I/O SCIENCE SKETCHES. 



Like most men who have studied Nature for love 

 of her, Poey possesses a deeply religious spirit. 

 Everything to him proclaims the presence of Di- 

 vinity. ** I believe with Lamarck," he has said, 

 '* that there is nothing but God in the Universe, 

 and that by the word Nature we ought to under- 

 stand an order of things . . . Him whose true 

 name we cannot decipher; who in the burning 

 bush, questioned by Moses, said, ' I am that 1 am;' 

 who on Mount Sinai called himself Jehovah, and 

 whom in our mortal tongue, with filial tenderness, 

 we call God." ^ 



Poey is rather above the medium height, heavily 

 built, and in his younger days he possessed un- 

 usual physical activity and vigor. In appearance 

 he offers a marked contrast to most of his country- 

 men, the Cubans. His complexion is fair, his hair 

 — now white — was never dark, and his gray eyes 

 suggest the Saxon rather than the Spaniard. As 

 he once said to me, '* Comme naturaliste, je ne 

 suis pas espagnol: je suis cosmopolite." His full 

 forehead, strong features, and handsome, smooth- 

 shaven face are not misleading evidences of a pure 

 and benevolent life. He has a most happy tem- 

 perament, and his smile is peculiarly genial and 

 cheery. Simple, direct, unaffected, he is one of 

 the most delightful of men. Of all men whom I 

 have known, none has better than he learned the 

 art of growing old. 



1 Memorias de Cuba, vol. ii. p. 414. 



