The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1895-12-20
GENERAL LEES CHRISTMAS FARE.
They Were Cabbage and Bacon. but the
Bacon was only Borrowed.

As the fortune of war has favored
his larder, through some skillful for
aging of Ephraim, negro, who was
his faithful cook, body servant and
waiter three gentlemen in one Gen
eral Lee invited several officers to dine
| with him on Christmas day, 1864. The
lucky recipients of the timely invita-
tion were five in number, all officers
Iof distinction, among them Generals
/ Lungstreet. Gordon and kershaw.
| They were all on time when the din
ner was called. 1t was served on a
rough pine table, without a cover, in
| General Lees weather beaten tent.
| 1t consisted of boiled cabbage, and
| eight or ten boiled sweet potatoes and
dish of rice cooked dry. The piece
de resistance, which indeed the
knightly guests found it hard to re
Il ist, was small bit of fat bacon,
about 3 inches square, that lay on
top of the large cabbage Now. bacon
was as rare in the Confederate camp
as that time as are roses on the
can imagine, therefore, the self re
tstaint exercised by each guest as they
declined in turn a slice of the delecta-
BILE meat protfered by their host, who
held the carving knife and fork ready
to cut and help.
II was observed that when the gen.
Ieral, after helping to the cabbage, sad
to the guest whose plate Ephraim held
out, ALLOW me to help you to IA slice
of the bacon?" the devoted old servi
tors hand trembed greatly. In fact,
he seemed to be in a state of decided
fright, The high military rank of the
guests would not account for his
trcpidaton, for ne daily served near
muster who outranked them all.
There was no splendor left in the
tracery of faded gold lace ON their
battle stained uniforms TO dazzle his
eyes and cause them to roll about and
glance from bacon to guest, and from
guest to bacon, as each answered the
half question with the words. "No,
thank you, general The discompos.
ure of the serving man was all the
more striking from its contrast with /,
the serene, self poised dignity of his
benign master.
Dinner over, the general and his |
guests retired from the tent, but |
as they passed out General Lee |
turned and said in low tone. "Eph-
rain, we have another cabbage, have
we not?''
The answer was, Yes, sab, Mass
Bob. We's got anudder cabbage. sah
Then, Ephraim, said the general,
save the piece of bacon to cook" with
that cabbage
The prompt and decisive reply. NO
sab, Mass Bob, | can't do dat | jis
borrow dat piece of bacon for season.
in from friend ober dar in Rich
mon, and | done glib up my parole
Db honor dat I'll glib him back dat
same bacon what | borrow.
The general who could not be a
party to any mans violation of his
parole of honor, consented at once to
the return of the bacon that had so
run the gauntlet to six
hungry diners. He must have re.
iected, too, on the extremity of his
fortunes that led to the borrowing of
4 part of his Christmas dinner on the
lard condition that it should be re-
,urned untouched. His New Years
Inner was still more meager, | Judge, ,
rom what he indicated to General :
Grant next day. \ flag of spruce had
,een sent into the Confederate lines Y
With an inquiry regarding Union
fflcer who had been wounded and
aiken prisoner, and the officer who
'ore it. after stating its object, said,
Lee, | am directed by Gener- !
] Grant TO give you his compliments '
nd to say that he is thoroughly in !
ormed as to all your movements. and }
ven knows what you had for dinner P
esterday. X
General Lee took the pleasantly in
God part and answered, please, cap
ain, present my compliments to Gen II
raj Grant and say that | must doubt n
Ie correctness of his information for
know him TO be humane man, and h
he had known what | had for nv q
inner he would have sent me part n
his own. - Louisville Courier N
Durnal