Eggs A La Gretna

6 eggs
2 heads of celery
2 level tablespoonfuls of butter
2 level tablespoonfuls of flour
1/2 pint of milk
1 teaspoonful of salt
1 saltspoonful of pepper

Cut the celery into inch lengths, wash thoroughly, cover with boiling water and simmer gently thirty minutes until the celery is tender; drain, saving the water in which the celery was cooked for another purpose. Rub the butter and flour together, add the milk, salt and pepper; when boiling add the celery; stand this over hot water while you poach the eggs and toast six squares of bread. Butter the toast, put on each slice one egg; put these around the edge of a large platter, turn the celery into the middle of the dish and send at once to the table. To increase the beauty of this dish, and to give it a greater food value, you may garnish between the toast and celery with carefully boiled rice; this then makes an exceedingly nice supper dish.