“My counsel and advice is, first, to write to the Lord Mayor and tell him that his example would be readily followed, and entreat him to lead the forlorn hope and give a small sum of money. I would write the letter gladly, only you can do it better, and are in the midst of the business of the schools.
“I will write to Mr. Roebuck, and see if he can rouse any interest. Do you also write to Mrs. Newmarch. Tell her the urgency of the matter; write such a letter as she can give her husband—not too long, but urgent. Write to Miss Cobbe, and beg her to make an article of appeal in the Echo, and at the same time interesting. Shoot all these arrows at once, and some of them will hit.
“I feel ashamed and disgusted at the tardy and small response you have met with; but, as nothing really good ever dies out, I am not cast down, and I feel just the same interest as at first—I have still one card to play for you, as I have not made my appeal to Mrs. Huth, and that I will do, both to her and her husband, sending on your letter. Do not let Miss Buss lose heart. Give my love to her, and tell her that though I have not brought in anything yet it has not been for want of talking and trying. There is always a dead pull in all undertakings to get them uphill; the wheels seem to stick fast, but, after a while, if this pull is continued, they move. Let me hear from you again, please, and
“Believe me, yours very truly,
“Geraldine E. Jewsbury.”
I wrote to Mr. Ruskin, mentioning Miss Jewsbury’s request, and with great pleasure received a kind letter in reply, expressing interest in what I had told him of the school, and of the feeling of the founder. But, having at least three times more work on his hands than he was able for just then, he could do nothing till after the Christmas vacation, when it might be possible for him to come to see what was being done and what he might be able to do to forward the work.
It was always a regret to us that this visit never came to pass. Miss Buss and her girls missed what would have been a great delight, and Mr. Ruskin also missed the sight of healthy and womanly work and play which could not have failed to please as well as to cheer him in its hope for the future.
Miss Buss’ letters for the next few months show the effect of the strain of suspense and of hope deferred—
“Myra Lodge, 10 p.m., Sept. 27, 1871.
“Not ten minutes’ leisure till now, dear Miss Ridley. Teaching in the morning, a large Dorcas meeting in the afternoon, and an overwhelming mass of business correspondence—not nearly gone through yet, however.