The Buss StoryIndex Author's
Notes
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As we have already seen young Robert-William (as he was affectionately called) was sent, until about seven years of age, to a ladies' school in the neighbourhood.
These were the days of the Dame School. William Hore, recalling the dame school to which he was sent in the 1780s, gives us some background:
She was very fond of me, and I was always good with her, though perhaps naughty enough at home She lived in one room, a large underground kitchen; we went down a flight of steps to it. Her bed was always neatly turned down in one corner. There was a large kitchen grate and in cold weather there was always a good fire in it, by which she sat in a carved wooden armchair with a small round table before her on which lay a large Bible, open, on one side, and on the other a birch rod. Of the Bible she made great use, of the rod very little, but with fear we always looked upon it. There, on low benches, books in hand, sat her little scholars.
This pleasant scene is offset by others less attractive. According to Thomas Holcroft, the novelist, who was the son of a shoemaker, children were sent to dame schools ‘rather to keep them out of the way than to learn anything’. And many children did not learn anything, even how to read: in the parish of Islington between 1767 and 1814 about 75 per cent of poor boys and 76 per cent of poor girls were illiterate. The Rev. George Crabbe, the Suffolk poet, describes two infants' schools which were perhaps more representative than the one attended by William Hore:
Yet one there is, that small regard to Rule
Or Study pays, and still is deem'd a school;
That, where a deaf, poor patient widow sits,
And awes some thirty Infants as she knits;
Infants of humble, busy wives, who pay
Some trifling price for Freedom through the day ...Poor Reuben Dixon has the noisiest school
Of ragged lads, who ever bow'd to Rule;
Low is his Price - the Men who heave our Coals
And clean our Causeways, send him Boys in Shoals.
These schools were certainly cheap. Few charged more than 3d a week per child and some no more than 1 1/2d. Even so, many parents could not afford them. James Lackington, born in Somerset in 1746, wrote, 'As I was the eldest and my father for the first few years a careful hardworking man, I fared something better than my brothers and sisters. I was put for two or three years to a day school kept by an old woman ... But my career of learning was soon at an end, as my Mother became so poor that she could not afford the mighty sum of twopence per week for my schooling.’ The standard of teaching was generally commensurate with these low prices, and was usually undertaken by untrained women.
It is commonly thought so tiresome an undertaking to teach children to Spell and Read English, that a peevish School-master is not judged to have Patience enough to do it [one commentator observed in 1710]. And therefore they are sent to a Mistress, supposing she may be more fit to deal with them in their tender Years; where partly thro' the Ignorance of many such Teachers, and partly Neglect, the Children often spend whole Years to little Advantage.
One of those who could testify to these wasted years was William Lovett, who was born in 1800 and later became a Chartist: he was sent 'to all the dame schools of the town' before he could master the alphabet, and at one of them spent much of the time incarcerated in the coal cellar for misbehaviour.
Some male teachers were very young, others cruel. John Collier, better known as Tim Bobbin, the dialect poet and caricaturist, became an itinerant schoolmaster at the age of fourteen. And at one of the schools Francis Place attended, he was taught by boys little older than himself. His first school, to which he was sent at the age of seven in 1778, was 'kept by a tall stout well-looking man named Jones, proverbially "savage Jones". This name he got ... in consequence of the frequent punishments he inflicted on the boys and the delight he seemed to take in punishing them. There were about 120 boys in this school.' They sat at desks in two large schoolrooms under the eyes of the master and the usher who were so placed that they could see all the pupils who were called up to be tested in groups of six. 'If any one failed he was obliged to go out and stand at a short distance from the master holding out first one hand and then the other to receive on each a stroke with a stout cane, the strokes were from two to twelve, in extreme cases fourteen.' Place confessed that he learned very little.
The Dominic punishing Mr Knapps and Barnaby Bracegirdle. Robert-William was certainly familiar with the type of scene he depicted here in Marryat's story of Jacob Faithful.
It would seem, from our sparse knowledge of Robert-William's first school, that the care and standard of education may not have been much better than in the dame schools described by William Hoare (above). Then at the age of seven he was moved on to a school, kept by Mr. Groom, at Shaftesbury Academy. This had a very large school-room capable of accommodating 200 boys - the average attendance. It was situated in Aldersgate, Street, in the Ward of Aldersgate, within the City of London. It professed to give a good commercial education to its pupils, and it kept its word. The fee was a guinea per quarter for each scholar. Music, French, and Latin were extras.
Along with his brother Henry, he had his name inscribed in gold letters, on the large black boards that ornamented the walls, as a prize winner. He and Henry also excelled in tasteful and original ornamental printing; and before they quitted school, were requested to execute specimens thereof, in large handsomely bound books, kept as show-volumes for the inspection of future parents.
Young Robert-William's father was an educated, upright and disciplined man, with an enquiring mind and a willingness to get involved wherever it suited his time and could be accommodated along with his family commitments. So it is not surprising that the boy early acquired a taste for fine art from his father. Indeed, in those days it was still to be expected that a son would follow in his father's steps by way of trade or business.
About four years into his time at the Shaftesbury Academy, aged 11, Robert-William received a remarkable opportunity to continue his education in Europe. The circumstance arose by way of invitation from his favourite Uncle Bob.
Uncle Bob was younger brother of Robert William's father. For some years this uncle had been a clerk to Mr. Brunn, a sword cutler, in Charing cross, London.
We need to remember that in the early 19th century Napoleon was engaged in a number of military campaigns in mainland Europe. While the British Government was active in building effective military and naval armaments to keep Napoloen in check there was a popular wave to form home guard corps around to country to defend the country in the event of an invasion. Men and boys were eager to volunteer for these duties. Robert Buss was evidently keen to be amongst these volunteers, and since it appears his master, Mr. Brunn, was not able to respond to the call of duty he sent his young clerk in his place. Young Robert became so inspired with the whole endeavour of war in a good cause that he sought every way he could to gain a commission to the king's service.
As luck would have it, Mr. Brunn had recently received a contract to forge a ceremonial sword for one of the royal dukes - though we do not know which one. The duke called by occasionally at the master culture's premises to follow the progress of the the sword's manufacture. Robert seized his opportunity and contrived some way to fall into conversation with the duke. he told him of his time in the volunteer corps, but how he would far rather see real action on the battle field, but that this he could only do if he could gain a commission.
The duke responded with good-natured banter. "Do you really want to be shot at? In earnest?" Nothing daunted Robert replied that "he was most ambitious to have the chance if his Grace would only try him."
The duke was non-committal, but left smiling. And shortly afterwards Robert Buss received an appointment in the Commissariat as clerk of stores - to begin with. Stores? What did he know about stores? He would have preferred to be a soldier, with gun in hand; but no matter. Any opportunity was better than none. He had found out that whenever he had given glad and willing obedience to his superiors it has always issued in his being both noticed and promoted. So now he would do it again. Who knows where he might not end up.
The duke got his sword and young Robert gathered his essential belongings together before wishing a fond farewell to his family and, doubtless, a respectful goodbye to Mr. Brunn.
We have no immediate account of his first months service in military supplied, but in time he was ordered to join the Peninsular Campaign under Wellington and his generals as conductor of stores. These were appalling days of carnage and disease and Robert will have seen it all. Whatever adventures befell him, he survived. And in years to come he would tell with delight the story of how often he was shot at in the course of his duties by ignorant Spanish peasants who mistook his military escort for the French! is ambition had been fulfilled: he had been shot at "in earnest".
The fields of
Waterloo today
Uncle Bob was shorter than is brother William Church, but more handsome, more sprightly, and flamboyant in his ways. He served throughout the whole Peninsular Campaign and was recalled with his division of the army to oppose the French. Napoleon had returned unexpectedly from Elba. Wellington led his divisions against the abdicated emperor in Belgium. After three days of intense struggle by both armies at the Battle of Waterloo, Napoloen was finally defeated and taken prisoner in June 1815.
But Uncle Bob missed the action, arriving some days later. We can only imagine his disappointment. They were then detained, however, during the arrangements for the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty as an 'army of occupation' until its recall to England.
During his time in Belgium Robert kept in touch with his family by letter. One day a letter arrived at his brother's home. William Church sliced open the envelope, carefully reading the immaculate writing. As usual excitement and energy pervaded almost every sentence. This time the letter was even more remarkable, for it contained an invitation to him and his eldest son, Robert -William, to travel over to Brussels and view at first hand the scene of the Battle of Waterloo, just six weeks after the event. The reasons for making the journey were even more significant than simply to witness the scene of a famous victory. For Uncle Bob was offering to pay to have his nephew educated for some time at the Fine Arts Academy in Brussels.
It was an opportunity not to be missed and in a short while father and son arrived at the scene of the carnage. The bodies had now been removed or buried. But the smell of death still hung in the air. And all around the wreckage of battle still littered to ground. With what may be considered a sort of macabre collector's instinct young Robert William scampered round to find first one trophy of war and then another, while father wondered how he would ever carry all the items back to England. A week later and father was waving his 11 year old boy goodbye as he set off on his return journey.
So it was that Robert William Buss remained in the care of Uncle Bob for a whole year and received an education that undoubtedly prepared him for what would become, some years hence, the major part of his life - as an artist.