reverend">Rev.</abbr> -H. Walford Bellairs, who was Her Majesty’s Inspector of Schools in -Gloucestershire, and a prospectus was drawn up of “A College in -Cheltenham for the education of young ladies and children under eight”.</p> - -<p>The instruction was to include the Liturgy of the Church of England, -grammar, geography, arithmetic, French, drawing, needlework. The fees -were to range from 6 guineas to 20 guineas a year, and the capital was -to consist of £2000 in £10 shares. The entire management and control -were to be in the hands of the founders, the <abbr title="reverend">Rev.</abbr> H. W. Bellairs; the -<abbr title="reverend">Rev.</abbr> W. Dobson, Principal of Cheltenham College; the <abbr title="reverend">Rev.</abbr> H. A. Holden, -Vice-Principal; Lieutenant-Colonel Fitzmaurice; <abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr> S. E. Comyn; and -<abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Nathaniel Hartland.</p> - -<p>They appointed as Principal Mrs. Procter, the widow of Colonel Procter, -and as Vice-Principal her daughter, Miss Procter, who was understood -to be the actual head. Mrs. Procter was to furnish the wisdom and -stability of mature years, Miss Procter the youth and vigour<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</span> necessary -for teaching. A younger sister held the post of secretary.</p> - -<p>At first it was intended that the college should be restricted to day -pupils, but it was soon found that this would limit its usefulness, -and some months before the opening of the school the proprietors had -arranged for three boarding-houses, the fees of which were extremely -low, being only £40 a year.</p> - -<p>Cheltenham Ladies’ College was laid on good foundations. The founders -had an ardent desire for a thorough and liberal education, and their -ideas were well carried out from the very beginning of the school’s -career. The teaching appears to have been of a high order, the teachers -were people of conscience and ability. In her “History of Cheltenham -Ladies’ College,” Miss Beale quotes from old pupils who spoke most -highly of the early days.</p> - -<p>The school was opened on February 13, 1854, in Cambray House, where the -great Duke of Wellington had once stayed for about six weeks. It was -a fine square-built house with a beautiful garden. By the end of the -first year the 100 pupils had increased to 150; the second year also -marked an increase. But after that the numbers began to go down, until -at the end of 1857 the numbers had fallen to 89, and the capital had -begun to diminish.</p> - -<p>Some disagreement on educational methods then arose between Miss -Procter and the Committee, with the result that the former resigned and -started another school in Cheltenham, which was continued for thirty -years.</p> - -<p>The Principal’s letter to the Committee on her departure shows her -scrupulous care of the property of others:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p> -“<span class="smcap">My Dear Sir</span>,<br> -</p> - -<p>“I thank you much for your kind letter enclosing your cheque for £41 -10s. 6d.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</span></p> - -<p>“I take this opportunity of sending you the keys of the college. The -house has been cleaned throughout. The chimneys have all been swept.</p> - -<p>“Some few stores—nearly ¹⁄₄ cwt. of soap, some dip candles, and two -new scrubbing brushes—are in the closet in the pantry.</p> - -<p>“The new zinc ventilator is in the press used for the drawing -materials.</p> - -<p>“Two cast-iron fenders, of mine, have been removed from two of the -class-rooms.</p> - -<p class="right"> -<span style="margin-right: 2em;">“I remain, my dear Sir,</span><br> -<span style="margin-right: 2.5em;">“Yours very sincerely,</span><br> -“<span class="smcap">S. Anne Procter</span>.”<br> -</p> -</div> - -<p>It was in May, 1858, that the advertisement for a new Principal of -Cheltenham College appeared in various papers.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Cheltenham Ladies’ College.</span></p> - -<p>“A vacancy having occurred in the office of lady Principal, candidates -for the appointment are requested to apply by letter (with references) -before June 1 to J. P. Bell, Esq., Hon. Sec., Cheltenham.</p> - -<p>“A well educated and experienced lady (between the ages of thirty-five -and forty-five) is desired, capable of conducting an institution with -not less than one hundred day pupils.</p> - -<p>“A competent knowledge of German and French, and a good acquaintance -with general English literature, arithmetic, and the common branches -of female education, are expected.</p> - -<p>“Salary, upwards of £200 a year, with furnished apartments and other -advantages.</p> - -<p>“No testimonials to be sent until applied for, and no answers will be -returned except to candidates apparently eligible.”</p> -</div> - -<p>Dorothea Beale applied for this post and was accepted<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</span> as a candidate -for the headship. She had now to set about getting testimonials and -recommendations. Some of these are interesting.</p> - -<p>Miss Elwell, at whose school she had taught, wrote:—</p> - -<p>“You have succeeded in making subjects usually styled dry, positively -attractive, whilst your plan has been successful in forming not merely -superficial scholars, even whilst producing results in a remarkably -short period.”</p> - -<p>Her friend, Elizabeth Ann Alston, wrote:—</p> - -<p>“Of her power of teaching others and making them delight in their -studies, there is no doubt. But you do not know her, as I do, in her -home and daily life: there all look up to her and seek her counsel.”</p> - -<p>Many testimonials were given as to her character and work, and these -made such a favourable impression on the Cheltenham Committee that she -was summoned for an interview on June 14.</p> - -<p>She evidently had not any suitable clothes to wear on such a formidable -occasion, and had to borrow a blue silk frock from her sister Eliza. -Perhaps the work on her history had prevented her from attending to -her wardrobe. She was appointed and everything seemed happily settled. -One can imagine with what joy she looked forward to this opportunity -of doing the work she longed to do untrammelled by bonds made by those -of differing ideas. After all these months of waiting she had at last -obtained her heart’s desire.</p> - -<p>But the stigma of leaving Casterton was not easily removed, and a great -blow awaited her.</p> - -<p>On July 12 she received a letter from <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> J. Penrice Bell, the -Honorary Secretary of the Committee, saying that he had received from -two gentlemen letters about her religious views, that might make it -necessary for the Cheltenham Ladies’ College Committee to reconsider -their decision. He quoted briefly their allegations:—</p> - -<p>“‘She, Miss Beale, is very High Church, to say the least, and holds -ultra views of baptismal regeneration.’<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</span> ... ‘She has also a serious -and deep religious feeling, and a self-denying character. <em>But</em> -she is decidedly High Church. Her opinions on the vital and critical -question of sacramental grace are altogether those of the High Church -or Tractarian school.’”</p> - -<p>To a sensitive girl like Dorothea Beale this was indeed a shock, -but she was determined not to lose the desired work through any -misunderstanding, and replied at once to <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Bell explaining her views -on baptism, which were said to be “extreme”:—</p> - -<p>“If you understand by the <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">opus operatum</i> ‘efficacy’ of baptism -that all who are baptized are therefore saved.... I explicitly state -that I do not hold that doctrine. I believe baptism to be ‘an outward -and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace given unto us: to be -the appointed means for admitting members into the Church of Christ’.”</p> - -<p>The allegation that she belonged to the High Church party she dealt -with:—</p> - -<p>“Your second question [i.e. did she belong to the High Church?] ... -cannot be categorically answered, since it has never been defined what -are the opinions of the High Church party; I would say that I differ -from some who assume that title.... I think no one could entertain a -greater dread than I of those Romish opinions entertained by some ‘who -went out from us, but were not of us’: indeed, during the last six -months, I have been engaged in preparing an English history for the -use of schools, <em>because</em> Ince’s “Outlines” (a book used in your -college) inculcates Romish doctrines.”</p> - -<p>The conclusion of her letter shows how clearly she realised the effect -that might be produced if the Committee revoked their decision:—</p> - -<p>“I have endeavoured to be perfectly candid: should the Council decide -that my views are so unsound that I am unfit to occupy the position to -which I have been appointed, I shall trust that they will allow me to -make<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</span> as public a statement of my opinions as they are obliged to make -of my dismissal, for I shall feel that after this no person of moderate -views will trust me, and my own conscience would not allow me to work -with the extreme party in either High or Low Church.”</p> - -<p>The suspense whilst the Committee’s decision hung in the balance must -have been great. Her diary indicates this:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p><i>July 12.</i>—<abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Bell’s letter about High Church from Cheltenham, -and my answer. Some vanity. (Prayer) for resignation.</p> - -<p><i>July 14.</i>—Letter from Cheltenham. Neglect of prayer. Several -times rude.</p> -</div> - -<p>The Committee, however, seem to have been satisfied with her letter to -<abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Bell, and another to <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Bellairs, in which she referred him to -two friends who knew what her religious views were, sending him also -two books, “which I have published without my name—not because I was -ashamed of expressing what I thought right, but because one naturally -shrinks from expressing without necessity one’s inner religious life”.</p> - -<p>They still had one more question, which <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Bell asked in his next -letter:—</p> - -<p>“Holding the opinions you have expressed, should you consider it a -duty and feel it incumbent on you to inculcate them in your Divinity -instruction to the pupils?”</p> - -<p>To this she replied:—</p> - -<p>“I quite feel it to be a Christian duty, if it be possible, to live -peaceably with all men, not giving heed to those things which minister -questions rather than godly edifying, but I am sure you would feel -I should be unworthy of your confidence could I through any fear of -consequences resort to the least untruthfulness.”</p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img002"> -<img src="images/002.jpg" class="w50" alt="A"> -</span></p> -<p class="center caption">DOROTHEA BEALE IN 1859<br><a href="#Page_32">p. 32</a></p> - - -<p>The difficulty was thus ended, and Dorothea Beale entered her -kingdom. In spite of the many possibilities of giving offence, from -the beginning she made the Scripture lessons the very centre of her -teaching. To<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</span> these she went herself not only with her carefully -prepared work but with her heart and soul equally equipped. She -demanded equal reverence in her pupils, and during times of building at -the college the noise of the hammer was suspended when these lessons -were being given.</p> - -<p>There is little record about the beginning of her work at Cheltenham. -Twice Miss Brewer, who was to be Vice-Principal, called upon her: -and there are one or two entries in her diary about “shopping” and -“turning-out”. Even the date (August 4) on which she set out for -Cheltenham with her mother is only known by deduction. One can imagine, -however, the spirit in which Dorothea Beale set out into the unknown. -Was it to be failure or success? Were her powers equal to the many -difficulties that lay before her? Would the Committee turn out to be -the kind of people with whom she could work? But we know enough to be -sure that she looked to God as her guide in all things, and that in -offering herself for this great work of education she laid her life and -all her powers at His feet.</p> - -<p>Dorothea Beale’s first two years at Cheltenham were a struggle from -beginning to end. When she arrived the College had begun to go down, -and many of the elder girls had left with Miss Procter, so that the -oldest pupils were now only thirteen or fourteen years of age. Mrs. -Raikes in her “Life,” quotes a description of her from a pupil who was -at the school when she arrived:—</p> - -<p>“I can see her now as she appeared in reality—the slight, young -figure, the very gentle, gliding movements, the quiet face with the -look of intense thoughtfulness and utter absence of all poor and common -stress and turmoil, the intellectual brow, the wonderful eyes with -their calm outlook and their expression of inner vision.”</p> - -<p>One of her first decisions was to continue and make permanent the -rule of silence, which Miss Procter had introduced at the beginning -of the college. She was, at first, full of doubts as to the wisdom of -this rule but was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</span> so well satisfied with the results that she never -saw any reason to alter it. Pupils were allowed to speak only with a -teacher’s permission, which was always given when it was necessary. -Her reasons for the ordaining of this rule were to inculcate habits of -self-control, to prevent the making of friendships of which parents -might not approve, to secure concentration and good discipline. It was -very rigidly enforced, and if a girl broke it only a few times in the -term a remark to that effect was inevitably put into her Report. One -of the jokes frequently made against the Ladies’ College was that no -Cheltenham girl could talk!</p> - -<p>The history of these two years is given very graphically in Miss -Beale’s History of the College, from which the following account is -almost entirely taken. When Miss Beale was appointed there were only -sixty-nine girls left, of whom fifteen had already given notice (of -these only one actually left). Only £400 was left out of the original -capital. The ladies who had kept boarding-houses gave up on account of -the uncertainty, and several of the original shareholders sold their -£10 shares for £5.</p> - -<p>“Several birds of prey,” said Miss Beale, “were seen hovering about -expecting the demise of the College, and it would probably have ceased -to exist had there not remained two years of the Cambray lease, for the -rent of which £200 a year had to be found. It is impossible to give an -adequate idea of the hard struggle for existence maintained during the -next two years, and of the minute economies which had to be practised. -<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">Haec nunc meminisse juvat.</i> The Principal was blamed for ordering -prospectuses without leave at the cost of fifteen shillings, and the -second-hand furniture procured would not have delighted people of -æsthetic taste. Curtains were dispensed with as far as possible, and it -was questioned whether a carving-knife was required by the Principal in -her furnished apartments.”</p> - -<p>The teaching staff was reduced as far as possible and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</span> the Principal -and Vice-Principal gave up their half-holiday to chaperone those girls -who took lessons from masters. The Principal did a great deal of -teaching at this time including Scripture throughout the College.</p> - -<p>Everything that could be done in those two years to curtail expenditure -was done. The gain or loss of one pupil was considered an important -event. One day Miss Beale was at dinner when a father called with two -girls. The maid sent him away, saying that her mistress was at dinner. -Miss Beale, however, sent her at once in pursuit after the departing -visitors. She spoke to the maid afterwards about this matter and said, -“I am never at dinner”.</p> - -<p>At the end of these two years the lease of Cambray House expired, and, -though the deficit was less at the end of 1860 than in 1859, there -was not a single member of the Committee who was willing to take the -responsibility of renewing the lease. Many causes conspired to make the -school unpopular at this time, and the question of giving it up had to -be seriously considered.</p> - -<p>Just when things were at their worst a deliverer appeared in the person -of <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> J. Houghton Brancker, who was asked to audit the accounts. -After a thorough investigation this gentleman gave his verdict that -it was impossible for the school ever to pay its way with the then -system of fees. Accordingly he drew up a scheme which he considered -satisfactory, lowering the ordinary fees, but making music and drawing, -which had hitherto been included in the ordinary curriculum, extra -subjects. <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Brancker was asked to join the Council; under his able -rule as chancellor of the exchequer, the College finances began to -improve, and grinding anxiety about money matters soon became a thing -of the past. Cambray House was taken by the year until things were in -a more satisfactory state, but such a precaution was unnecessary, as -the College after this had a career of almost unbroken progress and -prosperity.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</span></p> - -<p>Financial difficulties were not, however, the only ones that Miss Beale -had to fight, nor were they the hardest. Far greater foes to her peace -of mind were those of ignorance, prejudice, and lack of ideals about -girls’ education. Practical difficulties, too, stood in the way of high -attainment. Dorothea Beale relates some of these in her “History of the -Ladies’ College”. It was said that college life would “turn girls into -boys”. Day schools for girls were unpopular, and the custom of having -morning and afternoon school caused parents a great deal of trouble in -sending maids with their children. Teachers were scarce and those to be -had were very inferior.</p> - -<p>“Do you prepare your lessons?” asked Dorothea Beale of a candidate.</p> - -<p>“Oh no!” she replied, “I never teach anything I don’t understand.”</p> - -<p>Parents looked with horror on the teaching of mathematics and even -advanced arithmetic, in spite of the poverty to which ignorance of -investments often reduced women.</p> - -<p>Some reminiscences of former pupils give a little idea of what Dorothea -Beale was like in her teaching and in her relationship to her children.</p> - -<p>“I never remember her raising her voice, scolding us, being satirical -or impatient with dullness or inattention. She was not satirical even -when a small girl, on being asked what criticism might be passed -on Milton’s treatment of “Paradise Lost,” ventured the audacious -suggestion that the poet was ‘verbose’.”</p> - -<p>Her methods were designed to encourage rather than to repress. A pupil -recalls “an afternoon when she visited the needlework room and found -me being most justly blamed for inefficiency. In kindly tones she said -to the shy and clumsy culprit: ‘You ought to sew well, for your mother -has such beautiful long fingers,’ and somehow I felt comforted and -encouraged. Then there<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</span> was a day when I summoned up courage to go and -tell her that I had been guilty of some small disobedience as well as -others who had been detected and punished. She seized the opportunity -of impressing upon me that as I was (though only fourteen) a teacher -in my father’s Sunday School—a fact of which I did not know she was -aware—I must surely see that obedience to rule was necessary. I can -still hear the low, earnest tones in which she made her appeal to my -sense of justice and right.”</p> - -<p>At this period of her life her power was probably as great as it ever -was, though the scope was comparatively narrow.</p> - -<p>“It is my peculiar privilege,” writes one, “to have spent all my -college career in her class, to go through years of her special -personal teaching. In later days when the College assumed large -dimensions, such an experience must have been rare; to those who could -claim it, it meant a potent influence for life. How vividly can I -recall her sitting on her little daïs, scanning the long schoolroom -and discovering anything amiss at the far end of it; or making a tour -of inspection to the various classes with a smiling countenance that -banished terror.”</p> - -<p>Her personal relationship to any of her children in sorrow was always a -very tender one.</p> - -<p>“When I was almost a child at College I lost my mother and shall never -forget Miss Beale’s tender sympathy and help. She took such interest -in my preparation for Confirmation and brought me herself to my first -Communion—just she and I alone: a day I shall always remember. All -through my girlhood she was a kind and ready adviser, and continued her -interest throughout my married life. One always felt whatever happened -to one, ‘Now I must tell Miss Beale’.”</p> - -<p>So with the varied joys of teaching, and the difficulties of narrow -means, and the opposition of supporters of the old régime, did Dorothea -Beale’s life at Cheltenham begin.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</span></p> - -<p>Forty years later she wrote of this time:—</p> - -<p>“How often I was full of discouragement. It was not so much the want of -money as the want of ideals that depressed me. If I went into society I -heard it said: ‘What is the good of education for our girls? They have -not to earn their living.’ Those who spoke did not see that, for women -as for men, it is a sin to bury the talents God has given: they seemed -not to know that the baptismal right was the same for girls as for -boys, alike enrolled in the army of light, soldiers of Jesus Christ.”</p> - -<p>No knight of olden times who rode forth against the evils of his day -needed greater courage than this woman who set out to destroy the evils -of prejudice, custom, and ignorance. I have spoken sometimes with her -“old girls,” who were with her in the early days, and were among the -first to enter on paths untrodden by women’s feet. They were like men -who seek a new land; no sacrifice seemed too great; no toil seemed too -hard. Following their dauntless leader they knew themselves to be the -vanguard of a great army of women infinite in number and of unknown -power.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.<br><span class="small">ON EDUCATION.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“Knowledge is now no more a fountain sealed.”—<span class="smcap">Tennyson</span>, “The -Princess”.</p> -</div> - - -<p>In order to understand Dorothea Beale’s work and that of her many -contemporaries who were working towards the same end, it is necessary -to know something of the depths to which girls’ education had sunk in -that day. All readers of Ruskin’s “Sesame and Lilies” are familiar -with his bitter invective against the attitude of parents towards this -important question, and his passionate appeal<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</span> for reform. And Ruskin -was only one of the many men who realised the pity of the paltry and -superficial education that girls received, and the extent to which the -whole world suffered on this account. So strong had public feeling -become among the better educated on this burning question that, in the -year 1864, a Schools’ Inquiry Commission was instituted; and as far as -possible a thorough investigation was made of the subject. Reports on -Girls’ Schools were given by <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Fitch, <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Bryce, and others.</p> - -<p>To all interested in education the Blue Book is an extremely -interesting document. The evidence and reports are based on what was -seen and known, and present a terrible indictment of the then condition -of girls’ schools.</p> - -<p>“Although,” says <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Bryce, “the world has now existed for several -thousand years, the notion that women have minds as cultivable and -worth cultivating as men’s minds is still regarded by the ordinary -British parent as an offensive, not to say a revolutionary, paradox.”</p> - -<p>Dorothea Beale’s report, the one with which we are most concerned here, -is very comprehensive, and gives not only her theories of education but -also an account of the methods employed in her school. The questions -asked give a good idea of the many questions that disturbed the minds -of thoughtful people of that day; the anxiety lest higher education -should injure the health of girls; the fear of the over-stimulating -effects of examinations, of the publicity of examination results and of -the possible effects on girls’ natural reserve and modesty.</p> - -<p>In her reply to the various questions asked, Dorothea Beale gave a -good deal of information about her own school and the condition of -education it revealed. The Entrance Examination at Cheltenham showed as -a rule deplorable results. Frequently girls came from expensive schools -incapable of writing, spelling, or composing in their own language, -almost ignorant of French<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</span> grammar and scarcely able to work correctly -the simplest sums in arithmetic.</p> - -<p>“I think the remedy for bad work,” said she, “is to bring such work -to the light. I think it is because it has all been carried on in -darkness, because the parents are not able to distinguish between good -and bad, and nobody knows that things have reached such a state.”</p> - -<p>She then went into some particulars about the work at Cheltenham -Ladies’ College, hours of work, the rule by personal influence -rather than by punishments, the law of silence and her approval of -examinations as leading to more thorough work. She also went into -the reasons why she considered that women were better educators of -girls than men, and <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">ceteris paribus</i> were quite equal to them -as teachers. The education of boys at that time she considered to be -rather unsatisfactory, and too limited in scope. She did not believe -that boys and girls should be taught on absolutely different lines, -as that would undoubtedly hinder friendship and <em>camaraderie</em> in -marriage as well as in ordinary social intercourse.</p> - -<p>On the question of health Miss Beale was most emphatic. She did not -believe that study alone injured health, and in her belief she is more -in sympathy with the thought of to-day than with that of twenty or -thirty years ago. Examinations and study in the early days of higher -education for women seemed to work a good deal of havoc with health. -But when we look back in the light of modern thought much of the harm -seems to have been wrought by unscientific arrangement of hours of -work—it was considered heroic to “burn the midnight oil”; the eating -of insufficient or unsuitable food; the undertaking of strenuous work -by delicate girls unfit for hard work of any kind; and the lack of -wholesome recreation.</p> - -<p>When she was asked by <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Acland about the effect of eagerness in study -on the health of girls about sixteen, she replied:—</p> - -<p>“I think it improved their health very much, and I am<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</span> sure great -harm is often done by a hasty recommendation to throw aside all study -when a temperate and wisely regulated mental diet is really required. -They will not do nothing—you cannot say to the human mind that it -shall absolutely rest; but if they have not wholesome and proper and -unexciting occupations they will spend their time on sensational novels -and things much more injurious to their health. When I have heard -complaints about health being injured by study, they have proceeded -from those who have done least work at college. Indeed I do not know -of any case of a pupil who has really worked and whose health has been -injured: we have had complaints in a few cases where the girls have -been decidedly not industrious.”</p> - -<p>The following emphatic statement expresses the opinion of most -educationalists on the deplorable effect that “just going to live -at home” has on the health of many girls. There are few things that -teachers of senior girls dread more than an aimless life in a home -where there are no responsibilities and no definite duties. There is no -real reason, of course, why this should be so, as a girl of leisure at -home has often opportunities of doing work that no one else can do; but -many lack the energy and enterprise for seeking out such work, and are, -in consequence, idle and miserable:—</p> - -<p>“For one girl in the higher middle classes who suffers from overwork, -there are, I believe, hundreds whose health suffers from the feverish -love of excitement, from the irritability produced by idleness and -frivolity and discontent. I am persuaded, and my opinion has been -confirmed by experienced doctors, that the want of wholesome occupation -lies at the root of much of the languid debility of which we hear so -much after girls have left school.”</p> - -<p>She also gave some account of her own methods of teaching. French -and German were studied before Latin and Greek. In Geometry she -always dealt with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</span> the propositions as riders, and employed methods -which, twenty years later, became common in all schools. This was -somewhat extraordinary at a time when many children, boys and girls -alike, understood so little of what was required, that they learned -the propositions by heart. Science was taught so as to create -not specialists but human beings with an intelligent but general -understanding of the phenomena of everyday life. It is interesting -to read in a pamphlet published this year, 1919, by the Ministry -of Reconstruction, that much of the present day lack of interest -in Science is due to the lack of general training of this kind. -Foundations are laid at school as if every man and every woman were -going to be a scientist, and the average boy and girl leave school with -a certain amount of skill in measuring and weighing, but with none of -that illuminating general knowledge that makes the world so vastly -interesting.</p> - -<p>In religious teaching, “we try,” said Dorothea Beale, “to make our -teaching practical as regards the daily duties of life upon which we -are all agreed, instead of dwelling on points of doctrine wherein we -differ”.</p> - -<p>Dorothea Beale was always anxious to work in sympathy with parents, not -in antagonism to their aims. She realised, as does every wise teacher, -that parents see a quite different side of their children and was glad -of any information that might be a help in understanding the child. She -was very desirous that people should be frank with her if there was any -cause of dissatisfaction with the school, and was most anxious to know -if a child was at all overworked. Any complaint of this kind was at -once dealt with, and if a child was overworked the remedy of dropping -one or two subjects was usually applied.</p> - -<p>Along with other educationalists of that day Miss Beale deplored -the excessive amount of time given to the practice of the piano, -complaining that it absorbed energies that ought to be used for the -general culture of the mind.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</span> She suggested that no girl should give -more than one hour a day to the piano, unless she had decided talent, -that parents should cease to attach so exaggerated a value to this -accomplishment, and that those who had a natural incapacity should be -allowed to leave off music altogether.</p> - -<p>Our generation is beginning at last to allow music for girls to take -only its fair share of time along with other subjects and to train the -mind and soul to appreciate rather than the hands merely to perform. We -are beginning to realise that born musicians are few, though the need -for music in life is universal. To train the ear to hear, the body to -feel rhythm, is held to be more important than the mere technique of -piano-playing.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.<br><span class="small">GROWTH.</span></h2></div> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Men say the dreams of twenty-two</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The winds of thirty shall undo....</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">We prove them liars, do we not?</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Which of our dreams have we forgot?</span><br> -<br> -<span style="margin-left: 10em;">—<span class="smcap">Frank Betts.</span></span><br> -</p> - - -<p>“At the end of five years’ hard struggle,” writes Dorothea Beale in -1863, “it was pleasant to read in the (Examiner’s) Report: ‘This -examination has convinced us that the plan and working of this -institution are admirable and calculated to supply a growing want -in our community ... that of a real and solid higher education for -ladies’.”</p> - -<p>The year 1864 was a turbulent one. The Principal had long been -dissatisfied with the college hours, feeling that they were most -unsatisfactory for teachers and children. The new plan was to have -school from 9.10 a.m. to 1 o’clock, thus increasing the length of -morning school and having no school in the afternoon. This led to a -great outcry in the town. The local papers condemned the innovation. -Teachers who wanted a half-holiday every<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</span> afternoon were said to be -idle. Parents complained that the children would be on their hands all -the afternoon and they would have to engage governesses. There was -practically war between the local people and the College authorities. -The Council and Dorothea Beale felt very strongly on this matter, -realising indeed that the future of the school probably depended on -the carrying out of their plans. A memorial signed by the shareholders -and others was sent, and the Council replied that the plan would be -tried for one term, at the end of which they would consult the wishes -of the parents. So successful, however, was the scheme that at a -General Meeting held at the end of the time mentioned, only eight -voted in favour of the old régime. As every one knows, the plan which -Dorothea Beale introduced against such strong opposition has since -that time been adopted by every High School, and has in the main made -for a higher standard of work, and better health, both in pupils and -in teachers. A number of children, as a rule, go to school in the -afternoon, but it is chiefly for preparation and lighter lessons, such -as drawing and needlework.</p> - -<p>By 1864, under <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Brancker’s careful administration, all anxiety about -financial matters had come to an end. The Principal continued, however, -to do much of the teaching herself, and the girls who were there at -this time always reckoned themselves particularly fortunate that they -came so directly under the influence of the Head. In later days this -was, of course, impossible. All the classes were held in the big hall, -but as soon as possible a schoolroom was provided for the lowest -division. Dorothea Beale, as a rule, took her classes there, except -very small ones which she often took in her own private rooms.</p> - -<p>The strongholds of prejudice began to crumble. It became easier to -teach Mathematics, Physics, etc., as a little of the old antagonism -began to disappear and the number of the senior girls increased.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</span></p> - -<p>About this time she drew up her tabular scheme for learning English -and World History. Many thought this system would bring a new era in -the learning of dates, etc., but it does not seem to have been very -generally adopted.</p> - -<p>In these early days at Cheltenham Dorothea Beale was often distressed -by gossip and back-biting. She was always particularly sensitive to -this kind of thing, and her actions were at times subject to the -criticism even of friends. But she gradually learnt to trouble less -about outside adverse opinion, though she would never have been able -to tolerate the least suspicion of criticism and disloyalty within the -school. On one occasion an untrue rumour of a serious nature was set on -foot against one of the boarding-house mistresses. Some in the College -had listened to this rumour and the Principal spoke to the teachers on -the subject.</p> - -<p>“Now I have nothing to do to judge them that are without. We must -cheerfully bear evil-speaking. But if it comes from within the matter -is for that reason a serious one; for this reason I feel it must be -traced up to its source.... I feel I can appeal to you as lovers of -truth, as those who feel that no advantages of education, of health, or -any other, can compensate for the disadvantages which would arise to -any children who lived in an atmosphere of evil-speaking, lying, and -slandering.”</p> - -<p>More than most Heads, perhaps, Dorothea Beale had the gift of inspiring -loyalty in her staff. As the College grew older the teachers were -largely recruited from Old Girls. Some women there now, no longer -young, have been at the College since childhood. It would be impossible -to mention the number of teachers whose love and devotion to their -Principal did much to ease her work and cheer her spirit. Perhaps -of these none did more for her than the first Head Teacher whom she -herself had trained. This was Miss Belcher, later Head of the great -school at Bedford. She was in many ways of the greatest help to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</span> Miss -Beale, not only in practical things but in her spiritual influence. -In addressing the Head Mistresses’ Conference just before her death, -Dorothea Beale spoke of some of the Heads of schools who had been -trained at Cheltenham. Very affectionately she spoke of Miss Belcher, -and told a story of her great loyalty to the College.</p> - -<p>Miss Belcher and another teacher, at a time when headships were very -rare, came to her and told her that they had determined to apply for -one. Miss Beale said, “Events are imminent which will shake the College -to its very foundations”. They said, “We shall not apply”.</p> - -<p>Her early days at Cheltenham were very full, so much so that her father -wrote in a teasing spirit:—</p> - -<p>“You always write as if you were at the top of your speed, and this -is not good. I doubt not you have a great deal to occupy your time -and your attention, but pray do not be always in a hurry, you will -inevitably break down if you are so—you will lose in power what you -gain in speed as certainly as in mechanics: and with greater danger to -the regularity of the machine.... I am really fearful to take up your -time.... I daresay now that you are scrambling through my note without -that respect to which the writer and the subject are entitled. But pray -remember that to neglect (the care of your health) is the worst economy -in the world.”</p> - -<p>In 1862 Dorothea Beale had the great sorrow of her father’s death, an -event which left a great blank in her life.</p> - -<p>Holidays at this time were spent partly at Cheltenham, partly abroad. -When on the Continent she visited schools and gained new ideas for -her work. For, to her, life and work were one. Nearly everything she -did bore directly or indirectly on the one purpose of her life. It is -impossible to enter into the spirit of her life unless one realises -this singleness of aim. No nun, bound to her vocation by holy vows, -could be more<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</span> dedicated than was Dorothea Beale to the great work of -education. It was to her the call of the Master to forsake all and -follow Him.</p> - -<p>This spirit in her expressed itself in many ways; in her simplicity of -life, which she maintained always. Her way of living was always plain, -as was her style of dress. In later life she dressed more grandly, but -this was forced upon her by others who felt she ought to do so, and -was not the expression of her own wishes. When she went to Cheltenham, -she decided for the sake of her work not to go out in the evenings. -I believe, as a matter of fact, that it was quite easy to keep this -resolution, as Cheltenham society was extremely “exclusive” at that -time, and was not sufficiently assured of the social position of women -teachers to invite them out to anything except perhaps a quiet tea.</p> - -<p>Dorothea Beale had very little small talk, and was too quietly -thoughtful to be a great success socially. She was quite content to -go on steadily with her teaching, her careful preparation of lessons, -her painstaking correction of the children’s work, her thoughts and -plans for wider work, all of which were slowly but surely laying the -foundations of a new intellectual world for women. One of the ideas -which she was never able to carry out was that of a Sisterhood of -Teachers, consisting of a band of teachers who should live frugal, -self-denying lives in a Community under a Mother Superior. These should -have no personal possessions, but should live, as nuns do, a life -devoted to their vocation. Later in life she became less anxious for -such a Sisterhood, believing that the inward spirit of consecration -could exist equally well without the outward and visible signs of -devotion.</p> - -<p>In our day we urge the necessity of having interests outside our -special calling; to have hobbies, games, or a different kind of work -which will be recreative; to have, as it were, in our brain several -lines of rails to prevent<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</span> the chief one from getting worn out. But -though we have become more scientific in the management of life the -main fact remains the same, that the work to which we are called is a -stern mistress and will demand our whole-hearted service.</p> - -<p>Growth is rarely a painless process, and Dorothea Beale felt that some -of her greatest difficulties began after the College entered on its -period of rapid development. By the year 1871, it had grown too big -for Cambray House, and a site for a new building was purchased for the -sum of £800. This purchase had to be endorsed by the Annual Meeting of -Shareholders in June, but this was considered a mere formality. A good -many shareholders, however, were interested in the Cambray property, -and the meeting decided not to ratify the purchase but to re-sell the -land. This was a great shock to the Council and the Principal, who -knew the need for having bigger and better premises, and the Council -announced their intention of resigning.</p> - -<p>A special General Meeting was called for September 30. At this meeting -<abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr> Jex-Blake, the Principal of Cheltenham College, who was in the -chair, pleaded most eloquently the cause of the Ladies’ College. I will -quote part of his speech as showing something of the esteem in which -the College was held at this date.</p> - -<p>“Teachers so able and energetic and successful,” said he, “have a -right to the greatest consideration and the very best arrangements -for teaching. A Ladies’ College so distinguished, second to none in -England, has a right to every advantage that can be secured for it: -a right to be lodged in a building of its own: a building perfect -in its internal arrangements, and outwardly of some architectural -attractiveness: one that should be a College and should look like a -College.”</p> - -<p>At this meeting those who desired extension carried the day, and soon -the erection of the new buildings was begun. On Lady Day, 1873, the -College moved into<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</span> the new building. So quietly and unobtrusively was -this done, that hardly a single half-hour of lessons was lost. Many -extensions followed, including the addition of art and music wings, -and kindergarten rooms. Those who were at the College in those days -were familiar with the continual noise of building; in 1882 it ceased: -“after this the sound of the hammer was not heard for nearly four -years.” Dorothea Beale’s policy of building was a sound one: it was -to plan for extensions long before they were necessary, but to build -little by little as the premises were needed and money was ready for -the purpose.</p> - -<p>About this time many questions arose that had to be settled once -and for all. One was whether the College was to be simply a local -day school, or an institution for the furthering of women’s higher -education generally: another was the government of the College and -the defining of the Principal’s powers: a third was whether the -boarding-houses should become an intrinsic part of the College. Around -all these questions storms arose and the Principal began to feel that -in leaving Cambray House she had left behind her peace and happiness.</p> - -<p>The College was finally incorporated under the Companies’ Acts, and the -government of it revised and radically altered. The Principal’s powers -were more clearly defined, and the Council decided to take over full -responsibility for the boarding-houses.</p> - -<p>About this last decision she wrote to her friend, Miss Arnold, the -headmistress of the Truro High School:—</p> - -<p>“I think I told you that after many years, I have prevailed upon our -Council to take the whole risk of the boarding-houses—the pecuniary -risk is of course very great, and in case of war or sudden depression -I don’t exactly see how we should meet it, but one must have risks and -we find the moral risks of not taking pecuniary ones so great that we -decided for the latter—and indeed we had to pay pretty considerable -sums in law expenses<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</span> and to get rid of unjust claims too. We could not -<em>prove</em> that these ladies had not lost money, if they said they -had—and if they were bad managers they did perhaps lose—and an outcry -was raised that we ruined poor ladies.”</p> - -<p>Of her attitude towards a Principal’s position and powers, part of a -letter from Miss Buss to Miss Ridley gives some idea.</p> - -<p>“I had a long and grave talk with Miss Beale, who counsels fight, but -not on any personal ground. She says: ‘Resign if there is interference -with the mistress’s 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 sometimes she quivered in every nerve at her own Council -meetings.”</p> - -<p>At the end of these various controversies it was realised that the -College could not be a merely local institution, but had a great future -before it, and was destined to play a very important part in the higher -education of women from every part of the country.</p> - -<p>I must not close this chapter without giving a brief account of the -much-loved Cambray House, in which the Ladies’ College started. For a -time after the College left it was a boys’ school, but in 1889, Miss -Beale had the chance of re-purchasing it for £2,000 and using it as a -boarding-house and overflow school for girls awaiting admission to the -College. In 1895 it was enlarged, and in 1897 the Principal, by Deed of -Gift, made it over to the College, though she still ran it on her own -account. Not until 1906 was it actually reckoned part of the College. -This is only one of the many instances of how Dorothea Beale spent or -invested her own money for the growth and welfare of the College.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.<br><span class="small">WORK OF LOVE.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“The fellowship we long for is one in which men shall be themselves -as well as fellows to each other, in which each shall know his own -desire, and there shall be a harmony among them because of a holy -concord in their desires.”—<span class="smcap">Clutton Brock.</span></p> -</div> - - -<p>In the year 1880, the College Magazine was started under the editorship -of Dorothea Beale, who remained its editor until her death in 1906. Nor -was she only the editor, but a very frequent contributor: many of her -articles which may be seen collected in book form first appeared in -the Cheltenham Ladies’ College Magazine. The contributors were chiefly -old pupils, though Dorothea Beale sometimes sought contributions from -writers outside College circles. Shortly after the magazine was started -it became a vehicle for news of old pupils, and was a means of binding -past and present students together. It is interesting to see in old -College Magazines the names of those who are now well-known in the -literary world—Beatrice Harraden and others.</p> - -<p>The year 1883 was what the pupils called Miss Beale’s “Silver Wedding”: -as she had then been twenty-five years at the College. The Old Girls -were anxious to give her a present on that occasion, and the Principal -asked that they should give something to the College. The gift took the -form of a beautiful organ, to be placed in the First Division Room—the -largest hall at that time—above the Principal’s daïs.</p> - -<p>The meeting of Old Girls was fixed for July 6 and 7. Less than a month -before it, Dorothea Beale had the sorrow of losing her great friend, -Mrs. Owen. She went on, as was her wont, with the preparations for the -“silver wedding” assembly, quietly and calmly, not letting her own -private griefs intrude on her public duties.</p> - -<p>The Principal received her guests at eight o’clock on Friday evening. -About a thousand old pupils were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</span> present. To many of them the building -was quite new, and they were charmed with the beauty of it, decorated -for the occasion by flowers and plants everywhere.</p> - -<p>On the Saturday morning she had a large breakfast party, and prayers -were held in the great hall. It must have been a thrilling experience -for Dorothea Beale to hear for the first time so many of her Old Girls -sing, “O God, our help in ages past,” to the accompaniment of the new -organ. After prayers she gave an address, chiefly on music. She spoke -first of the different kinds of music, the noble and the ignoble, the -lofty and the base: the music which, like the song of the lotus-eaters, -lulls us to forget all sense of duty, and obligation to home and -kindred, and that which arouses all our highest powers. She spoke then -of the different music of life, of nature, of faith, of every human -soul.</p> - -<p>The end of this speech expressed an idea that had been in her mind for -a long time, that of forming a guild of former pupils. The fundamental -aims of the Guild would be to bind old students to their Alma Mater: to -keep them, by means of the magazine and Old Girls’ meetings, in touch -with one another: to enable them to help one another: and perhaps by -and by to take up some corporate work.</p> - -<p>This suggestion of an Old Pupils’ Association was taken up at once, and -a meeting was fixed for the following year.</p> - -<p>A year later the Guild was established. The daisy had been chosen as -the emblem of the Guild and a brooch had been devised, the design -combining the flower and the monogram of the College. The guests were -welcomed on Tuesday evening, July 8, 1884, and on Wednesday morning -after prayers Dorothea Beale gave the inaugural address of the Guild. -Her outlook on life was essentially that of the devout poet, who sees -in the visible world the signs and symbols of spiritual truths. To her, -the daisy, the emblem of the Guild, was full of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</span> suggestion. She dealt -with allusions to the daisy in our poets, explaining why they loved -this little humble flower. She spoke of its sturdy independence—“You -never see it turning towards other flowers: it can only look up”. -She took the independence of the daisy as a symbol of the friendship -of middle and later life, the friendship which means little direct -intercourse, only the consciousness of a union in spirit and a looking -towards the same ends.</p> - -<p>“We have chosen the daisy as our emblem, the single eye, the true -sunflower, the real heliotrope that stands ever gazing upward. It is -changed into an image of the sun himself: it is like a censer ever -burning towards heaven, a speck of heavenly beauty, a star come down to -brighten the dark places of the earth.”</p> - -<p>The Guild meetings were held every second year, and were a source -of great pleasure, interest, and inspiration to those who had known -Dorothea Beale as Principal.</p> - -<p>“She had a wonderful memory,” writes one of her former pupils, “for -her Old Girls, especially for those who, like me, belonged to the old -days of Cambray House, and could remember the excitement and delight -of going into the new building. I shall never forget the warmth of her -greeting at that last Guild or how at the ‘At Home’ in the evening she -stopped me in the corridor to say, ‘I was told that all five C——’s -were here, and I have only seen four. Where is M——?’ I believe that -there were about 1200 Old Girls there, and to think of her keeping -count like that of those whom she had seen was simply amazing.”</p> - -<p>Pupils of a later date, who thought Dorothea Beale had hardly known -them at College, were often astonished to find that their old Principal -not only knew them, but remembered incidents of their College days, or -events which happened afterwards.</p> - -<p>An older girl and her sister were both sent to College and the latter -left from the third division because her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</span> people left Cheltenham; but -her elder sister, Gertrude, stayed on and eventually joined the Guild. -Years after the younger one met the Principal and went up to speak to -her and, never thinking that she could possibly remember her, meant to -explain who she was. But before she could do so Miss Beale, on seeing -her, began without any preliminaries: “Why has your sister left the -Guild?”</p> - -<p>In the year 1876 Miss Margaret Newman had made an offer to Dorothea -Beale that she would start a boarding-house for students who wished -to become teachers and found it difficult to obtain the necessary -training. She offered to pay £75 a year towards expenses, and in -addition to give her time and services. This involved a good deal of -strain and work, as it meant living in a small house with only one -maid, and having in addition the responsibility of the girl students. -At the end of one year Miss Newman became ill and died after a short -illness. Those who knew her felt that death had been hastened by the -devoted work for which she had hardly had sufficient strength. Her -work, however, was not ended. In the brief space of one year Miss -Newman had won such love and affection for herself and such sympathy -with her noble object that people felt her work must go on. It was this -strong feeling which made Dorothea Beale depart from her usual plan -of not asking for money. As soon as she asked, £1200 was immediately -given, half of it by the College staff.</p> - -<p>“She had left,” said Dorothea Beale, “a legacy of £100 to carry it on, -and, as has been mentioned, further sums were given by friends, and -about £600 by the College staff. The number of students had steadily -increased, and it was determined by the trustees in whom the management -was vested to build a residential college and trust to the small -profits each year gradually to pay off the debt thereby incurred. They -therefore purchased the site on Bayshill, and arrangements were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</span> made -for the erection of the building to designs prepared by <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Middleton. -Cheltenham was one of the first colleges to establish training for -Secondary Teachers. After much thought it was decided to call the new -hall of residence <abbr title="saint">St.</abbr> Hilda’s.</p> - -<p>“<abbr title="saint">St.</abbr> Hilda’s,” said she, “seemed a particularly appropriate ideal for -our students. She was consecrated by Bishop Aidan and made Head of -the most important house of education of her day. She had, Bede tells -us, been diligently instructed by learned men and she was the patron -of our earliest poet, Caedmon. She insisted much that those under her -direction should attend to the reading of the Holy Scriptures. She -taught the strict observance of justice and other virtues, particularly -of peace and charity.”</p> - -<p>On November 27, 1885, the building was formally opened. A beautiful -statue of <abbr title="saint">St.</abbr> Hilda was presented by a brother of some old pupils. -She holds in her hand the Vulgate open at the words “Videmus nunc per -speculum in aenigmate: tune autem facie ad faciem. Nunc cognosco ex -parte: tunc autem cognoscam sicut et cognitus sum” (1 Cor. xiii. 12). -Over the door are the words of Plato, χαλεπὰ τὰ καλά. On the study -walls are these texts—“Shew Thy servants Thy work and their children -Thy glory”: “Knowledge puffeth up, charity buildeth up”: “Let nothing -be done through strife or vain-glory”.</p> - -<p>Seven years later another Saint Hilda’s was established, this time at -Oxford.</p> - -<p>Dorothea Beale had for long years realised the enormous advantage -to students of living for a time in the atmosphere of the older -Universities. She thought that a time at Oxford or Cambridge could give -to a student, who had already begun her teaching career, inspiration -and mental stimulus that nothing else could give. Her idea was -that they should have a year for general reading, rather than for -examination work, though those who<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</span> wished to take examinations should -be allowed to do so.</p> - -<p>In 1892, Miss Beale purchased from <abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr> Child, Cowley House, Oxford, a -beautifully situated house, overlooking Christ Church meadows. The work -was begun in October, 1893, there being at that time seven students -with Mrs. Burrows as Principal. It was formally opened on November 6, -the mid-term holiday of Cheltenham Ladies’ College, and many of the -staff and pupils went to the opening ceremony.</p> - -<p><abbr title="saint">St.</abbr> Hilda’s work was soon extended in another direction, not indeed -along Dorothea Beale’s lines, though she was too wise to offer any -opposition. In the year 1888 a meeting of the Guild was held, and the -proposal was made that it should take up some definite outside work. -There were several proposals, but an overwhelming majority of the Guild -decided on the plan of starting a settlement in the East End of London. -As a result of this decision Mayfield House, close to Bethnal Green, -was taken by the Committee. Dorothea Beale was greatly disappointed and -did not conceal the fact. At a General Guild Meeting in alluding to -this subject she said:—</p> - -<p>“I trust we shall be able to try to win harmony out of notes not -altogether concordant. Some of us come with a feeling of disappointment -that the scheme we desired has been rejected—I am one of these. I not -only accept my defeat, I feel sure that you have sought guidance of -that inward oracle which must ever be our supreme rule, you have done -what conscience bade and so it is right. As regards my own scheme, I -only allude to it to say that, having now to continue it single-handed, -I cannot help you as much as I could wish, and I just refer to it -to-day in the hope that you will remember it when I am no longer here.”</p> - -<p>After some years of work at Mayfield House a house was built specially -for the Guild settlement close to Shoreditch<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</span> Church. The latter was -opened in 1895. The Guild took up this task in the East End with great -enthusiasm, and many of the members were willing to sacrifice time and -money to help on the work they had undertaken.</p> - -<p>Dorothea Beale seems never to have taken kindly to charitable work. -She had a great horror of the demoralisation caused by the giving of -“doles”. Many of her friends thought that she realised little of the -suffering and demoralisation caused by extreme poverty. After a time -she became much more interested in the Guild settlement, realising -what a valuable centre it formed for training young workers. It was -this aspect of the work rather than its charitable purpose that -appealed to her most strongly. All through her life she touched with a -very doubtful hand enterprises connected with giving to individuals. -She felt very strongly that the effect was in almost every case -demoralising. When free meals for necessitous school children were -introduced, she was very much concerned about them, dreading the -weakening of parental responsibility. She knew little of the poor, -however, and of the evil effects of poverty itself, and was in -consequence less harassed by doubts than those of us who see these -social problems following one another in an endless vicious circle. -In this connection one might mention that she never cared much for -scholarships, though as time went on she accepted one or two for -the College, and she herself founded one at Casterton School. She -preferred to lend money to those who wished for training which they -could not afford. During her time at Cheltenham she lent money to many -students: it had to be returned when the student began to earn money, -and in hardly any cases did the student fail to do so. She felt very -strongly that people value much more highly that for which they have to -struggle, and had an almost morbid dread of the demoralising effect of -charity on character.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.<br><span class="small">INTERESTS, HONOURS, AND A JOURNEY.</span></h2></div> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“Glory of Virtue, to fight, to struggle to right the wrong.</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nay, but she aimed not at glory, no lover of glory she:</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Give her the glory of going on and still to be.”</span><br> -<br> -<span style="margin-left: 10em;">—<span class="smcap">Tennyson.</span></span><br> -</p> - -<p>Those who are called to a great work often pass through times of -darkness, during which they lose for a time their vision of the eternal -realities which have meant everything to them. Dorothea Beale about the -middle of her work at Cheltenham passed through such an experience. -With weak health and clouded faith she strove, however, to live in the -spirit of Matthew Arnold’s lines—</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tasks in hours of insight willed</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">May be through hours of gloom fulfilled,</span><br> -</p> - -<p class="p0">and only a few intimate friends knew what she suffered at this time.</p> - -<p>A few extracts from her journal at this time show something of the ups -and downs of her illness, and the courage with which she fought what -at first she did not realise to be illness. Her diary of 1878 contains -many such entries as:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p><i>February 26.</i>—I have idled away precious time, neglected -individual work. Because my own will is weak I could not strengthen -[another].</p> - -<p><i>February 27.</i>—In bed all day. There are duties still undone -though I see death near.</p> - -<p><i>February 28.</i>—Not in college. Much time wasted and [I was] -disobedient to the voice of duty.</p> - -<p><i>March 15.</i>—A little more work for my children to-day. I thank -Thee for some help. May I consecrate time and energies to Thee.</p> - -<p><i>April 5.</i>—Tried, but not successfully, with my Confirmation -children. Feeling too ill to do well. Thy Will be done.</p> -</div> - -<p>In 1882 she passed through a time of great darkness<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</span> and depression, -but she finally won through as one of her indomitable spirit was bound -to do.</p> - -<p>When this experience had passed Dorothea Beale had changed. Her -religion had become more spiritual; her knowledge of other souls more -intimate; her desire to help those passing through similar experiences, -intense. One of the immediate results of her time of difficulty was -the starting of Quiet Days or Retreats for teachers at Cheltenham at -the end of the summer term, alternatively with the biennial Guild -meetings. To her, a teacher’s work was first and foremost spiritual; -and she realised the need of times of refreshment and re-establishment -in the faith for those who are continually “giving out”. The Quiet Days -she established proved a great help to many teachers from all parts, -and her letters to old pupils and others passing through times of -difficulty reveal a great insight only given by personal experience.</p> - -<p>To her friend, Miss Belcher, she wrote:—</p> - -<p>“We were all so full of hope at first and are much disappointed that -relief has not come; ... I think, perhaps, you may be specially -suffering for one, that her faith may be once more awakened. Every -sufferer thus ‘lifted up’ does in a measure draw the hearts of others -to Him through whom we are able to reveal the power of faith.”</p> - -<p>To another she wrote:—</p> - -<p>“I have just heard of this fresh trouble. Surely you must be intended -to do some work for others specially needing heart’s blood. This paper -was put into my hands just as I heard of your fresh disappointment and -anxiety.”</p> - -<p>The mediatorial and purifying purpose of suffering is an idea -frequently found in her writing. The South African War was a great -burden on her mind. In 1900 she wrote:—</p> - -<p>“It is difficult to keep up one’s active powers with this nightmare; -one is so sure that all suffering is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</span> intended to be purifying and we -must glorify God in the fires.”</p> - -<p>Dorothea Beale always had a great objection to desultory work, and -though she of necessity touched many interests wider than those of -Cheltenham, she kept the main part of her time and strength for her -own particular work. Her association with various enterprises was -always greatly valued, and her work and influence were felt to be a -great help. Some of the educational work in which she was specially -interested and took a part was represented by the Head-Mistresses’ -Association, the Teachers’ Guild, the Froebel Society, the Child Study -Association, the Parents’ National Union, and Sunday Schools. She -would send delegates from the College to consider any new educational -system. A local institution that always claimed her sympathy was a -Working Men’s College started at Cheltenham and greatly helped by her -friends, <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> and Mrs. Owen. She read a paper there on one occasion, on -self-support and self-government.</p> - -<p>“I do not think there are many,” she said, “belonging to this College, -who could not pay a few shillings annually. Self-denial adds value -to energy.... Everybody does not agree with me. Some think you will -misunderstand—think we do not want to help. I do not think you will; -to judge by my own feelings I like to be independent.”</p> - -<p>Then she spoke of the early difficulties at the Ladies’ College and the -lack of money during her first years there.</p> - -<p>“I am quite sure,” she went on, “that our College would not have been -what it is if we had had money to fall back upon. I might myself have -left the helm and gone to sit quietly in the cabin while the vessel -drifted on to the rocks.”</p> - -<p>Dorothea Beale kept throughout life a youthfulness of outlook which -made her able to enthuse over things that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</span> strongly attracted her -attention and interest. One day some one brought to her on a lily-leaf -a dragon-fly emerging from the pupa. To her mind, as to Mrs. Gatty’s, -this became a symbol of the resurrection. All that summer the college -heard much of the thought it had suggested, and many were the -“transformations” witnessed. She wrote a paper—“Is Death the End?” -and wanted to read it at a little mission maintained by her friends, -<abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> and Mrs. Owen. They would not allow her to do so, though she was -perfectly sure she would be able to interest the poor people. This -reminds the writer of a similar incident. A lady had given what she -believed to be a thrilling lecture on the dragon-fly to a number of -East End girls. They listened most attentively and seemed greatly -interested. But the lecturer’s self-satisfaction received something of -a shock when at the end she heard one girl say to another in a very -Cockney accent, “Why, it’s nothing but a fly, after all!” Probably <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> -and Mrs. Owen were right.</p> - -<p>Dorothea Beale was not directly interested in missionary work until -the year 1883, when Pundita Ramabai was sent by the Wantage Sisters -to study at Cheltenham College. Under her influence she studied Hindu -religion and philosophy, and became greatly concerned about the -condition of widows in India. When Ramabai established her Home for -Widows at Mukti, Dorothea Beale became a regular and large subscriber. -Among her papers was found an appeal evidently intended to reach the -minds of educated Hindus.</p> - -<p>“My heart,” she wrote, “is stirred by sorrow and pity for those -suffering widows of India; but there are some whom I pity more—those -who inflict the sorrow on them, since it is far better to suffer than -to do wrong.... But what grieves me, too, is the thought of the waste -of all that wonderful amount of energy and life that God has given your -country-women in order to bless others.</p> - -<p>“If the men of India believe in God’s goodness and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</span> wisdom, as I think -they must, even though they may not trust Him, they must think He has -not made all those widows to be a burden and a misery to themselves and -others, but to do good work. What mistakes people make when they think -they are wiser than God.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>“I can remember when ‘Old Maid’ was a term of contempt in England, but -it is not so now; you have seen me and sixty old maids working together -happy and content, and if I could send out a hundred women where I -can now send one, I should not have too many, so constant are the -demands for ‘old maids,’ as you would call them—for teachers, nurses, -missionaries, and all sorts of good work.... India will some time feel -all that her wasted women’s life can do.”</p> - -<p>With regard to missionary work for girls, she was always afraid lest -the glamour and romance of it should tempt them away from obvious -duties at home.</p> - -<p>Dorothea Beale, perhaps because of her early acquaintance with Mrs. -Lancaster’s work, was always ready to support any agencies for the -protection of girls and women. As far back as ’86 she wrote:—</p> - -<p>“I would ... urge the formation of a body of women-policemen who could -safely do work which could not be undertaken by men-policemen or -clergymen. These should undertake to watch over registries for women, -shops where women work, to establish labour registers themselves and -take care that women were not paid starvation wages; to enter (under -protection) suspected houses; to watch railway stations, shops,” etc.</p> - -<p>She was always anxious for the vote to be granted to women, knowing -that many reforms were impossible without it. She was saddened by <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> -Balfour’s Education Bill of 1902, feeling that by the abolition of -School Boards on which women had been well represented, the cause of -the vote had received a serious “set-back”.</p> - -<p>Many other causes received her sympathy and financial<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</span> help. Agnes -Weston’s work among sailors always appealed to her, as did also all -efforts to set discharged prisoners on their feet again. She had, too, -a warm spot in her heart for sufferers of her own class, impoverished -women teachers and other workers.</p> - -<p>Dorothea Beale never cared much for prizes. She felt that the work -ought to be done for the work’s sake, as it indeed was at Cheltenham. -There were prizes given on the examination results and standards -reached, but these were simply fetched by the prize-winners from the -secretary’s room at the beginning of the next term. No emphasis was -laid upon them and they were rather an acknowledgment of good work than -something to be striven for.</p> - -<p>The College itself did little to attract public attention. It had no -speech-day to draw celebrities to it, and went on year after year -unnoticed save by those associated with it, and those who had a real -interest in education.</p> - -<p>In the eighties, however, outside people began to honour the College in -various ways. John Ruskin was one of the first to do so, by presenting -it with some beautiful old manuscripts and printed books. He often -criticised the College Magazine. On one occasion he hurt the editor -deeply by criticising the verses of a dear friend. To her protest he -replied:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Dear Miss Beale</span>,</p> - -<p>“I am grieved very deeply to have written what I did of your dead -friend’s verses. If you knew how full my own life has been of sorrow, -how every day of it begins with a death-knell, you would bear with me -in what I will yet venture to say to you as the head of a noble school -of women’s thought, that no personal feelings should ever be allowed -to influence you in what you permit your scholars either to read or to -publish.”</p> -</div> - -<p>And again, a little later:—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Dear Miss Beale</span>,</p> - -<p>“So many thanks, and again and again I ask your pardon for the pain I -gave you. I had no idea of the kind of person you were, I thought you -were merely clever and proud.</p> - -<p class="right"> -“These substituted verses are lovely.<br> -“Ever gratefully yours, <br> -“J. R.”<br> -</p> -</div> - -<p>In 1889 and 1900, the Ladies’ College won gold medals for its -educational exhibits at the Paris Exhibitions. In 1894 Dorothea -Beale was called to give evidence before another Royal Commission -for inquiring into the condition of girls’ schools. In 1897, the -Empress Frederick visited the college, and in 1899 Princess Henry of -Battenberg, the latter to unveil a marble bust of Queen Victoria.</p> - -<p>In the year 1898 there was an outbreak of smallpox in England. It was -particularly bad in Gloucestershire, and five times it broke out in -Cheltenham.</p> - -<p>“Cheltenham,” says Mrs. Raikes, “largely owed its immunity to the -exertions of the Lady Principal, who insisted on re-vaccination where -it was necessary for every one connected with the college. This meant -not only teachers, pupils, servants, but all who had to do with any -college girl in any capacity—all in the homes of the day-pupils—all -in the shops which served the boarding-houses—the whole railway staff -at the different stations. The College custom was too good to lose and -she carried her point. Such a drastic measure had its comic side, as -was perceived by the saucy butcher boy, who shouted to a boarding-house -cook, “I must know if you are vaccinated before I deliver this meat”.</p> - -<p>The father of a girl who had an important examination in a few weeks -refused to allow her to be vaccinated. The Head refused to keep her, -and a cab was actually at the door to take her away when a telegram -came from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</span> the girl’s father—“May do as she pleases”—which took away -the necessity for the cab.</p> - -<p>For personal honours Dorothea Beale cared not at all, but she valued -them because they reflected glory on the College. Towards the end of -her life many honours were bestowed upon her. She was greatly honoured -at the International Congresses of Education held in Paris in 1889. -Later she was made Officier de l’Académie, and in 1890, the Société -des Professeurs de Langues Vivantes held its meeting at Cheltenham. -Durham University next conferred upon her the distinction of Tutor in -Letters. In 1898 she was elected a Corresponding Member of the National -Educational Association, U.S.A. An honour unusual for a woman was -conferred on Dorothea Beale, in 1901, when she received the freedom of -the Borough of Cheltenham. In the words of the Town Council resolution -it was decreed:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“That in recognition of the great work she has done for the education -of women in England, and especially of the unique position to which -under her direction the Cheltenham Ladies’ College has attained among -the educational institutions of the country, Miss Dorothea Beale be, -in pursuance and exercise of the Honorary Freedom of the Boroughs’ -Act, 1885, admitted to the Honorary Freedom of this Borough.”</p> -</div> - -<p>Dorothea Beale in her reply said:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“To invite a woman to be a Freeman of a town is, I venture to believe, -an expression of the thought that not the individual, but the family -with its twofold life, is the true unit and type of the State, that -social and civil and national prosperity depend on the communion of -labour, and that the ideal commonwealth is realised only in proportion -as the dream of one of our poets is fulfilled, and men and women</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -‘Walk this world<br> -Yoked in all exercise of noble ends.’”<br> -</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</span></p> - - -<p>Shortly after this she was co-opted a member of the Advisory Board of -the University of London.</p> - -<p>The highest honour Dorothea Beale received came in 1902. It was an -invitation from the University of Edinburgh to receive the LL.D. -degree. Her students and staff were delighted, and the latter -determined to present her with her robes. These were the most beautiful -and costly they could procure. The degree was conferred in the McEwan -Hall of the University. Others who received the degree at the same time -were the Lord Chief Justice of England (Lord Alverstone), <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Asquith, -<abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Austin Dobson, Sir John Batty Tuke, and <abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr> Rucker, Principal of -the University of London. Only once before had the University conferred -this honour on a woman.</p> - -<p>Sir Ludovic Grant in summing up Dorothea Beale’s claim to a national -recognition gave an excellent epitome of her work:—</p> - -<p>“No feature of the national progress during the last fifty years is -more remarkable than the revolution which has transformed our girls’ -schools from occidental zenanas into centres of healthy activity. In -the great crusade which has been crowned with this most desirable -consummation the foremost champion was the cultured and intrepid -lady who guides the destinies of the Ladies’ College, Cheltenham. It -was largely due to Miss Beale’s indomitable advocacy on platform and -on paper, that the barriers of parental prejudice were broken down, -that the ancient idols, venerated by a former generation—Mangnall, -Pinnock, and Lindley Murray—were shattered, and that barren catechism -and lifeless epitome were compelled to give place to fructifying -studies, and the futile promenade to invigorating recreations. I need -not remind you that Miss Beale’s apostolic ardour is equalled by her -administrative abilities. When she went to Cheltenham her pupils were -counted by tens: to-day they are to be counted by hundreds, and the -institution<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</span> in respect of organisation and educational efficiency will -bear comparison with the best of the great English public schools. -Among the collateral benefits resulting from the great movement for -the higher education of women, in which Miss Beale has played so -conspicuous a part, not the least important is the power which the -Scotch Universities have obtained of conferring their honorary degrees -upon women, and therefore it is with no ordinary satisfaction that -the University of Edinburgh now exercises this power by begging Miss -Beale’s acceptance of an honour which has been brought within the reach -of her sex largely through her own endeavours.”</p> - -<p>She wrote to the Vice-Principal a delightful account of the ceremony, -which she seems to have thoroughly enjoyed.</p> - -<p>“I am persuaded,” said she, “that my robes were far superior to any -other.” From Edinburgh she went to Glasgow where she found herself in -the midst of “Old Girls”.</p> - -<p>“We are often in spirit in Cheltenham,” wrote she, “and I must send -you a few last words to wish you all very happy holidays.... On Monday -a large number of distinguished people were invited to meet us, and -yesterday afternoon we had a party of about thirty Cheltonians. In the -evening we dined with Professor and Mrs. George Adam Smith. I sat next -to Professor Jones, who has written a book on Browning, and on the -other side was the Rector, <abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr> Story.... I think we shall come back -refreshed and with some new ideas.”</p> - -<p>She went from Glasgow to stay with other old pupils in Scotland, -then to Newcastle, where she was asked to launch a ship. She -evidently thought this would be a very damp proceeding and arrived -in india-rubber shoes and a dress thoroughly looped up. “Much as she -disliked adventure,” says Mrs. Raikes, “she was prepared to march into -the Tyne if the glory of the Ladies’ College demanded it.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</span></p> - -<p>This three weeks’ tour she thoroughly enjoyed, and came back refreshed -and strengthened and warmed in heart by the love and kindness of her -“Old Girls” and the appreciation shown her everywhere.</p> - -<p>In the autumn of 1902 she was compelled to give up work for a time. Her -sight was causing anxiety and she was not allowed either to read or -to write. Miss Berridge went with her to Bath and wrote of their life -together:—</p> - -<p>“We brought with us Adam Smith’s work on the “Minor Prophets” and -also Jane Austen’s “Persuasion”. At first we stuck to the “Prophets,” -but at last Jane got a hearing and since then she has utterly -ousted the “Prophets”. It has been rather amusing to note how many -excellent reasons there were for giving Jane the preference. Miss -Beale was—tired—or sleepy—or not very well and could not attend -to anything that required thought, or it was near lunch—or tea—or -supper-time and therefore it was not worth while, etc., etc., and I -think she has really liked the story very much.... Miss Beale is very -much better, though of course far from being her former energetic self. -But we have still more than a fortnight before us and if she makes as -much progress in that time as she has done in the fortnight just gone, -we may be very well satisfied.”</p> - -<p>She recovered wonderfully and was back at her work at the end of term. -But from this time she seems to have realised the need for greater care -of her health and the next summer she took a “Kur” at Oeynhausen.</p> - -<p>It was about this time that those who knew and loved Dorothea Beale -began to realise that some day the great Head would be removed and -that there was no worthy memorial of her: no portrait which would -remind her “children” of their school mother, and would speak to future -generations of the Foundress to whom they owed so much.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</span></p> - -<p>The Council first approached her through their chairman, Sir Samuel -Johnson. She suggested in reply that Miss Stirling, who had a modelling -class at the College, should model her portrait in clay or terra-cotta.</p> - -<p>After this the Council’s request took the form of a resolution. To -this Dorothea Beale replied that she had a very great objection to a -portrait of herself being hung up during her life: that it would use up -funds needed for improvements in the College, and that it would give -people an exaggerated idea of the work that she had been allowed to do -for the College.</p> - -<p>Again she suggested that Miss Stirling should make a model in clay, -which could be executed in stone by <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Martyn.</p> - -<p>The final appeal was made by the Guild meeting of 1902, after which -Dorothea Beale surrendered, and allowed her portrait to be painted by -<abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> J. J. Shannon. In her reply to those who were so desirous of having -a worthy memorial of their revered and loved Principal, she said:—</p> - -<p>“The unbiassed artist represents his subject as she is, not as she -seems to be to those who are good enough to overlook her defects and -love her in spite of them.”</p> - -<p>Whilst the Principal was sitting for <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Shannon, various friends -read aloud to her. “Lorna Doone” was one of the books. It “amused the -painter,” Dorothea Beale said.</p> - -<p>The portrait, a very attractive one, was presented by the Duchess of -Bedford on November 8, 1904. In Dorothea’s Beale’s reply, she said that -she looked on the desire for a portrait as one not for a person but for -a Principal, a representative who would live on long after the person -had passed away. The illuminated book containing the names of the -donors she looked upon as a personal gift.</p> - -<p>The College Jubilee celebrations were held in May, 1905. Lord -Londonderry opened a large new wing for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</span> science teaching, and -well-known people spoke at this gathering, which was the only public -Commemoration the college had had.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.<br><span class="small">SOME CHARACTERISTICS AND IDEAS.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“Universal History ... is at bottom, the History of the Great Men who -have worked here.”—<span class="smcap">Carlyle.</span></p> -</div> - - -<p>Dorothea Beale is one of the few people to whom we can apply the -adjective great. As one reads the story of her life this quality is -very clearly marked. She was great in her thoughts, great in her plans, -great in her deeds. It is impossible to define greatness, but it is a -quality that is easily recognisable by those who have the power to see.</p> - -<p>She had a well-balanced brain, an extremely desirable possession in -an educationalist. Whether she would have done superlatively good -work in one subject, had she specialised, it is impossible to say, -but she certainly did extremely good work in many subjects—History, -Mathematics, Philosophy, Languages—to mention only a few. Such -all-round capacity is very valuable in a Head Mistress, as it enables -her to judge fairly the teaching that is being given in almost every -subject. Intellectually she was abnormally active: rest was to her an -impossibility, and up to the end of her life she kept this marvellous -mental energy. The amount of work she was able to do was prodigious: -her administrative duties, her teaching, her literary essays—she wrote -a considerable amount—her vast correspondence, implied a mass of work -that few people could get through. Her great powers made it rather -difficult for her to understand people of limited capacity, though she -tried to do so. Dorothea Beale was a great organiser. Teachers who -went to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</span> Ladies’ College from other schools were amazed at the -perfect organisation, and were greatly impressed by the way in which -Dorothea Beale kept in touch with everything. She was like a centre to -which were attached invisible wires from every girl and every teacher. -One of her leading ideas was to work through her staff. She knew she -could accomplish infinitely more with their sympathy and help than by -trying to do things herself. A piece of advice she frequently offered -to her teachers was to get others to do anything they could, so as to -leave their own energies for the essential part of their work, the part -that no one else could do. The doctrine of conservation of energy she -preached much to her staff. She dreaded for them the exhausting effect -of even too much enthusiasm. Holidays, she said, were to be used for -the refreshment of body, mind, and soul: and she advised them to avoid -anything that might impair their health.</p> - -<p>Her humour was subtle and not always understood. She frequently said -most humorous things with a perfectly grave face, so that people who -did not understand her often quoted her jokes to prove her lack of -humour. One day she said to the girls that she believed her friend, -<abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> X., always made a plan of learning poetry while he shaved, and she -commended it to them as a practice they should all immediately follow!</p> - -<p>As life went on, I believe, Dorothea Beale became rather unpractical in -personal matters, and when she had to do things for herself did them -with difficulty. Happily she usually had some one to look after her.</p> - -<p>“I had a great deal of talk with her,” wrote one of her Old Girls, “at -one of the Head Mistresses’ Conferences, and I remember her giving me -such an amusing account of her attempts to blow up an air-cushion for -herself, that we both laughed until the tears ran down our faces.”</p> - -<p>At the age of sixty-seven Dorothea Beale took to cycling. At first -she attempted a bicycle, but this was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</span> somewhat difficult at that -advanced age, so she took the advice of her friends and rode, instead, -a tricycle. Most mornings about seven o’clock she was to be seen riding -along the Cheltenham streets. “The milkmen know how to keep out of my -way,” she used laughingly to say. The tricycle was a source of great -pleasure to her, as it enabled her to get out easily and quickly into -quiet country, where she could enjoy the beauty and solitude of nature.</p> - -<p>Her writing became rather illegible, though in youth it was good. There -is a story told of her which sounds to me rather the kind of anecdote -that is applied to different people in succession. After a Scripture -class a girl received back a written exercise with a remark by Dorothea -Beale at the end. The girl gazed at the remark, looking at it in every -possible way, but could not decipher it. The book was handed round the -class, but no one could read the red-ink hieroglyphics. Finally some -genius hit on the interpretation—“Write legibly!”</p> - -<p>The living monument of Dorothea Beale’s work is a testimony to her -greatness of soul, her patience and her power to wait. Yet, curiously -enough, she was in smaller things often very impetuous: sometimes she -forgot decisions made hastily and difficulties ensued.</p> - -<p>All her life Dorothea Beale had to fight against extreme sensitiveness -and shyness. She, who never shrank from any duty, however difficult, -often shrank from the society of those who might be unsympathetic, -and was sorely wounded by adverse criticism. Yet in a larger sense, -she did not trouble about the judgment of others, accustomed as she -was throughout life to submit herself to a Higher Judge. She found -it difficult to make advances to other people and always welcomed -the fearless, happy girls who ventured to treat her as a comrade and -friend. No doubt this sensitiveness helped her much in her dealings -with others. It gave her the power of sympathising, especially in times -of sorrow and difficulty: one has only to read some of her letters<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</span> to -see how powerful she was in this way. A few extracts will illustrate -this point:—</p> - -<p>“I need not tell you I have felt much for you. One could not have -wished the suffering prolonged, and yet one does not feel the loss -less. Happily, one seems generally to forget, when all is over, the -last painful incidents of the sickness, and to remember the past years. -Few have had a more devoted mother. How proud she was of your success!”</p> - -<p>To another, on her father’s death:—</p> - -<p>“I must write you one line of sympathy in this great sorrow. I know how -much you loved your dear father and had longed for this visit, and now -there will be a great blank. You will not think now, ‘how glad he will -be if I do well’.”</p> - -<p>To one going through great spiritual struggle:—</p> - -<p>“Indeed, dear child, I do feel for you. When you are freer you must -come and see me and we will talk over things. I shall not think you -wicked but believe that you do want to know God, and that He is sorry -for you because you do care, but cannot see.”</p> - -<p>To her dear friend, Miss Belcher, when the latter was suffering from -the illness which was to bring the end:—</p> - -<p>“I am looking forward to Friday. I thought of you so much on this the -Physician’s [<abbr title="saint">St.</abbr> Luke’s] day as we sang that beautiful Hymn and Psalm -xxx: and our window told of the raising of the daughter by the Healer.”</p> - -<p>Dorothea Beale presented the perhaps not unusual combination of the -practical woman of affairs and the mystic. Her business capacity and -power of organisation were remarkable, and yet she had essentially the -mind of a poet. Hers was the type of mind that is continually seeing -a revelation of the spiritual in all material things, in history, in -literature, and in sympathy with kindred souls.</p> - -<p>Her Scripture lessons she considered one of the chief<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</span> parts of her -work. She always took the greatest care with her preparation for these -classes and made them the subject of prayer. Some used to complain that -her lessons were vague, and not intelligible, but even those who did -not understand felt a greatness and an uplifting power which were a -help to them.</p> - -<p>In 1880 she wrote to a young teacher. “I used to prepare my lessons on -my knees (don’t say this to others). You would find it a help, I think, -to do this sometimes.”</p> - -<p>Her literature lessons were rather unusual. She dealt with the great -writers in a great way, and used these lessons for conveying moral -teaching that could not very well be given in Scripture lessons. -Browning she loved, and her senior girls never left school without -having been introduced by Dorothea Beale to some of his great, shorter -poems. Her book on Literary Studies gives one an idea of how she -dealt with literature in her classes. There is in this book a very -interesting dialogue, between a person of the seventeenth and one of -the nineteenth century on the theology of “Paradise Lost”. After an -interesting discussion on the different conceptions of God and His ways -the seventeenth century representative says:—</p> - -<p>“You do not do justice to us. You do not think Bunyan meant us to -believe Christian took a real journey away from a particular town. Why -do you suppose Milton meant that Satan was thrown out of a special -place in this, which we call space? You do not think that the Red Cross -Knight was believed by Spenser, or Christian by Bunyan, to have been -immersed in a dark dungeon.”</p> - -<p>On the subject of marriage Dorothea Beale had very high ideals. She -urged girls to become independent by their own efforts, so that they -should never be tempted to a mercenary marriage. She was very scornful -of the type of modern novel that represents men and women as slaves of -their passions, unrestrained by the bonds of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</span> marriage or the claims of -morality. Before she finally accepted her vocation Dorothea Beale was -herself for a short time engaged to be married: but the engagement came -to an end, and the work of a great school, instead of a quiet home, -became her part in life.</p> - -<p>Her literary activities were considerable. She wrote on a good many -subjects, but chiefly on those connected with her work. Some of her -essays were published in the College Magazine, others in periodicals. -All her work gives one much food for thought.</p> - -<p>The Bishop of Stepney, at the memorial service held for Dorothea Beale -in <abbr title="saint">St.</abbr> Paul’s Cathedral, gave a very true epitome of the things that -Dorothea Beale stood for.</p> - -<p>“She gave a proof that the personality of a teacher was the most -indispensable and enduring power in education. The main object of all -her work at Cheltenham and elsewhere was not so much to instruct the -mind as to inspire the character. She held before herself a clear ideal -of what a cultivated woman ought to be, strong and self-controlled, -filling her life with the highest interests, developing herself to the -utmost for the glory of God and the service of man.”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.<br><span class="small">ANOTHER JOURNEY.</span></h2></div> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“The King there in His beauty</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Without a veil is seen:</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">It were a well-spent journey</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Though seven deaths lay between.”</span><br> -<br> -<span style="margin-left: 10em;">—“Hymn from the last words of Samuel Rutherford.”</span><br> -</p> - - -<p>To those whose life is extended to even the lower limit of the -Psalmist, the world becomes rather sad and lonely. Gradually, one by -one, friends and relations of their own generation pass away, and there -are few left with the same memories and the same outlook. Dorothea<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</span> -Beale enjoyed perhaps one of the greatest blessings life can give, -that of being able to work until the end. Like all energetic souls -she wished to die “in harness,” and that wish was granted. But on the -personal side her life had become very lonely, though it was brightened -by the love of her “children”.</p> - -<p>Some months before the end she was haunted by the suspicion of fatal -disease, but of this others knew nothing. In the Guild meeting of 1906 -there hovered the feeling that perhaps it was the last over which the -loved Principal, now old and frail, would preside. “Old Girls” linger -affectionately on her last speech; it was full of humorous touches, and -ripples of laughter were continually passing through the audience. In -it she made her appeal for greater earnestness, greater devotion, so -that all the Guild members might be able to say—using the motto of <abbr title="saint">St.</abbr> -Hilda’s, Oxford—<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">Non frustra vixi.</i></p> - -<p>In the holidays she did a good deal of work connected with the College -and began term as usual, though some who knew her well realised that -she was hardly fit for the strain of her work.</p> - -<p>Her “Old Girls” linger lovingly on that last term. On the first day -she gave, as she usually did, a short address to the teachers and -children. She spoke on one of her favourite themes—the Parable of -the Talents—and dwelt chiefly on the joy and privilege of being -fellow-workers with God.</p> - -<p>On October 16, Dorothea Beale had to go to a College Council Meeting -in London. By accident, she missed Miss Alice Andrews whom she was to -meet at Oxford and went up to London alone. As soon as she arrived in -London she went to see her doctor, an “Old Girl,” <abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr> Aldrich Blake. -The doctor confirmed her worst suspicions and recommended an immediate -operation. Later, she wrote about this visit:—</p> - -<p>“On Tuesday (October 16) I went up to London hurriedly at 6.37, full -of the thought of what was before<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</span> me. I went straight to <abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr> Aldrich -Blake, an old pupil. She condemned me. Then I saw, as I had arranged, a -new attendant. I looked into shops and felt giddy, and went on to the -place of meeting, where I saw two others, and lastly several friends.”</p> - -<p>After this she proceeded to the Council meeting, where she read her -annual report with no sign of fatigue. On her return to Cheltenham <abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr> -Cardew confirmed <abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr> Aldrich Blake’s opinion, and it was arranged that -she should enter a local nursing home on October 22. Up to the last -moment she did her work, taking prayers, her Scripture lesson—which -struck the girls as a most remarkable one—and doing her corrections -until the end of that day. Some few friends knew of the trial that -awaited her and to one or two others she expressed the doubt whether -she would ever return. After the operation all went well, until Sunday, -the 28th, when she became obviously worse. She rallied somewhat, -however, but the day after nervous prostration set in and after that -there was practically no hope. Mrs. Raikes tells very vividly the story -of the morning at Cheltenham (November 9) when the bulletin was issued -“Miss Beale is sinking”:—</p> - -<p>“‘We went through the morning,’ says Miss Sturge, ‘feeling like Elisha, -“Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head -to-day? Yea, I know it, hold ye your peace!”’”</p> - -<p>Not in Cheltenham only but far and wide her children were praying -for her: watching for news, and remembering and repeating to each -other things she had said. It was stormy weather, and more than one -thought of Wordsworth’s lines—lines which she had often read to her -class—written when he was expecting to hear of the death of Charles -James Fox:—</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A power is passing from the earth</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To breathless nature’s dark abyss!</span><br> -</p> - -<p>Dorothea Beale died on Friday, November 9, at 12.15<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</span> during college -hours. It was thought best that the girls should hear of her death -before leaving. When all were assembled in the Princess Hall the -Vice-Principal said:—</p> - -<p>“It has pleased God to take from us our beloved Principal.” In a -few words she told the history of the last few days, and then said: -“We feel that it is what she would have desired—no long waiting in -suffering or helplessness, but to go home straight from her work with -her splendid powers scarcely impaired:—</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nothing is here for tears, nothing to wail</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Or knock the breast: no weakness, no contempt,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dispraise or blame: nothing but well and fair</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And what may quiet us in a death so noble.</span><br> -</p> - -<p>‘The readiness is all.’ Let us bear our grief with calmness and -dignity. We know that it would be her wish that work should go on as -usual.... We believe that love lives on, and that the noble work she -did for fifty years has done much for England and for womanhood, and -that not only we who have been blessed by her gracious presence, but -generations also to come shall reap the fruit of her toil and rise up -and call her blessed. Let us pray.”</p> - -<p>Then followed a thanksgiving adapted from the form of Memorial Service -issued by authority in January, 1901, after the death of Queen Victoria.</p> - -<p>Dorothea Beale had prepared for death as she had prepared for life and -had left instructions that her “perishable body” should be cremated so -as not to be a source of disease to others, and that those who loved -her should not buy any flowers for her funeral, but could if they -wished, bring a few wild flowers or some from their own gardens, but -she did not wish any wholesale destruction of life.</p> - -<p>Her body was buried in Gloucester Cathedral, where the funeral took -place on November 16. Eight hundred girls then at the College came -voluntarily and walked<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</span> silently in twos from the station to the -Cathedral, which was crowded largely with former pupils.</p> - -<p>At the same time a Memorial Service was held in <abbr title="saint">St.</abbr> Paul’s Cathedral.</p> - -<p>In other churches in different parts of the country thanks were offered -for the life and work of Dorothea Beale. Many newspapers published true -and beautiful appreciations of her work, life, and character, and all -felt that a great leader had gone from the earth.</p> - -<p>So in honour passed away one whose work had small beginnings: who -through difficulty, misunderstanding and prejudice pursued the vision -she saw in youth and lived to see, as perhaps few do see, her dream -realised. Such as Dorothea Beale can never die. She lives still in her -College at Cheltenham, and in the great work carried on there: in her -“children,” who in many lands and many spheres of work still live in -the spirit of their great Head: and in the grateful remembrance of all -women who have been able without hindrance to quench their thirst at -the fount of knowledge.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.<br><span class="small">THE VOCATION OF TEACHING.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“The power of any life lies in its expectancy.”—<span class="smcap">Phillips -Brooks.</span></p> - -<p>“Usefulness is the rent we pay for room upon the earth.”—<span class="smcap">Dorothea -Beale.</span></p> -</div> - - -<p>It is only thirteen years since Dorothea Beale passed over to the other -side to enter on the greater service which we believe is granted to all -who toil here in singleness of heart. In her theories of education, in -her outlook on life, she was of our day. Her methods of teaching are -still employed in our best schools, and the teacher can still find her -essays on teaching suggestive and helpful.</p> - -<p>Yet we live in another world. Since August 1914, we have passed through -experiences that have changed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</span> for ever the values of things. Nothing -can ever be the same again. We of our generation are faced not with -one little difficulty or another but with the building of a new world. -The old civilisation lies in dust at our feet. With it have gone many -things that were very dear to us, our security, our comfort, our -national serenity, our happy-go-lucky individualism. With it, too, have -gone the best of our young manhood, those on whom much of the work of -the immediate future was to rest.</p> - -<p>Nor is it without significance that to women at this hour have come for -the first time direct power in politics and opportunity to do any work -of which they are capable. On them must fall the work that the dead and -disabled would have done. To the men of England and of other countries -came the call to give their lives: to the women no less comes the same -call.</p> - -<p>Perhaps the greatest need of the world just now is work: not only -for the production of material necessities, but for its steadying, -sanity-restoring power. After four years of the passions and sorrows of -war, mankind has not yet regained its mental balance; and in honest, -steady work, it will perhaps most surely win again the gift it has lost.</p> - -<p>In the building of a new world there is no force so great as that of -education in its many aspects, the most important of which is that of -the home. Teachers realise that what is done at school is as nothing -compared with the enormous power of home education, composed as it is -of all the influences of early childhood. Parents must always be the -chief educators, and for this reason parenthood must be one of the most -sacred of human relationships and one of the highest callings. It is -at home a child learns to look at the great things of life from the -right or the wrong angle: it is at home he learns to reverence the good -and the true or to hold them in contempt. Parenthood requires a great -preparation of heart and soul, for it brings with it the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</span> greatest -of all responsibilities, that of guiding human souls into the right -pathway.</p> - -<p>Of late years the need for teachers has been great, the supply being -less than the demand. Many teachers are still needed, and to the girl -of intellectual interests and power who is seeking a profession, the -question may well arise, whether she should adopt that of a teacher. -There are many matters to be faced in considering this.</p> - -<p>Teaching brings with it few of the rewards for which the ordinary -person craves. Financially, its prizes are few: for the most part -it is a badly-paid profession, especially considering the years of -training it involves. It brings with it little renown. Even the -greatest teachers are known in a comparatively narrow circle, at any -rate during their lives. Praise and appreciation are almost unknown, -whilst criticism is given, as was the medicine of last century, in -large doses and at frequent intervals. If it is properly done, the work -is hard. Real teaching implies ceaseless learning. It is imperative -to keep a mind open to all new thought and new ideas, not only in the -educational work but in the world at large. It is necessary, too, to -acquire the wisdom to deal with what is new, so that to some extent -the true may be separated from the false, the lofty from the base. It -is a work, moreover, that is a perpetual test of character, worth, and -spirit. There are no teachers worthy of the name, who do not frequently -shrink from the magnitude of their task and tremble at their own lack -of power. The teacher is called to incessant mental and spiritual work. -Only as he or she lives an active life in mind and soul can he hope to -have any success in training the young for life.</p> - -<p>But the chief question after all is that of personal fitness. There are -two essentials; the first is a love of children; the second is some -love of study and of teaching. There can be no good work done without -love of the children we teach: a teacher who does not love<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</span> children -would probably be serving God better if she were breaking stones by the -roadside. The love of the work itself increases as time goes on. As a -rule the desire to teach indicates some aptitude for the work; though -between the eager expectancy of the untried student and the quiet joy -of the skilled teacher, lie many dark valleys which must perforce be -passed. This, however, is not peculiar to teaching. It is common to all -work of a personal nature, in fact is inherent in all high living.</p> - -<p>For those who wish to teach, the great problem arises: “What kind of -teaching shall I undertake?” It is a difficult one to solve.</p> - -<p>In England the different kinds of teaching for girls are very clearly -defined. Socially, educational establishments are pretty clearly -differentiated. There is the elementary school for the children of -those whom, for want of a better name, we call the people. Next, the -high school or secondary school, largely for the children of the middle -classes. Lastly, the public school for the boys and the public or -private school for the girls of the wealthy and the aristocracy. These -all usually have their kindergarten or preparatory departments which -offer attractive work to those gifted in dealing with little children.</p> - -<p>There is a great need to-day of real peace. International war, hardly -ended, has been succeeded by internal strife of a very serious nature: -at the root of this lies much deep bitterness, the result of the -failure of the different classes of the community to understand one -another. If a number of girls of the middle and upper classes, who feel -that they are called to the work of teaching, would take up work in the -Elementary Schools or the new Continuation Schools, it would do much, I -believe, to bring about a better understanding between class and class. -In this way each would get to know something of the other and the -ideals and knowledge of those<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</span> who have had greater advantages would -begin to permeate our national life.</p> - -<p>Dorothea Beale tried at one time of her work to establish a school of -training for such teachers, but the difficulties put in her way by the -Government of that day made the continuation of the work impossible. -With an educationalist at the Board of Education many difficulties have -been and will be removed, and elementary teaching with smaller classes, -higher pay, and better buildings, is made more possible for those who -wish to embark on it. It is useless, however, to take up this work -unless one has in one’s heart a great love for little children, whether -dirty or clean, ragged or well-cared for. The elementary schools have -not yet adopted the high school system of morning lessons and afternoon -preparation, and this makes the hours of teaching long. The corrections -and necessary preparation are usually less than in a high school: the -holidays are shorter, but are gradually being lengthened.</p> - -<p>Some, however, are quite incapable of understanding those outside -their own social class: and such would be foolish to attempt work in -the elementary schools. They would do better in high, secondary, or -boarding schools. The last are not popular amongst present day girl -teachers, largely because of the restrictions. Yet in a boarding school -a true teacher has opportunities which never come into a day-school -teacher’s life. In many ways it is a much more satisfactory sphere, -provided the Head realises that no teacher can do good work without -ample leisure and opportunity for a life of her own apart from the -school. More and more are our generation realising that outside -interests are absolutely essential for a teacher if he or she is going -to be a person of real power and influence. Apart from the knowledge -of one’s own subject there is nothing so necessary in a teacher as a -knowledge of life; not simply the life of the schoolroom, but of life -in its many branches. It is often said that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</span> unmarried women teachers -never grow up. They pass from school to college, and from college back -to school, and never quite lose the schoolgirl point of view. It is -often the greatest boon to a teacher to be obliged to give up her own -work for a year or two at some period of her life and to live in a -world where people do not measure time by terms or mark out the day by -bells. But in any case a teacher can always have some interest that has -nothing to do with teaching and has no direct bearing on her work. Such -interests do much to prevent overstrain.</p> - -<p>The training for teaching is very thorough and long. That for secondary -or high school work is usually expensive; but the cost of training for -elementary school teaching is much less, as the Government have their -own training colleges. After January, 1921, all teachers registered by -the Government will have to be trained not only educationally but in -the art of teaching. Degrees, now, are almost a <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">sine quâ non</i>, -or are at any rate very desirable. All universities admit women to -their degree examinations, though Oxford and Cambridge do not yet grant -degrees.</p> - -<p>It is a profession where a good standard of health is desirable, though -people of a sensitive, nervous temperament are often the best teachers. -A tired teacher is, <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">ipso facto</i>, a failure: it is, therefore, -work in which the preservation of freshness of mind and body becomes a -special duty. In the best schools the hours of teaching are short, and -long holidays, wisely spent, ought to keep the health vigorous. The -right use of holidays is frequently overlooked, especially by young -teachers, who often spend them in the fulfilment of claims as strenuous -as their work, and return to school used-up and unfit for their -duties—a form of dishonesty not always recognised as such.</p> - -<p>In considering teaching as a possible calling the advantages of the -long holidays are worthy of consideration.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</span> They give opportunities of -friendship, life with one’s own family, travel, study, and pleasures of -many kinds. It is good, too, in these busy days that a few people have -intervals of leisure in which they have time to sympathise with others, -and to think of the little things of life that are in reality the great -things. Holidays may be the greatest boon not only to oneself, but to -all the people one meets.</p> - -<p>Particulars about the training for teaching are to be found in many -books. Two which come readily to my mind are “The Teacher’s Year Book” -and “The Englishwoman’s Year Book”. The registrars of the different -universities are always glad to supply particulars if asked. The Board -of Education will give details about elementary school teaching: these -change somewhat every few years. There are many helps for those who -intend to be teachers, the chief being the scholarships offered by the -different colleges to those who could not without aid afford the fees. -This is especially true of some of the newer universities. Many large -schools also offer help to their pupils who have the ability and desire -to go on to the universities.</p> - -<p>To the girl who feels in her the desire to teach, and has the power -necessary for the task, I should say, “Accept your work, and I am sure -you will have no reason to regret your decision.” For with all its -hardships, all its endless striving after impossible ideals, it is a -work which can really be one’s life: and surely such work is always the -happiest.</p> - -<p>It has many joys. There are few in life greater than that of seeing -gradually awaken in a child interest and keenness where before there -has been apathy and dullness. To be able to give life to dry bones of -knowledge, to rouse from its torpor the still sleeping mind, to turn -the faces of the children we teach towards the light is surely well -worth doing.</p> - -<p>It has many opportunities. The teacher’s task is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</span> not to teach -opinions, but to lay the foundations of sound moral standards on which -all true opinion must rest.</p> - -<p>The world needs teachers: not the perfunctory worker who takes up -one of the most sacred of callings as a means of livelihood, but the -teacher who is willing to consecrate herself for the work.</p> - -<p>At the end of that powerful novel of Robert Herrick’s, “The Healer,” -is a vivid scene. The old doctor, whose gift had been lost through the -exacting claims of an unsuitable marriage, is walking arm-in-arm with a -young student. The older man has recognised in the younger the power he -himself once had, the gift of healing. Very affectionately he lays his -hand on the lad’s shoulder.</p> - -<p>“Remember,” he says—I quote from memory—“this gift of yours will -demand whole-hearted devotion and will be satisfied with nothing less -than your life.”</p> - -<p>So with the work of teaching. It is a profession that demands -whole-hearted devotion. To those who give to it their lives it brings -many joys, great opportunities, and the satisfaction that constant -giving alone bestows. It has many dangers and many temptations, but -these lose much of their power over the teacher who tries to realise in -practice as well as in theory:—</p> - -<p>“That the influence of personal character has been from the first the -great means of bearing truth into men’s hearts.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="BIBLIOGRAPHY">BIBLIOGRAPHY.</h2> -</div> - - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Raikes. “Dorothea Beale of Cheltenham.” Constable.</p> - -<p>Beale. “Addresses to Teachers.” Longmans.</p> - -<p>Beale. “Studies in Literature, New and Old.” Longmans.</p> - -<p>Beale, Soulsby, and Dove. “Work and Play in Girls’ Schools.” Longmans.</p> - -<p>“Reports issued by the Schools’ Inquiry Commission on the Education -of Girls. Reprinted with extracts from the evidence and a paper by D. -Beale.” 1864.</p> - -<p>Beale. “On the Education of Girls.” (Paper read at Social Science -Congress, 1865.)</p> - -<p><i>The Times.</i> November, 1906. January, 1907.</p> - -<p><i>Cheltenham Ladies’ College Magazine.</i> 1880 and onwards.</p> -</div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="A_SHORT_BIBLIOGRAPHY_OF_EDUCATIONAL_WORKS">A SHORT BIBLIOGRAPHY OF EDUCATIONAL WORKS.</h2> -</div> - - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Basil Matthews (Editor). “Essays in Vocation.” Humphrey Milford. 3s. -(A second and third series are in course of preparation.)</p> - -<p>Thring. “The Theory and Practice of Teaching.”</p> - -<p>Thring. “Education and School.” Macmillan. 6s.</p> - -<p>Thring. “Teaching, Learning, and Life.” Allenson. 1s.</p> - -<p>James. “Talks to Teachers.”</p> - -<p>Paget. “The Hallowing of Work.” Rivington. 2s.</p> - -<p>Clutton Brock. “The Ultimate Belief.” Constable. 2s.</p> - -<p>Kidd. “The Science of Power.” Methuen. 6s.</p> - -<p>Holmes. “What is and What might be.” Constable. 4s. 6d.</p> - -<p>Holmes. “In Defence of What is and What might be.” Constable. 4s. 6d.</p> - -<p>Montessori. “The Montessori Method.” Heinemann. 7s. 6d.</p> - -<p>Mumford. “The Dawn of Religion in the Mind of the Child.” Longmans. 1s.</p> - -<p>Macmillan. “The Camp School.” Allen & Unwin. 3s. 6d. Also “The Child -and the State.” Nat. Labour Press.</p> - -<p>Eileen Power, M.A. “A Bibliography for Teachers of History.” Women’s -International League. 2s.</p> - -<p>Pollard. “Educational Value of the Study of History.” Leaflet 36. 6d. -(Historical Association, 22 Russell Square.)</p> - -<p>Dewey. “Schools of To-morrow.” Dent. 5s.</p> - -<p>Hughes. “Citizens to be.” Constable. 4s. 6d.</p> - -<p>Paton. “The Child and the Nation.” S.C.M. 1s.</p> - -<p>Richmond. “Education for Liberty.” Collins, 6s.</p> - -<p>Simpson. “An Adventure in Education.” Sidgwick & Jackson, 3s. 6d.</p><p>A. -C. Benson (and others). “Cambridge Essays on Education.” Camb. Univ. -Press. 8s.</p> - -<p>Welton. “The Psychology of Education.” MacMillan & Co.</p> - -<p>Welton. “What do we mean by Education?” MacMillan & Co. 7s. 6d.</p> - -<p>Paul. “Some Christian Ideals in the Teaching Profession.” Student -Christian Movement. 3s.</p> - -<p>Hayward & Freeman. “The Spiritual Foundations of Reconstruction.” P. -S. King & Sons. 10s. 6d.</p> - -<p>Nunn. “Education, its Data and First Principles.” Arnold. 6s.</p> - -<p>Richmond. “The Curriculum.” Constable. 5s.</p> -</div> - - -<p class="center p4">ABERDEEN: THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOROTHEA BEALE ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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