General Lee's Christmas Fare

As the fortune of war has favored Lis larder, throngh some skülfal fnruging of Ephraim. a negro, who was his faithfül cook, bodyservant and waiter - ■ three gentlemen in one - General Lee invited several officers to dine with hirn on Christmas day, 1864. The lnc-ky recipients of the timely invitation were five in nuniber, all officers of distinction, anioug thein Generáis Longstreet, Gordon and Kefshaw. They were all on time when the dinner was called. lt was served on a rough pine table. without a cover, in General Lee's weather beaten tent. lt consisted of boiled cabbage, and eight or ten boiled sweet poitatoes and a dish of rice cooked dry. The piece de resistance, which indeed the knightly guests found it hard to j resist, was a small bit of fat bacon, i abont 3 inches square, that lay on top of the large cabbage. Now, bacon was as rare in the Confedérate camp at that time as are roses on the northern hilltops in December. You can imagine, therefore, the self restraint exercisei by each guest as they declined in turn a i slice of the delectabie meat proö'ered i by their host, who held the carving knife and fork ready to cut and help. It was observed that when the i eral, after helping to the cabbage, said ' to the guest whose plate Ephraim held out, "Allow me to help yon to a slice of the bacon?" the devoted oíd i tor'a hand trembled greatly. In fact, ! he seerned to be in a state of decided fright. The high military rank of the guests would not account for his trepidation, for he daily served near a ínaster who outranked them all, There was no splendor lef t in the tracery of I faded gold lace on their battle stained ! uniforma to dazzle his eyes and cause them to roll about and glance froin bacon to guest, and from guest to bacon, as each answered the half question with the words, "No, thank you, general." The discomposure of the serving man j was all the more striking from its contrast with the serene, self poised dignity of his benign master. Dinner over, the general and his gnests retired from the tent, but as they passed out General Lee turned and said in a low tone, "Ephraim, we have another cabbage, have we not?" The answer was, "'Yes, sah, Mass Bob. We'sgotanudder cabbage, sah." "Then, Ephraim," said the general, "save the piece of bacon to cook with that cabbage." The prompt and decisivo reply, "No, sah, Mass Bob, Í can't do dat! I jis borrow dat piece of bacon for seasonin from a friend ober dar in Richmon. and I done gib up my parole ob honor dat I'll gib him back dat same bacon what I borrow." The general, who could not be a party to any man's violation of his parole oí honor, consented at once to the return of the bacon that had so successfully run the gantlet of six hungry diners. He must have reflected, too, on the extrernity of his fortunes that led to the borrowing of a part of his Christmas dinner on the hard condition that it should be returned untouched. His New Year's dinner was still more meager, I judge, from wbat he indicated to General Grant next day. A flag of truce had been sent intothe Confedérate lines with an inquiry regarding a Union officer who had been wounded and taken prisoner, and the officer who bore it, after stating its object, said, "General Lee, I am diiected by General Grant to give you his compliments and to say that he is thoroughly infórmed as to all your movements, and even knows what you had ! for dinner yesterday. ' ' General Lee took the pleasantry in good part and answered, "Please, captain, present my compliments to ( eral Grant and say that I must doubt the correctness of bis information, for I know hiin to be a humane man, and if he had known what I had for my dinner he would have sent me a part of hisown." - ;