The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1836-1851, 1849-09-19
45llsssgl9UeOMs.
THE nUGuENoTs OF AMERICA.
From the Southern Baptist.

"-- From tho Southern Baptist.
THE nUGuENOTS OF AMERICA.
History has celebrated The pcrsccutlnns
and virtues "f The liugucI,o,S. ln all her
sioiicd pages. slc has recorded OF no people,
snf4erinas more unius,ly and terribly Intiict-
cd. and has drawn tm character more grand
and heroic than iI,a, which they present.
,L,nis XIV. was trembling on the brink
&c lhe grave. ia the fierce phrenzy of his
superstition. lm imagined l,imsclG the chosen
instrument of IIca, on. for the c,nvcI sion "f
the Pro,cs,anis of France. lie according
" with the weakness and Jolly of tyrani,
,uteavnrrd TO accomplish i'y br'tmry and
i;,rce, that which i,c cnuld cot do bv Just and
i,nloral,c means lie caused the Edict ct
Nantz, which Er mnlc than eighty years had
secured The rel,gn is freedom nf the lluguc-
mis- tu he revoked. and commenced lh'sc
cnnrmities and prosecutions which made The
land turn pale with lr.rr"r, and drew upon
his memory the curses of mankind. VAIN
and tuiile hnwcvrr were his cff'ris. With
cqIal success he might have endcavnre To
T., Chain the winged Winds, or arrest the
blazing come, IN lis fiery course. as To at.
tempt ta crush when rnce awakened, the
.piri, Of t1lisioax t ccdom. Th" pcrsrcu'"d
il,is,m.nls would MT submit t. the DEGREES
I The ixrani. afd were sacrificed hv the
inis,.,crit,s n( his agents. nr like c,nvlrlS eS
t.apipu from ,hei, drrarv dungeons, embark
ed Gnrnt!l"r shores. III the midst of dark.
ness and tpmpcsis. they cvad d the guards
that lined The co',Si. and rn,nn,lIcd them.
selves To the si"rni Tossed ocean.
In few years after the revnra,nn "f the
E,iri nf Nanfa. not less than five hundred
thousand silcccedrd in thus c>rapIng from
their country. MANY rr,k refuge in Eng
iarrt. lfalIami and Switzerland: some were
captured i,v The C"rsafrs. others we're ras,
upon III, ul'n<rltahc >hr"s "i Spain. while
t.,anya an.lu.lmrs wand&rcd 10 li,c asylnmS of
lh.. oppressed III America.
Oar American colonies gave III" warrEcst
Wrlcar,,r ,s ,Ii,<e who rrarhcd mir shores.
inr thcs fril fln.t, in be sufferers with them.
selves iiiihe sirn. alnrpSis ca,,se. Snnc "f
them :spiilcl IN Massachusetts and Rhode
islaud. ntis.rs in NV Cork. while the great
cr nn,ni,cr r:eicrr, d The u,"re genial climate
and fertile N,iI nt' f!ie Earnlmians.
Twas by faith impelled, by free lun fired,
Nv hope supported aud by Gu,I Inspired,
Twas thus these pilgrims lett their fathers
70 see: home hecond the waste uf waves;
And where il rose all rough and win,ry here,
They swelled devo,;ols song and droppd dero-
fOn'S har.
Seldom al at period was witnessed along
our Atlantic cnasI more picturesque and
leantifnl sene, than that which these early
cnn.ies prcA:nicl. Their neatly painte
houses surrounded with gardans and orch
AIDS. showed that abundance aud content
were moi s,rangcrSin 10 their homes. While irir
well cultivated Iarms alcsled 'h'r Industry
and skill Nor did they ueg'rcl tho refresh
menis and accomplishments "lc'lncat'"n anal
art. Their dwellings, were nrnanen e.!
with paintings. and fteir libraries were stored
with The chorest productions nt ancient and
modern literature. Music with her cnchant.
ing strain added new attractions to their
bappineSs, and the forest often r'snnndcd
with the culIvening snlg, or echoed back
the solemn chant On no occasion dad they
present a more attractcive appearance than
ON the Sabbath, when old aye with his slvcrv
locks. and 9TH with his spri.hlly step and
invfnl connlcnancc, might be seen Winding
ahrir way together I" the house Of God.
Their Furnishing condition and eslimal,ic
character were the natural growth of the
principles they had cherished, an the suf-
ieri,,cs they had endured. They had all jured
their ancestral halls, their beautiful land, the
delicious banks of the LOIRE and Rhonc, the
vinc.cIad hills where industry and art had
made them "puIenl and happy. not as the
adveniu cs nf Cnrlez and PIzarro. stimulated
by thirst E,r gold. not 10 conquer vast
territory aud ensave lis Inhabitants. but L"
SEIZURE for themselves and children inacn-
able rights oi conscience, the enj"ymcn, ol
their own opinions ana the practice OF their
own worship. And. when settled in their
new found bones, they did not fnrget the
glorious heritage nf their virtues.
These noble hearted victims OF French
imole, ance farsurpsss in the moral grandeur
of,l,eir character, all that has been tabled OF
Tie hernic ages. In their early history they
suffered haristips and trials, and pcrsc,cu-
4. fl,or, u : Tho SfrnIkpS