, where the Legislature was
sitting, on the second day of July. That body gave him an enthusiastic
welcome, and presented a lengthy address to him, in which they spread
out the deplorable condition of the army, pledging their prompt aid in
its organization and discipline.

On the third day of July he was escorted by an imposing cavalcade to
Cambridge, four miles distant, to take immediate command of the army.
Notwithstanding the scarcity of powder, his arrival was announced by
salvos of artillery; and the sight of him, in his splendid bearing, drew
from the admiring thousands the heartiest cheers. The general of whom
they had heard so much even more than met their expectations, and their
joy knew no bounds.

Washington wheeled his noble charger under the shadow of the "Great
Elm," where he formally took command of the Continental Army, thereby
making the tree historic to this day. He was forty-three years of age at
that time.

Mrs. John Adams was in Cambridge when Washington arrived, and she wrote
of him as follows:

"Dignity, ease, and complacency, the gentleman and the soldier look,
agreeably blended in him. Modesty marks every line and feature of his
face. These lines of Dryden instantly occurred to me:

"'Mark his majestic fabric! He's a temple
Sacred by birth, and built by hands divine;
His soul's the deity that lodges there,
Nor is the pile unworthy of the God.'"

Washington found General Artemas Ward in command, who informed him that,
"We have fourteen thousand five hundred men, including the sick."

"How many troops of the king hold Boston?" Washington inquired.

"About eleven thousand of the best disciplined troops that England could
send over."

"And how many inhabitants of Boston are there in the city now?"

"Seventeen thousand; and it is said that they are treated as rebels,
except the Tories, who support the cause of the Crown. General Gage is
in command, and Generals Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne arrived with their
last reinforcements."

"Gage was with me twenty years ago in the expedition against Duquesne,"
said Washington. "Generals Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne are the best
generals the king can send, I suppose."

"I judge so. At any rate this army is a mob compared to the royal army
in Boston. Very few of them were ever in the service before. They know
nothing about order and discipline, and care as little."

"They must learn both as quickly as possible," responded Wa