Chapter XIV: Honours (2)

But if the road to the Dark Tower grew lonely,[93] it was greatly brightened by the love of those she had taught, inspired, and helped. No parent was ever more closely encompassed by the love of children. There were those at Cheltenham who thought for her, waited on her, read to her—no light task—those who, should she desire it, were ever at her beck and call. Some of these were on the College Council. One, in particular, Miss Flora Ker, who lived at Cheltenham, was always at hand, making the interests of the College and little attentions to Miss Beale the first duty of her day. Another, who had become head of a boarding-house, thought of her daily needs to the smallest details. A third habitually accompanied her on the visits which became so great an enjoyment in these later years, and on the frequent business journeys to London, making them easy by many little thoughtful arrangements. Miss Beale would seem unconscious of these at the moment, but she deeply valued the thought and the loving service of which she availed herself to the full. The Chairman and different members of the Council showed also much personal consideration for the Principal. Nor could she travel anywhere without finding ‘old girls’ ready to welcome and make much of her in every way. In these things she had indeed ‘all that should accompany old age.’

In 1902 came a crowning honour for the Ladies’ College when its Principal was offered the LL.D. by the Edinburgh University, in recognition of her services to education. Miss Beale was simply and unfeignedly delighted with this acknowledgment of the worth of women’s work. Her loyal staff seized the occasion to give her a personal sense of satisfaction also. They presented her with her robes, which were made as costly and beautiful as possible. A journey to Scotland was a great adventure to Miss Beale, but the occasion warranted the effort. As usual, all the arrangements were left in the hands of Miss Alice Andrews, who with others of the College staff accompanied the Principal. It was examination week at Cheltenham, or such a flight of teachers would not have been possible. The degree was conferred on April 11 in the M’Ewan Hall of Edinburgh University. Others who received it on the same occasion were Lord Alverstone, Mr. Asquith, Mr. Austin Dobson, Sir John Batty Tuke, and Dr. Rücker.[94] Only once before had the University conferred this degree on a woman, viz. on Miss Ormerod, in recognition of her great services to agriculture.

_Dorothea Beale, LL.D._]

Sir Ludovic Grant, Dean of the Faculty of Law, thus summed up Miss Beale’s claim to a national recognition:—

‘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.’

Her account of the ceremony is best read in her own letter to the Vice-Principal:—

‘_April 12, 1902._

‘Just a few lines while waiting for breakfast. We start at
eleven for Glasgow, and I am in the midst of the agonies of
packing.

‘Yesterday was a long day. We started at 9.20, as it is a
long drive to the M’Ewan Hall. In the voting-room we met
our Chairman and various distinguished professors—Laurie,
Saintsbury, Professor Rücker—of the people I knew; but the
most important of all was the beadle. In a little while our
names were called, and one had to step into place. First came
the Doctors of Divinity. There were six LL.D.’s, headed by
the Lord Chief-Justice, who was followed by Mr. Asquith, whom
I followed in every subsequent procession.... Arrived at the
hall, we sat as it were in the front row below the stage in
our hall. There were central steps, opposite which sat the
Vice-Chancellor or Vice-Principal. Each went up and stood with
his back to the audience whilst the leader of his faculty
expatiated on his claims to the honours; he looked like a
person being reprimanded. Then the beadle invested him with the
hood, the V.-P. put the cap over his head, he wrote his name
in a book, and then seated himself with other exalted persons
on the platform. Various speeches followed, but none were made
to ordinary graduates. Music played, no sticks or umbrellas
were allowed, and no cries such as the savages utter at English
Universities; the only amusement was to fly paper from the
galleries; some seems to have been made into windmills, they
flew rather well. Then procession again to the voting-room,
where I was first to claim my box; there was nothing to
compare with my shabby things—cardboard most of them, but I am
persuaded that my robes were far superior to any other. Ask
those who saw them from a distance.

‘Well, we next proceeded to church, and St. Giles’ looked most
beautiful. The sermon I did not hear, but am assured that
was because the preacher had an Aberdeen accent. One thing I
omitted. Just after I had taken the degree, as I was seated on
the platform, came a porter with a telegram for me. I opened
it and found congratulations from the Kindergarten. Please
tell them how smartly it arrived at the right moment. The
others kindly sent arrived at the hotel, and I found them on my
return; please thank the senders.

‘After church some nice Miss Stevensons carried us off. They
have a beautiful house and a splendid view of the heights,—one
is Chairman of the School Board. They are always at work. Then
we came back and were visited by various old girls.’

At Glasgow Miss Beale stayed with a married pupil, and found herself in the midst of ‘old girls,’ who made much of her. From Glasgow she wrote a second letter, to be read to the assembled College before the dispersion for the holidays:—

‘_April 16, 1902._

‘We are often in spirit in Cheltenham, and I must send a few
last words, to wish you all very happy holidays.

‘We are very busy. The first thing we visited was the Queen
Margaret Settlement, which is something like our St. Hilda’s.
It is a very large place, and a school for invalid children
was being held. Miss Bruce came down to the opening. 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 Henry Jones, who
has written a book on Browning, and on the other side was the
Rector, Dr. Story. He has kindly promised to take us over the
University this morning. There are about three hundred girls
studying here,[95] and they have a charming Miss Galloway;
she is as fond of Glasgow University as I am of our College.
To-morrow we are to go over the Cathedral.

‘I think we shall come back refreshed and with some new ideas.

‘I am glad to hear all is going on well.’

From Mrs. Osborne in Glasgow Miss Beale went on to stay with other old pupils in Scotland, coming afterwards to Newcastle, where she was asked to launch a ship. Her ignorance of use and wont under conditions fairly well known to most people came out when she attired herself for this event in well-looped-up dress and indiarubber shoes. Much as she disliked adventure, she was prepared to march into the Tyne if the glory of the Ladies’ College demanded it. However, she much enjoyed the ceremony that actually took place,—the drive to the docks, the description she received of the vessel, the bouquet of roses presented to her in honour of St. George’s Day. Her diary at this point becomes crowded with facts concerning steamers and dock labourers. From Newcastle Miss Beale went to Durham, where she stayed with the Dean; then to York. Wherever she went there were schools to visit, and perhaps address, ‘old girls’ to see. A night in London ended the wanderings, and she came home well and happy to enter in her diary: ‘Arrived to the hour, exactly three weeks after starting, having spent the night in nine different places, and feeling quite refreshed by meeting with so much kindness, and so many charming old girls.’

The year which had so bright a spring brought but a sorry autumn for Miss Beale. In October 1902 she was—an unheard-of thing—obliged to leave Cheltenham for her health, and went to Bath, accompanied by Miss Berridge, for several weeks. Her sight was a special anxiety, and during this time she was not allowed to write or read. A letter from Miss Berridge to Miss Sturge gives a glimpse of the life at Bath:—

‘_October 1902._

‘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. Please tell Miss Alice
Andrews,—it is her book, and Miss Beale at first refused to
bring it, but thought _I_ might do so, as it might amuse me.
The result of the experiment is that we are now going to read
some of Scott’s, beginning with _The Antiquary_. 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.

‘Bath is a very pretty place, but, of course, I have not seen
much of it. Miss Beale is now able to take short walks; to-day
she went to Milsom Street.

‘I have written such multitudes of letters that I really do not
know to whom they have all been.’

Miss Beale was able to return to work before the end of the term. She seemed in most ways as vigorous as ever. A doctor, whom she consulted about her deafness in 1903, told her she had the pulse of a woman of forty. But she became more and more careful about her health. Her summer holidays were spent at Oeynhausen, where she followed a ‘Kur.’ There she took with her always some friend who devoted herself to the care of Miss Beale, and at the same time was a congenial companion, reading aloud to her, or listening while Miss Beale read. On one occasion Miss Amy Giles went, on another Fräulein Grzywacz. The life at the baths was carefully planned even to minutes. Miss Beale liked to have her morning letters before the early walk, which the daily régime demanded. While waiting for the postman, even watching his appearance along the street, she would have some deep book read aloud to her, able to give her whole attention. ‘The postman is just here, Miss Beale,’ Fräulein Grzywacz would say, as she finished a chapter. ‘He is still ten doors off, you can read another paragraph,’ would be the reply.

In 1902 a determined and successful effort was made to get a worthy portrait of Miss Beale. Early in the College history a picture, which bore but a faint resemblance to the original and was wholly unworthy of her, had been painted, and at a Council meeting in 1873 it was ‘resolved that it be placed (veiled) over the door of the Council room, as most in accordance with the wishes of the donors.’ In 1889 the Council itself approached Miss Beale on the subject of a portrait, Sir Samuel Johnson, then chairman, writing to her:—

‘_February 25, 1889._

‘You cannot, you must not leave the College without something
that will identify it with the Founder. Fancy what unavailing
attempts will be made some day to supply the want! and the
blame which will attach to us for not having left something
behind worthy of such a woman! Think again, and do not let your
feelings stand in the way of a plain duty.’

On the envelope containing this letter Miss Beale wrote in pencil the characteristic note: ‘Miss Stirling might make a clay or terra-cotta.’ A modelling class had recently been opened in the College under Miss Stirling; Miss Beale was much interested in it and anxious to encourage it.

The wish of the Council took the form of a resolution to which Miss Beale replied:—

‘_June 1889._

‘I certainly have a very great objection to the thought of my
portrait being placed in the Ladies’ College during my life.
When our Guild asked me to allow this last year I refused.

‘Secondly, I should _much_ regret the diversion of funds which
are so much needed for improvements in the College, and for the
extension of work in many directions; whether that money is
contributed from public or private sources.

‘Lastly, I believe that putting myself forward in this way
would be a real hindrance to my work, as it would give a false
impression regarding the share I have been allowed to take in
helping on the growth of this College.

‘I thought of getting Miss Stirling, who models portraits, to
take one in clay, this would be executed in stone by Mr. Martyn
at small cost, and would answer all historical purposes. I have
a variety of photos, too.’

Later, she consented to give a few sittings to Mrs. Lea Merritt, for whose work she had a great admiration. The approach of the College Jubilee made a new moment for appealing to her again on this subject, and at the Guild meeting of 1902 she was presented with the following address, composed by Miss Amy Lumby and signed by a large number of old pupils:—

‘DEAR MISS BEALE,—We, the undersigned, your “children,” once
in learning and always in affection, approach you with a very
earnest wish. There is not one amongst us who does not look
back with loving delight to the time when she saw your face
daily, and learnt from your lips what things were best worth
learning.

‘The face we can never forget, but we should like to be able
to have it constantly before us in such a form as shall call
up again the spirit of those happy bygone days. There exists
as yet no counterfeit presentment of our “School-mother”
which does this; only a great artist can accomplish the task
worthily; and so we beg, and beg most earnestly that, for our
sake and for the sake of those who come after us, you will
consent to let a portrait of yourself be painted by such an
one, and will accept it for the College in commemoration of the
Jubilee.’

Miss Beale was much touched by this appeal. She received it in eloquent silence, but at the last gathering before the Guild members separated her reply was read aloud by Miss Ker:—

‘I am touched by the kind wish of the Guild conveyed to me in
the resolution of yesterday. I am afraid a third attempt would
be no more successful than the preceding. 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. Still, if it is really wished that another
attempt should be made, I will willingly sit once more.’

The work was entrusted to Mr. J. J. Shannon, R.A., who had proved his ability for the task by the portraits of Miss Clough and Miss Wordsworth. No effort was spared by the painter to realise Miss Beale at her best,[96] and she gave a good deal of time to sittings, which were employed also in listening to reading aloud. Dr. Illingworth’s _Personality Human and Divine_, a very favourite work of hers, was often chosen. Sometimes this work was displaced by _Lorna Doone_, which Miss Beale said ‘amused the painter.’ The Lady Principal was painted in her LL.D. robes, but also in her familiar head-dress, _son petit bonnet de douairière_. She is represented as looking up with the glance well known to those who had watched her when she lectured. The attitude, which is as much that of disciple as teacher, was fitly chosen.

The portrait was formally presented by the Duchess of Bedford on November 8, 1904, and with it an illuminated book containing the names of the donors. Miss Beale in her reply said:—

‘You have all come here moved by loyalty to your College.
Loyalty is not a personal matter.... Tribute was due not to
Tiberius but to Caesar; so you wanted a portrait of a Lady
Principal—not of the person but of the representative,—and the
Principal has a great advantage over the person in that the
former lasts on when the latter passes away; loyalty outlasts
life:—so I look on your gift as a page of College history. But
not only have you brought a present for the College. I find
also a beautiful book for my own personal self, not my official
self, a record of affection from my children, which warms my
heart, and makes me long to be more worthy of it.

‘But if the affection of those we love is an energising power,
it produces a moral tension, not unmingled with fear.... He who
recorded the names in the ancient church wrote: “Let us fear
lest we also come short.” But as I have said, the Principal
does not die. Like the Lama she is re-incarnated. In her, if
the body dies, the _esprit de corps_ survives, and I look
forward to the time when another shall reign in my stead, ...
and a procession of rulers greater than their ancestors ...
shall see developments which we cannot foresee.’

For various reasons it was necessary to postpone the College Jubilee celebrations until May 1905. On this occasion a bust of Miss Beale was presented to the College by some admirers of her work who were not connected with it. A large new wing built for science teaching was opened by Lord Londonderry, then President of the Board of Education; and there were many distinguished guests. Two memorable speeches were made on this great occasion. One by the Chairman of the Council, Dr. Magrath, Provost of Queen’s College, Oxford, who made a brief but very sympathetic retrospect of the past history of the Ladies’ College. The other was from Mrs. Bryant, Head-mistress of the North London Collegiate School. She, as was fitting, looked forward to the future, and foreshadowed a large development of the work so well begun and established at Cheltenham. This Jubilee Day was the only public commemoration the Ladies’ College ever had. It was fitting that there should be one great public acknowledgment of Miss Beale’s work before the day came when she must leave it to the guidance of another.