Chapter XVI: Letters (3)

‘There are many things one has to deny one’s self “for the
work’s sake,” but it is worth while. I cannot be too thankful
for being allowed to do it.’

To the same:—

‘_August 25, 1898._

‘My sister has come home on purpose, and I am spending a week
with her on the hills; my niece helping to copy the MS.’

In the summer holidays of 1898 Miss Beale stayed with Miss Giles at Bonchurch. They afterwards visited Marlborough College and Savernake Forest together, parting at Marlborough station. Miss Beale wrote after this to Miss Giles:—

‘_August 28, 1898._

‘I will own that after you were gone all things seemed
colder.... The doctor thought me wonderfully well, and my ears
much better than usual after so long an absence. He says I can
go to-morrow, and highly approves of cycling if I can do it....
May the spiritual sun ever rise for you, my dear child, more
and more until the perfect day.’

To the same:—

‘_September 7, 1898._

‘I had some bicycle lessons at Woodchester, but all united in
recommending tricycling instead for me.’

To the same:—

‘_October 1898._

‘That cycling is wonderful, I am so much better.’

To the same:—

‘_November 13, 1898._

‘Miss Belcher is still very ill, but yesterday brought me a
gleam of hope. Thanks to you I am wonderfully well. I have
cycled two mornings as far as our Sanatorium, and got back
about 8 A.M. ... I think this renewed life must mean that there
is some more work for me to do, or that I want strength to bear
some coming trials....

‘We have been getting some lectures from Mr. de Sélincourt,
also a son-in-law. We like him very much.... Next Saturday I
have to attend six meetings. I had to go to London lately, and
spent a night at St. Hilda’s East; it looks so nice, and seems
going on so well.’

To the same:—

‘_November 29, 1898._

‘I am glad you have seen the Chapel of the Ascension. Mr.
Shields is far the best interpreter I have ever seen of Bible
thoughts in pictures.... Thanks to you I am wonderfully strong
this term.... I have joined the Aristotelian Society. I shall
almost never, perhaps _never_ be able to attend the meetings,
but I shall get papers.... Miss Belcher is still battling with
the disease. Sometimes we hope, and then we fear we may lose
her, but to gain time is much.’

To the same. Written when there was some idea of Miss Giles living abroad:—

‘_May 14, 1899._

‘I don’t like the idea of your being uprooted from England....
It is different to go for a time, but it seems to me that most
English people who live abroad have their lives comparatively
wasted.’

To the same. After alluding to the death of Mrs. Moyle:—

‘_July 16, 1899._

‘It seems so wonderful that I should be alive, and see so many
dear children pass away.’

To the same. Speaking of the South African War:—

‘_December 26, 1899._

‘It is indeed a sad time, and I don’t see how it is to end;
surely we as a nation have to pass through the fire.... I think
all the advantages we women have had this last half century
were to prepare us for some terrible trials. Shall we be able
to look up and lift up our heads above this earth, and know
that salvation draweth nigh? I think you will understand me.’

To the same. Also about the South African War:—

‘_February 10, 1900._

‘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 so we must glorify God in the fires. War does
seem to be waged in a more humane spirit than ever before, that
is one comfort, and there are many others.’

To the same. Miss Giles had sent a paper for the Magazine:—

‘_September 1900._

‘I feel sure I shall not accept Guinevere as a subject for our
magazine. I am not fond of the Idylls.’

To the same. On recovering from bronchitis:—

‘_1903._

‘Thanks for your kind offer, but I must not ask any one to stay
this term; I must reserve every bit of strength for the work.’

To the same. Towards the end of the Easter holidays, when she had been confined to her room with a bronchial attack:—

‘I have been reading a very pretty book, _The House of Quiet_.
Now I have Herbert Spencer’s _Autobiography_, which I am not
reading, but a friend picks out bits for me. I have been going
over again some old friends, _Dr. Jekyl_, _Cecilia de Noel_,
etc.’

To the same:—

‘_June 1905._

‘I had a very enjoyable visit to Winchester to the annual
meeting of head-mistresses, and last week I dined at the
Clothworkers’, my first experience of a City company’s dinner.
There were many interesting people.’

In the summer holidays of 1905 Miss Giles accompanied Miss Beale to Oeynhausen. The two following letters concern the preparation made for this visit to the German baths.

‘_July 1905._

‘Have you quite made up your mind not to come to the Quiet
Days?... remember you will have a period of spiritual
starvation as regards church-going....

‘I mean to take as little as possible ... we do no visiting ...
a few books I must have. If you come, you could write out your
notes of addresses and read them to me, as I am not likely to
hear them.... We have had twelve concerts, and I was present at
most of them. I have not yet signed a report, and have taken
leave of only some of the _about_ one hundred and twenty who
will leave.

‘I thought of taking Illingworth’s _Personality_,—and perhaps
_Lux Mundi_, if you do not know it well; also some _Hamlet_
books: but I shall take chiefly light books, in a material
sense.’

On returning from Germany Miss Beale went to Hyde Court for her niece’s wedding, and wrote on arrival to Miss Giles.

‘_September 1905._

‘Lena looks lovely!’

A letter followed describing the wedding, and concluding thus:—

‘The country is looking lovely—even in the rain; but the
swallows are flying about in great excitement. I think they
must be departing at once. I wonder how long I shall be
privileged to go on working before I too migrate. I do hope I
may be able to work on to the end....’

To the same:—

‘_September 1905._

‘I had nightmare last night about war in India. Russia is quite
ready to turn her armies into Afghanistan, and she is allowed
to keep all ready in Manchuria. Well, one can only hope that
still out of the strife will come soul evolution.’

In September 1905 Miss Beale’s letters speak of exhaustion, but others wrote of her that she was busy, full of energy, and ‘does not seem to tire.’

To the same. Speaking of her visit to London in the Christmas holidays:—

‘_January 15, 1906._

‘One afternoon I spent with Mrs. Benson, and Miss Benson lent
me the book recounting her digging up of the Temple of Mut.
Arthur Benson too was there, and Miss Tait and Mrs. Henry
Sidgwick.

‘What a revolution we have! If we had stood still things might
have been as they are in Russia. One could not be satisfied
with the late government, but one dreads violent changes; it is
well there are a few strong men in the Ministry. Mr. Balfour
deserves his fate for not bringing in a re-distribution Bill,
and for tyrannising—but one feels sorry for him too.

‘_PS._—Think of us on Tuesday’ (the opening day of term), ‘I
feel so weak.’

The weakness to which Miss Beale alluded was destined to continue, but amid the decay of natural health long-rooted hopes grew strong and blossomed afresh. But a few weeks before her own death she wrote to a friend who had recently lost her mother:—

‘You will miss your beloved mother, but it is well. I suppose
none of us desire to live after our faculties fail.... I am
feeling old age is creeping on.... Well, we shall soon all
meet—Behind the veil, behind the veil!’

FOOTNOTES

[1] MS. Autobiography.—D. Beale.

[2] MS. autobiography.

[3] ‘Have you seen Miss Cornwallis’ _Letters_? A very remarkable woman, though a little uncomfortable to herself and others, and a little too audacious now and then. She wrote these _Small Books on Great Subjects_ which were much thought of at the time, and always considered a man’s work.’—_Letters of Dr. John Brown_, CLXXXIV., ‘To Lady Airlie.’ (Adam Black, 1906.)

[4] See chap. xv., Letter to the Bishop of Manchester.

[5] William Cornwallis Harris, Major H.E.I.C., was also a cousin of Mr. Beale’s. Major Harris saw service in India, shot big game in the heart of Africa, was sent in charge of a mission to Shoa in Abyssinia, returning after arranging a commercial treaty. For this he was knighted. He died in India in 1848, aged 41.

[6] MS. autobiography written about 1895.

[7] Author of _Malvern Chase_ and other works.

[8] MS. autobiography.

[9] MS. autobiography.

[10] _Ibid._

[11] MS. autobiography.

[12] On the Education of Girls.—_Fraser’s Magazine_, October 1866.

[13] MS. autobiography.

[14] MS. autobiography.

[15] MS. autobiography.

[16] _Ibid._

[17] MS. autobiography.

[18] _Ibid._

[19] See Appendix A.

[20] _Nineteenth Century_, April 1888.

[21] Mr. Carus Wilson was ordained the following year by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

[22] Bishop Jackson.

[23] _Kaiserwerth Deaconesses._ By a Lady.

[24] _Ibid._

[25] _Ibid._

[26] See Appendix B.

[27] See Appendix C.

[28] See chap. v.

[29] _Nineteenth Century_, 1888.

[30] Mr. Bellairs was subsequently Vicar of Nuneaton, and Hon. Canon of Worcester.

[31] Afterwards first Bishop of Tasmania.

[32] ‘Cheltenham is Attica in architecture and Bœotia in understanding.’—_Gentleman’s Magazine_, 1828.

[33] ‘Cheltenham: a polka, parson-worshipping place of which Francis Close is Pope, besides pumps and pump-rooms, chalybeates, quadrilles, and one of the prettiest counties of Britain.’—A. TENNYSON, Letter, 1845.

[34] These were among the first in the country.

[35] See Appendix D.

[36] _History of Ladies’ College_, p. 12.

[37] These marks of omission occur in the copy of Miss Beale’s letter left among her papers.

[38] _History of the Ladies’ College_, p. 22.

[39] Afterwards Sir Thomas Barlow and Sir William Gull.

[40] ‘Of Queens’ Gardens,’ _Sesame and Lilies_, J. Ruskin.

[41] See p. 11.

[42] On the Education of Women. A Paper read by Mr. William Grey at the meeting of the Society of Arts, May 31, 1871.

[43] Mrs. Grey.

[44] Heroic couplets.

[45] Lincoln’s Inn.

[46] _Francis Mary Buss and Her Work for Education_, A. E. Ridley, p. 242.

[47] _History of the Ladies’ College._

[48] The Rev. G. H. Wilkinson, D.D., then Vicar of St. Peter’s, Eaton Square. At his death, Bishop of St. Andrews and Primus of the Scottish Church.

[49] _Poems_, F. W. Faber.

[50] ‘In Retreat, 1883.’

[51] ‘Building.’

[52] ‘In Retreat, 1883.’

[53] Letter to a friend.

[54] _Ibid._

[55] In every embassy in Europe, in many Government houses in our colonies, and in several courts of Asia, wives and mothers are living who have drawn their earliest principles from the ideal teachings of Dorothea Beale.—_Court Journal_, November 24, 1906.

[56] First preface.

[57] _Ibid._

[58] Bacon’s _Advancement of Learning_.

[59] Guild Address, 1888.

[60] See Bishop Lightfoot’s ‘Sermon on St. Hilda,’ _C.L.C. Mag._, Spring 1886.

[61] See Miss Beale’s paper, ‘St. Hilda’s,’ _C.L.C. Mag._, Autumn 1886.

[62] Chap. VIII.

[63] Dr. Kitchin, now Dean of Durham.

[64] Then Somerville Hall.

[65] Mrs. C. T. Mitchell, who has from the first been connected with the Guild work.

[66] Now Bishop of London.

[67] Afterwards Mrs. Charles Robinson.

[68] Even such an act as this had nothing personal in it. ‘Once,’ writes an old girl, ‘I asked Miss Beale to sign a photograph on the last afternoon of the term. She said her hand was tired with shaking hands, and asked if next term would do. When I said it was a Christmas present for Mother, and I wanted to give it complete, she at once sat down and signed it.’

[69] Compare with this Miss Beale’s remarks on history as an educational subject, _Work and Play_, p. 114.

[70] Miss Beale published some of her lectures on literature in 1902 in the volume entitled, _Literary Studies of Poems New and Old_: G. Bell and Sons.

[71] So much did Miss Beale dislike a formal study of the Bible, that when first the Oxford Local Examinations were taken in the College, she induced the parents of pupils entering for them to sign a conscience clause to the effect that they did not wish their children to take a Scripture examination. The amount set for study was afterwards lessened, and could therefore be more thoroughly taught. Thus her objections were minimised.

[72] _Relation of Home to School Life, No. II., Truth._

[73] _Work and Play in Girls’ Schools._

[74] She spoke of tennis as ‘playing archery.’

[75] At Miss Clarke’s school in the Christmas holidays of 1877, the first Retreat Miss Beale attended.

[76] See chap. xv.

[77] Death of Miss Newman at Mayfield House.

[78] Now Ely Professor of Divinity at Cambridge, and Canon of Ely.

[79] _Frances Mary Buss and her Work for Education._

[80] Now at Mukti, Poona District.

[81] Its objects are: a systematic study of mission work in all lands; formation of closer links with those old College girls who are now missionaries.

[82] Bishop Webb.

[83] In this section the methods best adapted for the secondary instruction of girls, specially as regards Modern Languages and Science, were discussed.

[84] M. Fallières, then Ministre de l’Instruction publique.

[85] It is interesting to compare this opinion with those expressed in the last Head-masters’ Conference (December 1907) by the Head-masters of Eton and Winchester, who were in the minority which would have lessened the amount of scholarship Greek required from boys of thirteen and fourteen.

[86] The marvels of astronomy had always a special fascination for Miss Beale. When the Leonid meteors were expected on one night in 1898 the Chief Constable, Admiral Christian, by her wish instructed the police as soon as they appeared to ring up Miss Beale, and she was to pull the alarm-bell to rouse the girls.

[87] The news reached Miss Beale two days later. See Appendix E.

[88] On Secondary Education.

[89] Charles Smith, M.A., Master of Sidney Sussex College.

[90] Designed by Mr. E. R. Robson, F.S.A.

[91] Raphael.

[92] Mrs. James Owen.

[93] Letter to Miss Strong.

[94] Now Sir Arthur Rücker.

[95] Queen Margaret’s College.

[96] He was surreptitiously introduced into the gallery of the Hall while Miss Beale was giving a lesson.

[97] Miss Buss.

[98] Miss Gretton.

[99] This proved to be the date of her funeral.

[100] See Letters.

[101] The allusion is to Mrs. Charles Robinson.

[102] See Appendix F.

[103]

‘Nature never lends
The smallest scruple of her excellence,
But, like a thrifty goddess, she determines
Herself ...
Both thanks and use.’—_Measure for Measure._

A favourite quotation of Miss Beale’s.

[104] After Mrs. Robinson’s death in 1906, Miss Beale wrote to Canon Robinson, ‘I think I may say that Clara was the best beloved of all my children.’

[105] F. Du Pré.

[106] _Fraser’s Magazine_, October 1866.

APPENDIX A, Page 28.

A lady who attended Dr. Bernays’ German classes with Miss Beale has interesting recollections of her. She remembers her as in appearance ‘very fair and slight and interesting looking,’ with a quiet dignity and attraction about her which gave her an influence; one remarkable instance of this may be told.

Dorothea and Anna Beale were once absent from the German class on its first meeting for a new term. Dr. Bernays said they should read _Faust_, and accordingly all the pupils brought copies of _Faust_ to the next class. When all were seated, Dorothea stood up and said quietly and respectfully that she thought _Faust_ objectionable reading for young girls, and suggested some other book. Dr. Bernays looked just a little annoyed, but listened quite kindly. He said it was a pity the books had been bought, but put it to the class what should be done. Such was Miss Beale’s influence that all decided to submit to her judgment.