so inclined, to enter the sacred desk. His talents were of a variegated character, combining a taste for the classics, mechanics, architecture, mathematics and general science.

Feeling an inclination to travel beyond the confines of his juvenile perambulations, in 1755 he accepted a commission in the staff of Colonel Ephraim Williams, a kinsman of his, and founder of the college of that name at Williamstown, Massachusetts. A detachment, put under the command of Colonel Williams, consisting of eleven hundred men, was sent by Sir William Johnson, who commanded the English troops, to reconnoitre the army under Baron Dieskau, composed of a large body of French and Indians. After proceeding about four miles, Colonel Williams was attacked by a superior force lying in ambuscade. He commenced a spirited defence, but fell in the early part of the action, bravely fighting for the mother country. The detachment then fell back upon the main body in good order, which advanced and repulsed the enemy.

The French war, in which the colonies were not interested, the acquirements of which are still held by Great Britain, cost much American blood and treasure. The pilgrim fathers were long treated and used as mere vassals of the English crown. During that campaign, William Williams became disgusted with the hauteur of the British officers and with the manner they treated native Americans, who were by far the most efficient in conducting the Indian mode of warfare. Being ardent in his feelings and of a warm temperament, he resolved never again to submit to their indignities, and returned home and commenced the mercantile business.

Soon after, he was elected town clerk, a member of the assembly, and appointed a justice of the peace. These were not solicited honours, but awarded to him by his fellow citizens as the reward of merit. Similar demonstrations of confidence were continued to him for more than fifty years. For a long time he was either clerk or speaker of the house of representatives in his native state, in which he served nearly one hundred sessions.

When the revolutionary storm began to darken the horizon of public tranquillity, Mr. Williams freely confronted its raging fury. He was an able debater, an eloquent speaker, and a bold advocate of his country's rights. Extensively and favourably known, his influence had a wide range. When the tocsin of war was finally sounded, he closed his mercantile concerns and devoted his whole time to the glorious cause of equal rights and rational liberty. His learning, piety, experience in public affairs, honesty of purpose, and energy of action, combined to give great weight to his character. He was an active member of the council of safety, and on the second Thursday in October, 1775, was appointed a representative of the Continental Congress. He entered zealously into the deliberations of that revered body, and became prominent and useful. He was ever ready to go as far as any one in promoting the liberation of his bleeding country from the serpentine coils of oppressive tyranny. He was in favour of bold and vigorous measures, and advocated the declaration of rights from its incipient conception to its final adoption. He was instru

mental in removing the timidity and wavering doubts of many, whose motives and desires were as pure, but whose moral courage was less than his. Whenever he rose in debate he was listened to with profound attention. He possessed a fine figure of the middle size, dark hair, piercing black eyes, an aqueline nose, an open and ingenuous countenance, and a stentorian voice, combined with a clear head, a Roman heart, a sound judgment, an acute perception, and a logical mind. He was well versed in the principles of international law, the different forms of government and the duties of legislation.

He was re-elected to Congress the two succeeding years, and when the final vote upon the charter of our rights was taken, the voice of William Williams responded a thundering-"AYE"-that told his boldness and his zeal. That vote stands confirmed by his signature upon the record of immortal fame, a proud memento of his unalloyed patriotism, a conclusive proof of his moral firmness.

He was free from an aspiring ambition based on self and nurtured by intrigue. From the pure fountain of an honest heart his motives emanated; to promote the glory of his country was his anxious desire. Upon the altar of liberty he was willing to sacrifice his property and his life; in vindicating the cause of freedom he was willing to spend his latest breath. Honesty of purpose, self-devotion, and persevering action were among his marked characteristics. To rouse his countrymen to a sense of danger, and to induce them to enlist in the common cause against the common enemy, he used every honourable exertion.

Just before Congress was compelled to fly before the victorious foe from Philadelphia, Mr. Williams, at the risk of being captured himself, rescued his colleague, Colonel Dyer, from the fangs of the British, who had planned and were on the point of effecting his arrest. They both made a hair-breadth escape.

When the government treasury was drained of its last hard dollar, this patriot threw in what he termed his "mite" of specie, amounting to more than two thousand dollars, and took continental money in return, which soon died in his hands. In the cause of equal rights his property was nearly all expended, and he gloried in being able to add to his mental aid a portion of "the sinews of power."

For forty years he was a judge of probate, a select-man of his native town during the war, commissioner of the public school fund, and held almost every office within the gift of his constituents, discharg ing the duties of all with so much industry, ability and integrity, that slander found no crevice in his uninterrupted and unblemished reputation for the smallest entering wedge, by which to impugn his private or public character. He was remarkably active and fortunate in obtaining private donations of necessaries to supply the army. He went from house to house among his friends, obtaining small parcels of any and every article that would alleviate the wants of the destitute soldiers. He forwarded to them at different times more than a thousand blankets. During the winter of 1781, he gave up his own house for the accommodation of the officers of the legion under Colonel Laurens, and used every effort to render them comfortable. His

industry was equal to his patriotism, seldom retiring until after twelve at night, and rising at early dawn.

He was a member of the convention of his state when the federal constitution was adopted, and was a warm advocate for that instrument. He was never permitted to enjoy full retirement from public service until disabled by disease, which terminated his useful career on the 2nd of August, 1811. He had lived the life of a good man, his last end was peaceful, calm and happy. During his last years he was considerably deaf, and spent much time in christian devotion. But few men have served their country as much, and no one more faithfully than did WILLIAM WILLIAMS.

No quality of the human mind sheds over it more lustre than consistency. "Be consistent," was a Roman motto, and once a Roman virtue that influenced the hearts and actions of its republican sages, heroes, and literati. Consistency is one of the brightest jewels in the escutcheon of a name. It is the crowning glory of meritorious fame, and implies a course of life that ennobles and dignifies man. It is based upon true wisdom and sound discretion, the pilot and helm of the bark of life in navigating the ocean of time. Without it, the buffetings of chaos, the sand-bars of folly, and the rocks of disaster, cannot be avoided. Without it, the brightness of other talents and attainments of a high order are often eclipsed by the clouds of error and obscured by the mists of ridicule. With it, mediocrity shines and enables the plough-boy of the field to reach the pinnacle of substantial and enduring fame, when his classic friend who has no share in consistency, but is in all other respects his superior, sinks into oblivion.

It is a propensity susceptible of cultivation, and where its developements are small in youth, parents and instructers should nurture it with great attention and peculiar care. It is of more importance than classic lore and the most powerful elocution. Dr. Young has truly said, "With the talents of an angel a man may be a fool." The sages of the American revolution were remarkable for consistency. Many of them rose from the humble walks of life by the force of their own exertions, guided by this darling attribute, and became eminently useful in the cause of liberty.

Among this class the name of SAMUEL HUNTINGTON stands conspicuous. He was a native of Windham, Connecticut, born on the 2nd of July, 1732. His father, Nathaniel Huntington, was a plain honest farmer, and gave this son only a common English education. Three of his brothers enjoyed the advantages of Yale College and became gospel ministers, all of them adorning their profession, and one of them, Joseph, becoming an eminent divine and an able writer.

Their pious mother was the happy instrument that led them to the pure font of religion, and had the happiness to see her numerous offspring all walking hand in hand in the ways of wisdom and virtue. Samuel followed the plough until he was twenty-two years of age. He was of middle stature, dark complexion, keen eyes, countenance expressive, with a deportment that commanded respect, love and esteem. He was remarkable for industry and integrity, and from his early youth had been a close observer of men and things, and an attentive reader. His native talents were strong and of a grave cast, his judgment was clear and his reflections deep. From his childhood to his grave he was remarkable for consistency in all things. This was his strong forte, and exalted him to a lofty eminence. In his twenty-third year he commenced reading law at his father's domicile, from books loaned to him by Zedediah Elderkin, Esq. a member of the Norwich bar. Like Roger Sherman, he soon mastered the elementary principles of that intricate science, was admitted to the practical honours of the profession, and immediately opened an office in his native town. His reputation as an honest man, possessing a clear head and a good heart, already rested on a firm basis. His fame as an able advocate and safe counsellor, soon added new grace to this superstructure. He was not celebrated for Ciceronean powers; he imitated more closely Socrates and Solon. His manner was plain and unvarnished, but marked by that deep sincerity and candour that seldom fail to impress the minds of a court and jury favourably, and often foil the most brilliant and happy displays of Demosthenean eloquence. To his other strong qualities he added punctuality, which is the very life of business. He soon obtained a lucrative practice and the confidence of the community. In 1760, he removed to Norwich, where a wider field was open before him; and two years after, he emerged from the lonely regions of celibacy with Martha, the accomplished daughter of Ebenezer Devotion, and entered the delightful bowers of matrimony, thus giving him an importance in society that single blessedness never confers. The choice he made was consistent; his partner proved to be an amiable companion, uniting the accomplishments of a lady and the piety of a christian, with laudable industry and strict economy. "Marriage, with peace, is this world's paradise."

The professional fame of Mr. Huntington continued to rise and expand, and when the all-important subject of American rights and British wrongs was agitated, he exerted his extensive influence and noblest powers in favour of the cause of equal rights. In 1764, he was elected to the general assembly, and the next year was appointed king's attorney, the duties of which office he continued to ably discharge until the pestiferous atmosphere of monarchial oppression drove him from under the dark mantle of a corrupt and impolitic ministry. He was appointed to the bench of the Superior Court in 1774, and the next year a member of the council of his native state. In October, 1775, he had the honour of being associated with the patriots and sages of the Continental Congress then assembled at Philadelphia, of which body he became a prominent and useful member.

In January following he again took his seat in that venerable assembly, and advocated boldly, fearlessly, and with undisguised sincerity, the necessity of severing, at one gigantic stroke, the cords that bound the colonies to England. The solemnity of his manners, the deep tone of his reasoning, the lucid demonstration of his propositions, and the purity of his patriotism, were well calculated to carry conviction to the heart and impart confidence to the wavering and timid. He was present on the memorable 4th of July, 1776, at the birth of our independence, and became a subscribing witness to the imposing solemnities of that eventful day. He was continued a member of Congress until 1781, when ill health compelled him to retire, for a season, from the halls of legislation.

He was a man of great industry, clearness of perception, honesty of purpose, and profound research; united with an extensive practical knowledge of human nature, general business, and political economy, which rendered him worthy of unlimited confidence and gave him a place on the most important committees. So highly was Mr. Huntington esteemed, that on the resignation of Mr. Jay, in 1779, who was appointed minister to Europe, he was elected president of Congress, the duties of which high and dignified station he discharged with so much consistency and ability, that on his final resignation in July 1781, that august body passed and communicated to him a vote of thanks for the able manner he had filled the chair and promoted the execution of public business. So anxious were the members that he should resume his seat, that they waited considerable time before they supplied the vacancy permanently, hoping that his health might be restored and enable him to return. During this interim of his congressional career, when he was able, he served his own state on the bench and in her council. In 1783, he resumed his seat in the national legislature, during which year he closed his services in that body and declined a re-election. He had aided in completing the mighty work of national freedom; the star spangled banner was floating in the breeze of liberty; his country had triumphed over a merciless foe; her political regeneration had been consummated; America was disenthralled; he then desired retirement from the arena of public life. His rest was of brief duration. In 1784, he was appointed chief justice of his native state; the ensuing year, lieutenant-governor; and the year following that, he was elected governor of Connecticut, which responsible and important office he filled until the 5th day of January, 1796, when he sunk under a complication of diseases, and closed his eyes in death. He died the death of a righteous man, having long adorned the profession of religion by a life of consistent and exemplary piety.

In the life of this good and useful patriot, we find much to admire and nothing to condemn. His superior virtues and uniform consistency eclipsed every frailty of his nature. In the performance of all the duties of public and private life, he was a model worthy of the highest praise and of the closest imitation. From the plough in the field, through his bright career to the presidential chair in Congress, and from thence to the chief magistracy of his native state, so great