Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 2.
Reverend J. William Jones, Ed.

[254]

I have instructed Messrs. Coatts & Co., of 59 Strand, London, to forward to you through their correspondents the fifty dollars, fee of a life member.

Believe me sir, yours truly,

L. P. d'orleans, Comte de Paris.

office Southern Historical Society, Richmond, Va., September 25, 1876.
L. P. d'orleans, Comte de Paris:

Sir — Your esteemed favor of August 3d, should have had a prompt reply but for the absence from the city of members of our Executive Committee, to whom it was proper to refer it.

I now have the honor of informing you that you have been unanimously elected a life member of our Society, and of enclosing herewith your certificate of membership.

We hope that you have received our Monthly Papers, which we have sent you through Messrs. Coates & Co., of Philadelphia, and that you may receive safely copies of our bound volume, and of our “Treatment of prisoners,” which we have the pleasure of sending you by this mail.

We shall send you regularly all of our future publications.

We note with great pleasure your desire to be connected with our society in order that you may facilitate your research into the history of our great conflict, and we assure you of the cheerful alacrity with which we will afford you the fullest and freest access to our archives.

We are busily engaged in collecting books, documents, Mss., &c., on both sides, and it is our purpose to place upon our shelves everything which can throw light upon any part of the history of the “War between the States.”

While we may not hope to finally win you over to our convictions, yet we cordially reciprocate your desire that soldiers on both sides might “now calmly discuss, for the benefit of the world, every point of the great contest which they fought with such tenacity,” and we shall cherish the hope that as you come to know more of the inside history of the Confederacy, and become more familiar with Confederate reports, &c., you will modify many of the views you now entertain.

All that the South asks is a fair hearing at the bar of history; that our motives, acts, resources and achievements may be impartially set forth, and if this is done we will cheerfully abide the result.

The publication of your letter to us would be gratifying to many of our people, but we shall not, of course, venture to publish it without having first obtained your consent.

I thank you for your kindly reception of the copy of my “Reminiscences of Lee,” and hope that its perusal may give you some clearer idea of the character of that great man.

Assuring you of the pleasure it will afford me to be of any service to you