THE PASSING OF THE ANNEX 265 



her entire union with him, and it is scarcely an exaggera- 

 tion to say that Radcliffe for no inconsiderable part of its 

 foundations rests upon the devotion of a woman to her 

 husband. 



It was especially due to Mrs. Agassiz's loyalty to the 

 University that she never ceased to emphasize the depend- 

 ence of the Annex from its very inception upon Harvard 

 alone, and that dependence as its sole reason for existence. 

 Her confidence in the Veritas of Harvard had a large share 

 in bringing about the final incorporation of Radcliffe Col- 

 lege, and the personal affection and respect that she aroused 

 attracted the already friendly administrative bodies of the 

 University to the enterprise. It is practically certain that 

 if Mrs. Agassiz had had no connection with the Annex, it 

 would still have met with success; her contribution to the 

 movement consisted in giving it, simply by being herself, 

 an impetus, a dignity, and an unwavering standard that it 

 could not have had without her. 



In the same way her influence impressed itself upon the 

 students. She herself said that her attitude toward them 

 was characterized by an affectionate friendliness; theirs 

 toward her was that of affectionate admiration and re- 

 spect. None can be said to have had relations of intimacy 

 with her, but, although her personal interest often came as 

 a surprise to them, none failed to recognize that they had in 

 her a friend to whom they might turn for counsel and sym- 

 pathy. "I can never forget," a former president of the 

 Alumnae Association of the Annex writes, "her gracious 

 presence as she sat beside me at the Commencement din- 

 ners at which I had the painful duty to preside. A kind of 

 praesidium et dulce decus meum she seemed to me, making 



