Merritt gave a hundred dojlars ; but these are the only items worthy of particular notice, and the aspect of the account was by no means encouraging -- the givers being few, while the wives of soldiers, on the other side of the page, increased in number, as the weeks went on and the war progressed. By the 25th of September the balance sunk to sixty-six dollars. All the efforts of the committee to increase the subscriptions seem to have been useless, for the debit side of" cash " continued to grow smaller and smaller, till, by the 5th of October, 1861, it sunk to its lowest point during the war, seven dollars and eighty -nine cents. This state of things excited the committee to redoubled exertions, and they raised one hundred and fifty dollars next day ; but by the end of the month, in spite of this and two hundred more, the balance on hand was only twenty dollars and forty-nine cents.

The committee was reaching the limits when such work was a proper measure for the relief of the families of volunteers. By the end of the year the fact is revealed that the members had raised, by voluntary subscription, in the village of Port Chester, the sum of $3289.25, and had expended, for relief, $3215.57, almost of all which was given in sums of from three to six or seven dollars per week. During the early months of 1862 the amounts contributed for the relief increased notably, and especially do the names of the donors increase in number, every member of the conunittee seeming to have been hard at work, while other people were inspired by them to " go and do likewise," so that the balance never fell below a hundred dollars, and was generally nearer two hundred.