18843 Felipe Poey 



Royal University of Havana. Of these scholars, 

 Felipe Poey was then the acknowledged dean. 

 My acquaintance with him I value as the most in- 

 teresting feature of my visit. 



The child of a French father and a Spanish mother, a Cuban 

 Poey was born in Havana in 1799, and was there- ««'«''^^'^^ 

 fore eighty-four years old at the time of our meeting. 

 As a student of fishes he had worked with Cuvier in 

 the Jardin des Plantes about 1829, when the second 

 edition of the latter's great work, '' Le Regyie Animal,'' 

 appeared. In 1842 he was appointed professor of 

 Zoology in the University of Havana, which chair 

 he held, either in active service or as emeritus, until 

 his death in 1891. 



A man of large stature, with fair hair and gray 

 eyes, by no means typically Spanish in appearance, 

 he contrasted strongly with his fellow Cubans, and 

 he used to say: '' Comme naturaliste je ne suis pas 

 espagnol—je suis cosmopolite.'' He had a most happy 

 temperament, with a manner peculiarly cheery and 

 genial. Simple, direct, unaffected, he was to me one 

 of the most charming of my scientific colleagues. 



His was a deeply religious spirit. In a formal 

 address before the University of Havana he closed 

 with the following words, which I here translate: 



I believe with Lamarck that there is nothing but God in the 

 Universe, and that by the word Nature we mean simply an 

 established order (a revelation of) Him whose true name we 

 cannot decipher; who, in the burning bush, questioned by 

 Moses, said, "I am that I am"; who, on Mount Sinai, called 

 himself Jehovah, and whom in our mortal tongue, with filial 

 tenderness, we call God. 



On making known my errand at the Pescaderia 

 Grande. Havana's great fish market, the first greet- 



C 285 : 



