The Huguenot Bartholomew Dupuy and his descendants

94 BARTHOLOMEW DUPUY IN HISTORY.
Chap. I. Velours, a country mansion, having a vine-
yard. It was near Royan in the province of
Saintonge, which had received the truths of
the Reformation as early as 1534, and at the
time of the Revocation the Mass had become
practically a thing of the past most generally
throughout it. The strongest of all the
Huguenot strongholds. La Rochelle, was in
the northern part of this province. As Royan
is situated on the right bank of the river,
Gironde, his home was not far from the Atlantic
coast. It was a delightful section of
the country in which to reside; pleasantly
watered by brooks, and shaded by fine
trees down to the steep rocky shore, with a
charming neighborhood, composed almost ex-
1685. clusively of Protestants. In the year 1685,
^^"^^2^- (Ebenezer Dupuy writes), he married Sus-
anna Lavillon, a young countess of noble
standing and of the Huguenot faith. The
author has thought for years that her surname
might have been "Levilain," and that she was
a relative of John Levilain, one of the early
settlers at Manakintown, Va., for the orthography
of proper names at that time was very
bad. However, as he has no clear and reliable
testimony to that effect, and as the name
''LaAdllon" has been preserved in history, and
is a family name among the descendants, it is
still reserved.
In retiring from the King's service, Bartholomew
Dupuy did not lose the least of his
Majesty's favor, and although a professed
Huguenot he also held the regard and esteem
of the Romish priest, the cure of the Parish.
Before the Revocation of the Edict of
Nantes, he was informed by a messenger from
the King, of what was preparing for the