He had made up his mind to fulfil his great mission to the end.

It was with no common pain that he admitted it to be necessary for him to give his assent to the disbanding bill.

But in this case it would have been worse than useless to resort to his veto.

For, if the bill had been rejected, the army would have been dissolved, and he would have been left without even the seven thousand men whom the Commons were willing to allow him.
He determined, therefore, to comply with the wish of his people, and at the same time to give them a weighty and serious but friendly admonition.

Never had he succeeded better in suppressing the outward signs of his emotions than on the day on which he carried this determination into effect.