n Hale himself went forth from his alma mater filled with the
joyous hopes and ambitions that have filled the souls of many other men,
all unconscious of the fact that the finest heroism and the highest
self-sacrifice lay just before him, but conscious that he meant to be
ready for the best that life could give him. He was ready; and the best
of life for him was the power to die as he died.

CHAPTER IX

NATHAN HALE'S FRIENDS

(1) _Rev. Joseph Huntington, D.D._

A somewhat full description of the Rev. Joseph Huntington, D.D., is well
worth placing among the friends of Nathan Hale. It was impossible for
such a boy as Nathan to have been under the care of such a man as Dr.
Huntington, first as pastor and then as his private teacher in his
preparation for college, without having been strongly influenced by him.
Indeed, scanning these old records of a parish of a hundred and fifty
years ago, we cannot help feeling a strong personal attraction toward
the Rev. Joseph Huntington.

Few men more fully prove the claim that many of the early New England
pastors were eminently fitted to lead their people heavenward and also
in the practical development of their daily lives.

Dr. Huntington lived a life evidently inspired by the finest ideals, and
also by shrewd common sense, always so dear to the heart of a New
Englander. It is a pleasure to recall the story of this man's useful
life, and realize that besides the reverence almost invariably accorded
to "the minister" in those days, he must have held the everyday
affection and wholesome trust of his people. Year by year he proved
himself not only their pastor, but a friend full of all kindly
sympathies, never above a hearty laugh when mirth was rampant, or a
sympathetic tear for hearts wrung with anguish.

He was born in Windham, Connecticut, in 1735. His ancestors came from
England about 1640 and the family ultimately settled in Windham. His
father, a man of somewhat arbitrary character, had determined that
Joseph should be a clothier, and forced him to remain in that business
until he was twenty-one. His intellectual ability was thought to be
somewhat remarkable, and his moral character so good that his pastor
advised him to begin a course of study for the ministry. He completed
his preparation for Yale College in an unusually short time, and was
graduated there in the year 1762.

His call to be settled over the First Church in Coventry was received so
soon after