hospitable mansion, while near by the commander-in-chief would bivouac in the open air.

He never allowed his mess to draw from the commissary more than they were entitled to, and not unfrequently he would sit down to a dinner meagre in quality and scant in quantity.

He was exceedingly abstemious in his own habits. He never used tobacco, and rarely took even a single glass of wine. Whiskey or brandy he did not drink, and he did all in his power to discourage their use by others.

In the spring of 1861, while on an inspection tour to Norfolk, a friend there insisted that he should take two bottles of very fine old "London Dock" brandy, remarking that he would be certain to need it, and would find it very difficult to obtain so good an article. General Lee declined the offer, saying that he was sure he would not need it. "As proof that I will not," he said, "I may tell you that, just as I was starting to the Mexican War, a lady in Virginia prevailed on me to take a bottle of fine old whiskey, which she thought I could not get on without. I carried that bottle all through the war without having had the slightest occasion to use it, and on my return home I sent it back to my good friend, that she might be convinced that I could get on without liquor."

But the gentleman still insisted, and the general politely yielded and took the two bottles.

At the close of the war he met a brother of this gentleman (from whom I get the incident) in Lexington, and said to him: "Tell your brother that I kept the brandy he gave me all through the war, and should have it yet, but that I was obliged to use it last summer in a severe illness of one of my daughters."

I was walking with him one day in Lexington, during the sway of the military, when, seeing a young man stagger out of one of the bar-rooms, he seemed very much annoyed by the spectacle, and said: "I wish that these military

gentlemen, while they are doing so many things which they have no right to do, would close up all of these grog-shops which are luring our young men to destruction."

That he felt a lively interest in promoting sobriety among the young men of the college, the following letter will show :

"WASHINGTON COLLEGE, VA., December 9, 1869.

"Messrs. S. G M. MILLER, J. L. LOGAN, T. A. ASHBY, Committee.

"GENTLEMEN: The announcement, in your letter of the 8th inst., of an organization of the 'Friends of Temperance' in the college, has given me great gratification; I sincerely hope that it may be the cause of lasting good, not only to the members themselves, but to all those with whom they associate to the extent of their influence and example. My experience through life has convinced me that, while moderation and temperance in all things are commendable and beneficial, abstinence from spirituous liquors is the best safeguard to morals and health. The evidence on this subject that has come within my own observation is conclusive to my mind, and, without going into the recital, I cannot too earnestly exhort you to practise habitual temperance, so that you may form the habit in youth, and not feel the inclination, or temptation, to depart from it in manhood. By so doing your health will be maintained, your morals elevated, and your success in life promoted. I shall at all times, and in whatever way I can, take great pleasure in advancing the object of your society, and you may rely on my coöperation in the important work in which you have engaged.

"Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

"R. E. LEE."

During the war he was accustomed to do every thing in his power, both by precept and example, to prevent drunkenness among his officers and men, and more than once he refused to promote an officer who drank too freely, saying, "I cannot consent to place in the control of others one who cannot control himself.”

It may be worth while for me to digress so far as to sav

. 171 that Stonewall Jackson, "Jeb" Stuart, and a large number of the most distinguished of the Confederate officers, imitated the example of their chief, and were strict temperance men. Upon one occasion Jackson was suffering so much from fatigue, and severe exposure, that his surgeon prevailed on him to take a little brandy. He made a very wry face as he swallowed it, and the doctor asked: "Why, general, is not the brandy good? It is some that we have recently captured, and 1 think it very fine." "Oh, yes!" was the reply, "it is very good brandy. I like liquor—its taste and its effects-and that is just the reason why I never drink it." Upon another occasion, after a long ride in a drenching rain, a brother officer insisted upon Jackson's taking a drink with him, but he firmly replied: "No, sir, I cannot do it. I tell you I am more afraid of King Alcohol than of all the bullets of the enemy.”

The young men of the country who think that it is manly to drink, and cowardly to refuse, would do well to study and imitate the example of these two great men.

A great deal has been written of the famous dinner of sweet-potatoes to which Marion, the American partisan, invited the British officer. General Lee considered himself fortunate when he had a good supply of sweet-potatoes or a jug of buttermilk.

General Ewell told the writer, not long before his death, that "being at General Lee's headquarters before the evacuation of Petersburg, and being unable to remain to dinner, the general insisted upon his taking his lunch, which he found to be two cold sweet-potatoes, of which he said he was very fond."

Upon another occasion General Lee proposed to "treat" some of his officers, remarking, "I have just received a demijohn which I know is of the best." The demijohn, tightly corked, was produced, drinking-vessels were brought out, and all gathered around in eager expectancy, when the general filled the glasses and cups to the brim-not with old