USA > Connecticut > Colonial Days And Ways: As Gathered from Family Papers > Part 7
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labor of her maids in pressing it all out. If this were not successfully done the butter would soon become rancid. The only wonder was that quan- tities did keep perfectly sweet and good, though very salt, from one June until the next. June and October were considered the best months for packing winter butter, the conditions of tempera- ture and food for the cows being then nearest to perfection.
The custom of quarterly clothes-washings had been brought from Holland, and was long con- tinued here among the Dutch settlers, notwith- standing that our summer heats, and the immense quantities of clothes necessary to maintain the state of cleanliness required by Dutch instincts and tra- ditions, must have rendered it exceedingly incon- venient. As lately as 1760, we find in an old letter that "Grandmother Blum is so deep in her Quar- terly wash this Weeke that she has no time only to send her love." The writer of the letter was a New-Englander married to a citizen of New York city, and the custom undoubtedly was strange to her. The washing was usually done in an out- house called a bleeckeryen where the water was heated over the fire in immense kettles, and all the other processes of laundry work, conducted by the most laborious methods, were carried on there. This work usually required not less than a week, and quite frequently two weeks. During the three months intervening between these periods of cruelly
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hard labor, the soiled clothes had been accumulat- ing from day to day in very large hampers of open basketwork, and stored in the bleeckeryen. It was this system of quarterly washings that rendered - and in parts of Holland and of Germany still ren- ders - necessary the great stores of household and personal linens which are supposed to be brought to her new home by every bride, and for which the mothers begin to prepare almost from the birth of the first daughter. This preparation continued in the new land long after the custom of quarterly washings had given place to the much more sen- sible and sanitary custom now prevailing.
As the Grand Opera House in Paris was lighted with candles, affording certainly a dim if not a re- ligious light, until sometime during the Regency, it is not to be supposed that lamps came into use in the far-away little city of New Amsterdam until a great many years later. In fact, there is little men- tion of the use of oil lamps in America before the middle of the eighteenth century. Wax candles were imported for festival occasions, but immense quantities of tallow candles were yearly dipped or molded for ordinary consumption. In all regions where the waxy and deliciously fragrant bayberry was plentiful, candles were made from it. When well prepared the wax was slightly translucent and of a light green in color. The snuff emitted so delicate an odor that on festive occasions, where many candles were burning, it was usual to blow
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some of them out at frequent intervals so that the room might be kept pleasantly perfumed.
The great dependence for cheerful light as well as for warmth in winter must have been upon the blazing knots of resinous wood dexterously dis- tributed in among the slower burning logs of hick- ory, oak, and maple. By the blaze of these friendly fires there was seen much domestic happi- ness and much social enjoyment of a homely sort. The Dutch family relations were singularly close and intimate. Parental affection was especially strong and tender.
Among the descendants of old Dutch families here there still remain so many fragments of the nursery rhymes which used to charm the round- faced little Dutch lads and lassies that there must once have existed a copious literature of nursery lore. Part of one such jingle I can remember as my father sang it to my younger brother, who was a remarkably beautiful, black-eyed little fellow, then probably about two years old. I remember his teasing my father to play "trip-trop " with him. Then my father crossed his knees, and sat Willie astride of the suspended foot, holding him in place by the two hands. Then, swinging up and down the foot holding the delighted child, the rich, melodious barytone trolled out a catch of which I could only recall the first and last lines until the missing ones were supplied by Mrs. Vanderbilt in
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her most interesting "Social History of Flatbush." The completed rhyme runs :
"Trip a trop a tronjes. De vorkens in de boonjes, De koejes in de klaver, De paarden in de haver, De eenjes in de waterplass, So groot myn kleine [- was."
Mrs. Vanderbilt translates this as follows :
" The father's (or mother's) knee a throne is. As the pigs are in the beans, As the cows are in the clover, As the horses are in the oats, As the ducks are splashing in the water, So great my little -] is."
When the child's name was of more than two syllables poppetje was substituted, this meaning poppet, doll, or baby, a term of endearment. Sev- eral of my relations of Dutch descent used to call me their " kleine poppetje." At the close of the last line of the foregoing jingle the singer is sup- posed to toss the child as high as he can reach. My father's paternal grandmother, from whose lips he had learned the little Dutch jingle when a boy, was born Margaret Evertson, and was a great- granddaughter of the first Niclaes Evertsen.
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To play "trip-trop" was always my little brother Willie's bedtime entertainment by the open nursery fire. So handsome and so happy were my father and little brother, so impossible does it seem to associate the idea of death with either, that even now I cannot believe that they have joined the other dear fathers and babies who played "trip- trop " so many generations before them.
CHAPTER VII
THE ESCAPE OF A HUGUENOT FAMILY
CHAPTER VII.
THE ESCAPE OF A HU- GUENOT FAMILY.
Edict of Nantes and its Revocation.
The Huguenot Exodus. Arts Carried Abroad. Daniel L'Estrange. A Huguenot "Lady in Waiting." An Effectual Disguise. To New Rochelle by Way of England.
E VERY one knows of the French reli- gious wars in the sixteenth century, and of the terrible massacre of St. Bartholomew, followed, after more wars, by the accession of " Henry of glorious memory," and by his promulgation, in 1598, of the celebrated Edict of Nantes. This edict by no means made all men equal before the law, but at least it granted toleration, as well as the most important of civil rights, and a measure of protection to the French Protestants. Almost as well known, but not so often brought to mind, is the long course of gradual encroachment on the rights conferred upon the Protestants by that edict. This encroachment never ceased until -long after the rights granted by the edict had been practically withdrawn - the edict itself was formally revoked, in 1685, by Louis XIV.
There is nothing in history more remarkable than the patience with which these constantly increasing and most odious persecutions were borne by the persecuted, except the fatuity which led to the final act of despotism, causing the expatriation
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of hundreds of thousands of the best citizens of France. If non-resistance to tyranny be a virtue, the Huguenots, for nearly half a century, had been the most virtuous of people. If adherence to their principles under every form of ill-treatment be a folly, their folly was unapproached. Either way they suffered for conscience' sake, and no people in the history of the world have exceeded them in this. Politically, the Protestant minority of the nation had no differences with the Catholic major- ity. All were alike loyal to the monarchical form of government and to the existing dynasty ; there was no conflict of race or of province; and those of both the highest and the lowest social positions were to be found alike in the ranks of both parties. Religion was the sole ground of division.
In the decade preceding the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, the exodus of the Huguenots from all parts of France had been great and con- tinuous, in spite of the utmost vigilance on the part of the authorities. The numbers of the escaped have been variously estimated at from five hun- dred thousand to three millions. Some good judges think that about eight hundred thousand would be a conservative estimate.
In spite of his blind arrogance, Louis Quatorze was not so stupid as to wish to deport the best- behaved and most productive of all his subjects. He only made the mistake of supposing that he could command the minds and consciences as
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easily as he could the arms and purses of his sub- missive people. To this end he determined to buy heaven for himself by "converting" the Huguenots to his own faith, and at the same time to maintain the material prosperity of his kingdom by preventing the escape of the many gentlemen of landed estates, the bankers, the wealthy manu- facturers, and the artisans who, at this time, com- posed the bulk of the detested party. Hence every new act of persecution was accompanied by additional precautions to prevent the escape of the victims.
Most fortunate of all the Huguenots were those who dwelt nearest the frontier. Under the terrible and infamously effective system of the "drago- nades," it is truly wonderful that such large num- bers of the persecuted should have succeeded in reaching places of safety ; but the many are always better than the few. Thousands of the refugees long held in grateful remembrance the names of their Roman Catholic neighbors who, often at the risk of their own estates or even of their lives, gave valuable assistance in the flight of their Protestant friends.
No matter how fiercely might burn the anger of the obstinate monarch at seeing the industries of the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and Great Britain built up by those who had there sought refuge from his own tyranny, he still had the chagrin of knowing his best subjects to be
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continually escaping from his clutches; and to- day the descendants of the Huguenots are among the worthiest and most enterprising of all the citizens of the countries which he most hated.
Many of those Huguenots who escaped to Eng- land subsequently came to her colonies. Although most of the refugees had been prosperous in France, and not a few had been wealthy citizens, comparatively few had been able to take much money away with them-the circumstances of their flight precluded that; but they all brought energy, industry, thrift, and power of endurance, as well as that truly delightful birthright of their nation, an invincible lightness of heart, while many of them also possessed skill in some hitherto pecu- liarly French handicraft, or in mechanical methods of unusual scope.
Like the Plymouth Pilgrims, the Huguenots came without any backing of national trade or class interest; but while the first came to preserve civil and religious rights which they were fearful of losing, the latter were involuntary exiles who, having already lost all rights, were flying for their lives, and were of all social grades, embracing a few noblemen, a larger number of la petite noblesse who would have been called "gentlemen com- moners" in England, and of professional men, merchants, bankers, manufacturers, and artisans, besides a comparatively small number of peasants. Of the last-named there were fewer than of the other
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classes, partly, perhaps, because it was impossible to escape from their enemies without the use of , a great deal of money. Those who came were probably brought at the expense of the richer col- onists, who expected to be repaid in labor.
Notwithstanding that the difference of their pre- vious social conditions might have been supposed to prevent a strong feeling of unity among the Huguenot refugees, their "oneness of heart and mind " was from the first an object of wonder to the Dutch and English colonists, by whom they had been kindly welcomed. The persecuted were bound together by a common language, common perils, and a common faith. In their little settlement at New Rochelle there was for many years as near an approach to apostolic ways of living as has been seen since apostolic days. They were received most kindly by the earlier colonists, but they asked for no charity for even the poorest among them. All who had been successful enough in sending money out of France in advance of themselves, or had been able to bring any with them, placed their funds at the disposal of their chief men, to be shared as necessity required. It is said that they invariably cared for their own poor, and that these did not remain long in poverty, but were soon able to return all the sums which had been advanced to them by the wealthier members of the flock.
Some of the most flourishing of the hitherto
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purely French industrial arts, such as the fine linen, silk, tapestry, and china manufactures, had been gradually carried to England, Germany, and Hol- land by the escaping Huguenots during the long years of persecution preceding the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Therefore to their brethren in these older lands the refugees in the new land sent for looms and other machines of better quali- ties than had hitherto been known here.
They did not have the capital to start their own industries on a large scale ; neither did the British Colonial Office offer anything but discouragement for such undertakings; but every household be- came a little industrial colony, those who had never labored before now learning to do so with cheerful hearts.
The Huguenots were as sternly Calvinistic in their principles as ever were the Plymouth Pil- grims; but these principles did not seem to impart any bitterness to their natures. The little settle- ment in the colony of New York which they fondly called New Rochelle was from the first an abode of poverty and hardships most cheerfully borne. My dear mother's ancestry was very largely Huguenot, and from a few records of the traditions of her mother's family I have gleaned some frag- ments of interest which probably have a strong re- semblance to the family histories of many others of similar descent.
In 1672 Daniel L'Estrange of Orléans, France,
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was matriculated as a student of philosophy in the Academy of Geneva, Switzerland, which at that time was the only existing place where a French Protestant could receive a liberal education in his own language. The "pretended reformed " were not allowed to have schools of their own in France; nor, on the other hand, was it permitted to them to send their children to the Catholic schools without previously renouncing their own and professing the national faith.
A few years later we find that M. L'Estrange married Charlotte Le Mestre, also of Orléans. A few years later still, the pair are residing in Paris, where the husband is traditionally believed to have been an officer of the Royal Guard-a tra- dition which seems to derive some support from the fact that after his arrival in England he is known to have held a lieutenancy in the Royal Guard of James II. Strange as it may seem, many Huguenots filled positions in the personal guard of Louis XIV, where they were comparatively safe from persecution, as their places were held by a certain unwritten law of inheritance from the days when Henry IV had filled its ranks, from the commander down to the privates, with those upon whose fidelity he could best rely; and these were undoubtedly his old brethren in arms and in the faith which political reasons had caused him to forsake.
While her husband was in the Royal Guard,
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Mme. L'Estrange was one of the ladies in wait- ing upon the dauphiness, Marie de Bavière, the gracious, studious, retiring, and accomplished daughter-in-law of Louis XIV. Thus the wife of the Huguenot was often obliged to serve her turn of duty at St. Germain and sometimes at Versailles. Although Mme. L'Estrange was well known to be of the "pretended reformed " faith, she was not molested, because she was a recognized favorite of the dauphiness. Perhaps the position of his wife at court combined with his own in the Royal Guard to save M. L'Estrange for a while from persecution, although he was known to be a determined, if not an aggres- sive, Huguenot; but the time came when he was obliged to seek safety in flight, and that, too, with- out seeing his wife. She was then performing her tour de service at Versailles ; and her husband could only send her a verbal message, requesting that she should join him, with their child, and as much of their property as she could convert into ready money, at some designated point on the coast, where he would wait for her as long as possible, and whence they could take ship for England.
The person who was intrusted with the message either could not or did not convey it to the wife until many days, if not some weeks, after her hus- band's flight from Paris. I relate the story as I heard it from the lips of my maternal grandmother, who had heard it from her paternal grandfather.
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Some of the particulars which she related are also given in Baird's "History of the Huguenot Emi- gration to America." I believe that the parts which rest only upon oral tradition are not less trustworthy than those quoted by Mr. Baird, which rest upon documentary evidence.
The husband's message was at last delivered, not directly to the wife, but to some one who con- veyed it to the dauphiness. In spite of, or rather perhaps because of, her high position, the dauphi- ness was herself so closely watched that she had not the opportunity to transmit the husband's message safely until the hour of the coucher, which that night chanced to be particularly late. As the Huguenot lady was slipping the night-robe over the head of the dauphiness, the latter hastily whispered :
" In the cabinet at the foot of the stairs leading to my apartments, you will find one who will tell you what you must do, and do without a moment's delay." Aloud she added : "I am sorry you are suffering so much. You are excused from duty until I send for you."
A few moments later Mme. L'Estrange was in the designated cabinet. There she first heard that her husband had left Paris, she having for some time supposed him to be in hiding in that city, and also learned that, his flight having become known to the authorities, his property had been confiscated. The kind dauphiness had thought-
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fully given a purse of money to the messenger, but it was not large, as she was not highly favored by her father-in-law, and had never very much cash at her command. The messenger had also two horses in readiness, and was ordered to accom- pany Mme. L'Estrange until she should have got safely started on her journey, under the care of friends whom she was expected to meet. But the dauphiness had apparently forgotten the existence of the child. The infant of two years was under the care of the married sister of Mme. L'Estrange in Paris, and thither the mother felt that she must first proceed, though the delay was well-nigh fatal to the success of her undertaking.
So well watched was every avenue of escape from Paris that several days were lost before an opportunity for leaving presented itself. One morning, before daybreak, Mme. L'Estrange dis- guised herself as a very poor woman seeking to go beyond the walls to glean food from the over- laden market-wagons coming in. She carried her sleeping child in her arms. Her twin sister, dressed in all respects precisely like herself, followed at a safe distance. Arrived at the city gate, the mother begged to be allowed to take her child with her, but was not permitted; and it was only by address- ing the sentry in his native patois of the Orleans country that he was induced to let the mother her- self pass out, while he retained the child as a hos- tage for her return. Two hours later, while the
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awakened child was crying lustily, and the half- distracted sentry was busily looking for contraband goods in the market-wagons of the peasants, the aunt suddenly appeared, as if she had come in with the wagons, and claimed the child, which was gladly yielded to the supposed mother. Not for many years after did the true mother again see her child ; but when he was grown he came to America, and married here. He it was who related the story to his son, the father of my mother's mother.
During several weeks after Mme. L'Estrange had escaped from Paris her adventures were many. When she finally reached the coast, it was only to find that her husband had been obliged to fly some time before. Her voyage to England was made inside of one of the very large casks in which the common kinds of wine were shipped to the whole- sale dealers in London. In similar casks more than sixty persons are said to have been shipped, at the same time, in the hold of the same small trading-vessel, whose English captain was liberally paid for running the risks attending such ship- ments.
During several years there were many hundreds, if not thousands, of escapes made in the same man- ner ; and who can now imagine the horrors of such a voyage ? The trip across the English Channel is not very welcome to the majority of travelers to-day, when not more than two or three hours are required, in vessels which, though bad enough
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according to our present standards, are princely compared with those of two centuries ago. In those days it frequently took a week to cross, and sometimes as long a time, or longer, was spent rocking at anchor, waiting for a favorable wind. Of course, the casks holding human freight were not hoisted on board until the latest moment; but whether waiting on shore in momentary peril of detection, or confined in casks on board ship, what an eternity must every hour have seemed !
With a small store of wine in a leather bottle, and some bread, a pillow or two, and such cloth- ing as might be conveniently packed in with her, the wretched refugee was placed in the great cask, into the sides of which many small holes had been bored to admit air without attracting notice. The head of the cask was then secured in its place, and - carefully right side up - it was placed in the hold, where it was skilfully braced to prevent its being rolled about when the vessel was under way. My mother had seen, in the possession of one of her mother's brothers, a small pillow, filled with softly carded rolls of wool, covered with a stained and faded slip of brocaded silk, which was sacredly treasured because it had eased the buffeted head of the revered great-grandmother, when she was tossed about in her narrow prison in the hold of the blockade-running vessel on the uneasy waves of the English Channel.
Their " Red Sea " the refugees were wont to call
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this Channel, though they certainly did not cross it in the triumphant fashion of the hosts whom Moses led from bondage to freedom. Some of the "cask refugees " were found suffocated when their " arks of refuge " were unheaded. Many more were se- riously injured. The only wonder is that such great numbers were taken from the French coast in this way, and that so many escaped without more than temporary injuries, before the persecuting authori- ties had discovered and put a stop to similar ship- ments. More fortunate than those who had to cross the Channel were those who, like the ances- tors of my mother's father, Bolden (or Bauldoin) by name, were able to cross the frontiers into the Low Countries. They had trials enough and hair- breadth escapes by dozens, but their bodily suffer- ings were much less.
For the first few years after their escape M. and Mme. L'Estrange fared comparatively well in England, because the friends of the former had procured for him a lieutenancy in the Royal Guard of James II. But this monarch was not himself a Protestant, and not too well disposed toward the Huguenots, though state policy forced him to receive them well. It was probably for this rea- son that Lieutenant L'Estrange, a few months before James was forced to fly from his throne, sold his commission, and, with the proceeds of this sale and that of some jewels, came, with his wife, to this country. Here he soon joined the settlement
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at New Rochelle, and there and in New York city for many years he taught his own language to those Americans who wished to learn it, as well as gave instruction in the classical languages to boys who wished to enter Yale or Columbia (then King's) College.
At the same time, his wife, and later on their daughters, all of whom were born here, applied themselves to the new duties imposed by the new circumstances, in the cheerful spirit common to all persons who lead lives of faith and kindliness.
CHAPTER VIII
HUGUENOT HOMES IN NEW ROCHELLE
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CHAPTER VIII.
HUGUENOT HOMES IN NEW ROCHELLE.
Life less Toilsome than with Most of the Colonists. Attachment to the Services of their Church. Refugees not Colonists. Loyalty to the Land of their Adoption. Little Daintinesses of House Furnishing.
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DAILY life in the Huguenot house- holds was probably less toilsome 0 D 0 than in almost any others in the colonies. The refugees were too intelligent, industrious, and re- sourceful not to be able to escape many of the hardships of the very poor among the other colo- nists; and they were too poor to be oppressed by the multitude of anxieties and responsibilities inevitable to the rich citizens who then had to superintend the exercise of all sorts of labors under their roof-trees.
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