Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 40.djvu/107

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Is it a fact that the above letter is a true copy of a letter written by General R. E. Lee? The Sun does not profess to print from the original, which is not produced, nor its absence accounted for. Whoever sent the copy to the Sun affirmed that the original had been found at Arlington House, and the Sun published the letter on the faith of that statement. This, at least, is the presumption. No one now connected with the Sun has any knowledge of the facts.

Without insisting on the rules of evidence, but freely admitting any matter, which, as a basis of inference, is in its nature probatory, let us examine on what grounds the authenticity of the above letter, which we shall hereafter call The Duty Letter, has been questioned. And without inquiry as to the legal burden of proof, let us concede that this letter should be taken as prima facie genuine, and that those who deny its authenticity should prove it spurious by a preponderance, at least, of evidence. For this letter has been accepted as genuine by two generations of Americans. In the South, it has been esteemed by many as almost a new gospel; and it has been taught to children with the Bible and the catechism. And when its authenticity is denied, the lovers of Lee (and who is not?) cling to it with a passionate tenacity that is almost pathetic, as if their