Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-01-24

has done here. He for the boys Of his
State, as she has for tho girls OF her
state.
Wien 7 was asked to speak little Of
hcr character I found myself almost
shrinking, for she was q woman whose
life, whose temper in the first place made
her one of strong individualitics, and her
life has intensified the strong lines Of
her Individuality Like many another
such, Mrs. Dexter was perhaps quite
generally looked upon as peculiar. Very
few knew her intimately and 50 the
world at large would think of her as in
some ways peculiar What we some
times call occentricitics were hers, but
7 have boon thinking whether after all
she was. or whether we should not per
haps rather look past chose down deeper
into her character to see If We could
trace there the great outlines Of the ideal
womanhood.
What arc those outlines? find mvsr,r
asking. What are the worlds outlines
Of the dnost tyre of wom1nhood? It nat
urally brought to my mind thatfamous
description Of types Of woman that has
como down II us from Simonides. He
must have been. think 4 woman-hater
or have written to please th7se who were
such: for in his famous scribe he draws
several peculiar tyres which he repre-
SCENTS to us, ard last he comes II the
type which he has to speak os with
word OF hearty apnrcvaI-he saws an
other TYPO the Gods made out of the bee.
Harry thc man who gets her. for to ho~
alore no fault attaches. Ancctionatolv
She grows old with her affecti0ratc hus-
Il
women for she docs net silt with women
when they are talking Of things THAT thcr
. had better not talk" The poem is that
this woman made out of the bee ard busy
as tho bee. has no time or thought for
the light trivialitics of life. l said to
myself Mrs. Dexter would mcnt the out
lines of the type there depicted to per
fcctica. find my mind going on to that
department where T am at home mostly.
Creek literature and Crock life. ana !
find something from cid Simonidcs
Mrs. Dexter was not, in the strict
sense Of the word. ar educated woman
EXCEPT as She educated herself She
could not be. Eut she was in the fullest
sense Of the word devoted to education.
She not only made the most Of herself
that she could. but more than that, early
in life she formed the resolve that other
girls should he better educated and have
that which was denied her. She lived
in this later age when Crock was appar-
emily lost some of its ancient attraction.
Mrs. Dexter did say to President White
with her usual viror:
'Tf were not more than 10 years OH
7 declare to you 7 would pitch right in
here with my girls live in F'oSs hall and
go through Colby College. if I were not
more than half rs old as am
81 after all in this building is Mrs
DeXters life and character enshrincd
This beautiful building must sneak to
YOU of her far moro cloquently than any
of us can. certainly moro than I can.
She was not romantic but she had her
dream. her vision. and here in this build
ing it is realized. She had very little
PERHAPS of the poetic in her own life but
hero is her poem, her creation. for that
is what poem means. You know. She,
perhaps we might think, lacked the artis.
tic sense but here is what she has carved
out of the hard marble Of her life and
left it for you. She has lived this as her
religion, worked out in dreams Ct life
life'S devotion. I do not know that
can do better than to read the simple and
sincere speech with which she gave this
building.
Dr. Snyder, who delivered the address
at the time Foss hall was presented to
the college. was born and brought up in
the little town of Wayne and for that
reason Mrs. Dexter welcomed him to her
home always and the two knew each 9TH
er as intimately as few people can who
do not live in the same family. DR.. Sny-
ders address was in part as follows:
The Masters call has come and her
Masters life Of full devotion is here for
you to enjoy and learn from it the les
son of like devotion.
hymn was then rendered, followed