THE PASSING OF THE ANNEX 251 



ably of course, and Radcliffe College received its 

 most generous charter. 



The address of Mrs. Agassiz, which was the most im- 

 portant that she ever made, is given here in full: 



I am asked to say something on the subject which 

 is before you today, concerning the Society for the 

 Collegiate Instruction of Women, better known by 

 its more familiar (its household name, as it were) of 

 the Harvard Annex, names which we now petition 

 you to change. Not because the more familiar name 

 is not dear to us; on the contrary it belongs to the 

 very initiation of our Society. It has the value of 

 things which are associated with difficulties and sacri- 

 fices, with strenuous effort, with small means and 

 high aims. There are such times in the lives of institu- 

 tions as well as of individuals, times when the 

 ideal side bravely takes the ascendency and seems to 

 declare its independence of material means. At such a 

 time, the name of the Annex was given to us, half in 

 jest, half in earnest, wholly in good feeling by the 

 students of the University. We were, perhaps, as im- 

 pecunious a body as ever started on an important 

 enterprise. Without any of the ordinary accessories 

 for collegiate work (as buildings, books, apparatus 

 and the like), with only enough money to cover the 

 bare expenses of every day, we ventured to believe 

 that we could build up an institution of learning for 

 women which would eventually give them all the 

 educational advantages which college gives to men. 



And why did we have this faith? Because of the 



