286 ELIZABETH CARY AGASSIZ 
TO THE STUDENTS OF RADCLIFFE COLLEGE 
Rome, December 11, 1894 
My pear Youne Frienps: Far away as I am from 
Radcliffe College you are often in my thoughts. I see 
you at your work, in your Clubs, in your social gath- 
erings and especially at the Wednesday teas, where I 
long to join you and to share in the talk that goes on 
around the tables. Could I be transported there, I 
should have much to tell you of the old story of which 
these ancient cities speak to us still, bringing the past 
so near that it sometimes seems more vivid than the 
present. Of course we all know the facts, or a great 
part of them, but to be on the spot makes our dry 
knowledge a living reality. I felt this in Paris, where 
the new is lost in the old (at least, it was so to me), 
and still more here, where the dead ruins make the 
life of the city. 
But I did not mean to talk to you of myself and 
of what I am seeing and enjoying, but rather of the 
pleasure I have in hearing that all goes well with 
Radcliffe and its students. This year seems to me of 
greater importance in the history of our college than 
any preceding one except the first. That was the ini- 
tiative step in what was really a far-reaching under- 
taking, though at the moment it seemed hardly more 
than a doubtful experiment; this year marks the con- 
clusion of that period and the opening of one which 
rests on a sure foundation. 
I am confident that you all appreciate this new 
aspect of our undertaking and will help the officers of 
