2 i6 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Rafinesque soon left New Harmony, and became Professor of Nat- 

 ural History and the Modern Languages in Transylvania University, 

 at Lexington, Kentucky. He was, I believe, the very first teacher of 

 natural history in the West, and his experiences were not more cheer- 

 ful than those of most pioneers. They would not give him at Lexing- 

 ton the degree of Master of Arts, he says, " because I had not studied 

 Greek in a college, although I knew more languages than all the 

 American colleges united, but it was granted at last ; but that of Doc- 

 tor of Medicine was not granted, because I would not superintend an- 

 atomical dissections. 



"Mr. Holley, the president of the university, despised and hated 

 the natural sciences, and he wished to drive me out altogether. To 

 evince his hatred against science and its discoveries, he had broken 

 open my rooms in my absence, given one to the students, and thrown 

 all my effects, books, and collections, into the other. He had deprived 

 me of my situation as librarian, and tried to turn me out of the col- 

 lege. I took lodgings in town," said he, " and carried there all my 

 effects, leaving the college with curses both on it and Holley, which 

 reached them both soon after, for Holley died of the yellow fever in 

 New Orleans, and the college was burned with all its contents." 



In one of his summer trips Rafinesque became acquainted with 

 Audubon, who was then painting birds and keeping a little " grocery- 

 store " down the river, at Hendersonville, Kentucky. Rafinesque 

 reached Hendersonville in a boat, carrying on his back a bundle of 

 plants which resembled dried clover. He accidentally met Audubon, 

 and asked him to tell him where the naturalist lived. The ornithol- 

 ogist introduced himself, and Rafinesque handed him a letter from a 

 friend in the East, commending him to Audubon as an "odd fish, 

 which might not be described in the published treatises." The story 

 of the interview is thus described by Audubon : " His attire struck me 

 as exceedingly remarkable. A long, loose coat of yellow nankeen, 

 much the worse for the many rubs it had got in its time, hung about 

 him loosely, like a sack. A waistcoat of the same, with enormous 

 pockets and buttoned up to the chin, reached below over a pair of 

 tight pantaloons, the lower part of w T hich was buttoned down over 

 his ankles. His beard was long, and his lank black hair hung loosely 

 over his shoulders. His forehead was broad and prominent, indicat- 

 ing a mind of strong power. His words impressed an assurance of 

 rigid truth, and as he directed the conversation to the natural sciences, 

 I Hstened to him with great delight. 



" That night, after we were all abed, I heard of a sudden a great 

 uproar in the naturalist's room. I got up and opened the door, when 

 to my astonishment I saw my guest running naked, holding the han- 

 dle of my favorite violin, the body of which he had battered to pieces 

 in attempting to kill the bats which had entered the open window ! I 

 stood amazed, but he continued jumping and running around and 



