"Now, could you," she continued, "demand of a _poor lone widow_, like I am, breakfast for sixteen men and feed for a hundred and fifty horses?" "The subject has changed appearances considerably since I was here before. I'll see about breakfast myself." I dismounted and fastened my mule, and then went to a wood-pile and procured a big club, and then repaired to the cook-house. The niggers had evidently commenced to get things ready for the breakfast, but had stopped. "What are you about, you black, woolly scoundrels! Why a'n't you cooking breakfast?" said I, addressing the niggers. "Missus dun tole us not to get de breckfust!" "Well, you go right to work and get the breakfast, or I'll thrash h--l out of your black hides! Start right away!" At that I made for them with my club. "Hole on! hole on, massa! we'll dun an' get de breckfust!" They all sprang to work in good earnest. One of the niggers told me that the woman had locked up the meat. I started for the smoke-house door, with my club, to break it in, but the woman, who had been watching me, followed with the keys, and, when she saw that I was going in any way, _begged_ of me to let her unlock the door. On inquiry of the niggers, I found that she had butter locked up in a cupboard. I told her to get out some butter, and she declared she hadn't got a bit in the house. I walked toward the cupboard, with my club raised, without saying any thing further, when she came running to the cupboard, with the keys in her hand, saying, "Don't break it! don't break it! I'll get it out! I'll get it out for you! Do give a body time!" By dint of perseverance, using a good many threats and some motions, I succeeded in having the breakfast made ready; which, having been accomplished, the teamsters were called in to enjoy it. While the teamsters were eating, a squad of soldiers came through the yard, with about thirty geese that they had confiscated. The lady saw them, and came to me to plead for them. "Now, _don't_ let the men take those geese; _don't_! they are _great favorites_ of mine, and I _hate_ to part with them!" I had noticed, a few minutes before, a large, close pen in one corner of the yard, filled with nice, fat turkeys, which one of the darkeys had told me were being fatted to send to the rebel officers. The boys had not yet discovered them. "Boys, put down those geese; don't be packing geese from here to Bolivar! Throw them down!" "Why, Bunker!" they exclaimed, "you said we might get any thing that we wanted!" "_Throw them down!_" Down they went. "Now, if you want any thing of the feathered tribe, pitch into those turkeys in that pen yonder," said I, pointing to it. Away the boys went, a-flying. "_Good Lord! Now don't! don't get those turkeys!_ I'd rather you had took _every goose_ on the place!" "You _are_ in a bad fix now, a'n't you?" said I. "Right out of the frying pan into the fire!" Just then a little nigger girl came running in, and said: