egiments, who composed one-third of his
army, and enabled him to keep all the rest in that state of
discipline that improved so much its efficiency, in the same manner
as the deserters from the Roman legions, which took place under
similar circumstances, became the flower of the army of
Mithridates.[19]

Frederick was in position and disposition a despot. His territories
were small, while his ambition was boundless. He was unable to pay a
large army the rate of wages necessary to secure the services of
voluntary soldiers; and he availed himself of the happy imbecility of
the French Government to form an army of involuntary ones. He got
French soldiers at a cheap rate, because they dared not return to
their native country, whence they were hunted down and shot like
dogs, and these soldiers enabled him to retain his own subjects in
his ranks upon the same terms. Had the French Government retraced its
steps, improved the condition of its soldiers, and mitigated the
punishment for desertion during the long war, Frederick's army would
have fallen to pieces 'like the baseless fabric of a vision'.

'_Parmi nous,' says Montesquieu, 'les desertions sont frequentes
parce que les soldats sont la plus vile partie de chaque nation, et
qu'il n'y en a aucun qui aie, ou qui croie avoir un certain avantage
sur les autres. Chez les Romains elles etaient plus rares--des
soldats tires du sein d'un peuple si fier, si orgueilleux, si sur de
commander aux autres, ne pouvaient guere penser a s' aviler jusqu'a
cesser d'etre Romains_.'[20] But was it the poor soldiers who were to
blame if they were 'vile', and had 'no advantage over others', or the
Government that took them from the vilest classes, or made their
condition when they got them worse than that of the lowest class in
society? The Romans deserted under the same circumstances, and, as I
have stated, formed the _elite_ of the army of Mithridates and the
other enemies of Rome; but they respected their military oath of
allegiance long after perjury among senators had ceased to excite any
odium, since as a fashionable or political vice it had become common.

Did not our day of retribution come, though in a milder shape, to
teach us a great political and moral lesson, when so many of our
brave sailors deserted our ships for those of America, in which they
fought against us?[21] They deserted from our ships of war because
they were there treated like dogs, or from our merchant ships becau