England's Debt to the Huguenots [pp. 359-364]

ENGLAND'S DEBT TO THE HUGUENOTS.
which they had been experts at home. Thus, in
a very short time, they became a source of immense saving to the wealth of England, by producing a home supply of that large variety of
articles of finery and fashion for which the English had hitherto been dependent on France and
Italy. Among these articles were velvet, satins,
taffetas, ribbons, lace, gloves, serges, fans, girdles, needles, combs, beaver hats, and jewelry
of all sorts. Calico-printing was introduced by
French refugees; and the first successful tapestry manufactory was established by wvorkmen from the Gobelins, in Paris. But it was in
the manufactory of silk that the Huguenot immigration was especially profitable to England.
Efforts had been made by Elizabeth and James I
to introduce silk culture, but with little success.
Within fifteen years after the revocation of the
edict of Nantes, however, the Huguenot refugees from Lyons and Tours had so far introduced both its culture and its manufacture as
not only to supply the English homie market,
but also to export large quantities to other countries which had till then been supplied by
France.
In the making of paper and glassware the
English are largely indebted to the French refugees. Before the revocation nothing but the
coarsest papers were made at home; all elegant
sorts came from France. The first factory for
fine paper was established by Huguenots in
I685. For the elegant goods known in commerce
as "Irish poplin" the English are likewise indebted to Huguenot settlers in Dublin.
"In short," says Mr. Smiles, "there was
scarcely a branch of trade in Great Britain but
at once felt the beneficial effects of the large
influx of experienced workmen from France."
It is now three centuries since the outrages
of the Spaniards in Flanders, and nearly two
since the bigoted efforts of the great monarch
to convert his Protestant subjects. What has
been the fate of the descendants of those whom
these great National crimes cast upon the shores
of Protestant England? We can answer but
in general terms. For many years they cherished hopes of one day returning to their native
climes. But finally they became reconciled to
their new home, formed alliances with ~nglish
families, and gradually assumed English habits.
But in assuming the English type they mod ified and ornamented it. And their influence is
still traceable not only in some of the first fami lies of the realm, but also in some of the tastes of
the common people where they most thickly
settled. For example, one finds to-day among
the silk-weavers of Spitalfields men who are in
every respect English except their un-English
love of birds and flowers, and their un-English
namnes, such as Vendome, Blois, Racine, etc.
In many cases, however, even the names were
translated or disguised, thus: L'Oiseau became
Bird; Le Jeune, Young; Le Blanc, White; Le
Noir, Black; Le Roy, King; Lacroix, Cross;
Le Monnier, Miller; Le Macce, Brown, and so
on. Other pure French names were dreadfully
vulgarized; for example, Cond6 into Cundy;
Chapuis into Shappee; De Preux into Diprose; De Maulins into Mullins; Huyghens into
Higgins; Beaufoy into Buffy; Dieudonne into
Dudney; Gebon into Gibbon. By a strange
freak of taste M. Jolifemme (Prettywoman)
changed his name into Mr. Prettyman.
Many of the children of the Huguenots have
arisen, in each subsequent generation, to reflect
honor on their ancestry. The great actor, Garrick, (Garrigue,) was half French. Mrs. Radcliffe, whose romances once created such a stir;
the Unitarian Martineau; the novelist, Marryatt; the brothers Newman; the celebrated Dr.
Pusey, (Bouveries,) were of Huguenot blood.
Sydney Smith attributed the gayety of his temperament to the fact that one of his grandmothers was French - a woman "of a noble countenance and as noble a mind." The celebrated
historian of Greece, Grote, (De Grotes, Groots,
Grotius,) descends from Flemish refugees
through his father, and French through his
mother. In the name of the archbishop of
Dublin and author of the Study of Words, two
Huguenot families are honorably united-Chlienevix Trench, (Tranche.)
Huguenot blood has penetrated every class
of Englishl society, and even mounted the throne
itself. Queen Victoria is part Huguenot, thliroug hl
her descent from a granddaughter of a Protestant nobleman of Poitou-Sophia Dorothlea, who
became the wife of George I. From the same
woman-her daughter having married Frederick
William-the Huguenot blood has reached the
throne of Prussia.
Many of the Huguenot families have reached
the peerage. Such is the case in the noble
names Ruvigny, Russell, Cavendish, Osborne,
Drummond, Romilly, and many others. Others
of them have constantly held high offices both
in Church and State.
Such is a meager sketch of the immense
benefactions which Papal bigotry unintentionally
cast into the lap of England. From that period
England has risen, while Spain and France have
proportionally deteriorated. English art, in dustry, liberty, and commerce sprang into fresh
life, and have ever since been marching from
victory to conquest. But where is the Spain of
Philip II? Where is the Golden Age of Louis
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