Memoirs of a Huguenot Family

Front matter

After an Original likeness in the possession of Miss Fontaine, Bexley, England.

G P. PUTNAM & Co.

OF A

Chapter I.

MEMOIRS OF A HUGUENOT FAMILY.

CHAPTER I.

Reasons for writing these memoirs—Noble origin of our family—John de la Fontaine born—Obtains a commission in the household of Francis I.—Embraces Protestantism—Persecution—January edict—John de la Fontaine resigns his commission—Assassination—Flight of his sons to Rochelle—Marriage of James de la Fontaine—Attempt to poison him—Henry IV. at Rochelle.

Let our beginning be in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.

SEVENTY-EIGHTH PSALM.

Give ear, my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old;

Which we have heard, and known, and our fathers have told us.

"We will not hide them from their children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.

For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children;

That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born, who should arise and declare them to their children;

That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments. Amen.

I, James Fontaine, have commenced writing this history, for the use of all my children, on the twenty-sixth day of March, 1722; being sixty-four years old.

My dear Children—

Whenever I have related my own adventures to you, or given you details of the incidents that befell your ancestors, you have evinced so deep an interest in them, that I feel I ought not to neglect making a record of the past for your use; and I am determined to employ my leisure time in this way. I would fain hope that the pious examples of those from whom we are descended, may warm your hearts and influence your lives. I hope you will resolve to dedicate yourselves, wholly and unreservedly, to the service of that God whom they worshipped at the risk of their lives, and that you, and those who come after you, will be steadfast in the profession of that pure reformed religion, for which they endured, with unshaken constancy, the most severe trials. You cannot fail to notice, in the course of their lives, the watchful hand of God's Providence, supporting and preserving them through hardship and suffering.

You need not look farther back than the period over which your own memories can stray, for numberless instances of the providential care of that same God, whose "hand is not shortened."

I have gained the knowledge of those events which occurred before my day from my mother, my older brothers, and my aunt Bouquet, my father's sister; and I have the most perfect conviction of the truth of all which I relate.

For my own part, I trust that, while recording the past mercies of God for the benefit of my descendants, I may derive personal advantage from the review. The frailties and sins of the different periods of my life, thus brought to mind, ought to cause me to humble myself before the throne of grace, and tremblingly implore pardon for the past, through the mediation of my blessed Saviour; and the assistance of the Holy Spirit to make me watchful and circumspect for the time to come. When I look back upon the numberless, uncommon, and unmerited mercies bestowed upon me during the whole course of my life, I hope that my gratitude will be increased towards my Almighty Benefactor, and my confidence in him so strengthened, that I may be enabled for the future to cast all my care upon him. Great as is my debt of gratitude for the things of this life, its manifold comforts and conveniences, how incalculably greater is it for the mercy to my immortal soul, in God having shed the blood of his only begotten Son to redeem it! Oh, my God! I entreat thee to continue thy fatherly protection to me during the few days I have yet to live, and, at last, to receive my soul into thine everlasting arms. Amen.

I shall begin the narrative as far back as I have been able to ascertain the facts with certainty. I must remind you at the outset, that our name was originally De la Fontaine and not Fontaine only. You might find the original name on record in Rochelle, where my grandfather held some command in the Tower. I have seen his name, signed Jaques de la Fontaine to the deed made out when he purchased the house adjoining the fish-market in Rochelle, which house was part of the marriage portion of my sister Gachot. My father always signed his name De la Fontaine, during the life of my grand-father, but afterwards, from motives of humility, he cut off the De la, the indication of the ancient nobility of the family. My brothers wished to resume it when they married, but my father would not consent, thinking there was more of vanity than utility in it for one like himself, with a large family and very little property. You must know that in France, an in of noble family cannot engage in trade or the mechanic arts, without forfeiting his claim to nobility.

I have insinuated that our family was of noble origin, and it is true; but I would not have you glory in that knowledge, but rather in the much greater and more glorious nobility which I am going to lay before you—the suffering and martyrdom for the cause of true religion of those from whom we are descended.

The father of my great-grandfather could not bear the idea of bringing up his sons, according to the usual habit of the nobility, without any employment, and therefore placed his son in the king's service. It is with this son I commence these annals.

John de la Fontaine was born in the province of Maine, near the borders of Normandy, about the year 1500; and as soon as he was old enough to bear arms, his father procured him a commission in the household of Francis I., in what was then called "Les Ordonnances du Roi." It was in the tenth or twelfth year of that monarch's reign that he entered his service, and he conducted himself with such uniform, honor and uprightness, that he retained his command, not only to the end of the reign of Francis I., but during the reigns of Henry II., Francis II., and until the second year of Charles IX., when he voluntarily resigned. He and his father had become converts to Protestantism on the first preaching of the Reformed religion in France,—about 1535. He had married, and had at least four sons born to him, during his residence in the Court. He wished to retire to private life at an earlier period, but being in the king's service was a sort of safeguard from persecution. He and his family not only ran less risk from his remaining near the king's person, but it gave him the means of showing kindness to his Protestant brethren, and oftentimes shielding them from oppression. He was much beloved by his brother officers, and by the men under his command, which made the Roman Catholic party afraid of disturbing him; though, at the same time, his exemplary piety and benevolence marked him as one for whose blood they thirsted.

You may read in history how the kingdom of France was laid waste by abominable persecutions and civil wars, on account of religion. In the interval, between the year 1534 and 1598, when Henry IV. granted the celebrated Edict of Nantes, the professors of the pure faith were most particularly subjected to every kind of cruelty and injustice. These persecutions were carried on with some of the forms of law,

but the gallows was erected and the fires were kindled, not to support the law, but in the vain hope of striking from the earth the very name of Protestant. The means which were adopted, however, had frequently an effect exactly the opposite of what was intended and expected, increasing rather than diminishing the followers of the true faith. The martyrs, by their constancy, proved, in many cases, the instruments which God made use of to open the eyes of the papists, and it was no uncommon occurrence to see those who had aided in the destruction of others rush to the same martyrdom themselves.

The Protestants, in some of the provinces, were irritated beyond endurance, and took up arms, not against their monarch, but in self-defence against their persecutors. This led to an Edict of Pacification, granted on the 17th of January, 1561-2, commonly known in history as the January Edict. Charles IX. was then in his minority. The Protestants, believing this to be in good faith, very generally laid down their arms.

John de la Fontaine resigned his commission at this time. He thought himself protected by the Edict in the exercise of his religion, and therefore felt himself no longer under the necessity of remaining in the king's service, to make use of his

military profession as a buckler in time of profound peace. He retired to his paternal estates in Maine, where he hoped to end his days peacefully in the bosom of his family, worshipping God according to the dictates of conscience, with those of his neighbors and friends who yet survived. He was greatly mistaken in his anticipations of tranquillity following the Edict: the change was for the worse; whereas, heretofore the proceedings had been openly carried on, and with the semblance of justice, founded upon the king's proclamation against the (so-called) heretics; now, all was secrecy, prisons and judges were alike uncalled for, any wretched vagabond, imbued with the spirit of bigotry, could at once exercise the functions of judge and executioner. Armed miscreants broke into the houses of the Protestants at midnight, they robbed and murdered the inmates with attendant circumstances of cruelty, at which humanity shudders, and they were encouraged in their atrocities by priests, monks and bigots, who made them promises of the tenor of that given to the city watch by the Sanhedrin of Jerusalem, "If this comes to the governor's ears, we will persuade him and secure you."

No inquiry or examination followed these excesses, and the Protestants, in self-defence, were again obliged to have recourse to arms, to repel nocturnal insult and guard against treachery.

John de la Fontaine had long been watched by sworn enemies of God and his Gospel, who hated him on account of his piety and his zeal for the pure worship of God. He was a stanch supporter of the Protestant Church, and occupying an elevated position, it was judged expedient to get rid of such a man as soon as possible, in order the more easily to scatter or destroy the congregation to which he belonged. In the year 1563, a number of ruffians were dispatched from the city of Le Maus to attack his house at night. He was taken by surprise, dragged out of doors, and his throat cut. His poor wife, who was within a few weeks of her confinement, rushed after him, in the hope of softening the hearts of these midnight assassins, and inducing them to spare the life of her husband; but, so far from it, they murdered her also, and a faithful valet shared the same fate. Oh, my children! let us never forget that the blood of martyrs flows in our veins! And may God of his infinite mercy grant that the remembrance of it may enliven our faith, so that we prove not unworthy scions from so noble a stock.

God has promised to bestow special blessings upon the seed of the righteous, and we can generally see his providential care guarding the children of those whose blood has been shed in his service. He mercifully preserved the lives of the three younger boys, and guided their steps to a place of safety. The oldest was about eighteen, and of his fate I am uncertain, but have reason to believe that he was from home when his parents were murdered, and that he also was massacred. The second son, James, my grandfather, was about fourteen years old; Abraham was about twelve, and the youngest was nine years old, at the time of the murder. They were filled with horror and consternation, and fled from the bloody scene, without any guide save the providence of God, and no aim but to get as far as possible from barbarians who had in a moment deprived them of both father and mother. They found their way to Rochelle, which was then a safe place, and, indeed, for many years a stronghold of Protestantism in France, containing within its walls many devout and faithful servants of the living God. These poor boys were at one blow deprived of parents and property, and from ease and affluence plunged into poverty. They were actually begging their bread when they reached Rochelle, and had no recommendation but their affliction and their prepossessing exterior. I have been told they were fair and handsome, and had evident marks of belonging to a good family, and having been well brought up. Some of the inhabitants took compassion upon them, and gave them food and shelter in return for little services they were capable of performing. A shoe-maker, who was a charitable man, fearing God, and in easy circumstances, received James into his house, treated him with much kindness and affection, and taught him his own trade, but without binding him to it as an apprentice. This was no time for pride of birth or titles of nobility to be thought of, but rather to be thankful to God for putting it in his power to earn his daily bread by honest labor. It was not long before he was in receipt of sufficient wages to enable him to support his younger brothers, but in a very moderate way, for they all three lived poorly enough until James reached manhood. He then engaged in commerce, and his after career was comparatively prosperous.

He married and had several children, but only three who lived to be marriageable, two daughters and one son. The latter was my father, and was born in the year 1603, long after the others. He married again, but happily had no addition to his family. It would have been much better for him to have remained a widower, for his last wife was a wicked woman who became tired of him, and tried to poison him, and though she did not succeed, for medical aid was promptly obtained, yet the offence became too notorious to be hushed up, and she was taken to prison, tried, and condemned to death. It so happened that Henry IV. was then at Rochelle, and application was made to him for a pardon. He replied, that before making an answer, he should like to see the husband she was so anxious to get rid of, to judge for himself whether there was any excuse for her. When my grandfather appeared before him, he called out, "Let her be hanged! Let her be hanged! Ventre Saint Gris! He is the handsomest man in my kingdom."

I have seen a picture of him, which should now be in the possession of my sister Madame L'Hommeau's descendants at Jouzac, in Saintonge. That picture represented him as very handsome, with a full face, pure white and red complexion, and a long flaxen beard reaching to his waist, with a few hairs white from age intermixed with it. He was also of a good height, and well proportioned.

He died in the year 1633, at the age of eighty-three. He left property to his family amounting to about 9000 livres.

Chapter II.

CHAPTER II.

James de la Fontaine—Fond of study—Travels abroad—Called to the Churches of Vaux and Royan—First marriage—Children by it—Second marriage—Children by it—My father's person—Habits—Labors in the ministry——Summons before the Governor—Second Summons—Death.

I continue the narrative with what I know of my father, the youngest child and only son of James de la Fontaine, who received his own name, James. He was of delicate constitution, and he was from the earliest age very fond of books, which circumstances decided his father not to bring him up to a trade of any kind, but to make every possible effort to cultivate his taste for study, and to give him an education to fit him for one of the learned professions. He was assisted by several friends in this undertaking, but most effectually by Mr. Merlin, a sincere and worthy servant of God, a Protestant minister in Rochelle, who gave James gratuitous instruction in various branches of knowledge.

My father's inclination towards the office of the holy ministry soon evinced itself, and he did not hesitate to follow the pious impulse, though fully aware of the dangers incident to the vocation. When his education was somewhat advanced, his pious and generous friend, Mr. Merlin, further assisted him by recommending him to the Countess of Royan as a suitable tutor to a young relation of hers. In that capacity he accom the young man to the college of Saumur, and superintended his studies there, while he availed himself of the advantages, thus opened to him, of completing his own preparation for the ministry.

After leaving college, he travelled with his pupil through various countries, and he was thus enabled to perfect himself in several living languages. In the course of their travels they went to London, and they remained there long enough to allow my father to fall in love with a very interesting and accomplished young lady named Thompson. She was of good family, spoke the French language with fluency; she played very well upon the Spinette, and was altogether a remarkably well educated person. My father was obliged to return to France, but before they parted they exchanged portraits, and promised to be constant to each other until they could meet again.

Very soon after his return home, he received a call from the United Churches of Vaux and Royan, which met the approbation of the Synod, and by its authority he was installed as pastor. At that time there was a good church edifice in each of these small places, and they were united under the charge of one minister. My father was cherished and tenderly beloved by the whole community, from his first appearance amongst them until he ended his days.

He steadily performed the duties of his sacred office for one year, and he then requested his flock to grant him a short leave of absence, to allow him to go to London and fetch that dear one to whom he had plighted his troth. He found her, as he expected, true to her promise, ready to fulfil her engagement, and return with him to his own country. They were married in London in the year 1628, and immediately returned to the borough of Vaux, where they took up their abode in a small, and not very convenient house, which they hired. They continued to occupy it until her death, which took place twelve years after their marriage. They had been very happy together, and were the parents of several children, five of whom lived to mature age, and perhaps I may as well name them here, before I proceed to the second marriage of my father.

1. Jane married unfortunately a Mr. L'Hommeau, a man of good property, but who turned out to be an idle, drunken spendthrift, who wasted his substance in riotous living, and in the end Jane was obliged to maintain herself and family by keeping a school.

2. Judith married Mr. Guiennot, and was left a widow with four children. She was seized during the persecution and confined in a convent, from which she only obtained release by making a compulsory abjuration. She was so fortunate as to escape from France, and she and her daughters maintained themselves by needlework in London.

I would here pause, and call your attention to the uncertainty of this world's goods. You may observe, in the short history I have already given of the fortunes of a single family, how mutable are all worldly possessions. Who could have foreseen, when the father of my grandfather was honored and respected in the Court of Francis I., that three of his children would have to beg their bread from door to door, and be glad to learn how to support themselves by mechanical employments; and equally in my father's family; how little could it have been anticipated, when Jane and Judith married rich men, that they also would be obliged to work for their living!

3. James was educated for the ministry, and became pastor of the church at Archiac, in Saintonge. He had the infirmity of stammering when he repeated any thing that he knew by heart, so he was obliged to employ another person to repeat the Creed and the Lord's Prayer in his church; but he could preach and pray extemporaneously without any hesitation. He died before the great persecution came on, but his widow endured cruel sufferings for the faith. She was imprisoned for three years, and during part of the time she was confined in a dungeon, but at last she was liberated and banished from France. She reached London in safety with three sons, one of whom became a Protestant minister in Germany.

4. Elizabeth, married to Mr. Sautreau, minister at Saujon, in Saintonge, under whom I studied. His church was condemned, and he and his wife and children went to Dublin, where he was urged to receive Episcopal ordination, but he thought the Presbyterian Church more like that to which he had devoted himself in his own country, so he gave it the preference. He determined to take his family to America; and he, his wife and five children were wrecked, and all drowned, within sight of the harbor of Boston, their destined port. I think we may add these seven persons to the list of martyrs in our family, as they had abandoned their home and possessions for the Gospel's sake.

5. Peter, who was also brought up to the ministry, had no sooner completed his preparation than he was appointed to assist my father, as his colleague, in the church at Vaux; where he succeeded him at his death, and remained until the demolition of the church. When it was about to be condemned, he was served with a "Lettre de Cachet," confined in the Isle of Oléron six months, and then banished from the kingdom, without the possibility of taking his two older daughters with him, for the law forbade ministers to take out of the country any of their children who were above twenty years old; but, by the good providence of God, they were able to join him afterwards in London, where, as you know, he spent the remainder of his days, filling the office of minister or chaplain at the Pest House, beloved and respected by all who knew him.

His youngest daughter, Esther, became the wife of John Arnauld, the grandson of my aunt Bouquet, a highly estimable man, of whom I shall have occasion to speak again in the course of these memoirs. His uprightness and correctness of judgment caused him to be frequently called upon, to act as umpire, when differences arose between any of the French merchants in London.

6. Francis ought not to be passed over without mention, though he died too young to leave any descendants. He was gifted with the most astonishing memory. When only six or seven years old he was much in my father's study, where he heard the children and other pupils learning their lessons, and so retentive was his memory, that from simply hearing them repeat aloud what they were going to recite, he acquired the whole so perfectly, that when any boy paused for a word, he supplied the deficiency instantly; and that, not in English lessons only, but in Latin and Greek, My father became apprehensive that he would have a jumble of words in his head, without any ideas attached to them, and therefore positively forbade him to learn the lessons of others. The poor child, nevertheless, continued to do it, and he excused himself, saying, he could not help remembering that which he heard repeated over and over again; so, at last my father thought it best to begin to teach him Latin, in order that his memory might be employed connectedly at any rate. He made the most rapid progress, and soon surpassed boys twice his age. In due time, he accompanied his elder brother, Peter, to college, at Saumur, and before he had been there a year, he became an object of admiration to professors and students alike. At the end of the second year, he had distinguished himself so much, that he was looked upon as a prodigy for his years, and great hopes and expectations were raised as to his future career, all of which God saw fit to disappoint by taking him to himself soon after. He was too good for this world.

My father was married to his second wife, Marie Chaillon, my mother, in the year 1641. She was from the neighborhood of Pons, in Saintonge, where her father possessed considerable property, and resided at a country place named Rue au Roy, distant about a mile and a half from the town. She was a handsome brunette, twelve years younger than her husband, to whom she brought a marriage portion of four thousand francs, which was expended, by her desire, in the purchase of the small estate of Jenouillé, and the adjacent manor of Jaffé. My father made an addition of several rooms to the house already built upon the property, so that it might comfortably accommodate a few boarders in addition to his own family; for at that time he received pupils to educate with his sons.

The issue of the second marriage was remarkably similar to the first; five children by each, two sons and three daughters, who lived to a marriageable age.

1. Susan, married Stephen Gachot, a grandson, through his mother, of that most excellent, pious, Christian minister, Mr. Merlin, of Rochelle. This circumstance was not without its influence upon my father, in gaining his consent to what proved a miserable marriage. Gachot was drunken and dissipated, and treated my sister unkindly. He even threatened her life with a pistol. He squandered his wife's portion, and had mortgaged his own property, when he became known to a man named Jeudy, a collector to the farmers of the Royal Domain, who, perceiving him to be an acute, clever, and unscrupulous sort of man, engaged his services as a clerk or assistant collector. They were men of one mind, knowing how to fill their own purses. They committed acts of violence in making their collections, that made them worthy of two halters, and it was most fortunate for Gachot, that at the time he was beginning to tremble for fear of inquiry, a decree was issued by the Court, which ordered all Protestants in public employments, either to recant or resign. Gachot was only too glad to avail himself of the opportunity to give up his employment, and pretend to be a good Protestant, Jeudy envied him his escape from investigation of his doings, and wished that he too had been of a Protestant family. After a while the dragoons came, and Gachot readily changed his religion to retain his ill-gotten wealth. He jocularly observed, "I can accommodate myself easily to the Church of Rome, for I do not understand Latin, and so I cannot be scandalized by her services, which are all in that language." He remained in France, and my poor sister with him.

2. Peter was light-complexioned, and of a very pleasing countenance. He was first appointed minister of St. Saurin, in Saintonge, and then removed to the church at Salles, in Aunix. He married, unhappily for himself, a little, ugly, haughty, jealous, worldly-minded woman of good fortune, who ruled him. She would not tolerate in him any evidence of affection to mother, brothers or sisters. She must be all in all to him. On one occasion, my mother went to St. Saurin, a distance of four leagues from our house, to visit this dearly beloved son, and she was so much fatigued and exhausted with her ride, that she went to lie down as soon as she alighted from her horse, and begged to have a little herb soup. Her own maid, whom she had taken to wait upon her, was busy preparing it for her, when her daughter-in-law went into the kitchen, in a very bad humor, vexed at her mother-in-law being there, and still more that her husband should have received his mother with evident marks of kindness and affection, and, in this mood, she took a fire-brand out of the fire, and began to stir the broth with it. The servant cried out, "Madam! what are you about? here is a spoon for you." She answered contemptuously, "It is good enough for her."

This was very inconsiderately repeated to my poor mother, who was so much wounded by it, that she shortened her visit; she mounted her horse to return home next day, and never again went to the house of this dear son. Peter knew the cause of it, and he was deeply grieved; but still, his wife had become so entirely the governing power in his house, that he made no effort to correct the grievance.