344 ELIZABETH CARY AGASSIZ 
They remember with me those.early days when her 
life seemed a precarious one, when her only wealth 
consisted in the quality of her instruction (drawn 
wholly from the Faculty of Harvard) and in the 
enthusiasm of her students. Indeed, the real inspira- 
tion of her life in those early years and of her subse- 
quent growth has been the hope of becoming more 
and more closely allied with the University; sharing 
its intellectual outfit, its traditions, its associations. 
That hope has been our guiding star, which we have 
never lost from sight at any time. 
First through the sympathy and generosity of the 
professors and teachers, then through the recognition 
of the President and Fellows of Harvard (its governing 
boards), we have been brought to the very gates of the 
University, until we have now our full share of that 
organized body of college instruction which is the 
pride of our State, which our young men are taught to 
love and honor. In that affection and reverence our 
students of Radcliffe have become their worthy rivals. 
In leaving Radcliffe (so far as that is possible, since 
her future must always be dear to me), I am happy to 
feel that our next step is one of the greatest impor- 
tance and value for her, according, moreover, with the 
policy which we have pursued from the beginning. 
In electing a member of the Faculty (and the second 
officer of the University) as our President, we put 
ourselves in immediate touch with the whole educa- 
tional force of Harvard, and we gain a position of 
absolute security and permanence under her protec- 
tion. Therefore, the choice of Dean Briggs to be the 
