Harbin, May 17.
On Thursday afternoon, May 15, there died in Harbin, the best known and the most beloved headmistress of a. Girls' School which has been established in this city for 25 years, Madame Oksakovsky, this famous headmistress was born in Russia in 1861 and was educated at an orphanage from which she graduated with a gold medal in 1888 and at once took up educational work, frst working as'@ governess, the training that she had in managing children during this period giving her an ex: perience which was of great value in later years. She threw herself into educational' work of every kind and Shortly after her marriage to Mr.
F. Oksakovsky in 1891, she opened a Kindergarten in Moscow which immediately became extremely popular. Her husband was ordered out to Harbin in 1906 by his firm, Keller Ca, and establishing himself in this city, he soon sent for his wife and children.
'Madame Oksakovsky was unable to lead an idle life and at once opened a Girls' School contrary to the wishes of the local authorities. She rented her premises from the Chinese Eastern Railway, the administration of which did all' they could to help her in her venture, She was 60. wonderfully successful that two years later the government granted her a Ucence as 'a centre of education and she came under the control of the Board of Education instead of the railway authorities, Starting with, quite a small number of scholars in. the frst year, the season of 1910 opened with @ roll of 319 and by 1913 she built her own house in the. main street of New Town, exactly opposite where the British Consulate, pow stands. The effect of the re-on her school, compelling her to sell her schoo!' building to the CER. police by whom it is still occupied, but found new premises in which to continue her ideas end with the assistance of her son, opened evening classes for both boys and girls and special classes for grown-ups whose education was backward.
She has been ailing for some time and succumbed before the graduation ceremonies of this year. During the 24 years over 3000 girls have graduated from her school, many of whom are to be found in China and abroad, but altogether 12,000 pupils have passed throu: 1 her hands, She was not only a good teacher but she entered into the needs of her fwundreds of poor pupils, generously giving help where required and assisting all to start in life. She was always ready to give her donations to charities of every kind but retrained from making them public, always coming in as an anonymous donor. Not one person who met this charming personality but had the greatest respect and admiration for liber abilities and benevolent nature.
At the funeral which took place yesterday afternoon, the whole of Harbin seemed to be present, headed by the Archbishop Nestor whose voice shook as he spoke of the loss of one of Harbin's greatest citizens. Present and former pupils were there jin thousands, the cortege assuming enormous proportions. With her death the Russian emigrant community of Harbin have lost their oldest tink with the educational system of former Russia,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.