206 THE FRENCH BLOOD IN AI^IERICA 



Huguenots. The English were fearful lest they should 

 lose their English name and tongue ; while the French 

 seemed indifferent to their native speech, and were ready 

 to translate their names into equivalent Dutch or English, 

 according to the predominant population of the commu- 

 nity in which they happened to be. They soon merged 

 into New Englanders. Before the first ships reached shore, 

 indeed, the French Molines had become plain English 

 Mullins, as we have seen. 



French at the The English got away from Holland first, and those of 

 the French Protestants who cast lots in with them speedily 

 assimilated with their fellow voyagers. This was done so 

 unobtrusively that only in recent days has the truth been 

 realized that the Plymouth colony was not of unmixed 

 English blood, but contained an element that was pro- 

 foundly to affect the English stock. Thus right at the 

 base of the first effort to settle New England is this reve- 

 lation of the stealthy introduction of the Huguenot to the 

 hearthstone and into the very hearts of the New England 

 ancestors. It is no surprise, after this, to find that many 

 of the eminent men of our early history were in some de- 

 gree at least of Huguenot descent. 



The French What did the Huguenots contribute to the change in 



Contribution ° ° 



English character ? All the lighter, happier, more refin- 

 ing and spiritual qualities, the joyous temperament. The 

 thrift of the Protestant French is proverbial. It found 

 speedy expression in New England in commerce and in 

 devising new subjects of manufacture and exportation. 

 We have noted how the Faneuils and Gabriel Bernon and 

 their French fellows were of the mercantile and manu- 

 facturing class that built up Boston. As the exiled 

 French were founders of many British industries when 

 they settled in England, so they were most efficient in 

 developing the resources of the new country in which 

 they were heartily given asylum. But they were never so 

 engrossed in trade that they allowed their passion for 

 civil and religious liberty to expire. It was a Huguenot, 



