J., by some British horsemen, having just completed a letter to General Gates, in which he said: " Entre nous, a certain great man is most damnably deficient." His troops, thus happily disencumbered of him, presently joined Washington, although not in time to participate in the glorious victory of Trenton. General Lee's occupation of the North Castle position for nearly a month after the dismemberment of the army was not attended by events or proceedings of any noteworthy character. But several matters of some interest in this connection deserve passing notice. According to Sparks in his biography of Lee, the number of troops left by Washington in the encampment at North Castle was 7,500, of whom 4,000 were militia about to return to their homes. It is quite certain that upon Lee's departure he took with him hardly more than 3,000. Indeed, the militiamen were constantly filing off, glad to escape from the service before the rigors of winter should set in. It is recorded that the ambitious general, who possessed decided elocutionary gifts, industriously practiced his persuasive powers upon them, haranguing them publicly on the gravity of the situation and their solemn duty as American patriots. These impassioned appeals were without avail, however. The condition of the men under Lee's command was deplorable, most of them being without shoes, stockings, blankets, or proper clothing, and this was instanced by him as an excuse for not leaving the post, But he was no worse off than Washington in that particular. When the latter, with his band of heroes, attacked the Hessians at Trenton, the whole line of march of the little army was stained with the bloody footprints of the shoeless soldiers. The records of Lee's transactions while at North Castle show that not only the whole upper portion of Westchester County, but the central sections as well, were quite abandoned by the enemy during that period.