Poughkeepsie, June 8th, 1864.
Mrs. Sarah J. Hale
My dear Madame:
Your letter of June 6n is under my notice. In regard to Mrs.
Cuddehy I can do no more than call the attention of the President &
Faculty Committee to her name & credentials in such a manner as will
doubtless ensure her the most careful consideration at their hands. I
place great reliance upon what you say in her behalf & I need not assure
you she will not be overlooked.
In regard to Dr. Jewett, whatever statements may have appeared
have not originated with me. Your estimate of him is not far from the
fact but it would be a very long tedious & unwelcome task for me to go
over the ground anew. It has been a most unhappy affair and I shall be
glad to forget it for I wish him no harm. A recital of facts could only be
to his disadvantage as well as a renewal of my own pain. He certainly was not
the personal friend to me that his conduct in my presence had led me to
believe. He had labored deligently to undermine my influence & that of
my confidential committee in the opinion of the Trustees. The effort
proved disastrous only to himself.
Dr. Raymond has not yet signified any formal acceptance of the
Presidency although I have great hope it will not be long delayed. He has
for ten years been at the head of the Polytechnic & Collegiate Institute in
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ant
June 8, 1864 - 2
Brooklyn, an Institution which he organized & has conducted with the
most eminent success. He was our unanimous choice. He is a clergyman
and a most enlightened & liberal christian gentleman. He was the com-
panion of Henry Ward Beecher in his European travels & is his close friend
although they belong to different denominations, Mr. Raymond being a
Baptist though I am informed not exactly concurring in some of their exclu-
sive practices.
My own health is not such as to warrant me in much application to
writing although the demand upon my time in that respect seem to increase.
With great respect
Yours respectfully,
M. Vassar
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