Page:A Life of Matthew Fontaine Maury.pdf/19

Rh God, of His infinite mercy, grant that the remembrance of it may enliven our faith, so that we prove not unworthy scions of so noble a stock that God has promised to bestow special blessings upon the seed of the righteous. I have been young and now am old, yet have I never seen the righteous forsaken, nor His seed begging their bread. And we can generally see His providential care guarding the children of those whose blood has been shed in His service." The three young sons of these Christian martyrs were providentially saved, and lived to rear a numerous progeny in the fear of God and the faith of their murdered parents.

This narrative was written in French by the Reverend James Fontaine for the use and edification of his children, some years after he was driven from France by the persecutions following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. It was found, 150 years afterwards, at Rock Castle in Hanover County, Virginia, the residence of Mr. James Fontaine, and was translated from the French and published under the title of 'Memoirs of a Huguenot Family.' The editor was Miss Ann Maury, great grand-daughter of Mary Ann Fontaine (the only daughter of the Reverend James Fontaine, the writer of the Memoirs), and of Matthew Maury, a Huguenot gentleman. The subject of this biography was also a great grandchild of Matthew Maury and Mary Fontaine. Richard Maury, father of the subject of this biography, was the sixth son of the Reverend James Maury, who was son of Matthew Maury and Mary Ann Fontaine. The Reverend James Maury was an Episcopal clergyman and a Classical instructor of youth in Walker parish, Albemarle County, Virginia. He numbered among his pupils three boys who afterwards became Presidents of the United States, and five signers of the Declaration of Independence.

He was a quiet thinker—a serene old man, who gave the