xt7m0c4sjp12 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7m0c4sjp12/data/mets.xml Call, Richard Ellsworth, 1856-1917. 1895  books b92-46-26946886 English J.P. Morton, : Louisville, Ky. : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Rafinesque, C. S. (Constantine Samuel), 1783-1840. Life and writings of Rafinesque  / prepared for the Filson Club and read at its meeting, Monday, April 2, 1894, by Richard Ellsworth Call. text Life and writings of Rafinesque  / prepared for the Filson Club and read at its meeting, Monday, April 2, 1894, by Richard Ellsworth Call. 1895 2002 true xt7m0c4sjp12 section xt7m0c4sjp12 








































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FROM THE "ANALYSE DE LA NATURE."



   I 4w,  
                54 
      11

 





              FILSON CLUB PUBLICATIONS iO. I)



THE LIFE AND WRITINGS


                      OF




    RAFINESQUE



      Prepared for the Filson Club and read at its Meeting
               Monday, April 2, 1894




By RICHARD ELLSWORTH CALL, M.A., M. Sc., M.D.
               Member of the Filson Club











               LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY
        JOHN P. MORTON AND COMPANY
              frinters to the 3itzon fl1uB
                    i 895

 



































      COPYRIGHTED BY
RICHARD ELLSWORTH CALL

          1895

 






















       TO THE MEMORY OF

C1onotanfine Samuef Rafiteque

          NATURALIST

 This page in the original text is blank.

 
PREFACE.



THIS memoir had its inception in an attempt to clear
    up certain matters connected with the synonymy of
a large and important group of fresh-water mollusks
the Unzonzdo. A number of very remarkable facts con-
nected with the personality of its subject were thus
incidentally learned. As the collation of data proceeded
the facts gathered seemed of sufficient importance to
group them for presentation to the literary and scientific
world, in the hope that a better and more intelligent
understanding of this eccentric naturalist might result.
A number of impressions were forced upon my attention
as the work proceeded; among other conclusions reached
was LUh one tnat Rannesque had not been treated always
fairly by his contemporaries. Resulting from this was
the conviction that many naturalists now living have
formed opinions concerning the nature and value of
Rafinesque's work, which appear to me to be quite
erroneous. In the hope that some of these misappre-
hensions might be corrected the task of writing his
life, which is quite a labor of love, was undertaken.

 
Preface.



   The Filson Club, an organization devoted primarily
to the collection and preservation of original matter
connected with the history of the State of Kentucky,
has, since it recognizes Rafinesque as the first resident
professor-naturalist within the limits of the State, been
particularly interested in this memoir, and its aid has
been freely extended in the matter of sumptuous publica-
tion. The intelligent interest and historical enthusiasm
of Colonel R. T. Durrett, Lb. D., the President of the
Club, wvas early enlisted in the project, partly for the
reasons above given and partly because of personal
interest in the career of a most remarkable mnan. He
freely offered access to his superb and unrivaled library
of Ken/uckt;7na, without which courtesy much, which
now appears, must long have remained unknown.
   During the progress of this work numerous courtesies
have been extended, and by various persons. To these
especial thanks are due. Profl-ssct howard Mf. Ballou,
of the Louisville Manual Training High School, spent
many days in the various libraries of Boston and Cam-
bridge in abstracting and verifying certain bibliographic
natter; to his interest and zeal this portion of the
brochure owes very much indeed; he has also rendered
invaluable aid in proof-reading as the several signatures
came from the press. Doctor G. Brown Goode, Assistant



vi1

 
Preface.



Director of the United States National Museum, Doctor
Charles S. Sargent, Director of the Arnold Arboretum
at Jamaica Plains, Mr. C. E. Faxon, of the same institu-
tion, Honorable Thomas Meehan, of Philadelphia, and
W. H. Venable, LL. D., of Cincinnati, have all contrib-
uted valuable aid.  Doctor Goode especially has cour-
teously furnished all the references to the rare Specchio
delle Scienze, and has also verified others; he further
has looked over the proofs of part of the bibliographic
portion as they came froni the printer, and has made
numerous valuable suggestions. I desire to make especial
mention of the aid afforded by Miss Johanna Peter, of
T exinLgtonI, who kiiudly unuertook tne laborious task of
a careful search through the Lexington Library, rich
in old Kentucky books and newspaper files, and thus
led to the discovery of many useful items. Mr. Alexander
Griswold kindly photographed the pages for the plate
illustrating the Floriula Ludovczazna; Doctor William
T. Durrett did the same with the page for the plate
from the Fishes of the River Ohio. Mrs. Asa Gray
has courteously allowed the use of the letter to De Can-
dolle, from among the letters left by Doctor Asa Gray,
which is herein reproduced. To Doctor B. L. Robinson,
Curator of the Herbarium at Harvard University, thanks
are due for the opportunity to photograph the portrait



V11

 
viii                   Preface.

of Rafinesque, which forms the frontispiece in the
"Analyse de la Nature," and which subserves the same
purpose in this volume. To all these gentlemen and
other helpers most cordial thanks are extended.
   Several important items connected with rare books
were searched for and given me by Mr. Sidney M. Ballou,
of Harvard University, for which grateful acknowledg-
ment is tendered. The portrait of Rafinesque, from the
Wisconsin Historical Society, was permitted presenta-
tion through the generous courtesy of Honorable R. G.
Thwaites, the Secretary.  To our publishers especial
acknowledgments are due for the pains taken to secure
perfection in the sumptuous form of publication adopted.
Their work needs no commendation.
   To the naturalists of America this brochure is sub-
mitted in the hope that it will at least aid in placing
its remarkable subject in his proper place in the history
of natural. science in this country. Whether all will
acquiesce in the conclusions reached is really a matter
of very small moment. If there shall result an intelli-
gent estimate, favorable or otherwise, of the writings
and botanical or other scientific work of Rafinesque; if
those who have known him only through misinformation
furnished by contemporaries, who, in all cases, were not
wholly disinterested investigators, shall now have oppor-

 
                        Preface.                      ix

tunity to consult his published work, and shall be able,
through it, to approve or condemn his course; if the
tendency to ignore all of his work because some of it
was peculiarly bad shall give way to a more generous
treatment, then, the time required to collect and arrange
the scattered matter which constitutes the bibliographic
portion of this volume, and to present for inspection
the whole course of an active though largely misdirected
life, will be amply repaid. It is not true, notwithstand-
ing that the editor of a well-known scientific journal has
but just editorially so declared, that recent identifications
of Rafinesque's species "will be ultimately set aside,
when a more critical spirit prevails among species zo6lo-
gists"; on the contrary, outside of certain editorial
rooms there prevails that spirit of honor and fairness
which demands that these claims shall be recognized.
The position thus editorially assumed is, in itself, a
complete justification for the expenditure of the time
and means involved in presenting, to men of science,
this resume of the work and life of Rafinesque.

                        RICHARD ELLSWORTH CALL.
THE FILSON CLUB,
     LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY,
           7 JANUARY, 1895.

 This page in the original text is blank.


 

ANALYSIS.



Introductory .
Birth and Early Life ..........
First Visit to America.     .........
Ten Years in Sicily.ly.........
Second Visit to the United States,.
First Visit to the Falls of the Ohio,
The Visit to Henderson .........
From Henderson to the Mississippi, . . .
First Visit to Lexingtong..  .......
Rafinesque at Transylvania University,
First Object Teacher in Kentucky ..
Rafinesque as a Lecturer, ........
From 1825 to i840..... .    . .   .  
The Six Per Cent Savings Bank, .
The Death of Rafinesque, ........
Disposition of the Property of Rafinesque,
The Personal Appearance of Rafinesque, .
The Portraits of Rafinesque, .......
Rafinesque's Scientific Writings .....
Scientific Work in Sicily, ........
Scientific Work in Lexington ......
      The Fishes of the Ohio    .....
Rafinesque's Work in Conchology,.



                  PAGE


                   I  


   .. .     . . .  '4


                  23
.. . . . . . . . . 24
                   29
........... . .. . .  30
.. . . . . . . . . 32
............. . . . . . .  42
.........    . . . - -243




     . .... .   . . 55
...... . . . . . .. 58
........ .. . . . .  ... 3 0







............. . . . . . .  67
          ........ ... 73
........ ........ . --74
.. .....     . .... - -- 88
. . .. ... . . ... 905




. ......... 96
     .......... 96

 


Analysis.



Rafinesque's Work in Botany,.

      The Florula Ludoviciana,

      Other Botanical Work,     . . .

Archeologic Work, .........

Literary Work from 1825 to i840, . .

Rafinesque's Literary Style, .....

Rafinesque and Evolution.......

Medals, Diplomas, and Other Honors,

Rafinesque's Name in Nomenclature,

Bibliography.

      Summary of Publications, .

      Bibliographia Incerta,.

      Bibliotheca Rafinesquiana, .

The WVi11 off Rafinesque .......



                      PAGOP
....... . . . . . . .. .. 103

....... . .  .. . . .. .. 104

.. . . . . . . . ... .....107

....... . . . . . . .. .. 114



...  ....   ..   . . . I2
     .122

                       126

     ...................129

..3.1... . . . . . . 131

.... . . . . . . . . I33

... .. . . . . . . . 207

... .. . . . . . . . 208

.... . . . . . . . . 209

... .. . . . . . . . 21.c



xii


 
THE LIFE AND WRITINGS



                          OF

 Constantine Samuel Rafinesque.



 THE difficulties with which students of science meet,
     especially when far removed from the great centers
of scientific learning and culture, are often not appre-
ciated at their full value. Familiarity with the work
of others in the same fields is impossible to many;
sympathetic interest on the part of others is unknown;
fruitful methods which result from the successful expe-
rience of others are unheard of; means of publication
of facts of value and of especial scientific importance
on first discovcry are euLirely wanting. Then, too, it
often happens that communities which are far removed
from the great urban centers have little appreciation
of the life and work of the student of Nature, who is
always open to the suspicion of mental derangement,
or at least of being charitably regarded as "eccentric".
Far more noticeable is this unfavorable feature in a
country yet quite primitive. In such regions the indus-

 
The Life and Wri/ings of



tries and minds of the people are concentrated upon
the single problem of making the unwilling earth yield
an abundant store, or else directed to that other task
of reclaiming a virgin forest and establishing a center
of urban life and activity. Mental and scientific pursuits
under these conditions receive little attention and less
encouragement; in some unexplained manner it often
happens that those who attempt to promote these objects
meet with decided opposition. Such opposition is based
chiefly upon the idea that matters of any sort, to be of
value, must have reference solely to the real present
and find expression in money values. Rare indeed is
it, in these early communities, to find any adequate
conception of the value of the work and time spent
in the collection of plants and animals, of bugs and of
fishes, of fossils and of clams. What matters it that one
should know the life history of a single nocuous insect,
or that he have full knowledge of the ways best to
protect fishes in maintaining their existence in our
streams Is not a bug, a bug, and a gar-pike, a gar-pike,
for all that So say they all! And stranger still, let
such matters become subject for legislative appropria-
tions, and those who most directly are concerned stand
in armed neutrality or else in aggressive opposition.
Such is the common fate of propositions connected with



2

 
           Constantine Samuel Rafinesque.         3

the development of natural resources when the State
is asked to aid.
   It follows from these considerations that one can not
give a jvst estimate of the life and work of a man unless
one regards well the times in which he lived, the prevail-
ing enthusiasms or their lack, the public knowledge on
matters of this sort, the public appreciation of their
value, and the other conditions of social and educational
environment of which the scholar and student of men,
or of language, or of Nature, is not wholly independent.
The beginnings of scientific life in Kentucky were in
just such surroundings as these pictured, and long
remained unchanged. In such primitive scenes, though
trained in an old and cultured community, the most
active period of a most eventful life was passed; in
estimating its value to us and to the State all these
facts must have weight.

               BIRTH AND EARLY LIFE.
   Constantine Samuel Rafinesque [Schmaltz] was born
in Turkey in Europe, in Galata, a suburb of Constanti-
nople, October 22, I783. He was of French - German
descent, his father being a French merchant of Mar-
seilles, while his mother,' though born in Greece, was
                  Died at Bordeaux, x831.

 
The Live and Writings of



of German parentage, from Saxony. The mercantile
enterprises of his father reached to distant lands and
often necessitated his absence from home for long periods
at a time. There would seem to be but little question
but that matters connected with his father's business
ventures and their recital in the home of the lad had
something to do with determining his future bent toward
travel. The family was not a large one;- Rafinesque
had one only sister, who became a Mrs. G. Lanthois, of
Bordeaux, whose name was never mentioned by our
author save once, and a younger brother, Anthony
Augustus.  From   the  circumstance  that Rafinesque
speaks of this brother as his younger brother some
have inferred that there was an older member of the
group of sons, but if so it nowhere appears in any of
his writings. More of the family is not known. The
younger brother drops out of the record after i805,
having gone to France from Philadelphia, and thence to
Sicily, and nothing further is known of him. Of the
mother very little is known, but from the fragmentary
items connected with the earlier education of Rafinesque
it would appear that she was a most intelligent woman,
and had great concern for the proper education of
this son. The absence from home of the father natu-
rally placed almost the entire care of this phase of the



4

 
           Constanfine Samuel Rafinesque.          5

boy's home life in his mother's hands, and she seems
to have performed her duty well and conscientiously.
   Rafinesque says that in one of the numerous country
seats about Marseilles he first became conscious of his
existence, and there he received his first education. In
his own words: "It was there among the flowers and
fruits that I began to enjoy life, and I became a Botanist.
Afterwards the first premium I received in a school was
a book on Animals, and I became a Zoologist and Natu-
ralist." There are some who profess to see in this state-
ment that Rafinesque had too high an appreciation of
his powers, since a young man, or, rather, a mere boy, such
as he then was, could have been neither a botanist nor a
zoologist. Perhaps, however, the just interpretation will
be the one Rafinesque himself intended, namely, that
these books determined his career and that he dated his
interest in scientific matters from that time. In I793
his father died, a victim  to the yellow-fever epidemic
of that year which made such waste of life in Philadel-
phia, whither the merchant Rafinesque had gone to
escape the English cruisers. The recollection of this
fact afterward cost the son much trouble in a similar
epidemic which obtained in Philadelphia, after Constan-
tine had himself become a resident of that city.
   A Life of Travels and Researches in North America and South Europe,
etc., p. 6.

 
The Life and Writings of



   The four years from I792 to I796 were passed in
residence with his mother near Leghorn, in Italy, whither
she had gone through fear connected with the excesses
of the French Revolution. He had previously been
taken to several other places by his parents, and this
fact, coupled with his later travels, gives the raison d'9Ire
of the French couplet which graces the title page of his
"Life." It reads:
            "Un voyageur des le berceau,
            Je le serais jusqu' au tombeau...
   During his residence in Italy his education was di-
rected by private teachers, and geometry, geography,
history, drawing and the English language engaged
his attention. He developed a taste for reading, and
found the greatest pleasure in books of travel, greedily
devouring them all. He declares, probably in hyperbole,
"Before twelve years of age I had read the great Uni-
versal history and one thousand volumes of books on
many pleasing or interesting subjects." It was while
he dwelt at Leghorn that he began regular herborizations,
in I795, and commenced the formation of a herbal.
From what he himself relates it would appear that dur-
ing this period he was allowed the fullest liberty and
gave full bent to his whims or wishes, and read and
studied what he pleased. He congratulates himself that

 
Constantine Samuel Rafinesque.



he had wasted no time on dead languages, "but had
spent it in learning alone and by mere reading ten times
more than is taught in the Schools."
   In I796 Rafinesque was taken to Genoa, and the
journal of this tour constituted his first essay of the
kind. In making mention of this journal he remarks
that he had done the same ever since by notes or journals.
His residence varied for the next few years between
Genoa, Pisa, and Marseilles, during which period his
training was successively in the care of his mother and
grandmother, but was completed by himself. During
these years also he continued his botanical studies and
"read every kind of books, good or bad; but happily I
knew how to distinguish them." To his studies he now
added natural and moral philosophy, chemistry, and
medicine. It is not to be understood, I take it, from
these remarks of Rafinesque about the direction assumed
by his stud3et--wui1k at t'is time that he means to imply
he had mastered these branches. He was an indefati-
gable reader and no doubt read every thing in the way
of books that came to hand, and books on these subjects
were among the number. In a curious and naive way
he tells us about his nature studies in the neighborhood
of Marseilles, where his botanical walks gave him much
pleasure. He appears first of all to have devoted him-



7

 
The Life and Wriziigs of



self to the study of plants, but also gave much attention
to other branches of natural history. He says:

   "I had made to myself a small garden in a wild and remote
place. I began the study of Fishes and Birds, I drew them and
collected Shells and Crabs. Daudin, of Paris, who published then
a natural history of Birds, was my first correspondent among the
learned, and I communicated to him some observations on Birds.
I drew maps, copied those of rare works, and took topographical
surveys; these were my first essays in geography."

   In reading Rafinesque's account of a hunting episode
which took place near Leghorn in i802, one will be
struck with the similarity of his experiences and those
recorded by Charles Darwin, England's great naturalist.
Rafinesque says: "I began to hunt, but the first bird
I shot was a poor Parus, whose death appeared a cruelty
to me, and I have never been able to become an unfeel-
ing hunter." Darwin had the same feeling for animals,
even the very lowest, and never allowed himself to harm
them  wilfully or know'-1,;.
   The year i802 marked, in the spring, the end of
the youthful home life of Rafinesque.      There appears
in the record no evidences of interest in matters which
should prove attractive to a boy of his years. Whether
he ever had any fondness for boyish sports and games,
    Vide Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, Vol. I, p. 28, i887. D. Apple-
ton  Co., New York.



8

            Constantine Samnuel Rafinesque.           9

whether he had much enjoyment in the association with
other youths, whether these facts had not great influ-
ence in determining his attitude toward social events
in after years can all be but matter of conjecture. In
recounting the facts connected with his early life Raf-
inesque omits very many important things which we
should enjoy knowing, but enough is told us to explain
the system or rather the lack of system in his studies.
Perhaps this will explain the apparent want of those
closer habits of application which characterize the best
work of men of science. The record simply discloses
that he essayed every branch of natural science, read
omnivorously, made copious notes, formed ideas which
were often vague and never afterward matured, and
always had before him the travels and work of the great
men of his own and preceding decades; it appears, too,
that he fondly imagined himself about to become, or
that he had already become, a gceaL traveler.    it is
really believed that this period of great mental activity
and developing powers of observation, for such it cer-
tainly was, had he been firmly guided by some master
hand, would have given the world one of its greatest
naturalists. But the lack of codrdination of powers led
to habits, both of thought and literary effort, that had
a serious influence, in after years, on his life and work.
                           2

 
o0          The Life and Writings of



               FIRST VISIT TO AMERICA.

   Rafinesque first came to the United States, in com-
pany with his younger brother, Anthony Augustus, in
the spring of i802, "provided with an adventure and
many letters of introduction". He landed in Philadel-
phia April i8th. With a mind keenly awake to nat-
ural objects it is not surprising that at once he again
began the study of Nature, probably with fresh ardor
born of new surroundings and a novel flora. Scarcely
had he landed in his new home before he began botan-
izing, and found a cruciferous plant which had passed
under the name of Draba verna; he considered it new
and bestowed upon it the name of Draba americana.
Whether a formal description of this plant was ever
written by Rafinesque I know not; it is not mentioned
in Watson's "Bibliographical Index to North American
Botanv", which contAi-ns' manyi other names fnrmUl+ted
by Rafinesque, so it is to be presumed that he never
presented it in such form. But he remarks of this
species that "the American Botanists would not believe
me; but Decandole has even since made with it the
new Genus Erophila!   This is the emblem of many
   Watson, loc. cit., p. 62, regards both the genus and species of DeCandolle
as synonyms, and retains the name of Draba verna.

 
Cons/antine Samuel Rafinesque.



discoveries of mine of which ignorance has doubted,
till science has proved that I was right." To us, at
this time, the interesting fact connected with the find-
ing of this specimen and supposed new species lies in
the evidence which it affords that Rafinesque was for-
ever wedded to his loves, the flowers. Here he was, at
the age of eighteen, in a new land, on fortune bent, in
the midst of strangers who spoke a strange tongue, yet
he at once turned to the woods and fields, a real student
of Nature, and averse to any thing else.
   The Philadelphia business relations of Rafinesque
were those which eventually determined his coming to
Kentucky some eighteen years afterward. While in that
city he came into relation with the Cliffords, owners of
the vessel which brought him to America; also here he
met the brothers Tarascon, formerly of Marseilles, whose
names are familiar to all students of early Kentucky
1historv. At this time Rafinesquce was busied w-ith me,-
cantile pursuits, occupying a clerkship, but filled all his
leisure with botanizing in the vicinity of Philadelphia.
He declares that during this period he minutely de-
scribed all the plants found, a task quite characteristic
of the man! He had already determined upon follow-
ing the footsteps of his father, and devoted himself to
mercantile pursuits, prosecuting his Nature studies in

 
The Life and Writings of



hours of leisure, but withal with serious intent. But
now came again the yellow fever, in the summer of
i802, of which Rafinesque writes: "Being much afraid
of this disorder, which had deprived me of a father, I
left the city and took refuge in Germantown; where
I had the good luck to be invited by Col. Forrest, a
Friend of Horticulture, to dwell with him, and travel
with him to collect Plants." This gave him a summer
of travel and botany, for the scourge which he sought
to escape did not disappear until the following October.
A considerable number of excursions about Germantown,
some of which extended into New Jersey and over East-
ern Pennsylvania, were made during this period. While
these were nothing more than botanical tramps, such as
the veriest tyro is compelled to take who desires an
acquaintance with the flora of any locality, Rafinesque
dignifies them by the name of "journies"; in this pecul-
iarity he shows in a remarkable manner the influence
of his early reading. If not yet such, he surely would
be a veritable Marco Polo or von Humboldt!
   During this stay in Philadelphia Rafinesque had
frequent opportunity to visit the botanical gardens of
Marshall and Bartram, the former of which was not
far awav at West Chester. Attention will again be
directed to these gardens in connection with a certain



1 2

 
Constantine Samuel Rafinesque.



experience of Rafinesque at Lexington, in Kentucky,
years afterward; the reader will then remember that all
about Marseilles; where Rafinesque had spent much of
his boyhood life, are to be found botanical gardens in
which he must often have been as student and collector.
   But the summer spent in plant-hunting and other
scientific work, very congenial to the disposition of
Rafinesque, had unfavorably disposed him toward a
business life. The irksome quiet of the office had
been relieved by a summer with the birds and flowers,
and to his duties he returned with laggard feet. Not
only did he not like the close confinement incident to
a clerkship, but it may even be supposed that the
emoluments of such a position in that early day were
certainly not in excess of those of the present time;
surely in such career those ever present dreams of wide
travel and learned books could never become fact.
      n  4 R unesque resigned his position in favor of
his brother, of whom he makes no other mention for
all this time, and became secretary to a gentleman by
the name of Gernon. This position was also abandoned
early in the spring of the following year; the place was
one "of no advantage", and then he could not withstand
the allurements of the forests and fields. His whole
time was now given to the collection of the plants and



13

 
The Life and Wrifings of



animals about the city, and also of those of the neigh-
boring States. He extended his tours into Maryland,
Virginia, and Delaware, for he had already foreseen that
it was but a question of short time until he should leave
America. He made the most of his opportunities and
gathered large numbers of all things collectible. Thus
passed the period until January, i805, when both he and
his brother, "who would follow" him, set sail for Italy.
In May he became a resident of Sicily.


                 TEN YEARS IN SICILY.

   "This lovely Island" was reached after a delightful
voyage, its presence having been foretold "by the ema-
nations of orange blossoms, carried far at sea in the
night by the land breeze."   Says he, further, " The
mountains were smiling with flowers and verdure, they
invited me to climb over them." He was now twenty-
two years of age, enthusiastic, energetic, habitually care-
less both of his person and his methods of study, and
about to enter upon a scientific career of the greatest
moment. Here he began that extensive series of pub-
lications, record of which has been attempted in the
accompanying bibliography.
                This brother died at Havre, I826,



I4

 
Constantine Samuel Rafinesque.



   It is materially unfortunate, to our mind, that Raf-
inesque does not, in his "Life of Travels", enter some-
what more into detail respecting his home life in Sicily.
But one will search in vain for a single word on these
topics. There seems to have been abundant reason for
not mentioning these matters, for Rafinesque married,
in i809, a Sicilian woman by the name of Josephine
Vaccaro, a woman who does not appear to have been
suited to the kind of life the naturalist had marked
out for himself.  It is more than probable that this
marriage was never consummated in legal form. In his
will, from which alone this information is obtained, he
says: "While residing in Sicily I deemed myself law-
fully married . . . although the decree of the Council
of Trent forbade our regular marriage." The two infer-
ences which may safely be drawn from this statement are,
first, that the Sicilian whom he espoused was a Roman
CathLUliC in religious faith, and, second, that legal or
religious rites were never solemnized. In i8ii a daugh-
ter, Emily, was born to the couple, and in i814 a son,
Charles LinnPeus.  The boy died the following year,
i8i5. Neither child is mentioned by Rafinesque in all
his writings; in his will alone we find the first intima-
tion of paternity and of parental solicitude.  Of the



DiVide Appendix, where this will is given in full.

 
i6           The Life and Writings of

daughter no information other than that which is given
in this document has been attainable. The consort of
Rafinesque, on receiving the news of his shipwreck in
i8i5, "suddenly married Giovanni Pizzalour, a comedian,"
and dissipated the property which Rafinesque had left
in her hands. All that is further known of this woman
is the opinion in which she was held by Rafinesque,
who, in his will, declares her to be "unworthy", and
directs that his executors shall not allow her "a single
cent"; he also directs that no part of his property
should be paid to his daughter Emily "until she leaves
altogether and separates from" her mother.
   Emily, influenced no doubt by the theatrical relations
of the new family bonds, became a singer in the Palermo
Theatre. She was the mother of an illegitimate daugh-
ter, Henrietta Winston, by one Sir Henry Winston, for
the maintenance of which grand-daughter Rafinesque was
uulo cel-a i r the baroulct woulJd Trip. heterfre)m-
               St  .4.  V I 4f,4AC _ j ,   _  .
mends her, in his will, to his nephew, Jules Rafinesque.
The last known of Emily was the simple fact of resi-
dence in Naples in I833.
   With this period of Rafinesque's career there is little
of direct interest to us. First and all the time he was
a naturalist; though his real concerns here were of a
business character. It would appear, from his account

 
Constantine Samuel Rafinesque.



of these years, that he was reasonably successful in
business enterprises, for he states that "by trading in
the products of the island" he made his first personal
fortune. It is curious to note that some of his ventures
were along the line of economic botany, for his trade
lay in the manufacture of squills for the European and
American markets. Rafinesque first taught the Sicilians
many things of this sort, thus proving himself, though
unwillingly, another Latinus to this beautiful island. He
became quite familiar with the whole island, and seems
to have devoted himself assiduously to the study of
every form of life within its area. All the ten years
he spent here were full of toil and study. They were,
on the whole, very happily passed, thoug