1880.] '^1° [Kmley. 



kindest and gentlest of men, opening weekly his hos- 

 pitable house as a centre for the assembling of men of 

 learning: whether in science, law or politics, philan- 

 thropy or general affairs. He died comparatively 

 young and one of his successors made his fitting eulo- 

 gium. 



Robert Patterson, the fifth President and the father 

 of Robert M. Patterson, was born in Ireland, in 1743, 

 of humble but respectable parents. After a varied 

 and somewhat trying youth, he emigrated to this coun- 

 try and attempted business as trader. This was not 

 congenial or successful. The bent of his mind was for 

 Mathematics and Natural Philosophy and he speedily 

 turned his attention to teaching. He applied for and 

 was elected to the office of Principal of an Academy at 

 Wilmington, Delaware. It is recorded of him that his 

 duties required the giving of instruction in the Latin 

 language, of which he knew nothing, but he manfully 

 went to work to study it and to keep ahead of his 

 pupils, thereby managing to give satisfaction to his 

 patrons. He was engaged in this work when the war 

 for Independence broke out, and before and after school 

 hours drilled several companies of his townsmen in 

 military movements. The knowledge for this he had 

 acquired as an enlisted soldier in Ireland, having been 

 enticed into that sort of life by a promise on the part of 

 the sergeant that he would have the chance of studying 

 mathematics while in service. 



He entered the army of the Revolution first as an 

 assistant surgeon, for which he had qualified himself by 

 a short study of medicine, and was afterwards ap- 

 pointed Brigade Major. On leaving the army he 

 commenced farming, and being disheartened by the 



