The house selected for his temporary residence stood hard by the road, and was owned and occupied by the widow Annetjie Miller. Subse-quently his dinner happened to be served up at a moment when General Washington and his staff halted at the door, on their return to camp from a reconnaissance. An invita-tion to alight and partake of refreshment was of course ex-tended to the Commander-in-chief and his officers, which they gladly accepted; approaching the table with appetites sharpened by a long ride over the hills. When they had finished their repast, scarcely anything remained for their host. Lee was soured by the loss of his dinner and the diminution of his wine. As soon as his guests had departed, he said to his aides "You must look me out another place, for if I remain here, Washington and his hungry followers will eat me up." Lee made upon this occasion, an unsatis-factory dinner. Fearful of another visit at mealtime, he ordered a servant, in case the Commander-in-chief with his suite should pass Mrs. Miller's again, to write in large letters, with chalk, upon the outward door, the words "No victuals dressed here to today." It turned out that Lee's apprehend-sions were well founded. Washington and his officers upon a subsequent morning, passed by, and the inscription was placed upon the door. When in the afternoon, on their re-turn, the same company approached Mrs. Miller's house, they read the chalk advertisement, broke out into a hearty laugh at this sample of uncourtliness in a man whose eccen-tricities were known to all, and then pushed home, in great glee, for their own tables. The day before the battle, by General Lee's advice, Mrs. Miller removed a short distance to the interior, taking with her, her family, and some necessary furniture. She left for the use of her military guest, while she herself should be absent, her best bed; the linen checked curtains of which were wholly made by her daughter Sarah, afterward Mrs.