328 ELIZABETH CARY AGASSIZ 
that it is their home during the years of their college 
life; that a home implies responsibility; that their 
highest ambition with reference to it should be to 
maintain a standard of good breeding, of kindly 
intercourse and consideration for each other, which 
give after all under any social conditions the key- 
note to gentle manners. 
In a community brought together under one roof 
by a common interest and kindred occupations, 
and not by kith and kinship, the bond is of course 
not as close nor can the relations be as spontaneous 
as between the members of one family. But a re- 
spect for such reserves as may leave each student in 
quiet possession of her room at her own will and 
pleasure, for her own studies or occupations, need 
not hinder the formation of intimacies or the growth 
of friendships which may last a lifetime. In the en- 
couragement of such genial and pleasant companion- 
ships, with due consideration for each others’ in- 
dividual tastes and preferences, it seems to me that 
a very happy and a mutually helpful life must grow 
up here. 
The very conditions under which our new Hall 
and home exists are suggestive of the best influences. 
It is, as I have told you, the gift of a dear friend 
of Radcliffe College; known as Bertram Hall, it is 
consecrated by a beloved name; it is pledged to 
worthy occcupations and interests; and it may well 
stimulate those who live under its shelter to sincere, 
cheerful, and sustained effort. Accepted in this 
spirit it can hardly fail to be a happy home where 
