CHAPTER VI
A CHRISTMAS DINNER
After the great battle at Fredericksburg both armies seemed to suffersomewhat from reaction. Besides, the winter deepened. There was moresnow, more icy rain, and more hovering of the temperature near the zeromark. The vast sea of mud increased, and the swollen Rappahannock,deep at any time, flowed between the two armies. Pickets often facedone another across the stream, sometimes firing, but oftener exchangingthe news, when the river was not too wide for the shouted voice to reach.
Harry, despite his belief that the North would hold out, heard now thatthe hostile section had sunk into deep depression. The troops had notbeen paid for six months. Desertion into the interior went on on agreat scale. One commander-in-chief after another had failed. AfterAntietam it had seemed that success could be won, but the South had comeback stronger than ever and had won Fredericksburg, inflicting appallingloss upon the North. Yet he heard that Lincoln never flinched. Thetall, gaunt, ugly man, telling his homely jokes, had more courage thananybody who had yet led the Union cause.
Harry often went down to Fredericksburg, where some houses still stoodamong the icy ruins. A few families had returned, but as the town wasstill practically under the guns of the Northern army, it was leftchiefly to the troops.
The Invincibles were stationed here, and Harry and Dalton got leave tospend Christmas day with its officers. Nothing could bring more fullyhome to him the appalling waste and ruin of war than the sight ofFredericksburg. Mud, ice and snow were deeper than ever in the streets.Many of the houses had been demolished by cannon balls and fire, andonly fragments of them lay about the ground. Others had been wreckedbut partially, with holes in the roofs and the windows shot out.The white pillars in front of colonnaded mansions had been shattered andthe fallen columns lay in the icy slough. Long icicles hung from theburned portions of upper floors that still stood.
Used to war's ruin as he had become, Harry's eyes filled with tears atthe sight. It seemed a city dead, but not yet buried. But on Christmasday his friends and he resolutely dismissed gloom, and, first making abrave pretence, finally succeeded in having real cheerfulness in a fineold brick house which had been pretty well shot up, but which had somesound rooms remaining. Its owner had sent word that, while he could notyet come back to it with his family, he would be glad if the Southernarmy would make use of it in his absence.
It was in this house that the little colony of friends gathered,everyone bringing to the dinner what he could. Colonel Leonidas Talbotand Lieutenant-Colonel Hector St. Hilaire occupied the great sittingroom on the ground floor, and here the dinner would be spread, as a partof the dining-room had been shot away and was still wet from snow andrain.
But the sitting room gladdened the eye. A heavy imported carpet coveredthe central portion of the polished oaken floor. Old family portraitslined its walls and those of the parlor adjoining it. Curtains hungat the windows. They were more or less discolored by smoke and otheragencies, but they were curtains. All about the chamber were signs ofwealth and cultivation, and a great fire of wood was burning in a hugechimney under a beautifully carved oaken mantelpiece.
The room seemed to remain almost as it had been left by the owner,save that two one-hundred-pound cannon balls, fired by the Union gunsinto Fredericksburg, were lying by either side of the door.
"Tickets, sir," said Langdon, as Harry appeared at the door.
Harry drew from under his cloak two boxes of sardines which he had takenfrom a deserted sutler's wagon on the field of Fredericksburg. Hehanded them to Langdon, who said:
"Pass in, most welcome guest."
Harry was the first arrival, but Dalton was next.
"Tickets double price to all Virginia Presbyterians," said Langdon.
"Instead of a double ticket here are two singles," said Dalton, as hedrew from under his cloak two fine dressed chickens. "Don't these takeme in?"
"They certainly do. Go in on the jump, Dalton."
The next arrival was Sherburne, who brought a five-pound bag of coffee.Then came the two colonels together, one with the half of a side ofbacon, and the other with a twenty-pound bag of flour. More followed,bringing like tickets that were perfectly good, and it seemed that allthe invited ticket holders were in, when a big black man on a big blackhorse rode up and saluted Langdon respectfully. He held out a pass.
"This pass am from Gen'ral Jackson," he said.
"Am it?" said Langdon, looking at the pass, "Yes, it am."
"Is you the orf'cer in command of this yere house?" asked the coloredman, his wide mouth parting in an enormous grin that showed hismagnificent white teeth.
"For the present I am, Sir Knight of the Dark but Kind Countenance.What wouldst thou?"
The man scratched his head and looked doubtfully at Langdon.
"Guess you're asking me some kind of a question, sah?"
"I am. Who art thou? Whence comest thou, Sir Knight of Nubia? Bearestthou upon thy person some written token, or, as you would say in yourcommon parlance, what's your business?"
"Oh, I see, sah. Yes, sah, I done got a lettah from Mr. TheophilusMoncrieffe. That's the owner of this house, and I belong to him.I'se Caesar Moncrieffe. Here's the lettah, sah."
He handed a folded paper to Harry, who opened and read it. It wasaddressed to the chief of whatever officers might be occupying his house,and it ran thus, somewhat in the old-fashioned way:
SIRS AND GENTLEMEN:
The bearer of this is Caesar Moncrieffe. He and his ancestors have beenservants of my family and my ancestors in the State of Virginia formore than two hundred years. He is a good man, as were his father andgrandfather before him. He will not steal unless he should think itfor his benefit or yours. He will not lie unless convinced of itsnecessity. He will work if you make him.
All of his impulses are good, and though he will strenuously deny it atfirst, he is about the best cook in the world. Knowing the scarcity ofnutritious food in the army, I have therefore sent him to you with whatI could gather together, in order that he might cook you a dinner worthyof Christmas. Put him to work, and if he disobeys, shuffles or evadesin any manner, hit him over the head with anything that you can findhard enough or heavy enough to make an impression.
Wishing the Army of Northern Virginia the continued and brilliantsuccess that has attended it heretofore,
I remain, Your most obedient servant, THEOPHILUS MONCRIEFFE.
"Ah, Sir Knight of the Dark but not Rueful Countenance, thou art doublywelcome!" said Happy Tom, now thrice-happy Tom. "It is a stout andgoodly horse from which thou hast dismounted, and I see that he yetcarries on his back something besides the saddle. But let me firstspeak to my Lord Talbot, our real commander, who is within."
Caesar did not wholly understand, but he saw that Langdon meant well,and he grinned. Happy Tom rushed toward Colonel Talbot, who stoodbefore the fire with Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire.
"Colonel Talbot! Colonel Talbot, sir!" he exclaimed.
"What is it, Thomas, my lad? You appear to be excited, and that is notseemly in a soldier of your experience."
"But, Colonel, this isn't a battle. Of course, I wouldn't let myself bestirred up by the Yankees, but it's a dinner, Colonel! It's a Christmasdinner, and it bears all the signs of being as fine as any we ever atein the old times of peace!"
"Thomas, my lad, I regret it, but I must say that you are talking ina much more light-headed way than usual. All that we had we broughtwith us, and your young brother officers, who I must say excel you inindustry, are now assembling it."
"But, Colonel, there's a big black fellow outside. He's just come inwith a loaded horse, belonging to the owner of this house, and he'sbrought a letter with him. Read it, sir."
Colonel Talbot gravely read the letter and passed it toLieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire, who read it with equal gravity.
"Sounds well, eh, Hector?" Colonel Talbot said.<
br />
"Most excellent, Leonidas."
They went to the door with Happy Tom, and again Caesar salutedrespectfully.
"You are welcome, Caesar," said Colonel Talbot. "I am commander here.What has your kind master sent us?"
Caesar bowed low before the two colonels and then proceeded to unloadhis horse. The young officers had come crowding to the door, but HappyTom received the first package, which was wrapped in sacking.
"An old Virginia ham, nut-fed and sugar-cured!" he exclaimed. "Yes,it's real! By all the stars and the sun and the moon, too, it's real,because I'm pinching it! I thought I'd never see another such hamagain!"
"And here's a dressed turkey, a twenty-pounder at least!" said Harry."Ah, you noble bird! What better fate could you find than a tomb in thestomachs of brave Confederate soldiers!"
"And another turkey!" said Dalton.
"And a bag of nuts!" said Sherburne.
"And, as I live, two bottles of claret!" said St. Claire.
"And a big black cake!" said Lieutenant-Colonel Hector St. Hilaire.
"And a great bunch of holly!" said Colonel Talbot, in whose eye, usuallyso warlike, a large tear stood.
"Dat," said Caesar, "was sent by little Miss Julia Moncrieffe, just nineyears old. She wished she had a bunch for every soldier in the army,an' she sent her lub to all uv 'em."
"God bless little Julia Moncrieffe, aged nine," said Colonel Talbot,much moved.
"God bless her, so say we all of us," the others added together.
"And now, Caesar," said Colonel Talbot, "put your horse in the part ofthe stable that remains. I noticed some hay there which you can give tohim. Then come to the kitchen. Mr. Moncrieffe, whose name be praised,says that you're the best cook since those employed by Lucullus.It's great praise, Caesar, but in my opinion it's none too great."
Caesar, highly flattered, led his horse to the stable, and the approvinglooks of the youths followed him.
"Sometimes I've had my doubts about Santa Claus" said Happy Tom.
"So have I," said St. Clair, "but like you I have them no longer."
"And there's a curious thing about this restoration of our belief inSanta Claus," said Dalton.
"Since we see him in person we all observe the fact," said Harry.
"That he is a very large man."
"Six feet two at the very least."
"Weight about two twenty, and all of it bone and muscle."
"And he is coal black."
"So black that even on a dark night he would seem to be clothed aroundwith light."
"Why did it never occur to anybody before that Santa Claus was a veryblack, black man?"
"Because we are the first who have ever seen him in the flesh."
Caesar stabled his horse, went to the kitchen, where he lighted afire in the big stove, and fell to work with a will and a wonderfullight-handed dexterity that justified Mr. Moncrieffe's praise of him.The younger officers helped in turn, but in the kitchen they willinglyallowed to Caesar his rightful position as lord and master.
Delicious aromas arose. The luxury of the present was brightened by thecontrast with the hardships and hunger of two years. More than twentyofficers were present, and by putting together three smaller tables theymade a long one that ran full length down the center of the sitting-room.
"We'll save a portion of what we have for friends not so fortunate,"said Colonel Talbot.
"You have always had a generous heart, Leonidas," saidLieutenant-Colonel Hector St. Hilaire.
"We have much for others and much for ourselves. But many of ourfriends and many thousands of the brave Southern youth have gone,Hector. However, we will not speak of that to-day, and we will trynot to think of it, as we are here to celebrate this festival with thegallant lads who are still living."
Caesar proved to be all that his master had promised and all that theyhad hoped. No better Christmas dinner was eaten that day in the wholeUnited States. Invincible youth was around the board, and the twocolonels lent dignity to the gathering, without detracting from its goodcheer.
The table had been set late, and soon the winter twilight wasapproaching. As they took another slice of ham they heard the boom of acannon on the far side of the Rappahannock. Harry went to the windowand saw the white smoke rising from a point about three miles away.
"They can't be firing on us, can they, sir?" he said to Colonel Talbot."They wouldn't do it on a day like this."
"No. There are two reasons. We're so far apart that it would be awaste of good powder and steel, and they would not violate Christmas inthat manner. We and the Yankees have become too good friends for suchoutrageous conduct. If I may risk a surmise, I think it is merely aChristmas greeting."
"I think so, too, sir. Listen, there goes a cannon on our side."
"It will be answered in a few moments. The favorite Biblical numbersare seven and twelve, and I take it that each side will fire eitherseven or twelve shots. It is certainly a graceful compliment from theYankees, befitting the season. I should not have said a year ago thatthey would show so much delicacy and perception."
"I think that the number of shots on each side will be twelve," saidLieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire. "It's three apiece now, isn't it?"
"Yes, three apiece," said Colonel Talbot.
"Four now," said Sherburne.
"Five now," said Dalton.
"Six now," said St. Clair.
"Seven now," said Harry.
"Eight now," said Happy Tom.
"And seven has been passed," said Colonel Talbot. "It will surely betwelve."
All were silent now, counting under their breath, and they felt acertain extraordinary solemnity as they counted. Harry knew that botharmies, far up and down the river, were counting those shots, as thelittle group in the Moncrieffe house were counting them. Certainlythere would be no hostilities on that day.
"Nine," they said under their breath.
"Ten!"
"Eleven!"
"Twelve!"
Then they listened, as the echo of the twelfth Southern shot died awayon the stream, and no sound came after it. Twenty-four shots had beenfired, twelve by each army, conveying Christmas good wishes, and thegroup in the house went back to their dinner. Some glasses had beenfound, and there was a thimbleful of wine, enough for everyone. Theblack cake was cut, and at a word from Colonel Talbot all rose and dranka toast to the mothers and wives and sweethearts and sisters they hadleft behind them.
Then the twilight thickened rapidly and the winter night came down uponthem, hiding the ruined town, the blackened walls, the muddy streets andthe icicles hanging from scorched timbers.
Caesar Moncrieffe washed all the dishes--those left in the house hadbeen sufficient for their purpose--wiped them carefully, and returnedthem to the cupboard. Then he announced that he must go.
"Come now, Santa Claus," said Happy Tom, "you must stay here. You'vedone enough for one day. In fact, I should say that you've earned aweek's rest."
"I ain't no Santy Claus," said Caesar, "but I done got to git back toMassa Moncrieffe. He'll be expectin' me."
"But you'll get lost in the dark. Besides, some Yankee scout may shootthe top of your head off."
"You can't lose me anywhar' roun' here. 'Sides, I kin dodge themYankees every time. On a dark night like this I could go right up thegullies and through the biggest army in the world without its seein' me."
Caesar felt that he was bound to go, and all the officers in turn shookhis big rough black hand. Then they saw him ride away in the darkness,armed with his pass from General Jackson, and on the lookout for anyprowling Yankees who might have ventured on the right bank of the river.
"Isn't it odd, Colonel," said Harry to Colonel Talbot, "that so many ofour colored people regard the Yankees who are trying now to free them asenemies, while they look upon us as their best friends?"
"Propinquity and association, Harry," replied Colonel Talbot, "and inthe border states, at least, we have seldom been c
ruel to them. Ihope there has been little of cruelty, too, in my own South Carolina.They are used to our ways, and they turn to us for the help that isseldom refused. The Northerner will always be a stranger to them,and an unsympathetic stranger, because there is no personal contact,none of that 'give and take' which makes men friends."
"What a pity we didn't free 'em ourselves long ago!"
"Yes, it is. I say this to you in confidence now, Harry. Of course,I would be denounced by our people if I said it. But many of our famousmen, Harry, have not approved of it. The great Washington said slavery,with its shiftless methods of farming, was draining the life out of theland, and he was right. Haven't we seen the 'old fields' of Virginia?"
"And Clay was against it, too," said Harry; "but I suppose it's one ofthe things we're now fighting for, unless we should choose to liberatethem ourselves after defeating the North."
"I suppose so," said Colonel Talbot, "but I am no politician orstatesman. My trade unfits me for such matters. I am a West Pointer--aproud and glorious fact I consider it, too--but the life of a regulararmy officer makes him a man set apart. He is not really in touch withthe nation. He cannot be, because he has so little personal contactwith it. For that reason West Pointers should never aspire to publicoffice. It does not suit them, and they seldom succeed in it. But here,I'm becoming a prosy old bore. Come into the house, lad. The boys aregrowing sentimental. Listen to their song. It's the same, isn't it,that some of our bands played at Bull Run?"
"Yes, sir, it is," replied Harry, as he joined the others in the song:
"The hour was sad, I left the maid A lingering farewell taking, Her sighs and tears my steps delayed I thought her heart was breaking.
"In hurried words her name I blessed, I breathed the vows that bind me, And to my heart in anguish pressed The girl I left behind me."
Most all the officers had leave for the full day. Harry and Dalton infact were to stay overnight at the house, and, forgetful of the war,they sang one song after another as the evening waned. At nine o'clockall the guests left save Harry and Dalton.
"You and Langdon will show them to their bedrooms," said Colonel Talbot."Take the candle. The rest of us can sit here by the firelight."
There was but a single candle, and it was already burning low, but HappyTom and Arthur, shielding it from draughts, led the way to the secondfloor.
"Most of the houses were demolished by cannon shot and fire," saidLangdon, "but we've a habitable room which we reserve for guests of highdegree. You will note here where a cannon shot, the result of plungingfire, came slantingly through the roof and passed out at the wall on theother side. You need not get under that hole if it should rain or snow,and meanwhile it serves splendidly for ventilation. The rip in the wallserves the same purpose, and, of course, you have too much sense to fallthrough it. Some blankets are spread there in the corner, and as youhave your heavy cloaks with you, you ought to make out. Sorry we can'ttreat you any better, Sir Harry of Kentucky and Sir George of Virginia,but these be distressful times, and the best the castle affords is putat your service."
"And I suspect that it's really the best," said Harry to Dalton, asSt. Clair and Langdon went out. "There's straw under these blankets,George, and we've got a real bed."
The moonlight shone through two windows and the cannon-shot hole,and it was bright in the room.
"Here's a little bureau by the wall," said Dalton, "and as I intendto enjoy the luxury of undressing, I'm going to put my clothes in it,where they'll keep dry. You'll notice that all the panes have been shotout of those windows, and a driving rain would sweep all the way acrossthe room."
"Now and then a good idea springs up in some way in that old head ofyours, George. I'll do the same."
Dalton opened the top drawer.
"Something has been left here," he said.
He held up a large doll with blue eyes and yellow hair.
"As sure as we're living," said Harry, "we're in the room of littleMiss Julia Moncrieffe, aged nine, the young lady who sent us the holly.Evidently they took away all their clothing and lighter articles offurniture, but they forgot the doll. Put it back, George. They'llreturn to Fredericksburg some day and we want her to find it there."
"You're right, Harry," said Dalton, as he replaced the doll and closedthe drawer. "You and I ought to be grateful to that little girl whom wemay never see."
"We won't forget," said Harry, as he undressed rapidly and lay down upontheir luxurious bed of blankets and straw.
Neither of them remembered anything until they were dragged into themiddle of the room next morning by St. Clair and Langdon.
"Here! here! wake up! wake up!" cried Langdon. "It's not polite to yourhosts to be snoring away when breakfast is almost ready. Go down on apiece of the back porch that's left, and you'll find two pans of coldwater in which you can wash your faces. It's true the pans are frozenover, but you can break the ice, and it will remind you of home and yourlittle boyhood."
They sprang up and dressed as rapidly as they could, because when theycame from the covers they found it icy cold in the room. Then they randown, as they had been directed, broke the ice in the pans and bathedtheir faces.
"Fine air," said Harry.
"Yes, but too much of it," said Dalton.
"Br-h-h-h-h, how it freezes me! Look at the icicles, George! I thinksome new ones came to town last night! And what a cold river! I don'tbelieve there was ever a colder-looking river than the Rappahannock!"
"And see the fogs and mists rising from it, too. It looks exactly as itdid the morning of the battle."
"Let it look as it pleases," said Harry. "I'm going to make a dash forthe inside and a fire!"
They found the colonels and the rest of the staff in the sitting-room,all except two, who were acting as cooks, but their work ceased in amoment or two, as breakfast was ready. It consisted of coffee and breadand ham left over from the night before. A heap of timber glowed inthe fireplace and shot forth ruddy flames. Harry's soul fairly warmedwithin him.
"Sit down, all of you," said Colonel Talbot, "and we'll help oneanother."
They ate with the appetite of the soldier, and Colonel Talbot andLieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire, finishing first, withdrew to a widewindow seat. There they produced the board and box of chessmen andproceeded to rearrange them exactly as they were before the battle ofFredericksburg.
"You will recall that your king was in great danger, Leonidas," saidLieutenant-Colonel Hector St. Hilaire.
"Truly I do, Hector, but I do not think it beyond my power to rescuehim."
"It will be a hard task, Leonidas."
"Hector, I would have you to remember that I am an officer in the Armyof Northern Virginia, and the Army of Northern Virginia prefers hardtasks to easy ones."
"You put the truth happily, Leonidas, but I must insist that yourposition is one of uncommon danger."
"I recognize the fact fully, Hector, but I assert firmly that I willrescue my red king."
Harry, his part of the work finished, watched them. The two grayheads bent lower and lower over the table until they almost touched.Everybody maintained a respectful silence. Colonel Talbot's brow wascorded deeply with thought. It was a full quarter of an hour beforehe made a move, and then his opponent looked surprised.
"That does not seem to be your right move, Leonidas."
"But it is, Hector, as you will see presently."
"Very well. I will now choose my own course."
Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire's own brow became corded and knotted ashe put his whole mental energy upon the problem. Harry watched thema little while, and then strolled over to the other window, whereSt. Clair was looking at the ruined town.
"Curious how people can find entertainment in so slow a game," he said,nodding toward the two colonels.
"That same game has been going on for more than a year," said St. Clair,with a slight smile. "It's odd how something
always breaks it up.I wonder what it will be this time. But it's an intelligent game,Harry."
"I don't think a sport is intellectual, merely because it is slow."
Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire made a move, Colonel Leonidas Talbot madeanother, and then promptly uttered a little cry of triumph.
"My king is free! He is free! You made no royal capture, Hector!"he exclaimed joyously.
"It is so, Leonidas. I did not foresee your path of retreat. I mustenter upon a new campaign against you."
Harry, who was looking toward the heights on the other side of the river,saw a flash of flame and a puff of smoke. A rumbling noise came to him.
"What is it, Harry?" asked Colonel Talbot.
"A Yankee cannon. I suppose it was telling us Christmas is over.The ball struck somewhere in Fredericksburg."
"A waste of good ammunition. Why, they've done all the damage toFredericksburg that they can do. It's your move, Hector."
Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire corded and knotted his brow again,and once more the two heads nearly met over the chessboard. A whistlingsound suddenly came from the street without. Something struck with aterrible impact, and then followed a blinding flash and roar. The wholehouse shook and several of the men were thrown down, but in a halfminute they sprang to their feet.
Colonel Leonidas Talbot and Lieutenant-Colonel Hector St. Hilaire werestanding erect, staring at each other. The chessmen were scattered onthe floor and the board was split in half. A fragment of the explodingshell had entered the window and passing directly between them had donethe damage. The same piece had gone entirely through the opposite wall.
Harry's quick glance told him that nothing had suffered except thechessboard. He sprang forward, picked up the two halves, and said:
"No real harm has been done. Two strips underneath, a few tacks,and it's as good again as ever."
The other lads carefully gathered up the scattered chessmen andannounced that not one of them was injured.
"Thank you, boys," said Colonel Talbot. "It is a pleasing thing to seethat, despite the war, the young still show courtesy to their elders.You will bear in mind, Hector, when this game is resumed at a propertime and place, that the position of one of your knights was verydelicate."
"Assuredly I will not forget it, Leonidas. It will be no trouble toeither of us to replace them exactly as they were at a moment's notice."
Harry and Dalton were compelled now to return to General Jackson,and they did so, after leaving many thanks with their generous hosts.Heavy winter rains began. The country on both sides of the Rappahannockbecame a vast sea of mud, and the soldiers had to struggle against allthe elements, because the rains were icy and the mud formed a crustthrough which they broke in the morning.
While they lingered here news came of the great battle in the West,fought on the last day of the old year and the first day of the new,along the banks of Stone River. Harry and his comrades looked fora triumph there like that which they had won, and they were deeplydisappointed when they heard the result.
Harry had a copy of a Richmond paper and he was reading from it to anattentive circle, but he stopped to comment:
"Ours was the smaller army, but we drove them back and held a part ofthe field. Two or three days later we withdrew to Chattanooga. Well,I don't call it much of a victory to thump your enemy and then go away,leaving him in possession of the field."
"But the enemy was a third more numerous than we were," said Happy Tom,"and since it looks like a draw, so far as the fighting was concerned,we, being the smaller, get the honors."
"That's just the trouble," said Dalton gravely. "We are loaded downwith honors. Look at the great victories we've won in the East!Has anything solid come of them? Here is the enemy on Virginia soil,just as he was before. We've given the Army of the Potomac a terriblethrashing at Fredericksburg, but there it is on the other side of theRappahannock, just as strong as ever, and maybe stronger, because theysay recruits are pouring into it."
"Stop! Stop, Dalton!" said Happy Tom. "We don't want any lecture fromyou. We're just having a conversation."
"All right," said Dalton, laughing, "but I gave you my opinion."
Days of comparative idleness followed. The Army of the Potomac movedfarther up the river and settled itself around the village of Falmouth.The Army of Northern Virginia faced it, and along the hillsides theyoung Southern soldiers erected sign posts, on the boards of which werepainted, in letters large enough for the Union glasses to see, thederisive words:
THIS WAY TO RICHMOND
The Star of Gettysburg: A Story of Southern High Tide Page 7
