There is a large body of educated men in this country, many of them among the most prominent in the departments of literature and science, and in the ranks of professional and political life, who will feel special interest in these reminiscences, as the name of Samuel Eells has become familiar to them from its repetition in scenes which they remember with pleasure. These are the members of the Alpha Delta Phi Society, an organization which has been of so much value to those who have been connected with it that it is cherished with peculiar affection and respect, even after college days have long been passed. It was with feelings of deepest interest that Mr. Eells watched the growing prosperity of this Society, although it was hardly beyond its infancy at the time of his death. He believed it would be greatly useful, and nothing accomplished by him afforded him such satisfaction as the promise of the several chapters which were bearing the spirit of A.Δ.Φ. into the leading colleges of the land.

He has given a short account of the circumstances which led to the formation of the Society; and as it will be read with interest by those thus related, for whom, indeed, for the most part, this memorial is prepared, it has been thought there can be no impropriety in its insertion here. As it was written, however, amidst the pressure of other engagements and in haste, and as some parts of it are necessarily omitted, it will be seen that it is quite incomplete.

"When I entered Hamilton College in the year 1827, there were two Literary Societies in the institution, viz: the Phoenix and the Philopeuthian, afterwards called the Phi Gamma Alpha, and finally, from its junction with the Irving Society, the Union. Between these a strong and active rivalry had been maintained; and such, at the time I allude to, was their mutual jealousy and activity, that I almost determined to join neither. But importunity and persecution were only to be escaped by becoming attached to one or the other. I finally gave my name to the Philopeuthian; but the affairs of both had been so desperate during the unhappy condition of the college for some time previous to this year, that they prepared now for a mighty struggle for the vantage ground, as the whole institution seemed to breathe a new life. It is not necessary to detail the history of this struggle, which continued for three years, with abundant bitterness on both sides. So far was the competition carried that it took possession of the best academics in the State. Scarcely a student of any pretensions to scholarship presented himself for admission to college who had not been solicited by both Societies. The means of persuasion were often of the most unscrupulous kind. Neither side hesitated to make use of dissimulation and deceit, and degrading compliances, until college life exhibited a scene of jealousy and strife, in which he who could plan and successfully execute a low manoeuvre, or put upon a fabrication the guise of plausibility, became equally formidable to the opposite party and a favorite with his own. The effect of this state of things on the character of the students was deplorable, and among a few of us was a subject of common and frequent regret. It seemed to chill all the noble and generous affections of the youthful spirit, and destroyed or corrupted the very elements of honorable and manly character. Besides drawing off attention from study, it alienated bosom friends, divided classes, and embittered not only public exercises, but all associations for mutual improvement, whether moral, literary or religious. It was a contemplation of these and similar evils, that first suggested to me the idea of establishing a Society of a higher nature, and more comprehensive and better principles; one that should combine all the advantages of a union for intellectual and literary purposes, and at the same time maintain the integrity of youthful character, and cultivate those finer feelings which it was the effect of college societies in general to extinguish or enfeeble. The undertaking was an arduous one. The obstacles to be encountered were formidable enough from the very nature of the enterprise, and were rendered much more so by the general distrust with which I was aware the plan would be received by those on whom I mainly relied.

"In the first place, the new association must differ from others, in all points necessary to the exclusion of that jealousy and angry competition which I had always felt to be the bane of college life. In the second place, it must be built on a more comprehensive scale than other societies, in regard to its intellectual proportions; providing for every variety of taste and talent, and embracing every department of literature and science. In the third place, it must be national and universal in its adaptations, so as not merely to cultivate a taste for literature or furnish the mind with knowledge; but with a true philosophical spirit looking to the entire man, so as to develop his whole being - moral, social and intellectual. In the fourth place, it must be made a living, growing, self-perpetuating institution, which can be done only by stamping its whole character and arrangements with a great and manifest superiority to other societies, and by attaching its members to it, by an indissoluble bond of union and binding them to real and personal interest in its welfare. Finally, its actual, visible organization must be deferred till the general plan can be thoroughly matured, every preliminary settled, every influence secured, that may enable the enterprise to command assurance of success."