The Huguenot Bartholomew Dupuy and his descendants

BARTHOLOMEW DTTPUY IN FRANCE. 93
wrote, "Bartholomew Dupuy was born in chap. i.
France in the year 1652." As that is a definite
statement, and nicely coincides with his
after life, we accept it as the most reliable,
understanding that it does not settle the question
beyond doubt. By virtue of his descent
from the nobility, Bartholomew Dupuy heired
the honorable title of "Count." The Province
in which he is claimed to have been bom was a
stronghold
of Protestantism. Its adherents
shortly before the Revocation of the Edict of
Nantes exceeded two hundred thousand; and
in many of its towns they outnumbered the
Roman Catholics. In no other part of France
did the Reformed Religion flourish more remarkably
than in the important province of
Languedoc. When Bartholomew Dupuy was
eighteen years of age, he enlisted in the French
army
as a common soldier and served fourteen Eniistyears,
during which time he was in fourteen dentin
^^^'
pitched battles, besides skirmishes and also
duels. His fidelity and bravery in the army
won for him the admiration and confidence of
King Louis XIY., and in the meanwhile he
was promoted to be Lieutenant, and transferred
to the King's household guards.
While in that service, he was frequently sent
on important and recruiting services, when he
received Captain's pay, and was provided
with a written pass containing the King's
signature, which prohibited any one from
molesting his progress. The simple exposure
of the King's signature was often sufficient
for the guards stationed throughout the kingdom
to let him pass, for many of them could
neither read nor write. About the year 1684, Retirehe
retired temporarily from the King's ser- |°*vice,
and purchased the fine old chateau of Home.