338 ELIZABETH CARY AGASSIZ 
a most generous measure, and without conditions 
— a fairy gift, if ever there was one, for it came as 
a pure surprise. 
I call it mine, because it was given to me for you, 
to fulfil a wish that I had long cherished for the 
students of Radcliffe, the accomplishment of which 
I feared that I might never see. 
For a moment I could not believe what my eyes 
and my ears declared. One must have experienced 
it, in order to understand what it is to have a desire 
of your heart suddenly granted, the road opened 
without obstruction; so did this come, as if one had 
said, “Here is all you need for your Students’ 
Hall, you may turn the first sod tomorrow if you 
like.” 
And now the very name of your new hall in- 
dicates not only your share in it, but your responsi- 
bility towards it. Education is never complete 
without its domestic and social side. This build- 
ing is to represent to you the refinement and charm 
of a home, while it will give you many advantages 
in your studies. Yet I hope that in this building, 
side by side with your college instruction and in 
keeping with a happy and cheerful life, there will 
grow up the domestic and social qualities without 
which no education is perfect. It rests with you, 
for whose pleasure and well being it is intended, 
to make the best use of this building, and it is to 
be not only a Students’ Hall but a students’ home. 
You are all aware that the one distinction of 
Radcliffe lies in the fact that our teaching force 
