Lexington, Va
21 July 1866
My dear Mrs. Stevens
I feel very much obliged to you for your kind note of the 14th.
It was however not necessary to recall you or your family to my remembrance. You know how dear each member of it has been to me. Their memory is equally dear, & I grieve over their diminished numbers. May the two Survivors surrounded by So many pleasing reminiscences, receive from the hands of a Merciful Providence, ever blessing.
Mrs. Lee is now at the Rockbridge Baths. Her general health is pretty good, but she is still a great Sufferer, cannot walk, & has to be helped from her Couch to her chair. I hope she may derive some benefit from the waters of the Baths.
My two youngest daughters will join her next week. Mary is with her Aunt Mrs. Fitzhugh. Custis is with me, & a Profr in the Va: Mil Institute. My two other sons are at the White House on the Pamunky [sic], endeavoring to farm.
They both visited us during the winter, & several friends from whom we have been long separated, have gladdened our mountain residence this spring.
With undiminished affection I am most truly,
Yours,
R E Lee
Mrs. Grace Totten Stevens
Source: The Archives of the Robert E. Lee Memorial Foundation, Papers of the Lee Family, Box 4, M2009.344, Jessie Ball duPont Library, Stratford Hall
Transcribed by Colin Woodward, 2015 September 24
