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New Orleans, May 16th, 1863?

Right Rev and dear Sir,

Having an almost sure opportunity of
communicating with you I beg leave to inform you that I re-
ceived your message from Mrs. G (the little lady in black
you met in the cars, when travelling from Enterprise to Brandon)-
on her arrival here, a few months ago, she called on me and
we acted in such a manner that you may be quite satisfied -
at the result, considering the difficulties wh. surround us.
The most valuable, are dispersed here & there among sure
friends - the rest may probably be saved. I must trust to your
wit & memory to understand me. Reverend & dear Bishop would
it please you to get some news from your old home? I like to
believe so & only hope what I relate may have the merit of
being new; Mr. Jessop has endeared himself to us all, by his
dignified & consistent conduct in these truly trying times.
He did not think it canonical to act in church matters, on
military orders, so he resigned the Rectorship of Trinity.
The Vestry then fearing, if they closed the church, it might
be taken possession of, by the military authorities, called
a certain Dr. Vassal, who has belonged to the Diocese for
some years & has had a Professorship in the Military School
at Alexandria for three or four years; the last two, of which
was a complete sinecure for him, for the received his salary
for doing nothing; yet his first act on his arrival here was
to send a petition to this bogus Convention to ask to have
their Seminary taken out of the hands of the founders of the
institution & have it turned into a State Seminary because
it has been used as a rebel military school. He, of course

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swmdal

The anonymous writer of this letter may have hoped that it would please Bishop Polk to hear the "news" of his old home, but one wonders whether the gossipy, drama-filled narrative that follows could accomplish that purpose. However, as Polk was busy fighting a war, perhaps he was amused by what must have seemed to him matters of extreme trivia and unimportance.