RECREATIONS 



same zest that in early life had been directed to the study 

 of the islands of the sea. His manual of the New Haven 

 rocks and their lessons will always be a guide of the ob- 

 serving student and the scientific visitor. He made long 

 geological excursions in western New England and on 

 Long Island. When he came home from a summer in 

 the Alps, he drew up an itinerary by which an economi- 

 cal tourist might be directed to the most important 

 points. For household games he had no liking, though 

 at one time, when his eyes were weak, backgammon was 

 an evening entertainment. He used neither spirits nor 

 tobacco. He was fond of music, and in early life had 

 played the flute and guitar, but he rarely attended con- 

 certs, and he could not be called a singer, although when 

 an undergraduate he was a member of the Beethoven 

 Society and for a time leader of the village choir. Some 

 musical compositions of his, dating from the second long 

 voyage, have been preserved. A cantata, known as The 

 Nativity, was given at the Yale Commencement of 1843, 

 by the " Sing-Song Club," of which Edward W. Oilman 

 was a leading member. Quite late in his life (1884) he 

 revised this composition with the help of Dr. Stoeckel, 

 the college Professor of Music. Another of his compo- 

 sitions was the music for an ode to the ship Peacock, 

 written by the surgeon, Dr. J. C. Palmer. Both these 

 gentlemen found a source of recreation and pleasure 

 in their joint musical and poetical work during the 

 voyage. 



In hours of repose, on a walk over the hills, at his own 

 table, in the society of neighbors and pupils, Professor 

 Dana was quick to perceive the drollery of an unusual 

 situation, sympathetic with those who were in trouble or 

 perplexity, ready with suggestions and assistance. He 

 seldom talked of himself, or of his varied adventures, or 

 of his intimate friends. The perils of the expedition 

 were rarely alluded to. He had no stock of stories. 



283 



