Frances Mary Buss and her work for educationRidley, Annie E.
History
Frances Mary Buss and her work for education
Ridley, Annie E.
Buss, Frances Mary, 1827-1894
But in this trip her chief interest was in her educational
experiences—of which she took full notes—varied by pleasant social
gatherings, to which she and her father and her uncle, Dr. Buss, were
invited. In the only letter that can now be found relating to this tour
she expresses herself very warmly—
“Aug. 17, 1871.
“We have been enjoying ourselves I can tell you! One of my
introductions has led to an acquaintance with a Miss Hierta, a
_Högral borna_, or nobly born lady, who is clever, handsome,
rich, benevolent, and young. Her father is the oldest member of
what we should call the House of Commons, but it is called the
Lower Chamber. He is familiarly known as ‘Lars Hierta,’ the
representative of the Liberal party, the friend of education and
of women. He is a fine old man of seventy-four, tall, handsome,
and, I hear, witty in the House, and always listened to with
respect. He and his daughter have been here to-night to
‘soppor,’ a word which needs no translation.
“Through Miss Hierta I have been able to see nine of the great
schools here. All I can say is that Sweden sets us a noble
example. Education is practically compulsory, as no child can be
confirmed till he can read, write, and cypher, and he cannot get
employment without the certificate of confirmation. Of course
such compulsion would not do in our country; but still it is
something to be able to boast that no child can remain ignorant
of the ‘three R’s.’...
“I feel that we English, who are so much richer than these
Swedes, are yet in many respects far behind. Here the State
considers that it is a duty to provide education for all. And
all this has been done, in the last few years, mainly through
one man, Professor Siljiström, who was sent to America, and who,
on his return, was allowed to remodel the school system (of
which a full account is given).”
Nor was there less attraction on Miss Hierta’s side. In the following
year, she visited Miss Buss in London, and, written in 1873, I have a
letter speaking of her sorrow in the illness of “our dear Miss Buss,”
and she adds—
“I hope that she is recovered now; she is doing such a noble
work, and she has such a wonderful combination of greatness of
heart, of intelligence and energy, that a woman like this ought
to live eternally even here on earth, where she is so much
wanted. How I wish we had one like her here to establish a model
school for young girls.”
In Mary Howitt’s “Life” there is among her Roman experiences an
interesting account of a visit from “charming Anna Hierta, a beautiful
specimen of a Swedish woman.” She was one of the girls deeply influenced
by Frederika Bremer’s “Hertha,” the book that emancipated woman in
Sweden, and seemed to me to have in her all the splendid force of the
fair, strong women of the North.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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