1804-24 THE PROFESSOR'S MOTHER 3 



There is also an entry in the handwriting 

 of Sir Richard Owen's father. ' Richard and 

 Catherine Owen were married at Preston, No- 

 vember 8, 1792, by the Rev. H. Shuttleworth.' 



The Professor's mother was of French extrac- 

 tion. She was of a Huguenot family of the 

 name of Parrin, who came over from Provence 

 at the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. 

 Besides being a woman of great refinement and 

 intelligence she was an accomplished musician, 

 for her father had supported himself by the pro- 

 fession of music, and she inherited his talent. In 

 appearance she was a handsome, Spanish-looking 

 woman, with dark eyes and hair. Owen himself 

 was never tired of speaking of his mother's charm 

 of manner, and of all that he owed to her early 

 training and example. His father was a complete 

 contrast. Tall, stout, and ruddy, his general 

 appearance bore a strong resemblance to the face 

 and figure popularly supposed to belong to the 

 typical John Bull. Nor was his character unlike — 

 bluff, burly, obstinate, and perhaps not particularly 

 brilliant, he was yet possessed of sound common- 

 sense. 



Honest and sincere himself, Richard Owen 

 the elder expected all with whom he had deal- 

 ings to be the same, and never quite recovered 

 from the effects of a certain business transaction 

 which took place between Napoleon I. and him- 

 self. He had already made a considerable fortune 



B 2 



