"Who lifting their hearts to the heavenly blue
Will do woman's work for the good and true;
And as sisters or daughters or mothers or wives
Will take the starlight into their lives."
In the train with three of her seniors after Commencement, June 30th,
1868:--
"Sarah, Mary, Louise and I
Have come to the cross roads to say good-bye;
Bathed in tears and covered with dust,
We say good-bye, because we must;
A circle of lovers, a knot of peers,
They in their youth and I in my years,
Willing to bear the parting and pain,
Believing we all shall meet again;
That if God is God and truth is truth,
We shall meet again and all in youth."
To live in a great period is rarely to be conscious of its magnitude
and importance. It is not till you stand from afar that the wonder
grows on you, with thankfulness to have been a looker-on and to have
served somewhat, if ever in so humble a capacity.
The days that are no more! But this is not said regretfully, for if
Vassar stood for glorious promise from the beginning, it has been
splendidly fulfilled in the march of years. They have slipped along,
bringing "golden opportunity" in greater measure, continually
broadening attainment, ever clearer and higher vision.
[Illustration: 1865]