Proceedings of the Albany Institute. 271 



Mr. Brown nominated Leicester Allen for membership. 

 The rules being suspended Mr. Allen was elected resident 

 member of the Institute. 



Prof. Anthony, in accordance with previous announce- 

 ment, gave an account of the late Prof. Amos Eaton, with 

 reminiscences of him, as connected with the Rensselaer In- 

 stitute. The building occupied by the Institute is a double 

 house standing about half way between Troy and Lansing- 

 burgh, near the west end of the state dam, and was origin- 

 ally erected to answer the purpose of a bank common to 

 both these places. The Rensselaer Institute was originally 

 established by General Van Rensselaer, the father of the 

 present Patroon. The course of instruction occupied about 

 a year, and was in the form of lectures. The Institute was 

 authorized to grant the usual collegiate degree, A.B., on 

 graduation, and A.M.,. three years after. Over the Insti- 

 tute, Prof. Eaton presided, assisted by professors. Among 

 the students in attendance at the time when Prof. Anthony 

 entered, were two brothers of ¥m. C. Bryant, and the 

 Hon. George W. Clinton, now of Buffalo. The classes, 

 which went to the rooms of the different professors at nine 

 in the morning, numbered from four to six students each, 

 and .at twelve o'clock all met in the library for mutual 

 criticism. 



One room of the building was occupied by Prof. Eaton, 

 and in it all of his works were written. Prof. Anthony- 

 gave an- account of his family, and paid a fine tribute to 

 his kindly qualities, which it was now a pleasure to recall, 

 as well as to make record of many acts of kindness re- 

 ceived from him. 



One of the means of amusement among the students was 

 reading. We spent one evening till late in the night listen- 

 ing to our best reader, George W. Clinton, who read Byron's 

 Corsair. The next morning it was announced that 

 Gov. De Witt Clinton had died the night before, and 



