The writings of George Washington; being his correspondence, addresses, messages, and other papers, official and private, selected and published from the original manuscripts; with a life of the author, notes and illustrations. By Jared Sparks.

196 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1776.
not attended with any good consequences. Men, who
have been free and subject to no control, cannot be
reduced to order in an instant; and the privileges and
exemptions, which they claim and will have, influence
the conduct of others; and the aid derived from them
is nearly counterbalanced by the disorder, irregularity,
and confusion they occasion."
He added, that, by the last returns, the number of
troops fit for duty was less than twenty thousand, and
that many had since deserted. One thousand men
were immediately ordered to join him from the Flying
Camp, then in New Jersey under General Mercer.- A
bounty of ten dollars had been offered to each soldier,
that would enlist into the Continental service; but this
produced little effect, as the bounty to the militia was in
some instances double that amount. "Till of late," he
observes, "I had no doubt of defending New York;
nor should I have yet, if the men would do their duty;
but this I despair of." In such a situation, a more
gloomy or discouraging prospect could hardly be
imagined. No trials, however, in a good cause, could
depress the mind, or unnerve the energy of Washington.
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