How can one picture all that this one woman was to the hundreds of
other women who loved her: the gentle demeanor, the thoughtful
conversation, the high thinking evidenced not less in her choice of
subject than in the fitness of word and phrase which gave a
distinctive charm to all her utterances, whether public or private?
When first meeting Mrs. Croly one could hardly believe that so
gentle-voiced, slight a creature could have accomplished the
pioneering accredited to her in the enlargement of the mental life of
women. Drawn to her at the first greeting one was soon convinced of
the hidden forcefulness of her nature which could be likened to the
resistless, unyielding under-current, rather than to the wave which
visibly and noisily assails the shore.
Present or absent, the thought of her was magnetic. While charming the
heart she convinced the mind with argument. Her power did not absorb
and minify; it enlarged, enlivened, and became a source of
inspiration. After talking with her, impossibilities became possible
to the timid, the diffident were encouraged to dare, and those who
were strong at coming went away valorous. Her dignity and ready
decision when presiding over a public assembly were noteworthy. She
became a stateswoman in whatever concerned her sex; an earnest soul
pleading for love among co-workers, and for more and yet more of love,
for only in that atmosphere can the heart of woman come into its
rightful sovereignty, urging that slights be forgotten, aggressions
overlooked, and that the fair mantle of love be spread tenderly over
all.
An earnest devotee of the best and highest in art, she seemed to have
an insatiable desire after the beautiful; and was never more serene
and lucid of mind than when considering this scheme, and encouraging
with rich appreciation those who were in the field.
Her store of knowledge was phenomenal. She was a constant learner, an
unwearied seeker after wisdom. When those who had given special study
to any subject addressed the house over which she presided, they
received her most flattering attention, and in the brief afterword of
the chairman she indicated intimate knowledge of the matter in hand,
often giving comprehensive data and suggesting fresh lines for
consideration. No wonder that the finest minds were attracted to her;
that thinkers desired her acceptance of their thoughts; that active
workers sought her coöperation and leadership. Quiet and forceful;
competent as a critic, but ready with encouragement; simple in manner,
easily approached; patient with those who appealed to her, seeking
rather than waiting to be sought; abundantly appreciative of others,
her memory becomes an abiding impulse towards high and generous
thought, towards simple, worthy living.