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,