Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1893-01-15
4 CAUSTIC CARD.
Prof. Dabncy Replies TO up
lands" Last Communication.

lands" Last Communication.
10 the Edjior of the Dispatch:
When discovered from Messrs. West
Johnston q Go. IS card III the DISPATCH
who If was that over the signature Up
land had written a column of SANDER
against Percy Greg and his book, |
Loped that for the sake OF himself as
well as Of his relatives and friends, the
poor old man would in future hold his
tongue. Some forty-odd years ago be
wrote a valuable history Of Virginia, and
has recently published scrgiceable
school textbook of American history.
II is greatly to bc regretted, therefore,
that man whose life has hitherto been
useful to his State should attempt in his
old age TO DO her harm by grossly mis-
representing work which, with all its
defects is tho greatest monument yet
erected to Virginia and the South.
CAPTAIN CUssoNs's ARTICLE.
There is one thing, however, in his
last letter to the DISPATCH which |
heartily endorse. fully agree with him
that the able and interesting article 10y
Captain Cussons 1" is written in a spirit
and manner which entitle him TO full
respect and recognition as n courteous
and gentlemanly scholar, with whom it IS
a pleasure to conduct discussion" OF
course | saw the sarcasm aimed at ny
self in this sentence, and will candidiy
admit that my own article was not
courteousi in the Least, and was not
written with n view 10 giving plea
sure TO Grcg's pseudonymOus Gs5aiaDt
IT would be easy to reply sarcastically 10
" Upland's" sarcasm. but ] shall not do
so. partly because ] agree with the Nir-
Ginil writer who declares that "A sar-
castle turn frequently indicates " the
combination of a bad heart with an
empty head" and partly because OF
&" Uplaud's" extreme age. but while J
regret the necessity Of any controversy
AT all with a man 50 greatly my senior
and sincerely pity HIM for the disgrace
| ne has brought upon himself, ] cannot
| but repeat that the substance OF his at
tack upon Greg is false to the core
and / believe deliberately false. To &C.
cuse a man If falsehCod Is, l am well
aware, neither courteous nor pleasant,
but MS | did make this charge against
" Upland before | knew who no was |
cannot retract 1t because he turns out to
be an old man deserving Of pity rather
than anger,
SOME JUST CRITICISMS.
know, of course, that some OF his
criticisms Of Greg are Just but he labors
under a strange hallucination if ho
imagines that 10y repeating what | never
| denied he Is doing away with my demon
stration that his main assertions are false.
Long before Upland" had seen Greg's
book / said in n lengthy review of the
work published last july that it econ
tains errors in detail. both as regards
facts and opinions that "much that
Mr.. Greg has to say an regard to the
causes of the Revolutionary war and its
conduct will startle and antagOnilc
tho American reader; and that Mr..
| Greg's account is decidedly English in
its tone, and he handles some of the
Revolutionary fathers without gloves
Yet "UpIand y seems TO imagine that
bv repeating what / had already said
about the successful war for American
independence he is overthrowing what |
said concerning the unsuccessful war for
southern independence. If all the read
ers of the DIsPArcH had read GreG's
book l should not dream of writing this
article. / write simply for those who
have not read the book and who might
possibly be prevented by "Upland's "
Misrepresentation from buying it. To
them now deliberately declare
that any man who reads Grcg's book and
saws it is hostile to the South Is either
an imbecllo or wilful peyertcr Of
truth. This is the really important
question for southern people, and unless
" Upland be mentally incapable of
DISTINGUISHING truth from falsehood the
question resolves itself into one Of
yeracity between him on the one side
and Captain Cussons and myself on the
other. | would gladly omit all mention
of myself, but as the reader may wish
TO know why he should believe Captain
Cussons and myself rather than " Up
land" must give reasons for his doing
SO.