CHAPTER VI 

 HUGUENOT HOME LIFE IN AMERICA 



THIS subject is treated in a very interesting man- The An of 

 ner by Helen Evertson Smith in a volume en- H^ppfiy 

 titled Colonial Days and Ways. We make such 

 use of her work as will give our readers a picture of 

 the home life, customs, and amusements of the French 

 in New Rochelle and at other points. This will also show 

 the influence which the French had upon their neighbours. 

 The art of living happily seems to be a native possession 

 of the French, while it is not so with the Anglo-Saxon. 

 His disposition is to take himself and life too seriously. 

 That was the fault and defect of the Puritan ; though it 

 must be said that this is a fault far less grave in its con- 

 sequences than the modern one of not taking life seriously 

 enough. The Huguenots hit a happy mean for the most 

 part, and infused joy into their environment. 



Whether they had been rich or poor in France, there oentie and 

 were few of the Huguenot refugees who were not poor ^°"''*^°"^ 

 when they reached America. Notable exceptions have 

 been cited, like those of Gabriel Bernon, but they were 

 the exceptions. Whatever their fortunes, however, the 

 refugees were gentle, trained in many arts, and possessed 

 of the keen perceptions, the courtesy, and the easy adapta- 

 bility of their race. Home life among them was different 

 from that of any of the other colonists, because they came 

 from a land more advanced in some things than either 

 Holland or England. 



The Puritan was keen-witted, with rigid notions of con^a^te"^ 

 morality, and a harsh spirit towards those who disagreed 

 with him, particularly in religion. The conditions of his 



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