EULOGY ON PROFESSOR ALEXANDER DALLAS BACHE. 375 



thrown, In this lie was aided by a playfulness of fancy and a quiet 

 humor which banished any reserve that might have been produced by 

 a knowledge of his superior talents and attainments. He was, though 

 by no means gifted with those attractions of person which influence at 

 first sight, a favorite with all ages, and particularly with the sex 

 whose discrimination of character is said to be least fallible. It seems 

 almost superfluous to say of such a man that his friendship was open 

 and unwavering, that his confidence once bestowed could be shaken by 

 no mere difference of opinion or conflict of personal interests. Severe 

 to himself under the responsibility of duty, and in the punctual observ- 

 ance of his engagements, his indulgence was reserved for the weak and 

 the erring. Though his outer life was free from disappointments or 

 reverses, and though he walked as it were in perpetual sunshine, all was 

 not so within. Besides the anxiety and solicitude incident to the respon- 

 sible duties of his position, occasions of trial and profound sorrow were 

 not spared him. He was called to mourn the untimely loss of a beloved 

 brother, who fell a victim to his zeal for the professor's service in the 

 survey of the Gulf Stream ; of another brother, the youngest and last, 

 also an officer of the Navy, and a general favorite, who was drowned 

 on the coast of California; and lastly of a sister, whom he had adopted 

 and cherished as a child. In these seasons of affliction he found conso- 

 lation in the steadfast convictions of religious faith. Nurtured in the 

 forms and principles of the Episcopal church, he was a devout wor- 

 shiper in the sanctuary, though not bigoted in his attachment to the 

 peculiar ordinances of that communion. He fully recognized the union 

 of science and religion, and held with unwavering constancy the belief 

 that revelation, properly interpreted, and science, rightly understood, 

 must ultimately join in perfect accord in reference to the great truths 

 essential to the well being of man. 



As an evidence of his high appreciation of abstract science derived 

 from original investigation, he left his property in trust to the National 

 Academy of Sciences, the income to be devoted to the prosecution of 

 researches in physical and natural science by assisting experimentalists 

 and observers, and the publication of the results of their investigations. 



I here close this imperfect sketch, in which I am conscious of having 

 passed in silence many admirable traits of character and conduct, and of 

 having very inadequately portrayed others, with the remark that, though 

 our companion and brother has departed, his works and his influence 

 still remain to us; that, sorrow as we must for his loss, we can still 

 recall with pride and satisfaction the example he has left us of all that, 

 in heart, in spirit, and in life, the true man of science ought to be. 



The following is a list of the published scientific papers of Alexander 

 Dallas Bache, copied from the appendix to an address by Dr. Benjamin 



