THE PASSING OF THE ANNEX 259 



the educational boards of Radcliffe, and an officer to whom 

 all matters regarding the Hfe of the students in Cambridge 

 should be brought by them and their relatives for consulta- 

 tion and advice. "Nor will this," Mrs. Agassiz wrote in 

 some notes found among her papers, *' (at least, we surely 

 hope that it will not) diminish in any way the friendly, we 

 might almost say motherly interest which Mrs. Oilman 

 has always taken in the students and which has been so 

 valuable to them, while we also hope that it may in some 

 measure relieve her of a responsibility which she has volun- 

 tarily and generously taken upon herself"; and in the same 

 notes she continues: "It is difficult to define the duties 

 of an officer who has been ready to accept so much and 

 such various work as Mr. Oilman has cheerfully taken upon 

 himself. Something of what has fallen upon him in the way 

 of discipline and personal direction of the students will 

 now naturally pass into the care of the lady in residence as 

 general guide and adviser of the students." These tributes 

 to the earliest friends of the college illustrate the spirit 

 of loyalty and the appreciation of the efforts of others 

 that were characteristic of Mrs. Agassiz. 



So unusual was the combination and degree of the quali- 

 ties demanded for the dean by Mrs. Agassiz and the Cor- 

 poration that it seemed doubtful if the possessor of them 

 could be found, until a member of the Council suggested 

 Miss Agnes Irwin, who since 1869 had been principal of a 

 widely known private school for girls in Philadelphia, 

 through which she had become an important influence in 

 the life of the city. The executive ability that had fitted 

 her for this position was partly hereditary. Not only did 

 she count Benjamin Franklin and Alexander James Dallas 



