Extracts from the Diary and Correspondence of the Late Amos Lawrence; with a brief account of some incidents of his life
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Title: Extracts from the Diary and Correspondence of the Late Amos Lawrence; with a brief account of some incidents of his life
Author: Amos Lawrence
Editor: William R. Lawrence
Release date: April 13, 2013 [eBook #42522]
Most recently updated: October 23, 2024
Language: English
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EXTRACTS FROM THE DIARY AND CORRESPONDENCE OF THE LATE AMOS LAWRENCE; WITH A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF SOME INCIDENTS OF HIS LIFE ***
[Illustration: Truly Yours Amos Lawrence
R Andrews Print.]
EXTRACTS
FROM THE
DIARY AND CORRESPONDENCE
OF THE LATE
AMOS LAWRENCE;
WITH A
+Brief Account of Some Incidents in his Life.+
EDITED BY HIS SON,
WILLIAM R. LAWRENCE, M. D.
BOSTON:
GOULD AND LINCOLN,
59 WASHINGTON STREET.
NEW YORK: SHELDON, LAMPORT & BLAKEMAN.
LONDON: TRUBNER & CO.
1856.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by
WILLIAM R. LAWRENCE,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the
District of Massachusetts
BOSTON:
Stereotyped by
HOBART & ROBBINS,
New England Type and Stereotype Foundery.
Press of George C. Rand & Avery.
+To his+
ONLY SURVIVING BROTHER,
A M O S A. L A W R E N C E,
OF BOSTON,
+This Volume is Affectionately Inscribed+,
BY
THE EDITOR.
PREFACE.
Among the papers of the late Amos Lawrence were found copies of a
large number of letters addressed to his children.
With the hope that the good counsels there given, during a succession
of years, extending from their childhood to adult age, might still be
made profitable to their descendants, he had caused them to be
carefully preserved.
These letters, as well as an irregular record of his daily experience,
were scattered through many volumes, and required arrangement before
they could be of use to those for whom they were intended.
As no one else of the immediate family could conveniently undertake
the task, the editor considered it his duty to do that which could not
properly be committed to one less nearly connected with the deceased.
The present volume, containing what was thought most interesting among
those letters and extracts, was accordingly prepared for private
circulation; and an edition of one hundred copies was printed and
distributed among the nearest relatives and friends.
It has been thought by many that the record of such a life as is here
portrayed would be useful to other readers, and especially to young
men,--a class in whom Mr. Lawrence was deeply interested, and with
whom circumstances in his own life had given him a peculiar bond of
sympathy.
Although many, among both friends and strangers, have urged the
publication of the present memorial, and some have even questioned the
moral right of withholding from the view of others the light of an
example so worthy of imitation, much hesitation has been felt in
submitting to the public the recital of such domestic incidents as are
treasured in the memory of every family; those incidents which cast a
sunbeam or a shadow across every fireside, and yet possess little or
no interest for the busy world without.
At the solicitation of the "Boston Young Men's Christian Union," the
"Boston Young Men's Christian Association," and the students of
Williams College, through their respective committees, and at the
request of many esteemed citizens, the pages which were prepared for
the eye of kindred and friends alone are now submitted to the public.
Personal feeling is forgotten in the hope that the principles here
inculcated may tend to promote the ends for which the subject of this
memorial lived and labored.
The interest manifested in his life, and the tributes rendered to his
memory, have been a source of sincere gratification to his family; and
they would here tender their acknowledgments to all those who have
expressed their interest and their wishes in regard to this
publication.
The present volume is submitted with a few unimportant omissions, and
with the addition of some materials, received after the issue of the
first edition, which will throw light upon the character and
principles of Mr. Lawrence during his early business career.
His course was that of a private citizen, who took but little part in
public measures or in public life.
To the general reader, therefore, there may be but little to amuse in
a career so devoid of incident, and so little connected with the
stirring events of his times; but there cannot fail to be something to
interest those who can appreciate the spirit which, in this instance,
led to a rare fidelity in the fulfilment of important trusts, and the
consecration of a life to the highest duties.
Mr. Lawrence was eminently a religious man, and a deep sense of
accountability may be discovered at the foundation of those acts of
beneficence, which, during his lifetime, might have been attributed to
a less worthy motive.
It has been the object of the editor to allow the subject of this
memorial to tell his own story, and to add merely what is necessary to
preserve the thread of the narrative, or to throw light upon the
various matters touched upon in the correspondence.
It is designed to furnish such materials as will afford a history of
Mr. Lawrence's charitable efforts, rather than give a detailed account
of what was otherwise an uneventful career.
Such selections from his correspondence are made as seemed best
adapted to illustrate the character of the man; such as exhibit his
good and valuable traits, without attempting to conceal those
imperfections, an exemption from which would elevate him above the
common sphere of mortals.
Most of his letters are of a strictly private nature, and involve the
record of many private details. His domestic tastes, and his affection
for his family, often led him to make mention of persons and events in
such a way that few letters could be wholly given without invading the
precincts of the family circle.
The engraving at the commencement of the volume is from an original
portrait, by Harding, in the possession of the editor, a copy of which
hangs in the library of Williams College.
It seems also fitting to include a portrait of the Hon. Abbott
Lawrence, who, for forty-three years, was so intimately associated
with the subject of this memorial in all the trials, as well as in the
triumphs, of business life, and who was still more closely connected
by the bonds of fraternal affection and sympathy. A few days only have
elapsed since he was removed from the scene of his earthly labors.
The grave has rarely closed over one who to such energy of character
and strength of purpose united a disposition so gentle and forbearing.
Amidst the perplexities attending his extended business relations, and
in the excitement of the political struggles in which he was called to
take part, he was never tempted to overstep the bounds of courtesy, or
to regard his opponents otherwise than with feelings of kindness.
His wealth was used freely for the benefit of others, and for the
advancement of all those good objects which tended to promote the
welfare of his fellow-men.
That divine spark of charity, which burned with such ceaseless energy
in the bosom of his elder brother, was caught up by him, and exhibited
its fruits in those acts of munificence which will make him long
remembered as a benefactor of his race.
BOSTON, _September_ 1st, 1855.
LETTERS,
REQUESTING PUBLICATION.
_Rooms of the Boston Young Men's Christian Union,
6 Bedford-street, Boston, June 22, 1855._
WILLIAM R. LAWRENCE, ESQ.
DEAR SIR: The undersigned, members of the Government of the Boston
Young Men's Christian Union, some of whom have perused the excellent
memoir of your honored father, feel deeply impressed with the desire
that it should be published and circulated, knowing that its
publication and perusal would greatly benefit the young, the old, and
all classes of our busy mercantile community.
Remembering with pleasure the friendship which your father expressed,
not only in kind words, but in substantial offerings to the treasury
and library of our Society, the Union would be most happy, should it
comport with your feelings, to be made the medium of the publication
and circulation of the memoir, which you have compiled with so much
ability and faithfulness.
Hoping to receive a favorable response to our desire,
We are most truly yours,
THOMAS GAFFIELD, H. K. WHITE,
JOHN SWEETSER, J. F. AINSWORTH,
JOSEPH H. ALLEN, W. H. RICHARDSON,
CHAS. C. SMITH, FRANCIS S. RUSSELL,
C. J. BISHOP, FREDERIC H. HENSHAW,
F. H. PEABODY, CHARLES F. POTTER,
W. IRVING SMITH, THORNTON K. LOTHROP,
ARTHUR W. HOBART. GEO. S. HALE.
* * * * *
_Rooms of the Boston Young Men's Christian Association,
Tremont Temple, Boston, July 10, 1855._
DEAR SIR:
The Committee on the Library of the Boston Young Men's Christian
Association beg leave, in its behalf, to tender you sincere thanks for
your donation of a copy of the "Diary and Correspondence of Amos
Lawrence." It will remain to the members of the Association a valued
memorial of one of its earliest benefactors. It will be yet more
prized for its record of his invaluable legacy,--the history of a long
life--a bright example.
The Committee, uniting with the subscribers, managers of the
Association, are happy to improve this opportunity to express the hope
that you may be induced to give the book a more general circulation.
The kindly charities of your late lamented parent are still fresh in
impressions of gratitude upon their recipients. They require no herald
to give them publicity. The voice of fame would do violence to their
spirit.
Yet, now that "the good man" can no more utter his words of sympathy
and counsel,--that his pen can no more subscribe its noble
benefactions, or indite its lessons of wisdom and experience,--the
press may silently perpetuate those which survive him.
We must assure you of our pleasure in the knowledge that the liberal
interest in the Association, so constantly manifested by your revered
father, is actively maintained by yourself.
We remain, in the fraternal bonds of Christian regard,
Yours, truly,
JACOB SLEEPER, FRANCIS D. STEDMAN,
J. S. WARREN, ELIJAH SWIFT,
SAMUEL GREGORY, B. C. CLARK, JR.,
LUTHER L. TARBELL, JOSEPH P. ELLICOTT,
ALONZO C. TENNEY, GEO. N. NOYES,
MOSES W. POND, PEARL MARTIN,
STEPHEN G. DEBLOIS, W. H. JAMESON,
HENRY FURNAS, W. F. STORY.
FRANKLIN W. SMITH, }
E. M. PUTNAM, } _Committee
CHAS. L. ANDREWS, } on
GEO. C. RAND, } Library and Rooms_
H. C. GILBERT, }
To
WILLIAM R. LAWRENCE, M.D.
* * * * *
_Williams College, June 30, 1855._
DEAR SIR:
The students of Williams College having learned that you have
prepared, for private distribution, a volume illustrating the
character of the late Amos Lawrence, whose munificence to this
Institution they appreciate, and whose memory they honor; the
undersigned, a Committee appointed for the purpose, express to you
their earnest desire that you would allow it to be published.
Very truly yours,
SAMUEL B. FORBES,
E. C. SMITH,
FRED. W. BEECHER,
HENRY HOPKINS.
To
W. R. LAWRENCE, M.D., _Boston_.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER I.
BIRTH.--ANCESTRY.--PARENTS, 15
CHAPTER II.
EARLY YEARS.--SCHOOL DAYS.--APPRENTICESHIP, 20
CHAPTER III.
ARRIVAL IN BOSTON.--CLERKSHIP.--COMMENCES BUSINESS.--HABITS, 28
CHAPTER IV.
BUSINESS HABITS.--HIS FATHER'S MORTGAGE.--RESOLUTIONS.--ARRIVAL
OF BROTHERS IN BOSTON, 35
CHAPTER V.
VISITS AT GROTON.--SICKNESS.--LETTER FROM DR. SHATTUCK.--
ENGAGEMENT.--LETTER TO REV. DR. GANNETT.--MARRIAGE, 40
CHAPTER VI.
BRAMBLE NEWS.--JUNIOR PARTNER GOES TO ENGLAND.--LETTERS TO
BROTHER, 47
CHAPTER VII.
DEATH OF SISTER.--LETTERS, 54
CHAPTER VIII.
DOMESTIC HABITS.--ILLNESS AND DEATH OF WIFE, 59
CHAPTER IX.
JOURNEYS.--LETTERS.--JOURNEY TO NEW YORK, 68
CHAPTER X.
MARRIAGE.--ELECTED TO LEGISLATURE.--ENGAGES IN MANUFACTURES.--
REFLECTIONS, 77
CHAPTER XI.
REFLECTIONS.--BUNKER HILL MONUMENT.--LETTERS, 82
CHAPTER XII.
JOURNEY TO CANADA.--LETTERS.--DIARY.--CHARITIES, 89
CHAPTER XIII.
CORRESPONDENCE WITH MR. WEBSTER.--LETTERS, 96
CHAPTER XIV.
TESTIMONIAL TO MR. WEBSTER.--DANGEROUS ILLNESS.--LETTERS, 102
CHAPTER XV.
JOURNEY TO NEW HAMPSHIRE.--LETTERS.--RESIGNS OFFICE OF TRUSTEE
AT HOSPITAL.--LETTERS, 109
CHAPTER XVI.
DAILY EXERCISE.--REGIMEN.--IMPROVING HEALTH.--LETTERS, 122
CHAPTER XVII.
REFLECTIONS.--VISIT TO WASHINGTON.--VISIT TO RAINSFORD
ISLAND.--REFLECTIONS.--VIEW OF DEATH.--REFLECTIONS, 137
CHAPTER XVIII.
BROTHER'S DEATH.--LETTERS.--GIFTS.--LETTERS.--BIRTH-PLACE.--
DIARY.--APPLICATIONS FOR AID.--REFLECTIONS.--LETTER FROM
REV. DR. STONE.--DIARY, 147
CHAPTER XIX.
REFLECTIONS.--LETTERS.--ACCOUNT OF EFFORTS TO COMPLETE BUNKER
HILL MONUMENT, 165
CHAPTER XX.
INTEREST IN MOUNT AUBURN.--REV. DR. SHARP.--LETTER FROM BISHOP
McILVAINE.--LETTER FROM JUDGE STORY, 175
CHAPTER XXI.
ACQUAINTANCE WITH PRESIDENT HOPKINS.--LETTERS.--AFFECTION FOR
BRATTLE-STREET CHURCH.--DEATH OF MRS. APPLETON.--
LETTERS.--AMESBURY CO., 182
CHAPTER XXII.
DEATH OF HIS DAUGHTER.--LETTERS.--DONATION TO WILLIAMS
COLLEGE.--BENEFICENCE.--LETTERS, 193
CHAPTER XXIII.
LETTER FROM DR. SHARP.--ILLNESS AND DEATH OF HIS SON.--
LETTERS.--AFFLICTIONS, 203
CHAPTER XXIV.
REFLECTIONS.--EXPENDITURES.--LETTERS.--DONATION FOR LIBRARY AT
WILLIAMS COLLEGE.--VIEWS ON STUDY OF ANATOMY, 212
CHAPTER XXV.
DONATION TO LAWRENCE ACADEMY.--CORRESPONDENCE WITH R. G.
PARKER.--SLEIGH-RIDES.--AVERSION TO NOTORIETY.--CHILDREN'S
HOSPITAL, 221
CHAPTER XXVI.
CAPTAIN A. S. MCKENZIE.--DIARY.--AID TO IRELAND.--MADAM
PRESCOTT.--SIR WILLIAM COLEBROOKE, 234
CHAPTER XXVII.
MR. LAWRENCE AS AN APPLICANT.--LETTERS.--DIARY.--PRAYER AND
MEDITATIONS.--FAC-SIMILE OF HAND-WRITING.--LIBERALITY
TO A CREDITOR.--LETTERS, 242
CHAPTER XXVIII.
REFLECTIONS.--VIEWS ON HOLDING OFFICE.--LETTERS.--CAPT. A.
SLIDELL McKENZIE.--DEATH OF BROTHER AND OF HON. J. MASON, 255
CHAPTER XXIX.
SYSTEM IN ACCOUNTS.--LETTER FROM PROF. STUART--LETTERS.--
DIARY.--DR. HAMILTON.--FATHER MATHEW, 264
CHAPTER XXX.
CODICIL TO WILL.--ILLNESS--GEN. WHITING.--LETTERS.--DIARY, 271
CHAPTER XXXI.
DIARY.--REFLECTIONS.--SICKNESS.--LETTER FROM DR. SHARP.--
CORRESPONDENCE, 278
CHAPTER XXXII.
AMIN BEY.--AMOUNT OF DONATIONS TO WILLIAMS COLLEGE, 285
CHAPTER XXXIII.
LETTERS--LIKENESS OF ABBOTT LAWRENCE.--DIARY, 292
CHAPTER XXXIV.
SIR T. F. BUXTON.--LETTER FROM LADY BUXTON.--ELLIOTT
CRESSON.--LETTERS, 298
CHAPTER XXXV.
LETTERS.--REV. DR. SCORESBY.--WABASH COLLEGE, 304
CHAPTER XXXVI.
DIARY.--AMOUNT OF CHARITIES.--LETTERS.--THOMAS TARBELL.--
UNCLE TOBY.--REV. DR. LOWELL, 311
CHAPTER XXXVII.
CORRESPONDENCE.--DIARY, 324
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
MR. LAWRENCE SERVES AS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTOR.--GEN. FRANKLIN
PIERCE--SUDDEN DEATH.--FUNERAL, 334
CHAPTER XXXIX.
SKETCH OF CHARACTER BY REV. DRS. LOTHROP AND HOPKINS, 343
CHAPTER XL.
CONCLUSION, 352
INDEX, 361
DIARY AND CORRESPONDENCE.
CHAPTER I.
BIRTH.--ANCESTRY.--PARENTS.
Amos Lawrence was born in Groton, Mass., on the 22d of April, 1786.
His ancestor, John Lawrence, was baptized, according to the records,
on the 8th of October, 1609, at Wisset, County of Suffolk, England,
where the family had resided for a long period, though originally from
the County of Lancaster.
Butler, in his "History of Groton," has, among other details, the
following:
"The first account of the ancestor of the numerous families of
this name in Groton and Pepperell, which can be relied upon as
certain, is, that he was an inhabitant of Watertown as early as
1635. He probably came in the company which came with Governor
Winthrop, in 1630. His given name was John, and that of his wife
was Elizabeth. Whether they were married in England or not, has
not been ascertained. Their eldest child was born in Watertown,
January 14, 1635. He removed to Groton, with probably all his
family, at an early period of its settlement, as his name is
found in the records there in 1663. He was an original
proprietor, having a twenty-acre right."
Of the parents of the subject of this memoir, the same author writes:
"Samuel Lawrence, the son of Captain Amos Lawrence, sen., was an
officer in the continental army, in the former part of the
Revolutionary War. He was in the battle of Bunker Hill, where a
musket-ball passed through his beaver hat. He was also in the
battle in Rhode Island, where he served as adjutant under General
Sullivan. On the 22d day of July, 1777, being at home, on a
furlough, for the express purpose, he was married to Susanna
Parker. * * * *
"Having faithfully served in the cause of his country during the
term of his engagement, he returned to his native town, to enjoy
the peace and quiet of domestic life on his farm. He was elected
by his townsmen to some of the highest offices in their gift; he
was a deacon of the church, and a justice of the peace _quorum
unus_. He took a deep interest in providing means for the
education of youth, particularly in establishing and supporting
the seminary in Groton, which now, in gratitude to him and his
sons, bears the family name. Of this institution he was a trustee
thirty-three years, and in its benefits and advantages he gave
ample opportunities for all his children to participate. Here
their minds undoubtedly received some of those early impressions,
the developments and consequences of which it will be the work of
their biographers hereafter to portray. No deduction, however,
should here be made from the importance of parental instruction,
to add to the merit of academical education. The correct lessons
given by the mother in the nursery are as necessary to give the
right inclination to the tender mind as are those of the tutor in
the highest seminary to prepare it for the business of life and
intellectual greatness. In the present case, all the duties
incumbent on a mother to teach her offspring to be good, and
consequently great, were discharged with fidelity and success.
Both parents lived to see, in the subject of their care, all that
they could reasonably hope or desire. He died November 8, 1827,
æt. seventy-three; and his venerable widow, May 2, 1845, æt.
eighty-nine."
Mr. Lawrence writes, in 1849, to a friend:
"My father belonged to a company of _minute-men_ in Groton, at
the commencement of the Revolution. On the morning of the 19th of
April, 1775, when the news reached town that the British troops
were on the road from Boston, General Prescott, who was a
neighbor, came towards the house on horseback, at rapid speed,
and cried out, 'Samuel, notify your men: _the British are
coming_.' My father mounted the general's horse, rode a distance
of seven miles, notified the men of his circuit, and was back
again at his father's house in forty minutes. In three hours the
company was ready to march, and on the next day (the 20th)
reached Cambridge. My father was in the battle of Bunker Hill;
received a bullet through his cap, which cut his hair from front
to rear; received a spent grape-shot upon his arm, without
breaking the bone; and lost a large number of men. His veteran
Captain Farwell was shot through the body, was taken up for dead,
and was so reported by the man who was directed to carry him off.
This report brought back the captain's voice, and he exclaimed,
with his utmost power, '_It an't true; don't let my poor wife
hear of this; I shall live to see my country free._' And so it
turned out. This good man, who had served at the capture of Cape
Breton in 1745, again in 1755, and now on Bunker Hill in 1775, is
connected with everything interesting in my early days. The
bullet was extracted, and remains, as a memento, with his
descendants. My father and mother were acquainted from their
childhood, and engaged to be married some time in 1775. They kept
up a correspondence through 1776, when he was at New York; but,
on a visit to her, in 1777 (his mother having advised them to be
married, as Susan had better be Sam's widow than his forlorn
damsel), they were married; but, while the ceremony was going
forward, the signal was given to call all soldiers to their
posts; and, within the hour, he left his wife, father, mother,
and friends, to join his regiment, then at Cambridge. This was on
the 22d day of July, 1777. In consideration of the circumstances,
his colonel allowed him to return to his wife, and to join the
army at Rhode Island in a brief time (two or three days). He did
so, and saw nothing more of home until the last day of that year.
The army being in winter quarters, he got a furlough for a short
period, and reached home in time to assist at the ordination of
the Rev. Daniel Chaplin, of whose church both my parents were
then members. His return was a season of great joy to all his
family. His stay was brief, and nothing more was seen of him
until the autumn of 1778, when he retired from the army, in time
to be with his wife at the birth of their first child. From that
time he was identified with everything connected with the good of
the town. As we children came forward, we were carefully looked
after, but were taught to use the talents intrusted to us; and
every nerve was strained to provide for us the academy which is
now doing so much there. We _sons_ are doing less for education
_for our means_ than our father for his means."
Of his mother Mr. Lawrence always spoke in the strongest terms of
veneration and love, and in many of his letters are found messages of
affection, such as could have emanated only from a heart overflowing
with filial gratitude. Her form bending over their bed in silent
prayer, at the hour of twilight, when she was about leaving them for
the night, is still among the earliest recollections of her children.
She was a woman well fitted to train a family for the troubled times
in which she lived. To the kindest affections and sympathies she
united energy and decision, and in her household enforced that strict
and unhesitating obedience, which she considered as the foundation of
all success in the education of children. Her hands were never idle,
as may be supposed, when it is remembered that in those days,
throughout New England, in addition to the cares of a farming
establishment, much of the material for clothing was manufactured by
the inmates of the family. Many hours each day she passed at the
hand-loom, and the hum of the almost obsolete spinning-wheel even now
comes across the memory like the remembrance of a pleasant but
half-forgotten melody.
CHAPTER II.
EARLY YEARS.--SCHOOL DAYS.--APPRENTICESHIP.
The first public instruction received by Mr. Lawrence was at the
district school kept at a short distance from his father's house.
Possessing a feeble constitution, he was often detained at home by
sickness, where he employed himself industriously with his books and
tools, in the use of which he acquired a good degree of skill, as may
be seen from a letter to his son, at Groton, in 1839:
"Near the barn used to be an old fort, where the people went to
protect themselves from the Indians; and, long since my
remembrance, the old cellar was there, surrounded by elder-bushes
and the like. I made use of many a piece of the elder for
pop-guns and squirts, in the preparation of which I acquired a
strong taste for the use of the pen-knife and jack-knife. I like
the plan of boys acquiring the taste for tools, and of their
taking pains to learn their use; for they may be so situated as
to make a very slight acquaintance very valuable to them. And,
then, another advantage is that they may have exercise of body
and mind in some situations where they would suffer without. How
do you employ yourself? Learn as much as you can of farming; for
the work of your hands in this way may prove the best resource
in securing comfort to you. The beautiful images of early life
come up in these bright moonlight nights, the like of which I
used to enjoy in the fields below our old mansion, where I was
sent to watch the cattle. There I studied astronomy to more
account than ever afterwards; for the heavens were impressive
teachers of the goodness of that Father who is ever near to each
one of his children. May you never lose sight of this truth, and
so conduct yourself that at any moment you may be ready to answer
when He calls!"
He did not allow himself to be idle, but, from his earliest years,
exhibited the same spirit of industry which led to success in after
life. With a natural quickness of apprehension, and a fondness for
books, he made commendable progress, in spite of his disadvantages.
His father's social disposition and hospitable feelings made the house
a favorite resort for both friends and strangers; and among the most
welcome were old messmates and fellow-soldiers, to whose marvellous
adventures and escapes the youthful listener lent a most attentive
ear. In after life he often alluded to the intense interest with which
he hung upon these accounts of revolutionary scenes, and times which
"tried men's souls." The schoolmaster was usually billeted upon the
family; and there are now living individuals high in political and
social life who served in that capacity, and who look back with
pleasure to the days passed under that hospitable roof.
At a later period, he seems to have been transferred to another
school, in the adjoining district, as will be seen by the following
extract of a letter, written in 1844, to a youth at the Groton
Academy:
"More than fifty years ago, your father and I were school
children together. I attended then at the old meeting-house, or
North Barn, as it was called, by way of derision, where I once
remember being in great tribulation at having lost my
spelling-book on the way. It was afterwards restored to me by
Captain Richardson, who found it under his pear-tree, where I had
been, without leave, on my way to school, and with the other
children helped myself to his fruit."
From the district school, Mr. Lawrence entered the Groton Academy, of
which all his brothers and sisters were members at various times. As
his strength was not sufficient to make him useful upon the farm, in
the autumn of 1799 he was placed in a small store, in the neighboring
town of Dunstable. There he passed but a few months; and, on account,
perhaps, of greater facilities for acquiring a knowledge of business,
he was transferred to the establishment of James Brazer, Esq., of
Groton, an enterprising and thrifty country merchant, who transacted a
large business, for those times, with his own and surrounding towns.
The store was situated on the high road leading from Boston to New
Hampshire and Canada, and was, consequently, a place of much resort,
both for travellers and neighbors who took an interest in passing
events. Several clerks were employed; and, as Mr. Brazer did not take
a very active part in the management of the business, after a year or
two nearly the whole responsibility of the establishment rested upon
young Lawrence. The stock consisted of the usual variety kept in the
country stores of those days, when neighbors could not, as now, run
down to the city, thirty or forty miles distant, for any little matter
of fancy, and return before dinner-time. Puncheons of rum and brandy,
bales of cloth, kegs of tobacco, with hardware and hosiery, shared
attention in common with silks and thread, and all other articles for
female use. Among other duties, the young clerk was obliged to
dispense medicines, not only to customers, but to all the physicians
within twenty miles around, who depended on this establishment for
their supply.
The confidence in his good judgment was such that he was often
consulted, in preference to the physician, by those who were suffering
from minor ails; and many were the extemporaneous doses which he
administered for the weal or woe of the patient. The same confidence
was extended to him in all other matters, no one doubted his
assertion; and the character for probity and fairness which
accompanied him through life was here established.
The quantity of rum and brandy sold would surprise the temperance men
of modern days. At eleven o'clock, each forenoon, some stimulating
beverage, according to the taste of the clerk who compounded it, was
served out for the benefit of clerks and customers. Mr. Lawrence
partook with the others; but, soon finding that the desire became more
pressing at the approach of the hour for indulgence, he resolved to
discontinue the habit altogether:
"His mind was soon made up. Understanding perfectly the ridicule
he should meet with, and which for a time he did meet with in its
fullest measure, he yet took at once the ground of _total
abstinence_. Such a stand, taken at such an age, in such
circumstances of temptation, before temperance societies had been
heard of, or the investigations had been commenced on which they
are based, was a practical instance of that judgment and decision
which characterized him through life."[1]
[1] President Hopkins's Sermon in commemoration of Amos Lawrence
In regard to this resolution, he writes, many years afterward, to a
young student in college:
"In the first place, take this for your motto at the commencement
of your journey, that the difference of going _just right_, or a
_little wrong_, will be the difference of finding yourself in
good quarters, or in a miserable bog or slough, at the end of it.
Of the whole number educated in the Groton stores for some years
before and after myself, no one else, to my knowledge, escaped
the bog or slough; and my escape I trace to the simple fact of my
having put a restraint upon my appetite. We five boys were in the
habit, every forenoon, of making a drink compounded of rum,
raisins, sugar, nutmeg, &c., with biscuit,--all palatable to eat
and drink. After being in the store four weeks, I found myself
admonished by my appetite of the approach of the hour for
indulgence. Thinking the habit might make trouble if allowed to
grow stronger, without further apology to my seniors I declined
partaking with them. My first resolution was to abstain for a
week, and, when the week was out, for a month, and then for a
year. Finally, I resolved to abstain for the rest of my
apprenticeship, which was for five years longer. During that
whole period, I never drank a spoonful, though I mixed gallons
daily for my old master and his customers. I decided not to be a
slave to tobacco in any form, though I loved the odor of it then,
and even now have in my drawer a superior Havana cigar, given me,
not long since, by a friend, but only to smell of. I have never
in my life smoked a cigar; never chewed but one quid, and that
was before I was fifteen; and never took an ounce of snuff,
though the scented rappee of forty years ago had great charms for
me. Now, I say, to this simple fact of starting _just right_ am I
indebted, with God's blessing on my labors, for my present
position, as well as that of the numerous connections sprung up
around me. I have many details that now appear as plain to me as
the sun at noonday, by which events are connected together, and
which have led to results that call on me to bless the Lord for
all his benefits, and to use the opportunities thus permitted to
me in cheering on the generation of young men who have claims
upon my sympathies as relations, fellow-townsmen, or brethren on
a more enlarged scale."
Of this period he writes elsewhere, as follows:
"When I look back, I can trace the small events which happened at
your age as having an influence upon all the after things. My
academy lessons, little academy balls, and eight-cent expenses
for music and gingerbread, the agreeable partners in the hall,
and pleasant companions in the stroll, all helped to make me feel
that I had a character even then; and, after leaving school and
going into the store, there was not a month passed before I
became impressed with the opinion that restraint upon appetite
was necessary to prevent the slavery I saw destroying numbers
around me. Many and many of the farmers, mechanics, and
apprentices, of that day, have filled drunkards' graves, and have
left destitute families and friends.
"The knowledge of every-day affairs which I acquired in my
business apprenticeship in Groton has been a source of pleasure
and profit even in my last ten years' discipline."
The responsibility thrown upon the young clerk was very great; and he
seems cheerfully to have accepted it, and to have given himself up
entirely to the performance of his business duties. His time, from
early dawn till evening, was fully taken up; and, although living in
the family of his employer, and within a mile of his father's house, a
whole week would sometimes pass without his having leisure to pay even
a flying visit.
But few details of his apprenticeship can now be gathered either from
his contemporaries or from any allusions in his own writings. He was
disabled for a time by an accident which came near being fatal. In
assisting an acquaintance to unload a gun, by some means the charge
exploded, and passed directly through the middle of his hand, making
a round hole like that of a bullet. Sixty-three shot were picked out
of the floor after the accident, and it seemed almost a miracle that
he ever again had the use of his hand.
CHAPTER III.
ARRIVAL IN BOSTON.--CLERKSHIP.--COMMENCES BUSINESS.--HABITS.--LETTERS.
On the 22d of April, 1807, Mr. Lawrence became of age; and his
apprenticeship, which had lasted seven years, was terminated.
On the 29th of the same month, he took his father's horse and chaise,
and engaged a neighbor to drive him to Boston, with, as he says, many
years afterwards,--
"Twenty dollars in my pocket, but feeling richer than I had ever
felt before, or have felt since; so rich that I gave the man who
came with me two dollars to save him from any expense, and insure
him against loss by his spending two days on the journey here and
back (for which he was glad of an excuse)."
His object was to make acquaintances, and to establish a credit which
would enable him to commence business in Groton on his own account, in
company with a fellow-apprentice.
A few days after his arrival in Boston, he received the offer of a
clerkship from a respectable house; and, wishing to familiarize
himself with the modes of conducting mercantile affairs in the
metropolis, and with the desire of extending his acquaintance with
business men, he accepted the offer. His employers were so well
satisfied with the capacity of their new clerk, that, in the course of
a few months, they made a proposition to admit him into partnership.
Without any very definite knowledge of their affairs, he, much to
their surprise, declined the offer. He did not consider the principles
on which the business was conducted as the true ones. The result
showed his sagacity; for, in the course of a few months, the firm
became insolvent, and he was appointed by the creditors to settle
their affairs. This he did to their satisfaction; and, having no
further occupation, decided upon commencing business on his own
account. He accordingly hired a small store in what was then called
Cornhill, and furnished it by means of the credit which he had been
able to obtain through the confidence with which he had inspired those
whose acquaintance he had made during his brief sojourn in Boston.
On the 17th of December, 1807, he commenced business, after having
engaged as his clerk Henry Whiting, in after years well and honorably
known as Brigadier-General Whiting, of the United States Army.
Mr. Lawrence writes to General Whiting, in 1849, as follows:
"I have just looked into my first sales-book, and there see the
entries made by you more than forty-one years ago. Ever since,
you have been going up from the cornet of dragoons to the present
station. Abbott, who took your place, is now the representative
of his country at the Court of St. James."
In a memorandum in one of his account-books, he thus alludes to his
condition at that time:
"I was then, in the matter of property, not worth a dollar. My
father was comfortably off as a farmer, somewhat in debt; with
perhaps four thousand dollars. My brother Luther was in the
practice of law, getting forward, but not worth two thousand
dollars; William had nothing; Abbott, a lad just fifteen years
old, at school; and Samuel, a child seven years old."
Of the manner in which he occupied himself when not engaged about his
business, he writes to his son in 1832:
"When I first came to this city, I took lodgings in the family of
a widow who had commenced keeping boarders for a living. I was
one of her first, and perhaps had been in the city two months
when I went to this place; and she, of course, while I remained,
was inclined to adopt any rules for the boarders that I
prescribed. The only one I ever made was, that, after supper, all
the boarders who remained in the public room should remain quiet
at least for one hour, to give those who chose to study or read
an opportunity of doing so without disturbance. The consequence
was, that we had the most quiet and improving set of young men in
the town. The few who did not wish to comply with the regulation
went abroad after tea, sometimes to the theatre, sometimes to
other places, but, to a man, became bankrupt in after life, not
only in fortune, but in reputation; while a majority of the other
class sustained good characters, and some are now living who are
ornaments to society, and fill important stations. The influence
of this small measure will perhaps be felt throughout
generations. It was not less favorable on myself than on others."
Mr. Lawrence was remarkable through life for the most punctilious
exactness in all matters relating to business. Ever prompt himself in
all that he undertook, he submitted with little grace to the want of
the same good trait in others. He writes to a friend:
"And now having delivered the message, having the power at the
present moment, and not having the assurance that I shall be able
to do it the next hour, I will state that I practised upon the
maxim, '_Business before friends_,' from the commencement of my
course. During the first seven years of my business in this city,
I never allowed a bill against me to stand unsettled over the
Sabbath. If the purchase of goods was made at auction on
Saturday, and delivered to me, I always examined and settled the
bill by note or by crediting it, and having it clear, so that, in
case I was not on duty on Monday, there would be no trouble for
my boys; thus keeping the business _before_ me, instead of
allowing it to _drive_ me."
Absence from his home seemed only to strengthen the feelings of
attachment with which he regarded its inmates.
"My interest in home, and my desire to have something to tell my
sisters to instruct and improve them, as well as to hear their
comments upon whatever I communicated, was a powerful motive for
me to spend a portion of each evening in my boarding-house, the
first year I came to Boston, in reading and study."
During the same month in which he commenced his business, he opened a
correspondence with one of his sisters by the following letter:
"BOSTON, December, 1807.
"DEAR E.: Although the youngest, you are no less dear to me than
the other sisters. To you, therefore, I ought to be as liberal in
affording pleasure (if you can find any in reading my letters) as
to S. and M.; and, if there is any benefit resulting from them,
you have a claim to it as well as they. From these
considerations, and with the hope that you will write to me
whenever you can do so with convenience, I have begun a
correspondence which I hope will end only with life. To be able
to write a handsome letter is certainly a very great
accomplishment, and can best be attained by practice; and, if you
now begin, I have no hesitation in saying, that, by the time you
are sixteen, you will be mistress of a handsome style, and thrice
the quantity of ideas you would otherwise possess, by omitting
this part of education. At present, you can write about any
subject that will afford you an opportunity of putting together a
sentence, and I shall read it with pleasure. I mention this, that
you need not fear writing on subjects not particularly
interesting to me; the manner at present being of as much
consequence as the matter.
"For our mutual pleasure and benefit, dear E., I hope you will
not fail to gratify your affectionate brother
AMOS."
To show the nature of the correspondence between the parties, extracts
are given below from a letter dated within a few days of the
preceding, and addressed to another sister:
"From you, my dear sister, the injunction not to forget the
duties of religion comes with peculiar grace. You beg I will
pardon you for presuming to offer good advice. Does a good act
require pardon? Not having committed an offence, I can grant you
no pardon; but my thanks I can give, which you will accept, with
an injunction never to withhold any caution or advice which you
may think necessary or beneficial on account of fewer years
having passed over your head. * * * *
"Many, when speaking of perfection, say it is not attainable, or
hitherto unattainable, and it is therefore vain to try or hope
for it. To such I would observe, that, from motives of duty to
our Creator, and ambition in ourselves, we ought to strive for
it, at least so far as not to be distanced by those who have
preceded us. Morality is strict justice between man and man;
therefore, a man being moral does not imply he is a Christian,
but being a Christian implies he is a moral man. * * * *
"We ought to use our utmost endeavors to conquer our passions and
evil propensities, to conform our lives to the strict rules of
morality and the best practice of Christianity. I cannot go
further, without introducing the subject of evil speaking, which
you will perhaps think I have exhausted. * * *
"I do not, my dear M., set myself up as a reformer of human
nature, or to find fault with it; but these observations (which
have occurred to me as I am writing) may serve to show how apt we
are to do things which afford us no pleasure, and which
oftentimes are attended with the most disagreeable consequences.
If you receive any improvement from the sentiments, or pleasure
from the perusal, of this letter, the time in writing will be
considered as well spent by your affectionate brother
AMOS."
CHAPTER IV.
BUSINESS HABITS.--HIS FATHER'S MORTGAGE.--RESOLUTIONS.--ARRIVAL OF
BROTHERS IN BOSTON.
Mr. Lawrence had early formed, in the management of his affairs,
certain principles, to which he rigidly adhered till the close of
life. He writes:
"I adopted the plan of keeping an accurate account of merchandise
bought and sold each day, with the profit as far as practicable.
This plan was pursued for a number of years; and I never found my
merchandise fall short in taking an account of stock, which I did
as often at least as once in each year. I was thus enabled to
form an opinion of my actual state as a business man. I adopted
also the rule always to have property, after my second year's
business, to represent forty per cent. at least more than I owed;
that is, never to be in debt more than two and a half times my
capital. This caution saved me from ever getting embarrassed. If
it were more generally adopted, we should see fewer failures in
business. Excessive credit is the rock on which so many business
men are broken.
"When I commenced, the embargo had just been laid, and with such
restrictions on trade that many were induced to leave it. But I
felt great confidence, that, by industry, economy, and integrity,
I could get a living; and the experiment showed that I was right.
Most of the young men who commenced at that period failed by
spending too much money, and using credit too freely.
"I made about fifteen hundred dollars the first year, and more
than four thousand the second. Probably, had I made four thousand
the first year, I should have failed the second or third year. I
practised a system of rigid economy, and never allowed myself to
spend a fourpence for unnecessary objects until I had acquired
it."
It is known to many of Mr. Lawrence's friends that his father
mortgaged his farm, and loaned the proceeds to his son; thereby
enabling him, as some suppose, to do what he could not have done by
his own unaided efforts. To show how far this supposition is correct,
the following extract is given. It is copied from the back of the
original mortgage deed, now lying before the writer, and bearing date
of September 1, 1807. The extract is dated March, 1847:
"The review of this transaction always calls up the deep feelings
of my heart. My honored father brought to me the one thousand
dollars, and asked me to give him my note for it. I told him he
did wrong to place himself in a situation to be made unhappy, if
I lost the money. He told me he _guessed I wouldn't lose it_, and
I gave him my note. The first thing I did was to take four per
cent. premium on my Boston bills (the difference then between
passable and Boston money), and send a thousand dollars in bills
of the Hillsborough Bank to Amherst, New Hampshire, by my father,
to my brother L. to carry to the bank and get specie, as he was
going there to attend court that week. My brother succeeded in
getting specie, principally in silver change, for the bills, and
returned it to me in a few days. In the mean time, or shortly
after, the bank had been sued, the bills discredited, and, in the
end, proved nearly worthless. I determined not to use the money,
except in the safest way; and therefore loaned it to Messrs.
Parkman, in whom I had entire confidence. After I had been in
business, and had made more than a thousand dollars, I felt that
I could repay the money, come what would of it; being insured
against fire, and trusting nobody for goods. I used it in my
business, but took care to pay off the mortgage as soon as it
would be received. The whole transaction is deeply interesting,
and calls forth humble and devout thanksgiving to that merciful
Father who has been to us better than our most sanguine hopes."
In alluding to this transaction in another place, he says:
"This incident shows how dangerous it is to the independence and
comfort of families, for parents to take pecuniary
responsibilities for their sons in trade, beyond their power of
meeting them without embarrassment. Had my Hillsborough Bank
notes not been paid as they were, nearly the whole amount would
have been lost, and myself and family might probably have been
ruined. The incident was so striking, that I have uniformly
discouraged young men who have applied to me for credit, offering
their fathers as bondsmen; and, by doing so, I have, I believe,
saved some respectable families from ruin. My advice, however,
has been sometimes rejected with anger. A young man who cannot
get along without such aid will not be likely to get along with
it. On the first day of January, 1808, I had been but a few days
in business; and the profits on all my sales to that day were one
hundred and seventy-five dollars and eighteen cents. The
expenses were to come out, and the balance was my capital. In
1842, the sum had increased to such an amount as I thought would
be good for my descendants; and, from that time, I have been my
own executor. How shall I show my sense of responsibility? Surely
by active deeds more than by unmeaning words. God grant me to be
true and faithful in his work!"
Having become fairly established in Boston, Mr. Lawrence concluded to
take his brother Abbott, then fifteen years of age, as an apprentice.
On the 8th of October, 1808, Abbott accordingly joined his brother,
who says of him:
"In 1808, he came to me as my apprentice, bringing his bundle
under his arm, with less than three dollars in his pocket (and
this was his fortune); a first-rate business lad he was, but,
like other bright lads, needed the careful eye of a senior to
guard him from the pitfalls that he was exposed to."
In his diary of February 10, 1847, he writes:
"In the autumn of 1809, I boarded at Granger's Coffee House,
opposite Brattle-street Church; and, in the same house, Mr.
Charles White took up his quarters, to prepare his then new play,
called the 'Clergyman's Daughter.' He spent some months in
preparing it to secure a _run_ for the winter; and used to have
Tennett, Canfield, Robert Treat Paine, and a host of others, to
dine with him very often. I not unfrequently left the party at
the dinner-table, and found them there when I returned to tea.
Among the boarders was a fair proportion of respectable young
men, of different pursuits; and, having got somewhat interested
for White, we all agreed to go, and help bring out his
'Clergyman's Daughter.' Mrs. Darley was the lady to personate
her, and a more beautiful creature could not be found. She and
her husband (who sung his songs better than any man I had ever
heard then) had all the spirit of parties in interest. We filled
the boxes, and encored, and all promised a great run. After three
nights, we found few beside the friends, and it was laid aside a
failure. In looking back, the picture comes fresh before me; and,
among all, I do not recollect one who was the better, and most
were ruined. The theatre is no better now."
In 1849, he resumes:
"About this time, my brother William made me a little visit to
recruit his health, which he had impaired by hard work on the
farm, and by a generous attention to the joyous meetings of the
young folks of both sexes, from six miles around, which meetings
he never allowed to break in upon his work. He continued his
visit through the winter, and became so much interested in my
business that I agreed to furnish the store next my own for his
benefit. Soon after that, I was taken sick; and he bought goods
for himself to start with, and pushed on without fear. From that
time, he was successful as a business man. He used his property
faithfully, and I trust acceptably to the Master, who has called
him to account for his talents. Our father's advice to us was,
"'Do not fall out by the way, for a three-fold cord is not
quickly broken.'"
CHAPTER V.
VISITS AT GROTON.--SICKNESS.--LETTER FROM DR.
SHATTUCK.--ENGAGEMENT.--LETTER TO REV. DR. GANNETT.--MARRIAGE.
During these years, Mr. Lawrence was in the habit of making occasional
visits to his parents in Groton, thirty-five miles distant. His custom
was to drive himself, leaving Boston at a late hour on Saturday
afternoon, and often, as he says, encroaching upon the Sabbath before
reaching home. After midnight, on Sunday, he would leave on his
return; and thus was enabled to reach Boston about daybreak on Monday
morning, without losing a moment's time in his business.
In 1810, Mr. Lawrence was seized with an alarming illness, through
which he enjoyed the care and skill of his friend and physician, the
late Dr. G. C. Shattuck, who, shortly before his own death,
transmitted the following account of this illness to the editor of
these pages, who also had the privilege of enjoying a friendship so
much prized by his father:
"Feb. 28, 1853.
"More than forty years ago, New England was visited with a
pestilence. The people were stricken with panic. The first
victims were taken off unawares. In many towns in the interior
of the commonwealth, the people assembled in town meeting, and
voted to pay, from the town treasury, physicians to be in
readiness to attend on any one assailed with the premonitory
symptoms of disease. The distemper was variously named, cold
plague, spotted fever, and malignant remittent fever. After a day
of unusual exercise, your father was suddenly taken ill. The
worthy family in which he boarded were prompt in their sympathy.
A physician was called: neighbors and friends volunteered their
aid. Remedies were diligently employed. Prayers in the church
were offered up for the sick one. A pious father left his home,
on the banks of the Nashua, to be with his son. To the physician
in attendance he gave a convulsive grasp of the hand, and, with
eyes brimful of tears, and choked utterance, articulated,
'Doctor, if Amos has not money enough, I have!' To the anxious
father his acres seemed like dust in the balance contrasted with
the life of his son. He was a sensible man, acting on the
principle that the stimulus of reward is a salutary adjunct to
the promptings of humanity. God rebuked the disorder, though the
convalescence was slow. A constitution with an originally
susceptible nervous temperament had received a shock which
rendered him a long time feeble. An apprentice, with a discretion
beyond his years, maintained a healthy activity in his mercantile
operations, to the quiet of his mind. He did not need great
strength; for sagacity and decision supplied every other lack.
Supply and demand were as familiar to him as the alphabet. He
knew the wants of the country, and sources of supply.
Accumulation followed his operations, and religious principle
regulated the distribution of the cumbrous surplus. A sensible
and pious father, aided by a prudent mother, had trained the
child to become the future man. You will excuse my now addressing
you, when you recur to the tradition that I had participated in
the joy of the house when you first opened your eyes to the
light. That God's promises to the seed of the righteous may
extend to you and yours, is the prayer of your _early_
acquaintance,
"GEORGE C. SHATTUCK."
But few details of Mr. Lawrence's business from this date until 1815
are now found. Suffice it to say, that, through the difficult and
troubled times in which the United States were engaged in the war with
England, his efforts were crowned with success. Dark clouds sometimes
arose in the horizon, and various causes of discouragement from time
to time cast a gloom over the mercantile world; but despondency formed
no part of his character, while cool sagacity and unceasing
watchfulness and perseverance enabled him to weather many a storm
which made shipwreck of others around him.
Amidst the engrossing cares of business, however, Mr. Lawrence found
time to indulge in more genial pursuits, as will be seen from the
following lines, addressed to his sister:
"BOSTON, March 17, 1811.
"My not having written to you since your return, my dear M., has
proceeded from my having other numerous avocations, and partly
from a carelessness in such affairs reprehensible in me. You
will, perhaps, be surprised to learn the extent and importance of
my avocations; for, in addition to my usual routine of mercantile
affairs, I have lately been engaged in a negotiation of the
first importance, and which I have accomplished very much to my
own satisfaction. It is no other than having offered myself as a
husband to your very good friend Sarah Richards, which offer she
has agreed to accept. So, next fall, you must set your mind on a
wedding. Sarah I have long known and esteemed: there is such a
reciprocity of feelings, sentiments, and principles, that I have
long thought her the most suitable person I have seen for me to
be united with. Much of my time, as you may well suppose, is
spent in her society; and here I cannot but observe the infinite
advantage of good sense and good principles over the merely
elegant accomplishments of fashionable education. By the latter
we may be fascinated for a time; but they will afford no
satisfaction on retrospection. The former you are compelled to
respect and to love. Such qualities are possessed by Sarah; and,
were I to say anything further in her favor, it would be that she
is beloved by you. Adieu, my dear sister,
A. L."
As this volume is intended only for the perusal of the family and
friends of the late Amos Lawrence, no apology need be made for
introducing such incidents of his life, of a domestic nature, as may
be thought interesting, and which it might not seem advisable to
introduce under other circumstances. Of this nature are some details
connected with this engagement. The young lady here alluded to, whose
solid qualities he thus, at the age of twenty-five and in the first
flush of a successful courtship, so calmly discusses, in addition to
these, possessed personal charms sufficient to captivate the fancy of
even a more philosophical admirer than himself. Her father, Giles
Richards, was a man of great ingenuity, who resided in Boston at the
close of the Revolutionary War. He owned an establishment for the
manufactory of cards for preparing wool. A large number of men were
employed; and, at that time, it was considered one of the objects
worthy of notice by strangers. As such, it was visited by General
Washington on his northern tour; and may be found described, in the
early editions of Morse's Geography, among the industrial
establishments of Boston. As in the case of many more noted men of
inventive genius, his plans were more vast than the means of
accomplishment; and the result was, loss of a handsome competency, and
embarrassment in business, from which he retired with unsullied
reputation, and passed his latter years in the vicinity of Boston.
Here the evening of his life was cheered by the constant and watchful
care of his wife, whose cheerful and happy temperament shed a radiance
around his path, which, from a naturally desponding character, might
otherwise have terminated in gloom. She had been the constant
companion of her husband in all his journeyings and residences in
nearly every State in the Union, where his business had called him;
and, after forty years, returned to die in the house where she was
born,--the parsonage once occupied by her father, the Rev. Amos Adams,
of Roxbury, who, at the time of the Revolution, was minister of the
church now under the pastoral care of the Rev. Dr. Putnam.
Sarah had been placed in the family of the Rev. Dr. Chaplin, minister
of the church at Groton, and was a member of the academy when Mr.
Lawrence first made her acquaintance. "The academy balls, the
agreeable partners in the hall, the pleasant companions in the
stroll," remembered with so much pleasure in after life, were not
improbably associated with this acquaintance, who had become a visitor
and friend to his own sisters. After a separation of four years, the
acquaintance was accidentally renewed in the year 1807. Sarah was on a
visit at Cambridge to the family of Caleb Gannett, Esq., then and for
many years afterwards Steward of Harvard University. In a letter to
Rev. Dr. Gannett, dated February 15, 1845, Mr. Lawrence thus alludes
to this interview:
"My first interview with you, thirty-eight years ago, when you
were led by the hand into the store where I then was, in
Cornhill, by that friend (who was afterwards my wife),
unconscious of my being within thirty miles, after a four years'
separation, connects you in my thoughts with her, her children
and grandchildren, in a way that no one can appreciate who has
not had the experience."
Enclosed in this letter was a faded paper, on which were written
several verses of poetry, with the following explanation:
"Only think of your sainted mother writing this little scrap
thirty-eight years ago, when on her death-bed, for her young
friend, then on a visit to her, to teach to you, who could not
read; and this scrap, written upon a blank term-bill without
premeditation, being preserved by that friend while she lived,
and, after her death, by her daughter while she lived, and, after
her death, being restored to me as the rightful disposer of it;
and my happening, within four days after, to meet you under such
circumstances as made it proper to show it to you."
MRS. GANNETT'S HYMN FOR HER LITTLE BOY IN 1807.
How can a child forgetful prove
Of all that wakes the heart to love,
And from the path of duty stray,
To spend his time in sport and play;
Neglectful of the blessing given,
Which marks the path to peace and heaven?
O! how can I, who daily share
A mother's kind, assiduous care,
Be idle, and ungrateful too;
Forsake the good, the bad pursue;
Neglectful of the blessings given,
Which mark the path to peace and heaven?
O! how can I such folly show,
When faults indulged to vices grow,--
Who know that idle days ne'er make
Men that are useful, good, or great?
Dear mother, still be thou my guide,
Nor suffer me my faults to hide;
And O may God his grace impart
To fix my feeble, foolish heart,
That I may wait the blessing given,
Which marks the path to peace and heaven!
MEM.--Mrs. Gannett died soon after writing this on a blank
term-bill of Harvard College, in 1807.--A. L., 1847.
The marriage of Mr. Lawrence took place in Boston, on the 6th of June,
1811, three months after announcing his engagement to his sister.
CHAPTER VI.
BRAMBLE NEWS.--JUNIOR PARTNER GOES TO ENGLAND.--LETTERS TO BROTHER.
In 1849, Mr. Lawrence writes as follows:
"On the 1st of January, 1814, I took my brother Abbott into
partnership on equal shares, putting fifty thousand dollars, that
I had then earned, into the concern. Three days afterwards, the
'Bramble News' came, by which the excessive high price of goods
was knocked down. Our stock was then large, and had cost a high
price. He was in great anguish, considering himself a bankrupt
for at least five thousand dollars. I cheered him by offering to
cancel our copartnership indentures, give him up his note, and,
at the end of the year, pay him five thousand dollars. He
declined the offer, saying I should lose that, and more beside,
and, as he had enlisted, would do the best he could. This was in
character, and it was well for us both. He was called off to do
duty as a soldier, through most of the year. I took care of the
business, and prepared to retreat with my family into the country
whenever the town seemed liable to fall into the hands of the
British, who were very threatening in their demonstrations. We
still continue mercantile business under the first set of
indentures, and under the same firm, merely adding '& Co.,' as
new partners have been admitted."
In March, 1815, the junior partner embarked on board the ship Milo,
the first vessel which sailed from Boston for England after the
proclamation of peace. On the eve of his departure, he received from
his brother and senior partner a letter containing many good counsels
for his future moral guidance, as well as instructions in relation to
the course of business to be pursued. From that letter, dated March
11th, the following extracts are taken:
"MY DEAR BROTHER: I have thought best, before you go abroad, to
suggest a few hints for your benefit in your intercourse with the
people among whom you are going. As a first and leading
principle, let every transaction be of that pure and honest
character that you would not be ashamed to have appear before the
whole world as clearly as to yourself. In addition to the
advantages arising from an honest course of conduct with your
fellow-men, there is the satisfaction of reflecting within
yourself that you have endeavored to do your duty; and, however
greatly the best may fall short of doing all they ought, they
will be sure not to do more than their principles enjoin.
"It is, therefore, of the highest consequence that you should not
only cultivate correct principles, but that you should place your
standard of action so high as to require great vigilance in
living up to it.
"In regard to your business transactions, let everything be so
registered in your books, that any person, without difficulty,
can understand the whole of your concerns. You may be cut off in
the midst of your pursuits, and it is of no small consequence
that your temporal affairs should always be so arranged that you
may be in readiness.
"If it is important that you should be well prepared in this
point of view, how much more important is it that you should be
prepared in that which relates to eternity!
"You are young, and the course of life seems open, and pleasant
prospects greet your ardent hopes; but you must remember that the
race is not always to the swift, and that however flattering may
be your prospects, and however zealously you may seek pleasure,
you can never find it except by cherishing pure principles, and
practising right conduct. My heart is full on this subject, my
dear brother, and it is the only one on which I feel the least
anxiety.
"While here, your conduct has been such as to meet my entire
approbation; but the scenes of another land may be more than your
principles will stand against. I say, _may be_, because young
men, of as fair promise as yourself, have been lost by giving a
small latitude (innocent in the first instance) to their
propensities. But I pray the Father of all mercies to have you in
his keeping, and preserve you amid temptations.
* * * * *
"I can only add my wish to have you write me frequently and
particularly, and that you will embrace every opportunity of
gaining information.
Your affectionate brother,
"AMOS LAWRENCE.
"TO ABBOTT LAWRENCE."
Again, on the 28th of the month, he writes to the same, after his
departure:
"I hope you will have arrived in England early in April; and if
so, you will be awaiting with anxious solicitude the arrival of
the 'Galen,' by which vessel you will receive letters from
_home_, a word which brings more agreeable associations to the
mind and feelings of a young stranger in a foreign land than any
other in our language. I have had many fears that you have had a
rough passage, as the weather on the Friday following your
departure was very boisterous, and continued so for a number of
days, and much of the time since has been uncomfortable. I trust,
however, that the same good Hand which supplies our daily wants
has directed your course to the desired port.
"With a just reliance on that Power, we need have no fear, though
winds and waves should threaten our destruction. The interval
between the time of bidding adieu and of actual departure called
into exercise those fine feelings which those only have who can
prize friends, and on that account I was happy to see so much
feeling in yourself.
"Since your departure nothing of a public nature has transpired
of particular interest. All that there is of news or interest
among us you will gather from the papers forwarded.
"Those affairs which relate particularly to ourselves will be of
as much interest as any; I shall therefore detail our business
operations.
* * * * *
"My next and constant direction will be to keep a particular
watch over yourself, that you do not fall into any habits of
vice; and, as a means of preserving yourself, I would most
strictly enjoin that your Sabbaths be not spent in noise and
riot, but that you attend the public worship of God. This you may
think an unnecessary direction to you, who have always been in
the habit of doing so. I hope it may be; at any rate, it will do
no harm.
"That you may be blessed with health, and enjoy properly the
blessings of life, is the wish of your ever affectionate brother,
"A. L.
"TO ABBOTT LAWRENCE."
(TO ABBOTT LAWRENCE.)
"BOSTON, April 15th, 1815.
"MY DEAR BROTHER: By the favor of Heaven I trust ere this you
have landed upon the soil from which sprang our forefathers. In
the contemplation of that wonderful 'Isle' on your first arrival,
there must be a feeling bordering on devotion. The thousand new
objects, which make such constant demand on your attention, will
not, I hope, displace the transatlantic friends from the place
they should occupy in your remembrance. Already do I begin to
count the days when I may reasonably hear from you.
"I pray you to let no opportunity pass without writing, as you
will be enabled to appreciate the pleasure your letters will give
by those which you receive from home. Since your departure, our
father has been dangerously ill; he seems fast recovering, but we
much fear a relapse, when he would, in all probability, be
immediately deprived of life, or his disease would so far weaken
him as to terminate his usefulness. Our mother continues as
comfortable as when you left us. Should you live to return,
probably one or both our parents may not be here to welcome you;
we have particular reason for thankfulness that they have both
been spared to us so long, and have been so useful in the
education of their children.
"All others of our connection have been in health since your
departure, and a comfortable share of happiness seems to have
been enjoyed by all.
* * * * *
"Now for advice: you are placed in a particularly favorable
situation, my dear brother, for improving yourself in the
knowledge of such things as will hereafter be useful to you. Let
no opportunity pass without making the most of it. There are
necessarily many vacant hours in your business, which ought not
to pass unemployed. I pretend not to suggest particular objects
for your attention, but only the habit generally of active
employment, which, while making your time useful and agreeable to
yourself, will be the best safeguard to your virtue. The American
character, I trust, is somewhat respected in England at this
time, notwithstanding it was lately at so low an ebb; and I would
wish every American to endeavor to do something to improve it.
Especially do I wish you, my dear A., who visit that country
under circumstances so favorable, to do your part in establishing
a character for your country as well as for yourself. Thus prays
your affectionate brother,
A. L."
To his wife, at Groton, Mr. Lawrence writes, under date of June 4,
1815:
"The Milo got in yesterday, and brought letters from Abbott,
dated 4th April. He was then in Manchester, and enjoyed the best
health. He wrote to our father, which letter, I hope, will arrive
at Groton by to-morrow's mail. I received from him merchandise,
which I hope to get out of the ship and sell this week. I suspect
there are few instances of a young man leaving this town, sending
out goods, and having them sold within ninety days from the time
of his departure. It is eighty-four days this morning since he
left home."
(TO ABBOTT LAWRENCE.)
"BOSTON, June 7, 1815.
"DEAR BROTHER: By the arrival of the Milo last Saturday, and
packet on Monday, I received your several letters, giving an
account of your proceedings. You are as famous among your
acquaintances here for the rapidity of your movements as
Bonaparte. Mr. ---- thinks that you leave Bonaparte entirely in
the background. I really feel a little proud, my dear brother,
of your conduct. Few instances of like despatch are known.
"The sensations you experienced in being greeted so heartily by
the citizens of Liverpool, were not unlike those you felt on
hearing the news of peace. I am happy to state to you that our
father has so far recovered from his illness as to be able to
attend to his farm. Our mother's health is much as when you left.
"Your friends here feel a good deal of interest in your welfare,
and read with deep interest your letters to them. The opportunity
is peculiarly favorable for establishing a reputation as a close
observer of men and manners, and for those improvements which
travelling is reputed to give.
"When writing to you sentences of advice, my heart feels all the
tender sympathies and affections which bind me to my own
children. This is my apology, if any be necessary, for so
frequently touching on subjects for your moral improvement.
"In any condition I can subscribe myself no other than your ever
affectionate brother,
A. L."
CHAPTER VII.
DEATH OF SISTER.--LETTERS.
On the 19th of August, 1815, Mr. Lawrence, in the following letter to
his brother, announced the sudden death of a sister, who to youth and
beauty united many valuable qualities of mind and character:
"To you, who are at such a distance from home, and employed in
the busy pursuits of life, the description of domestic woe will
not come with such force as on us who were eye-witnesses to an
event which we and all our friends shall not cease to deplore. We
have attended this morning to the last sad office of affection to
our loved sister S. Although for ourselves we mourn the loss of
so much excellence, yet for her we rejoice that her race is so
soon run. We are permitted to hope that she is now a saint in
heaven, celebrating before the throne of her Father the praises
of the redeemed. She met death in the enjoyment of that hope
which is the peculiar consolation of the believer. This event, I
know, my dear brother, is calculated to awaken all the tender
recollections of home, and to call forth all your sympathy for
the anguish of friends; but it is also calculated to soften the
heart, and to guide you in your own preparation for that great
day of account. The admonition, I hope, may not be lost on any of
us, and happy will it be for us if we use it aright."
(TO THE SAME.)
"BOSTON, October 19, 1815.
"DEAR ABBOTT: By this vessel I have written to you, but am always
desirous of communicating the last intelligence from home,
therefore I write again. The situation of our town, our country,
our friends, and all the objects of endearment, continues the
same as heretofore. We are, to be sure, getting into a religious
controversy which does not promise to increase the stock of
charity among us, but good will undoubtedly arise from it. The
passions of some of our brethren are too much engaged, and it
would seem from present appearances that consequences unfavorable
to the cause of our Master may ensue; but the wrath of man is
frequently made subservient to the best purposes, and the good of
mankind may in this case be greatly promoted by what at present
seems a great evil. Men's passions are but poor guides to the
discovery of truth, but they may sometimes elicit light by which
others may get at the truth.
"It does seem to me that a man need only use his common sense,
and feel a willingness to be instructed in the reading of the
Scriptures, and there is enough made plain to his understanding
to direct him in the way he should go.
"Others, however, think differently; but that should not be a
reason with me for calling them hard names, especially if by
their lives they show that they are followers of the same
Master."
On December 2d, he writes again:
"I heard from you verbally on the 1st of October, in company with
a platoon of New England Guards; and hope the head of the corps
allowed Lord Wellington the honor of an introduction, and of
inspecting this choice corps, which once had the honor of
protecting the constitution and independence of the United
States, when menaced by the 'proud sons of Britain.' This is a
theme on which _you_ may be allowed to dwell with some delight,
although there are no recitals of hair-breadth escapes and
hard-fought actions, when numbers bit the dust. Yet to you, who
were active in performing duty, this should be a source of
comfortable feeling, as the amount of human misery has not been
increased by your means. Shakspeare's knight of sack thought 'the
better part of valor was discretion,' but I do not believe the
Guards would have confirmed this sentiment, had the opportunity
offered for a trial. I am really glad to hear of you in Paris,
and hope you will improve every moment of your time in acquiring
information that will be agreeable and interesting; and, more
particularly, I hope you will have gone over the ground where the
great events have happened that now allow Europe to repose in
peace. How much should I delight in a few hours' intercourse with
you; but that must be deferred to another period, perhaps to a
very distant period.
"I feel very healthy and very happy; my wife and children all
enjoying health, and a good share of the bounties of Providence
in various ways. Well you may be contented, you will say. What
more is wanting? Such is not always the lot of man possessing
those blessings. There is often a voracious appetite for other
and greater blessings. The desire for more splendor, the
possession of more wealth, is coveted, without the disposition to
use it as an accountable creature; and too late the poor man
finds that all his toil for these earthly objects of his worship
fails in satisfying or giving a good degree of content. I,
therefore, have reason for thankfulness that I am blessed with a
disposition to appreciate tolerably the temporal blessings I
enjoy. To the Father of all mercies I am indebted for this and
every other good thing; even for the increased affection with
which I think of you. That he may bless and keep you, dear
Abbott, is the prayer of your brother,
A. L."
On June 6th, 1817, a few days after the birth of a daughter, he writes
to a friend:
"I am the richest man, I suppose, that there is on this side of
the water, and the richest because I am the happiest. On the 23d
ult. I was blessed by the birth of a fine little daughter; this,
as you may well suppose, has filled our hearts with joy. S. is
very comfortable, and is not less gratified than I am. I wish you
were a married man, and then (if you had a good wife) you would
know how to appreciate the pleasures of a parent. I have lately
thought more than ever of the propriety of your settling soon. It
is extremely dangerous to defer making a connection until a late
period; for a man is in more and more danger of not forming one
the longer he puts it off; and any man who does not form this
connection grossly miscalculates in the use of the means which
God has given him to supply himself with pleasures in the
downhill journey of life.
"He is also foolish to allow himself to be cheated in this
connection by the prospect of a few present advantages, to the
exclusion of the more permanent ones. Every man's best pleasures
should be at home; for there is the sphere for the exercise of
his best virtues; and he should be particularly careful, in the
selection of a partner, to get one who will jeopardize neither.
On this subject, you know, I am always eloquent. But, at this
time, there is reason for my being so, as it is the anniversary
of my wedding day.
"S. has put her eye on a _rib_ for you. The said person, you
must know, is of a comely appearance (not beautiful), is rather
taller than ----, has a good constitution, is perfectly
acquainted with domestic economy, and has all the most desirable
of the fashionable accomplishments, such as music, painting &c.;
and my only objection to her is, as far as I have observed her,
that she has a few thousand dollars in cash. This, however, might
be remedied; for, after furnishing a house, the balance might be
given to her near connections, or to some public institution. I
will give no further description, but will only say that her
connections are such as you would find pleasure in. No more on
this subject. The subject of principal interest among us now is
the new tariff of duties." * * * *
CHAPTER VIII.
DOMESTIC HABITS.--ILLNESS AND DEATH OF WIFE.
In searching for records of the business at this period, the first
copied letters are found in a volume commencing with the date of March
10, 1815; since which period the correspondence, contained in many
volumes, is complete. On the first page of this volume is a letter
from the senior partner somewhat characteristic. It relates to a bill
of exchange for two thousand rupees, which he knew was a doubtful one,
but which he had taken to relieve the pressing necessities of a young
Englishwoman from Calcutta, with a worthless husband. He writes to his
friends in that city:
"We have been so particular as to send a clerk to her with the
money, that we might be sure of her receiving it. Previous to her
receiving the money from us, we were told her children were
ragged, barefooted, and hungry; afterwards we knew they were kept
comfortably clad."
In tracing the course of business as revealed by the perusal of the
correspondence, it is evident that Mr. Lawrence's time and attention
must have been engrossed by the increasing importance and magnitude
of the mercantile operations of his firm. The cares and perplexities
of the day did not, however, unfit him for the quiet enjoyments of
domestic life; and, however great and urgent were the calls upon his
time and his thoughts from abroad, home, with its endearments,
occupied the first place in his affections. So much did its interests
transcend all others in his feelings, that he speaks in after life of
having "watched night and day without leaving, for a fortnight," a
sick child; and then being rewarded for his care by having it restored
to him after the diligent application of remedies, when the physician
and friends had given up all hope of recovery.
With such affections and sources of happiness, connected with
prosperity in his affairs, it may well be supposed that the current of
life flowed smoothly on. His evenings were passed at home; and urgent
must have been the call which could draw him from his fireside, where
the social chat or friendly book banished the cares of the day.
A gentleman, now a prominent merchant in New York, who was a clerk
with Mr. Lawrence at this time, says of him:
"When the business season was over, he would sit down with me,
and converse freely and familiarly, and would have something
interesting and useful to say. I used to enjoy these sittings;
and, while I always feared to do anything, or leave anything
undone, which would displease him, I at the same time had a very
high regard, and I may say love, for him, such as I never felt
for any other man beside my own father. He had a remarkable
faculty of bringing the sterling money into our currency, with
any advance, by a calculation in his mind, and would give the
result with great accuracy in one quarter of the time which it
took me to do it by figures. I used to try hard to acquire this
faculty, but could not, and never saw any other person who
possessed it to the degree he did. His mind was remarkably
vigorous and accurate; and consequently his business was
transacted in a prompt and correct manner. Nothing was left
undone until to-morrow which could be done to-day. He was master
of and controlled his business, instead of allowing his business
to master and control him. When I took charge of the books, they
were kept by single entry; and Mr. Lawrence daily examined every
entry to detect errors. He was dissatisfied with this loose way
of keeping the books; and, at his request, I studied book-keeping
by double entry with Mr. Gershom Cobb, who had just introduced
the new and shorter method of double entry. I then transferred
the accounts into a new set of books on this plan, and well
remember his anxiety during the process, and his expression of
delight when the work was completed, and I had succeeded in
making the first trial-balance come out right. This was the first
set of books opened in Boston on the new system. While Mr.
Lawrence required all to fulfil their engagements fully and
promptly, so long as they were able to do so, he was lenient to
those who were unfortunate, and always ready to compromise
demands against such. No case occurred, while I was with him,
which I thought he dealt harshly with a debtor who had failed in
business."
The year 1818 opened with cheering prospects; but a cloud was
gathering which was destined to cast a shadow over all these pleasant
hopes. During the spring, Mrs. Lawrence was troubled with a cough,
which became so obstinate at the beginning of the summer, that she was
persuaded to remain at Groton for a short period, in order to try the
benefit of country air. Mr. Lawrence writes to her, July 16:
"I am forcibly reminded of the blessings of wife, children, and
friends, by the privation of wife and children; and, when at
home, I really feel homesick and lonesome. Here I am, in two
great rooms, almost alone; so you must prepare at a minute's
notice to follow your husband."
She remained in the country for several weeks, and was summoned
suddenly home by the alarming illness of her husband; the result of
which, for a time, seemed very doubtful. After a season of intense
anxiety and unremitted watchings at his bedside, Mrs. Lawrence was
seized during the night with a hemorrhage from the lungs. This
symptom, which so much alarmed her friends, was hailed by herself with
joy, as she now had no wish to outlive her husband, whose life she had
despaired of. Mr. Lawrence's recovery was slow; and, as soon as it was
deemed prudent, he was sent to Groton to recruit his strength. He
writes, under date of November 5, 1818:
"DEAREST SARAH: We have heard of the fire on Tuesday evening, and
hope the alarm has not impaired your health. I enjoy myself here
as much as it is possible for any one to do under like
circumstances: The idea of leaving the objects most dear to me, a
wife and child sick, is too great a drawback upon my happiness to
allow me as much quiet as is desirable. Yet I have great reason
for thankfulness that I am at this time able to enjoy the society
of friends, and that you are so comfortable as to give good
reason to hope that the next season will restore to you a
tolerable share of health."
Mrs. Lawrence writes, in reply to his letter:
"I have just received yours, and feel better to hear that you are
so well. I hope that you will leave no means unimproved to regain
health. Do not allow unreasonable fears on my account. I am as
well as I was the week past; but we are uneasy mortals, and I do
not improve as I could wish. You know me: therefore make all
allowances. It is a cloudy day."
It soon became evident to all that the disease under which Mrs.
Lawrence labored was a settled consumption, and that there could be
little hope of recovery. To her mother Mr. Lawrence writes, Dec. 7:
"Since I last wrote to you, there has been no material change in
Sarah's situation. She suffers less pain, and has more cheerful
spirits than when you were here. She is very well apprised of her
situation, and complains that those who are admitted to see her
look so sorrowful, that it has a painful effect upon her
feelings. She is desirous of being kept cheerful and happy; and,
as far as I am capable of making her so, I do it. Yet I am a poor
hand to attempt doing, with my feeble health, what is so foreign
to my feelings. Although she is much more comfortable than she
was, I cannot flatter myself that she is any better. She still
retains a faint hope that she may be so; yet it is but a faint
one. It takes much from my distress to see her so calm, and so
resigned to the will of the Almighty. Although her attachments to
life are as strong and as numerous as are the attachments of
most, I believe the principle of resignation is stronger. She is
a genuine disciple of Christ; and, if my children walk in her
steps, they will all be gathered among the blest, and sing the
song of the redeemed. Should it be the will of God that we be
separated for a season, there is an animation in the hope that we
shall meet again, purified from the grossness of the flesh, and
never to be parted. 'God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb.' I
shall have, therefore, no more put upon me than I am able to
bear; yet I know not how to bring my mind to part with so
excellent a friend, and so good a counsellor."
On Jan. 13, 1819, he writes:
"Sarah has continued to sink since you left, and is now
apparently very easy, and very near the termination of her
earthly career. She may continue two or three days; but the
prospect is, that she will not open her eyes upon another
morning. She suffers nothing, and it is, therefore, no trial to
our feelings, compared with what it would be did she suffer. Her
mind is a little clouded at times, but, in the main, quite clear.
We shall give you early information of the event which blasts our
dearest earthly hopes. _But God reigns: let us rejoice._"
A few hours before her death, she called for a paper (now in
possession of the writer), and, with a pencil, traced, in a trembling
hand, some directions respecting small memorials to friends, and then
added:
"Feeling that I must soon depart from this, I trust, to a better
world, I resign very dear friends to God, who has done so much
for me. I am in ecstacies of love. How can I praise him enough!
To my friends I give these tokens of remembrance."
On the 14th of January, 1819, Mr. Lawrence closed the eyes of this
most beloved of all his earthly objects, and immediately relapsed into
a state of melancholy and gloom, which was, no doubt, greatly promoted
by the peculiar state of health and physical debility under which he
had labored since his last illness.
A valued friend writes, a few days after the death of Mrs. L.:
"It was my privilege to witness the closing scene; to behold
faith triumphing over sense, and raising the soul above this
world of shadows. It was a spectacle to convince the sceptic, and
to animate and confirm the Christian. About a week before her
death, her increasing weakness taught her the fallacy of all hope
of recovery. From this time, it was the business of every moment
to prepare herself and her friends for the change which awaited
her. Serene, and even cheerful, she could look forward without
apprehension into the dark valley, and beyond it she beheld those
bright regions where she should meet her Saviour, through whose
mediation she had the blessed assurance that her sins were
pardoned, and her inheritance secure. God permitted a cloud to
obscure the bright prospect; it was but for a moment, and the sun
broke forth with redoubled splendor. On the last night of her
life, she appeared to suffer extremely, though, when asked, she
constantly replied in the negative. She repeated, in a feeble
voice, detached portions of hymns of which she had been fond.
Towards morning, as she appeared nearly insensible, Mrs. R. was
persuaded to lie down and rest. Shortly after, Sarah roused
herself, and said to L., 'I am going; call my mother.' Mrs. R.
was at her bedside immediately, and asked her if she was sensible
that she was leaving the world. She answered 'Yes,' and expressed
her resignation.
"Mrs. R. then repeated a few lines of Pope's Dying Christian, and
the expiring saint, in broken accents, followed her. On her
mother's saying 'the world recedes,' she added, 'It
disappears,--heaven opens.' These were the last words I heard her
utter. She then became insensible, and in about ten minutes
expired. Not a sound interrupted the sacred silence; the tear of
affection was shed, but no lamentation was heard. The eye of
affection dwelt on the faded form, but faith pointed to those
regions where the blessed spirit was admitted to those joys which
eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the
heart of man to conceive. Mr. L. is wonderfully supported. He
feels as a man and a Christian."
Upon this letter Mr. Lawrence has endorsed the following memorandum:
"I saw this letter to-day for the first time. My son-in-law
handed to me yesterday a number of memorials of my beloved
daughter, who was called home on the second day of December
last, when only a few months younger than her mother, whose death
is so beautifully described within. The description brought the
scene back to my mind with a force that unmanned me for a time,
and leads me to pray most earnestly and humbly that I may be
found worthy to join them through the beloved, when my summons
comes.
A. L.
"February 5th, 1845."
CHAPTER IX.
JOURNEYS.--LETTERS.--JOURNEY TO NEW YORK.
The sense of loss and the state of depression under which Mr. Lawrence
labored were so great, that he was advised to try a change of scene;
and accordingly, after having placed his three children with kind
relatives in the country, he left Boston, on a tour, which lasted some
weeks, through the Middle States and Virginia. He wrote many letters
during this time, describing the scenes which he daily witnessed, and
particularly the pleasure which he experienced in Virginia from the
unbounded hospitality with which he was welcomed by those with whom he
had become acquainted. He also visited Washington, and listened to
some important debates on the admission of Missouri into the Union,
which produced a strong and lasting influence upon his mind respecting
the great questions then discussed.
In a letter to his brother from the latter city, dated Feb. 25th,
after describing a visit to the tomb of Washington at Mount Vernon, he
writes:
"Friend Webster has taken a stand here which no man can surpass;
very few are able to keep even with him. He has made a wonderful
argument for the United States Bank. If he does not stand
confessedly first among the advocates here, he does not stand
second. Tell brother L. of this; it will do him good."
On March 30, he writes to his sister, after his return to Boston:
"I am once more near the remains of her who was lately more dear
to me than any other earthly object, after an absence of two
months; my health much improved,--I may say restored; my heart
filled with gratitude to the Author of all good for so many and
rich blessings, so rapidly succeeding such severe privations and
trials."
A few days later, he writes to his sister-in-law:
"Sunday evening, April 4, 1819.
"DEAR S.: It is proper that I should explain to you why my
feelings got so much the better of my reason at the celebration
of the sacrament this morning. The last time I attended that
service was with my beloved S., after an absence on her part of
fifteen months, during which period you well know what passed in
both our minds. On this occasion our minds and feelings were
elevated with devotion, and (as I trust) suitably affected with
gratitude to the Father of mercies for once more permitting her
to celebrate with her husband this memorial of our Saviour. Then,
indeed, were our hearts gladdened by the cheering prospect of her
returning health and continued life. The consideration that I had
since this period been almost within the purlieu of the grave,
that my beloved Sarah had fallen a sacrifice to her care and
anxiety for me, and that I was for the first time at the table
of the Lord without her, with a view to celebrate the most solemn
service of our religion, overwhelmed me as a torrent, and my
feelings were too powerful to be restrained; I was almost
suffocated in the attempt.
"Comment is unnecessary. God grant us a suitable improvement of
the scene!
"Your affectionate brother,
A. L."
On April 6, he writes to a friend in England:
"Since I last wrote, family misfortunes, of which you have from
time to time been apprised, have pressed heavily upon me. I am
now in tolerable health, and hope soon to see it entirely
confirmed."
After a visit to his parents, at Groton, he says, on April 9:
"I arrived at home last Saturday night, at eleven o'clock, after
rather an uncomfortable ride. However, I had the satisfaction on
Monday of exercising my right of suffrage, which, had I not done,
I should have felt unpleasantly. I wrote to M., on Tuesday, under
a depression of spirits altogether greater than I have before
felt. The effect of hope upon my feelings, before I saw the
little ones, was very animating; since that time (although I
found them all I could desire), the stimulus is gone, and I have
been very wretched. The principles I cherish will now have their
proper effect, although nature must first find its level. Do not
imagine I feel severely depressed all the time; although I
certainly have much less of animal spirits than I had before my
return, I do not feel positively unhappy. Under all the
circumstances it is thought best for me to journey. Hitherto, I
have experienced the kind protection of an almighty Friend; it
will not hereafter be withheld. Commending all dear friends and
myself to Him, I remain your truly affectionate brother,
"A. L."
To another sister he writes five days afterwards, before commencing a
second journey:
"In a few moments I am off. I gladly seize the leisure they
furnish me, to tell you I feel well, and have no doubt of having
such a flow of spirits as will make my journey pleasant. At any
rate, I start with this determination. You know not, dear E., the
delight I feel in contemplating the situation of my little ones;
this (if no higher principle) should be sufficient to do away all
repining and vain regrets for the loss of an object so dear as
was their mother. In short, her own wishes should operate very
strongly against these regrets. I hope to be forgiven the
offence, if such it be; and to make such improvement of it as
will subserve the purposes of my heavenly Father, who doth not
willingly afflict the children of men, but for their improvement.
My prayer to God is, that the affliction may not be lost upon me;
but that it may have the effect of making me estimate more justly
the value of all temporal objects, and, by thus softening the
heart, open it to the kind influences of our holy religion, and
produce that love and charity well pleasing to our Father. I have
no object in view further south than Baltimore; from thence I
shall go across the Alleghanies, or journey through the interior
to the northern border of this country. At Baltimore I remain a
few days; my business there is as delegate from Brattle-street
Church, in the settlement of a minister, a young gentleman named
Sparks, from Connecticut."
(TO ABBOTT LAWRENCE.)
"PHILADELPHIA, April 26, 1819.
"DEAR BROTHER: When I see how people in other places are doing
business, I feel that we have reason to thank God that we are not
obliged to do as they do, but are following that regular and
profitably safe business that allows us to sleep well o' nights,
and eat the bread of industry and quietness. The more I see of
the changes produced by violent speculation, the more satisfied I
am that our maxims are the only true ones for a life together.
Different maxims may prove successful for a part of life, but
will frequently produce disastrous results just at the time we
stand most in need; that is, when life is on the wane, and a
family is growing around us.
"Two young brokers in ---- have played a dashing game. They have
taken nearly one hundred thousand dollars from the bank, without
the consent of the directors. A clerk discounted for them. They
have lost it by United States Bank speculations.
"Look after clerks well, if you wish to keep them honest. Too
good a reputation sometimes tempts men to sin, upon the strength
of their reputation.
"As to business, it must be bad enough; that is nothing new; but
patience and perseverance will overcome all obstacles, and,
notwithstanding all things look so dark, I look for a good year's
work.
"You must remember that I have done nothing yet, and I have never
failed of accomplishing more than my expectations; so I say
again, we will make a good year's work of it yet, by the blessing
of Heaven."
From Lancaster, Penn., April 29, he writes to his sister:
"My feelings are usually buoyant, except occasionally when
imagination wanders back to departed days; then comes over me a
shadow, which, by its frequency, I am now enabled to dispel
without violence, and even to dwell upon without injury."
(TO ABBOTT LAWRENCE.)
"BALTIMORE, May 25, 1819.
"DEAR BROTHER: I arrived in this city this morning, in the
steamboat, from Norfolk, and have found a number of letters from
you and brother W. From the present aspect of affairs in this
city, I fear that I shall make but a short stay. At no period has
the face of affairs been more trying to the feelings of the
citizens. Baltimore has never seen but two days which will
compare with last Friday: one of those was the mob day, the other
was the day of the attack by the British.
"Nearly one half the city, embracing its most active and hitherto
wealthiest citizens, have stopped or must stop payment.
Confidence is prostrated, capital vanished.
"I am rejoiced to hear of your easy situation, and hope it may
continue. Avoid responsibilities, and all is well with us. I am
in no wise avaricious, and of course care not whether we make
five thousand dollars more or less, if we risk twenty thousand to
do it.
"I have a high eulogium to pay the Virginians, which I must
reserve for another letter; as also an account of my travels from
Petersburg."
In a letter to a friend, dated at Baltimore, he says:
"Since I have been here, I have been constantly occupied; and,
although the heavy cloud which overhangs this city is discharging
its contents upon their heads, they bear it well, resolving
that, if they are poor, they will not be unsocial, nor uncivil,
and on this principle they meet in little groups, without much
style or ceremony, and pass sensible and sociable evenings
together.
"I have really become very much interested in some of the people
here.
"And now my advice to you is, get married, and have no fear about
the expense being too great. If you have two children born unto
you within a twelve-month, you will be the richer man for it.
Nothing sharpens a man's wits, in earning property and using it,
better than to see a little flock growing up around him. So I say
again, man, fear not."
On his return, it seems to have been his object to interest himself as
much as possible in business, and thus endeavor to divert his mind
from those painful associations, which, in spite of all his efforts,
would sometimes obtain the mastery. In the mean time, he had given up
his house, and resided in the family of his brother Abbott; where he
was welcomed as an inmate, and treated with so much sympathy and
considerate kindness, that his mind, after a time, recovered its tone:
his health was restored, and he was once more enabled to give his full
powers to the growing interests of his firm. For the few succeeding
years, he was engaged in the usual routine of mercantile affairs, and
has left but few memorials or letters, except those relating to his
business. In the winter of 1820, he made a visit to New York, which
he describes in his diary under date of February 15, 1846:
"Yesterday was one of the most lovely winter days. To-day the
snow drives into all the cracks and corners, it being a
boisterous easterly snow-storm, which recalls to my mind a
similar one, which I shall never forget, in February, 1820.
"I went to New York during that month, for the New England Bank,
with about one hundred thousand dollars in foreign gold, the
value of which by law at the mint was soon to be reduced from
eighty-seven to eighty-five cents per pennyweight, or about that.
I also had orders to buy bills with it, at the best rate I could.
Accordingly I invested it, and had to analyze the standing of
many who offered bills, as drawers or endorsers.
"Some of the bills were protested for non-acceptance, and were
returned at once, and damages claimed. This was new law in New
York, and resisted; but the merchants were convinced by suits,
and paid the twenty per cent. damages. The law of damage was
altered soon after.
"On my return, I took a packet for Providence, and came at the
rate of ten knots an hour for the first seven hours of the night.
I was alarmed by a crash, which seemed to me to be breaking in
the side of the ship, within a few inches of my head. I ran upon
deck, and it was a scene to be remembered. Beside the crew, on
board were the officers of a wrecked vessel from Portsmouth, N.
H., and some other old ship-masters, all at work, and giving
directions to a coaster, which had run foul of us, and had lost
its way. By favor and labor, we were saved from being wrecked;
but were obliged to land at some fifteen miles from Providence,
and get there as we could through the snow. I arrived there
almost dead with headache and sickness. Madam Dexter and her
daughter left the day before, and reached home in perfect safety
before the storm. Such are the scenes of human life! Here am I
enjoying my own fireside, while all who were then active with me
in the scenes thus recalled are called to their account,
excepting Philip Hone, M. Van Schaick, N. Goddard, Chancellor
Kent, and his son-in-law, Isaac Hone."
CHAPTER X.
MARRIAGE.--ELECTED TO LEGISLATURE.--ENGAGES IN
MANUFACTURES.--REFLECTIONS.
In April, 1821, Mr. Lawrence was married to Mrs. Nancy Ellis, widow of
the late Judge Ellis, of Claremont, N. H., and daughter of Robert
Means, Esq., of Amherst, in the same State. His children, who had been
placed with his parents and sisters at Groton, were brought home; and
he was now permitted again to unite his family under his own roof, and
to enjoy once more those domestic comforts so congenial to his taste,
and which each revolving year seemed to increase until the close of
his life.
Mr. Lawrence was elected a representative from Boston to the
Legislature for the session of 1821 and 22; and this was the only
occasion on which he ever served in a public legislative body.
Although deeply engaged in his own commercial pursuits, he was
constantly at his post in the House of Representatives; and attended
faithfully to the duties of his office, although with much sacrifice
to his own personal interests. Very little is found among his
memoranda relating to this new experience. As a member of a committee
of the Legislature having in charge the subject of the erection of
wooden buildings in Boston, he seems to have had a correspondence with
the late Hon. John Lowell, who took strong ground before the committee
against the multiplication of buildings of this material, and backed
his arguments with some very characteristic statements and
observations. On one of these letters Mr. Lawrence made a memorandum,
dated March, 1845, as follows:
"The _Boston Rebel_ was a true man, such as we need more of in
these latter days. The open-mouthed lovers of the _dear people_
are self-seekers in most instances. Beware of such."
The following extract is taken from a letter, dated January 4th, 1822,
addressed by Mr. Lawrence to Hon. Frederic Wolcott, of Connecticut,
respecting a son who was about to be placed in his counting-room, and
who, in after years, became his partner in business:
"H. will have much leisure in the evening, which, if he choose,
may be profitably devoted to study; and we hope he will lay out
such a course for himself, as to leave no portion of his time
unappropriated. It is on account of so much leisure, that so many
fine youths are ruined in this town. The habit of industry once
well fixed, the danger is over.
"Will it not be well for him to furnish you, at stated periods,
an exact account of his expenditures? The habit of keeping such
an account will be serviceable, and, if he is prudent, the
satisfaction will be great, ten years hence, in looking back and
observing the process by which his character has been formed. If
he does as well as he is capable, we have no doubt of your
experiencing the reward of your care over him."
For the several following years, Mr. Lawrence was deeply engaged in
business; and the firm of which he was the senior partner became
interested in domestic manufactures, which, with the aid of other
capitalists, afterwards grew into so much importance, until now it has
become one of the great interests of the country. Apart from all
selfish motives, he early became one of the strongest advocates for
the protection of American industry, believing that the first duty of
a government is to advance the interests of its own citizens, when it
can be accomplished with justice to others; and in opposition to the
system of free trade, which, however plausible in theory, he
considered prejudicial to the true interests of our own people. He was
conscientious in these opinions; and, in their support, corresponded
largely with some of the leading statesmen at Washington, as well as
with prominent opponents at the South, who combatted his opinions
while they respected the motives by which he was actuated. He tested
his sincerity, by embarking a large proportion of his property in
these enterprises; and, to the last, entertained the belief that the
climate, the soil, and the habits of the people, rendered domestic
manufactures one of the permanent and abiding interests of New
England. During seasons of high political excitement and sectional
strife, he wrote to various friends at the South, urging them to
discard all local prejudices, and to enter with the North into manly
competition in all those branches of domestic industry which would
tend, not only to enrich, but also to improve the moral and
intellectual character of their people. He watched, with increasing
interest, the progress of Lowell and other manufacturing districts,
and was ever ready to lend a helping hand to any scheme which tended
to advance their welfare. Churches, hospitals, libraries, in these
growing communities, had in him a warm and earnest advocate; and it
was always with honest pride that he pointed out to the intelligent
foreigner the moral condition of the operative here, when compared
with that of the same class in other countries.
On the 1st of January, in each year, Mr. Lawrence was in the habit of
noting down, in a small memorandum-book, an accurate account of all
his property, in order that he might have a clear view of his own
affairs, and also as a guide to his executors in the settlement of his
estate, in case of his death. This annual statement commences in 1814,
and, with the exception of 1819, when he was in great affliction on
account of the death of his wife, is continued every year until that
of his own death, in 1852. In this little volume the following
memorandum occurs, dated January 1, 1826:
"I have been extensively engaged in business during the last two
years, and have added much to my worldly possessions; but have
come to the same conclusions in regard to them that I did in
1818. I feel distressed in mind that the resolutions then made
have not been more effectual in keeping me from this
_overengagedness_ in business. I now find myself so engrossed
with its cares, as to occupy my thoughts, waking or sleeping, to
a degree entirely disproportioned to its importance. The quiet
and comfort of home are broken in upon by the anxiety arising
from the losses and mischances of a business so extensive as
ours; and, above all, that communion which ought ever to be kept
free between man and his Maker is interrupted by the incessant
calls of the multifarious pursuits of our establishment."
After noting down several rules for curtailing his affairs, he
continues:
"Property acquired at such sacrifices as I have been obliged to
make the past year costs more than it's worth; and the anxiety in
protecting it is the extreme of folly."
* * * * *
_1st of January, 1827._--"The principles of business laid down a
year ago have been very nearly practised upon. Our
responsibilities and anxieties have greatly diminished, as also
have the accustomed profits of business; but there is sufficient
remaining for the reward of our labor to impose on us increased
responsibilities and duties, as agents who must at last render an
account. God grant that mine be found correct!"
CHAPTER XI.
REFLECTIONS.--BUNKER HILL MONUMENT.--LETTERS.
_1st of January, 1828._--After an account of his affairs, he remarks:
"The amount of property is great for a young man under forty-two
years of age, who came to this town when he was twenty-one years
old with no other possessions than a common country education, a
sincere love for his own family, and habits of industry, economy,
and sobriety. Under God, it is these same self-denying habits,
and a desire I always had to please, so far as I could without
sinful compliance, that I can now look back upon and see as the
true ground of my success. I have many things to reproach myself
with; but among them is not idling away my time, or spending
money for such things as are improper. My property imposes upon
me many duties, which can only be known to my Maker. May a sense
of these duties be constantly impressed upon my mind; and, by a
constant discharge of them, God grant me the happiness at last of
hearing the joyful sound, 'Well done, good and faithful servant,
enter thou into the joy of thy Lord!' Amen. Amen."
Previous to this date, but few private letters written by Mr. Lawrence
were preserved. From that time, however, many volumes have been
collected, a greater part of them addressed to his children. Out of a
very large correspondence with them and with friends, such selections
will be made as are thought most interesting, and most worthy to be
preserved by his family and their descendants. The nature of this
correspondence is such, involving many personal matters of transient
interest that often scraps of letters only can be given; and, although
it will be the aim of the editor to give an outline of the life of the
author of these letters, it will be his object to allow him to speak
for himself, and to reveal his own sentiments and character, rather
than to follow out, from year to year, the details of his personal
history. This correspondence commences with a series of letters
extending through several years, and addressed to his eldest son, who
was, during that time, at school in France and Spain.
"BOSTON, November 11, 1828.
"I trust that you will have had favoring gales and a pleasant
passage, and will be safely landed at Havre within twenty days
after sailing. You will see things so different from what you
have been accustomed to, that you may think the French are far
before or behind us in the arts of life, and formation of
society. But you must remember that what is best for one people
may be the worst for another; and that it is true wisdom to study
the character of the people among whom you are, before adopting
their manners, habits, or feelings, and carrying them to another
people. I wish to see you, as long as you live, a well-bred,
upright _Yankee_. Brother Jonathan should never forget his
self-respect, nor should he be impertinent in claiming more for
his country or himself than is due; but on no account should he
speak ungraciously of his country or its friends abroad, whatever
may be said by others. Lafayette in France is not what he is
here; and, whatever may be said of him there, he is an ardent
friend of the United States; and I will venture to say, if you
introduce yourself to him as a grandson of one of his old Yankee
officers, he will treat you with the kindness of a father. You
must visit La Grange, and G. will go with you. He will not
recollect your grandfather, or any of us. But tell him that your
father and three uncles were introduced to him here in the State
House; that they are much engaged in forwarding the Bunker Hill
Monument; and, if ever he return to this country, it will be the
pride of your father to lead him to the top of it."
Among Mr. Lawrence's papers, this is the first allusion to the Bunker
Hill Monument, in the erection of which he afterwards took so
prominent a part, and to which he most liberally contributed both time
and money. From early associations, perhaps from the accounts received
from his father, who was present during the battle, his mind became
strongly interested in the project of erecting a monument, and
particularly in that of reserving the whole battle-ground for the use
of the public forever. He had been chosen one of the Building
Committee of the Board of Directors in October, 1825, in company with
Dr. John C. Warren, General H. A. S. Dearborn, George Blake, and
William Sullivan. From this time until the completion of the monument,
the object occupied a prominent place in his thoughts; and allusion to
his efforts in its behalf during the succeeding years will, from time
to time, be introduced.
On December 13, 1828, he thus alludes to the death of an invalid
daughter six years of age:
"She was taken with lung fever on the 4th, and died, after much
suffering and distress, on the 8th. Nothing seemed to relieve her
at all; and I was thankful when the dear child ceased to suffer,
and was taken to the bosom of her Saviour, where sickness and
suffering will no more reach her, and the imperfections of her
earthly tenement will be corrected, and her mind and spirit will
be allowed to expand and grow to their full stature in Christ. In
his hands I most joyfully leave her, hoping that I may rejoin her
with the other children whom it has pleased God to give me."
(TO HIS SON.)
"December 29.
"My thoughts are often led to contemplate the condition of my
children in every variety of situation, more especially in
sickness, since the death of dear M. Although I do not allow
myself to indulge in melancholy or fearful forebodings, I cannot
but feel the deepest solicitude that their minds and principles
should be so strengthened and stayed upon their God and Saviour
as to give them all needed support in a time of such trial and
suffering. You are so situated as perhaps not to recall so
frequently to your mind as may be necessary the principles in
which you have been educated. But let me, in the absence of these
objects, remind you that God is ever present, and sees the inmost
thoughts; and, while he allows every one to act freely, he gives
to such as earnestly and honestly desire to do right all needed
strength and encouragement to do it. Therefore, my dear son, do
not cheat yourself by doing what you suspect _may_ be wrong. You
are as much accountable to your Maker for an enlightened exercise
of your conscience, as you would be to me to use due diligence in
taking care of a bag of money which I might send by you to Mr. W.
If you were to throw it upon deck, or into the bottom of the
coach, you would certainly be culpable; but, if you packed it
carefully in your trunk, and placed the trunk in the usual
situation, it would be using common care. So in the exercise of
your conscience: if you refuse to examine whether an action is
right or wrong, you voluntarily defraud yourself of the guide
provided by the Almighty. If you do wrong, you have no better
excuse than he who had done so willingly and wilfully. It is the
sincere desire that will be accepted."
To his second son, then at school in Andover, he writes:
"I received your note yesterday, and was prepared to hear your
cash fell short, as a dollar-bill was found in your chamber on
the morning you left home. You now see the benefit of keeping
accounts, as you would not have been sure about this loss without
having added up your account. Get the habit firmly fixed of
putting down every cent you receive and every cent you expend. In
this way you will acquire some knowledge of the relative value of
things, and a habit of judging and of care which will be of use
to you during all your life. Among the numerous people who have
failed in business within my knowledge, a prominent cause has
been a want of system in their affairs, by which to know when
their expenses and losses exceeded their profits. This habit is
as necessary for professional men as for a merchant; because, in
their business, there are numerous ways to make little savings,
if they find their income too small, which they would not adopt
without looking at the detail of all their expenses. It is the
habit of consideration I wish you to acquire; and the habit of
being accurate will have an influence upon your whole character
in life."
(TO HIS SON IN FRANCE.)
"April 28, 1829.
"I beseech you to consider well the advantages you enjoy, and to
avail yourself of your opportunities to give your manners a
little more ease and polish; for, you may depend upon it, manners
are highly important in your intercourse with the world. Good
principles, good temper, and good manners, will carry a man
through the world much better than he can get along with the
absence of either. The most important is good principles. Without
these, the best manners, although, for a time, very acceptable,
cannot sustain a person in trying situations.
"If you live to attain the age of thirty, the interim will appear
but a span; and yet at that time you will be in the full force of
manhood. To look forward to that period, it seems very long; and
it is long enough to make great improvement. Do not omit the
opportunity to acquire a character and habits that will continue
to improve during the remainder of life. At its close, the
reflection that you have thus done will be a support and stay
worth more than any sacrifice you may ever feel called on to make
in acquiring these habits."
(TO THE SAME.)
"June 7, 1829.
"I was forcibly reminded, on entering our tomb last evening, of
the inroads which death has made in our family since 1811, at the
period when I purchased it. How soon any of us who survive may
mingle our dust with theirs, is only known to Omniscience; but,
at longest, it can be in his view but a moment, a mere point of
time. How important, then, to us who can use this mere point for
our everlasting good, that we should do it, and not squander it
as a thing without value! Think upon this, my son; and do not
merely admit the thought into your mind and drive it out by vain
imaginations, but give it an abiding and practical use. To set a
just value upon time, and to make a just use of it, deprives no
one of any rational pleasure: on the contrary, it encourages
temperance in the enjoyment of all the good things which a good
Providence has placed within our reach, and thankfulness for all
opportunities of bestowing happiness on our fellow-beings. Thus
you have an opportunity of making me and your other friends
happy, by diligence in your studies, temperance, truth,
integrity, and purity of life and conversation. I may not write
to you again for a number of weeks, as I shall commence a journey
to Canada in a few days. You will get an account of the journey
from some of the party."
CHAPTER XII.
JOURNEY TO CANADA.--LETTERS.--DIARY.--CHARITIES.
Mr. Lawrence, with a large party, left Boston on the 13th of June, and
passed through Vermont, across the Green Mountains, to Montreal and
Quebec. Compared with these days of railroad facilities, the journey
was slow. It was performed very leisurely in hired private vehicles,
and seems to have been much enjoyed. He gives a glowing account of the
beauty of the country through which he passed, as well as his
impressions of the condition of the population.
From Quebec the party proceeded to Niagara Falls, and returned through
the State of New York to Boston, "greatly improved in health and
spirits." This, with one other visit to Canada several years before,
was the only occasion on which Mr. Lawrence ever left the territory of
the United States; for, though sometimes tempted, in after years, to
visit the Old World, his occupations and long-continued feeble health
prevented his doing so.
(TO HIS SON.)
"July 27.
"If, in an endeavor to do right, we fall short, we shall still be
in the way of duty; and that is first to be looked at. We must
keep in mind that we are to render an account of the use of those
talents which are committed to us; and we are to be judged by
unerring Wisdom, which can distinguish all the motives of action,
as well as weigh the actions. As our stewardship has been
faithful or otherwise, will be the sentence pronounced upon us.
Give this your best thoughts, for it is a consideration of vast
importance."
"August 27.
"Bring home no foreign fancies which are inapplicable to our
state of society. It is very common for our young men to come
home and appear quite ridiculous in attempting to introduce their
foreign fashions. It should be always kept in mind that the state
of society is widely different here from that in Europe; and our
comfort and character require it should long remain so. Those who
strive to introduce many of the European habits and fashions, by
displacing our own, do a serious injury to the republic, and
deserve censure. An idle person, with good powers of mind,
becomes torpid and inactive after a few years of indulgence, and
is incapable of making any high effort; highly important it is,
then, to avoid this enemy of mental and moral improvement. I have
no wish that you pursue trade. I would rather see you on a farm,
or studying any profession."
"October 16.
"It should always be your aim so to conduct yourself that those
whom you value most in the world would approve your conduct, if
all your actions were laid bare to their inspection; and thus you
will be pretty sure that He who sees the motive of all our
actions will accept the good designed, though it fall short in
its accomplishment. You are young, and are placed in a situation
of great peril, and are perhaps sometimes tempted to do things
which you would not do if you knew yourself under the eye of your
guardian. The blandishments of a beautiful city may lead you to
forget that you are always surrounded, supported, and seen, by
that best Guardian."
"December 27.
"I suppose Christmas is observed with great pomp in France. It is
a day which our Puritan forefathers, in their separation from the
Church of England, endeavored to blot out from the days of
religious festivals; and this because it was observed with so
much pomp by the Romish Church. In this, as well as in many other
things, they were as unreasonable as though they had said they
would not eat bread because the Roman Catholics do. I hope and
trust the time is not far distant when Christmas will be observed
by the descendants of the Puritans with all suitable respect, as
the first and highest holiday of Christians; combining all the
feelings and views of New England Thanksgiving with all the other
feelings appropriate to it."
"January 31, 1830.
"You have seen, perhaps, that the Directors of the Bunker Hill
Monument Association have applied to the Legislature for a
lottery. I am extremely sorry for it. I opposed the measure in
all its stages, and feel mortified that they have done so. They
cannot get it, and I desire that General Lafayette may understand
this; and, if he will write us a few lines during the coming
year, it will help us in getting forward a subscription. When our
citizens shall have had one year of successful business, they
will be ready to give the means to finish the monument. My
feelings are deeply interested in it, believing it highly
valuable as a nucleus for the affections of the people in after
time; and, if my life be spared and my success continue, I will
never cease my efforts until it be completed."
Further details will be given in this volume to show now nobly Mr.
Lawrence persevered in the resolution thus deliberately formed; and,
though he was destined to witness many fruitless efforts, he had the
satisfaction at last of seeing the completion of the monument, and
from its summit of pointing out the details of the battle to the son
of one of the British generals in command[2] on that eventful day.
[2] Lord Prudhoe, now Duke of Northumberland.
On the same page with the estimate of his property for the year 1830,
he writes:
"With a view to know the amount of my expenditures for objects
other than the support of my family, I have, for the year 1829,
kept a particular account of such other expenses as come under
the denomination of charities, and appropriations for the benefit
of others not of my own household, for many of whom I feel under
the same obligation as for my own family."
This memorandum was commenced on the 1st of January, 1829, and is
continued until December 30, 1852, the last day of his life. It
contains a complete statement of his charities during that whole
period, including not only what he contributed in money, but also all
other donations, in the shape of clothing materials, books,
provisions, &c. His custom was to note down at cost the value of the
donation, after it had been despatched; whether in the shape of a
book, a turkey, or one of his immense bundles of varieties to some
poor country minister's family, as large, as he says in addressing
one, "as a small haycock." Two rooms in his house, and sometimes
three, were used principally for the reception of useful articles for
distribution. There, when stormy weather or ill health prevented him
from taking his usual drive, he was in the habit of passing hours in
selecting and packing up articles which he considered suitable to the
wants of those whom he wished to aid. On such days, his coachman's
services were put in requisition to pack and tie up "the small
haycocks;" and many an illness was the result of over-exertion and
fatigue in supplying the wants of his poorer brethren. These packages
were selected according to the wants of the recipients, and a
memorandum made of the contents. In one case, he notifies Professor
----, of ---- College, that he has sent by railroad "a barrel and a
bundle of books, with broadcloth and pantaloon stuffs, with odds and
ends for poor students when they go out to keep school in the winter."
Another, for the president of a college at the West, one piece of silk
and worsted, for three dresses; one piece of plaid, for "M. and
mamma;" a lot of pretty books; a piece of lignum-vitæ from the Navy
Yard, as a text for the support of the navy; and various items for
the children: value, twenty-five dollars.
To a professor in a college in a remote region he sends a package
containing "dressing-gown, vest, hat, slippers, jack-knife, scissors,
pins, neck-handkerchiefs, pantaloons, cloth for coat, 'History of
Groton,' lot of pamphlets," &c.
Most of the packages forwarded contained substantial articles for
domestic use, and were often accompanied by a note containing from
five to fifty dollars in money.
The distribution of books was another mode of usefulness to which Mr.
Lawrence attached much importance.
In his daily drives, his carriage was well stored with useful volumes,
which he scattered among persons of all classes and ages as he had
opportunity.
These books were generally of a religious character, while others of a
miscellaneous nature were purchased in large numbers, and sent to
institutions, or individuals in remote parts of the country.
He purchased largely the very useful as well as tasteful volumes of
the American Tract Society and the Sunday-School Union. An agent of
the latter society writes: "I had almost felt intimately acquainted
with him, as nearly every pleasant day he visited the depository to
fill the front seat of his coach with books for distribution."
Old and young, rich and poor, shared equally in these distributions;
and he rarely allowed an occasion to pass unimproved when he thought
an influence could be exerted by the gift of an appropriate volume.
While waiting one day in his carriage with a friend, in one of the
principal thoroughfares of the city, he beckoned to a genteelly-dressed
young man who was passing, and handed him a book. Upon being asked
whether the young man was an acquaintance, he replied:
"No, he is not; but you remember where it is written, 'Cast thy bread
upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after many days.'"
"A barrel of books" is no uncommon item found in his record of
articles almost daily forwarded to one and another of his distant
beneficiaries.
CHAPTER XIII.
CORRESPONDENCE WITH MR. WEBSTER.--LETTERS.
(TO HIS SON.)
"February 5, 1830.
"Be sure and visit La Grange before you return; say to General
Lafayette that the Bunker Hill Monument will _certainly be
finished_, and that the foolish project of a lottery has been
abandoned. If, in the course of Providence, I should be taken
away, I hope my children will feel it a duty to continue the
efforts that are made in this work, which I have had so much at
heart, and have labored so much for."
To his son, then at school at Versailles, he writes on Feb. 26, 1830:
"After hearing from you again, I can judge better what to advise
respecting your going into Spain. At all events, let no hope of
going, or seeing, or doing anything else, prevent your using the
present time for improving yourself in whatever you find to do.
My greatest fear is, that you may form a wrong judgment of what
constitutes your true respectability, happiness, and usefulness.
To a youth just entering on the scenes of life, the roses on the
wayside appear without thorns; but, in the eagerness to snatch
them, many find, to their sorrow, that all which appears so fair
is not in possession what it was in prospect, and that beneath
the rose there is a thorn that sometimes wounds like a serpent's
bite. Let not appearances deceive you; for, when once you have
strayed, the second temptation is more likely to be fallen into
than the first."
"March 6, 1830.
"We are all in New England deeply interested by Mr. Webster's
late grand speech in the Senate, vindicating New England men and
New England measures from reproach heaped upon them by the South;
it was his most powerful effort, and you will see the American
papers are full of it. You should read the whole debate between
him and Mr. Hayne of South Carolina; you will find much to
instruct and interest you, and much of what you ought to know.
Mr. Webster never stood so high in this country as, at this
moment; and I doubt if there be any man, either in Europe or
America, his superior. The doctrines upon the Constitution in
this speech should be read as a text-book by all our youth."
After reading the great speech of Mr. Webster, Mr. Lawrence addressed
to that gentleman a letter, expressing his admiration of the manner in
which New England had been vindicated, and also his own personal
feelings of gratitude for the proud stand thus taken.
Mr. Webster replied as follows:
"WASHINGTON, March 8, 1830.
"DEAR SIR: I thank you very sincerely for your very kind and
friendly letter. The sacrifices made in being here, and the
mortifications sometimes experienced, are amply compensated by
the consciousness that my friends at home feel that I have done
some little service to our New England. I pray you to remember me
with very true regard to Mrs. Lawrence, and believe me
"Very faithfully and gratefully yours,
"DANIEL WEBSTER.
"TO AMOS LAWRENCE, Esq."
EXTRACTS OF LETTERS TO HIS SON.
"April 13, 1830.
"You may feel very sure that any study which keeps your mind
engaged will be likely to strengthen it; and that, if you leave
your mind inactive, it will run to waste. Your arm is
strengthened by wielding a broadsword, or even a foil. Your legs
by various gymnastic exercises, and the organs of sight and
hearing by careful and systematic use, are greatly improved; even
the finger is trained, by the absence of sight, to perform almost
the service of the eye. All this shows how natural it is for all
the powers to grow stronger by use. You needed not these examples
to convince you; but my desire to have you estimate your
advantages properly induces me to write upon them very often.
Every American youth owes his country his best talents and
services, and should devote them to the country's welfare. In
doing that, you will promote not only your own welfare, but your
highest enjoyment.
"The duty of an American citizen, at this period of the world, is
that of a responsible agent; and he should endeavor to transmit
to the next age the institutions of our country uninjured and
improved. We hope, in your next letter, to hear something more of
General Lafayette. The old gentleman is most warm in his
affection for Americans. May he live long to encourage and bless
by his example the good of all countries! In contemplating a life
like his, who can say that compensation even here is not fully
made for all the anguish and suffering he has formerly endured?
Long life does not consist in many years; but in the period being
filled with good services to our fellow-beings. He whose life
ends at thirty may have done much, while he who has reached the
age of one hundred may have done little. With the Almighty, a
thousand years are a moment; and he will therefore give no credit
to any talents not used to his glory; which use is the same thing
as promoting, by all means in our power, the welfare and
happiness of the beings among whom we are placed."
"May 7, 1830.
"I have been pretty steady at my business, without working hard,
or having anxious feelings about it. It is well to have an
agreeable pursuit to employ the mind and body. I think that I can
work for the next six years with as good a relish as ever I did;
but I make labor a pleasure. I have just passed into my
forty-fifth year, you know. At my age, I hope you will feel as
vigorous and youthful as I now do. A temperate use of the good
things of life, and a freedom from anxious cares, tend, as much
as anything, to keep off old age."
"June 17, 1830.
"To-day completes fifty-five years since the glorious battle of
Bunker Hill, and five years since the nation's guest assisted at
the laying of the corner-stone of the monument which is to
commemorate to all future times the events which followed that
battle. If it should please God to remove me before this
structure is completed, I hope to remember it in my will, and
that my sons will live to see it finished. But what I deem of
more consequence is to retain for posterity the battle-field, now
in the possession of the Bunker Hill Monument Association. The
Association is in debt, and a part of the land may pass out of
its possession; but I hope, if it do, there will be spirit
enough among individuals to purchase it and restore it again;
for I would rather the whole work should not be resumed for
twenty years, than resume it by parting with the land. I name
this to you now, that you may have a distinct intimation of my
wishes to keep the land open for our children's children to the
end of time."
"July 17, 1830.
"Temptation, if successfully resisted, strengthens the character;
but it should always be avoided. 'Lead us not into temptation'
are words of deep meaning, and should always carry with them
corresponding desires of obedience. At a large meeting of
merchants and others held ten days ago, it was resolved to make
an effort to prevent the licensing of such numbers of soda-shops,
retailers of spirits and the like, which have, in my opinion,
done more than anything else to debase and ruin the youth of our
city. It is a gross perversion of our privileges to waste and
destroy ourselves in this way. God has given us a good land and
many blessings. We misuse them, and make them minister to our
vices. We shall be called to a strict account. Every good citizen
owes it to his God and his country to stop, as far as he can,
this moral desolation. Let me see you, on your return, an
advocate of good order and good morals. * * *
"Our old neighbor the sea-serpent was more than usually
accommodating the day after we left Portsmouth. He exhibited
himself to a great number of people who were at Hampton Beach
last Saturday. They had a full view of his snakeship from the
shore. He was so civil as to raise his head about four feet, and
look into a boat, where were three men, who thought it the wisest
way to retreat to their cabin. His length is supposed to be about
one hundred feet, his head the size of a ten-gallon cask, and his
body, in the largest part, about the size of a barrel. I have
never had any more doubt respecting the existence of this animal,
since he was seen here eleven years ago, than I have had of the
existence of Bonaparte. The evidence was as strong to my mind of
the one as of the other. I had never seen either; but I was as
well satisfied of the existence of both, as I should have been
had I seen both. And yet the idea of the sea-serpent's existence
has been scouted and ridiculed."
"September 25.
"The events of the late French Revolution have reached us up to
the 17th August. The consideration of them is animating, and
speaks in almost more than human language. We are poor, frail,
and mortal beings; but there is something elevating in the
thought of a whole people acting as with the mind and the aim of
one man, a part which allies man to a higher order of beings. I
confess it makes me feel a sort of veneration for them; and trust
that no extravagance will occur to mar the glory and the dignity
of this enterprise. Our beloved old hero, too, acting as the
guiding and presiding genius of this wonderful event! May God
prosper them, and make it to the French people what it is capable
of being, if they make a right use of it! I hope that you have
been careful to see and learn everything, and that you will
preserve the information you obtain in such a form as to recall
the events to your mind a long time hence. We are all very well
and very busy, and in fine spirits, here in the old town of
Boston. Those who fell behind last year have some of them placed
themselves in the rear rank, and are again on duty. Others are
laid up, unfit for duty; and the places of all are supplied with
fresh troops. We now present as happy and as busy a community as
you would desire to see."
CHAPTER XIV.
TESTIMONIAL TO MR. WEBSTER.--DANGEROUS ILLNESS.--LETTERS.
During the autumn of 1830, in order to testify in a more marked manner
his appreciation of Mr. Webster's distinguished services in the Senate
of the United States, Mr. Lawrence presented to that gentleman a
service of silver plate, accompanied by the following note:
"BOSTON, October 23, 1830.
"HON. DANIEL WEBSTER.
"DEAR SIR: Permit me to request your acceptance of the
accompanying small service of plate, as a testimony of my
gratitude for your services to the country in your late efforts
in the Senate; especially for your vindication of the character
of Massachusetts and of New England.
"From your friend and fellow-citizen,
"AMOS LAWRENCE.
"P. S.--If by any emblem or inscription on any piece of this
service, referring to the circumstances of which this is a
memorial, the whole will be made more acceptable, I shall be glad
to have you designate what it shall be, and permit me the
opportunity of adding it."
To which Mr. Webster replied, on the same evening, as follows:
"SUMMER-STREET, October 23, 1830.
"MY DEAR SIR: I cannot well express my sense of your kindness,
manifested in the present of plate, which I have received this
evening. I know that, from you, this token of respect is sincere;
and I shall ever value it, and be happy in leaving it to my
children, as a most gratifying evidence of your friendship. The
only thing that can add to its value is your permission that it
may be made to bear an inscription expressive of the donation.
"I am, dear sir, with unfeigned esteem,
"Your friend and obedient servant,
"DANIEL WEBSTER.
"AMOS LAWRENCE, Esq."
(TO HIS SON.)
"BOSTON, January 16, 1831.
"Our local affairs are very delightful in this state and city. We
have no violent political animosities; and the prosperity of the
people is very great. In our city, in particular, the people have
not had greater prosperity for twenty years. There is a general
industry and talent in our population, that is calculated to
produce striking results upon their character. In your
reflections upon your course, you may settle it as a principle,
that no man can attain any valuable influence or character among
us, who does not labor with whatever talents he has to increase
the sum of human improvement and happiness. An idler, who feels
that he has no responsibilities, but is contriving to get rid of
time without being useful to any one, whatever be his fortune,
can find no comfort in staying here. We have not enough such to
make up a society. We are literally all working-men; and the
attempt to get up a 'Working-men's party' is a libel upon the
whole population, as it implies that there are among us large
numbers who are not working-men. He is a working-man whose mind
is employed, whether in making researches into the meaning of
hieroglyphics or in demonstrating any invention in the arts, just
as much as he who cuts down the forests, or holds the plough, or
swings the sledge-hammer. Therefore let it be the sentiment of
your heart to use all the talents and powers you may possess in
the advancement of the moral and political influence of New
England. New England, I say; for here is to be the stronghold of
liberty, and the seat of influence to the vast multitude of
millions who are to people this republic."
At the period when the preceding letter was written, the manufacturing
interests had become of vast importance in this community; and the
house of which Mr. Lawrence was the senior partner had identified
itself with many of the great manufacturing corporations already
created, or then in progress. With such pecuniary interests at stake,
and with a sense of responsibility for the success of these
enterprises, which had been projected on a scale and plan hitherto
unknown, it may be supposed that his mind and energies were fully
taxed, and that he could be fairly ranked among the working-men
alluded to. While in the full tide of active life, and, as it were, at
the crowning point of a successful career, the hand of Providence was
laid upon him to remove him, for the rest of his days, from this
sphere of honor and activity to the chamber of the invalid, and the
comparatively tame and obscure walks of domestic life. Ever after
this, his life hung upon a thread; and its very uncertainty, far from
causing him to despond and rest from future effort, seemed only to
excite the desire to work while the day lasted. The discipline thus
acquired, instead of consigning him to the inglorious obscurity of a
sick chamber, was the means of his entering upon that career of active
philanthropy which is now the great source of whatever distinction
there may be attached to his memory. His business life was ended; and,
though he was enabled to advise with others, and give sometimes a
direction to the course of affairs, he assumed no responsibility, and
had virtually retired from the field.
On the 1st of June, 1831, the weather being very warm, Mr. Lawrence,
while engaged in the business of his counting-room, drank moderately
of cold water, and, soon after, was seized with a violent and alarming
illness. The functions of the stomach seemed to have been destroyed;
and, for many days, there remained but small hope of his recovery.
Much sympathy was expressed by his friends and the public, and in such
a manner as to afford gratification to his family, as well as surprise
to himself when sufficiently recovered to be informed of it. He had
not yet learned the place which he had earned, in the estimation of
those around him, as a merchant and a citizen; and it was, not
improbably, a stimulus to merit, by his future course, the high
encomiums which were then lavished upon him.
Mr. Lawrence announced his sickness to his son, then in Spain, in the
following letter, dated
"BOSTON, June 27, 1831.
"I desire to bless God for being again permitted to address you
in this way. On the 1st day of this month, I was seized with a
violent illness, which caused both myself and my friends almost
to despair of my life. But, by the blessing of God, the remedies
proved efficacious; and I am still in the land of the living,
with a comfortable prospect of acquiring my usual health,
although, thus far, not allowed to leave my chamber. In that
dread hour when I thought that the next perhaps would be my last
on earth,--my thoughts resting upon my God and Saviour, then upon
the past scenes of my life, then upon my dear children,--the
belief that their minds are well directed, and that they will
prove blessings to society, and fulfil, in some good degree, the
design of Providence in placing them here, was a balm to my
spirits that proved more favorable to my recovery than any of the
other remedies. May you never forget that every man is
individually responsible for his actions, and must be held
accountable for his opportunities! Thus he who has ten talents
will receive a proportionate reward, if he makes a right use of
them; and he who receives one will be punished, if he hides it in
a napkin."
"June 29, 1831.
"MY DEAR AND EVER-HONORED MOTHER: Through the divine goodness, I
am once more enabled to address you by letter, after having
passed through a sickness alarming to my friends, although to
myself a comparatively quiet one. I cannot in words express my
grateful sense of God's goodness in thus carrying me, as it
were, in his hand, and lighting the way by the brightness of his
countenance. During that period in which I considered my recovery
as hardly probable, my mind was calm; and, while in review of the
past I found many things to lament, and in contemplation of the
future much to fear, but more to hope, I could find no other
words in which to express my thoughts than the words of the
publican, 'God be merciful to me a sinner!' All the small
distinctions of sects and forms dwindled into air, thin air, and
seemed to me even more worthless than ever. The cares and
anxieties of the world did not disturb me, believing it to be of
small moment whether I should be taken now or spared a few years
longer. With returning health and strength, different prospects
open, and different feelings take the place of those which were
then so appropriate; and the social feelings and sympathies have
their full share in their hold upon me. * * * *
"From your ever-loving and dutiful son,
A. L."
(TO HIS SON.)
"July 14.
"I have been constantly gaining since my last to you, and with
constant care, hope to acquire my usual health. I am, however,
admonished, by the two attacks I have experienced within a month,
that the continuance of my life for any considerable period will
be very likely to depend upon a rigid prudence in my labor and
living. The recovery from this last sickness is almost like being
restored to life; and I hope the span that may be allowed me may
be employed in better service than any period of my past life. We
are placed here to be disciplined for another and higher state;
and whatever happens to us makes a part of this discipline. In
this view, we ought never to murmur, but to consider, when ills
befall us, how we can make them subserve our highest good. What I
am more desirous than anything else for you is, that you may feel
that you are accountable for all your talents, and that you may
so use them as to have an approving conscience, and the final
recompense of a faithful servant at last. The period of trial is
short; but the consequences are never-ending. How important to
each individual, then,--to you and to me,--that we use aright the
period assigned us!"
CHAPTER XV.
JOURNEY TO NEW HAMPSHIRE.--LETTERS.--RESIGNS OFFICE OF TRUSTEE AT
HOSPITAL.--LETTERS.
A few days after the date of the preceding letter, a change was
thought desirable for the improvement of Mr. Lawrence's health; and he
accordingly, with Mrs. L., went to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and
remained a week with his friend and brother-in-law, the late Hon.
Jeremiah Mason. From thence he proceeded to visit friends in Amherst,
New Hampshire, where he was attacked by a severe rheumatic fever,
which confined him for several weeks; and it was with great difficulty
that he succeeded in reaching home about the 20th of September, after
an absence of nearly two months. On the 27th of September, he writes
to his son:
"It is only within a few days that I have been able to be removed
to my own house. I am now able to walk my chamber, and sit up
half the day; and, by the best care in the world, I have a fair
hope of again enjoying so much health as to feel that I may yet
be of some use in the world. My bodily sufferings have been great
during this last sickness; but my mind in general has been
quiet. I seem to want nothing which this world can give to make
me an enviably happy man, but your presence and a return of my
health; but these last are wisely withheld. We are apt, in the
abundance of the gift, to lose the recollection whence it came,
and feel that by our own power we can go forward. Happy for us
that we are thus made to feel that all we have is from God; this
recurrence to the Source of all our blessings makes us better
men. I do not expect to be able to leave the house before the
next spring; and, in the mean time, must be subject to the
casualties incident to a person in my situation."
On October 29, Mr. Lawrence, in a letter to the same son, expresses
his gratitude for the enjoyment of life, "even in a sick chamber, as
mine must be termed."
"I receive my friends here, and once only have walked abroad for
a few minutes. I drive in a carriage every pleasant day, and I
can truly say that my days pass in the full enjoyment of more
than the average of comfort. 'My mind is as easy as it ever is,
and as active as is safe for the body. I employed myself
yesterday in looking over your letters since you left home three
years ago, and was reminded by them that the fourth year of your
absence has just commenced. Although a brief space since it is
passed, an equal time, if we look forward, appears to be far
distant. The question you will naturally ask yourself is, How has
the time been spent? and from the answer you may gather much
instruction for the future. If you have made the best use of this
period, happy is it for you, as the habit of the useful
application of your time will make its continuance more natural
and easy. If you have misused and abused your opportunities,
there is not a moment to be lost in retracing your steps, and
making good, by future effort, what has been lost by want of it.
In short, we can none of us know that a future will be allowed us
to amend and to correct our previous misdoings and omissions; and
it is not less the part of wisdom than of duty to be always up
and doing, that whenever our Master comes we may be ready. I
never was made so sensible before of the power of the mind over
the body. It is a matter of surprise to some of my friends, who
have known my constant habits of business for a quarter of a
century, that I can find so much comfort and quiet in the
confinement of my house, when I feel so well, and there are so
many calls for my labors abroad. I hope to pursue such a discreet
course as shall allow me to come forth in the spring with my poor
frame so far renovated and restored as to enable me to take my
place among the active laborers of the day, and do what little I
may for the advancement and well-being of my generation. If,
however, I should, by any accident or exposure, be again brought
to a bed of pain and suffering, may God grant me a patient and
submissive temper to bear whatever may be put upon me, with a
full conviction that such chastisements will tend to my good, if
I make a right use of them!"
The first of January, 1832, found Mr. Lawrence confined to his sick
room, and unable, from bodily weakness, to drive out in the open air,
as he had hitherto done. He writes to his son:
"I am reminded, by the new year, that another portion of time has
passed, by which we are accustomed to measure in prospect the
space that is allotted us here; and the reflections at the close
of the old and the commencement of the new year are calculated,
if we do not cheat ourselves, to make us better than we otherwise
should be. I am enjoying myself highly under the close
confinement of two parlor chambers, from which I have only
travelled into the entry since November. I have lived pretty much
as other prisoners of a different character live, as regards
food; namely, on bread and water, or bread and coffee or cocoa. I
have come to the conclusion that the man who lives on bread and
water, if he have enough, is the genuine epicure, according to
the original and true meaning. I am favored with the visits of
more pretty and interesting ladies than any _layman_ in the city,
I believe. My rooms are quite a resort; and, old fellow as I am,
I have the vanity to suppose I render myself quite agreeable to
them."
On the same day, in a letter of sympathy to his sister-in-law, whose
invalid son was about to leave for a long voyage, he writes:
"While my family are all absent at church, I am sitting alone, my
mind going back to the beginning of the year just ended and
forward through that just commenced; and, in view of both
periods, I can see nothing but the unbounded goodness of our
heavenly Father and best friend, in all that has been taken from
me, as well as in all that is left to me. I can say, with
sincerity, that I never have had so much to call forth my warmest
and deepest gratitude for favors bestowed as at the present time.
Among my sources of happiness is a settled conviction that, in
chastening his children, God desires their good; and if his
chastisements are thus viewed, we cannot receive them in any
other light than as manifestations of his fatherly care and
kindness. Although, at times, 'clouds and darkness are round
about him,' we do certainly know, by the words of inspiration,
'that justice and judgment are the habitation of his throne,' and
goodness and mercy the attributes of his character; and if it
should please him further to try me with disease during the
period of my probation, my prayer to him is that my mind and
heart may remain stayed on him, and that I may practically
illustrate those words of our blessed Saviour, 'Not my will, but
thine be done.' It is quite possible that there may still be a
few years of probation for me; but it is more probable that I may
not remain here to the close of the present; but whether I remain
longer or shorter is of little consequence, compared with the
preparation or the dress in which I may be found when called
away. It has seemed to me that the habit of mind we cultivate
here will be that which will abide with us hereafter; and that
heaven is as truly begun here as that the affections which make
us love our friends grow stronger by use, and improve by
cultivation. We are here in our infancy; the feelings cherished
at this period grow with our growth, and, in the progress of
time, will fit us for the highest enjoyments of the most distant
future. I say, then, what sources of happiness are open to us,
not only for the present, but for all future time! These hasty
remarks are elicited on occasion of the separation so soon to
take place from your son. I know full well the anxieties of a
parent on such an occasion.
"His health cannot, of course, be certainly predicted; but you
will have the comfort of knowing that you have done everything
that the fondest parents could do in this particular, whatever
effect the absence may have upon him.
"---- should feel that his obligations are increased, with his
means and opportunities for improvement. If by travel he acquire
a better education, and can make himself more useful on his
return, he can no more divest himself of his increased duties,
than he can divest himself of his duty to be honest. The account
is to be rendered for the use of the talents, whether they be
ten, or five, or one. If I have opportunity, I shall write a few
lines to ---- before he leaves. If I should not, I desire him to
feel that I have great affection for him, and deep interest in
his progress, and an ardent hope that his health, improvement,
and knowledge, may be commensurate with the rare advantages he
will enjoy for the acquisition of all.
"I know the tender feelings of your husband on all things
touching his family or friends; and perhaps I may find
opportunity to speak a word of comfort to him. But I know not
what more to say than to reiterate the sentiment here expressed.
Nature will have its way for a time, but I hope reason will be
sufficient to make that time very short. Whatever time it may be,
of this I feel confident, that, after the feelings have once
subsided, ---- will have all the sunshine and joy which the event
is calculated to produce. He cannot know until he has realized
the pleasure of hearing the absent ones speak, as it were, in his
ear, from a distance of three thousand miles.
"May the best blessings of the Almighty rest on you and yours!
From your ever affectionate
A. L."
(TO HIS SON.)
"Sunday morning, Feb. 5, 1832.
"I have seated myself at my writing-desk, notwithstanding it is
holy time, in the hope and belief that I am in the way of duty.
This consecration of one day in seven to the duties of
religion,--comprising, as these do, every duty,--and if they be
well performed, to self-examination, is a glorious renovation of
the world. Who that has witnessed the effects of this rest upon
the moral and physical condition of a people, can doubt the
wisdom of the appointment? Wherever we turn our eyes or our
thoughts, if we only will be as honest and candid, in our
estimate of the value of the provision made for us, as we
ordinarily are in our estimate of the character and conduct of
our fellow-men, we must be struck with admiration and gratitude
to that merciful Father who has seen our wants, and provided for
our comfort to an extent to which the care and provision of the
best earthly parents for their children hardly gives the name of
resemblance."
In speaking of some application for aid which he had received from a
charitable institution, he writes to his son:
"Our people are liberally disposed, and contribute to most
objects which present a fair claim to their aid. I think you will
find great advantage in doing this part of your duty upon a
system which you can adopt; thus, for instance, divide your
expenses into ten parts, nine of which may be termed for what is
considered necessary, making a liberal calculation for such as
your situation would render proper, and one part applied for the
promotion of objects not directly or legally claiming your
support, but such as every good citizen would desire to have
succeed. This, I think, you will find the most agreeable part of
your expense; and, if you should be favored with an abundance of
means later in life, you may enlarge your appropriations of this
sort, so as to be equal to one tenth of your income. Neither
yourself nor those who depend upon you will ever feel the poorer.
I assume that you have plenty, in thus fixing the proportion. I
believe the rule might be profitably adopted by many who have
small means; for they would save more by method than they would
be required to pay.
"To-morrow completes a hundred years since the birth of
Washington. The day will be celebrated, from one end of the
country to the other, with suitable demonstrations of respect, by
processions, orations, and religious ceremonies, according to the
feelings of the people who join in it. I think the spectacle will
be a grand one, of a whole people brought together to commemorate
the birth of one of their fellow-mortals, who by his virtues and
his talents has made his memory immortal, and whose precepts and
example are calculated to secure happiness to the countless
millions of his fellow-beings who are to people this vast empire
through all future time. It is permitted to few to have open to
them such a field as Washington had; but no one since the
Christian era has filled his sphere so gloriously. We are jogging
along, in political, theological and commercial affairs, very
much as usual."
During the month of January, Mr. Lawrence, on account of ill health,
resigned his seat in the Board of Trustees of the Massachusetts
General Hospital, in which he had served for several years. This duty
had always been one of unmingled pleasure to him; and, by means of his
visits there, and at the McLean Asylum for the Insane, under the
management of the same board, he became conversant with a class of
sufferers who had excited a great interest in his mind, and whom he
often visited during the remainder of his life, to cheer them in their
sadness, and to convey to them such little tokens of kindness as
assured them of his interest and sympathy.
In a letter to his second son, at Andover, he writes, April 21:
"You will be glad to hear I have got along very well through the
wet, cold weather of the week, and am looking forward with
cheerful hope to the sunny days to come. If it were not for my
faculty of turning present disappointments to future pleasures in
prospect, I should run down in spirits. I have always indulged
myself in castle-building; but have generally taken care so to
build as to be in no danger of their falling on my head, so that
when I have gone as far with one as is safe, if it does not
promise well, I transfer my labor to another, and thus am always
supplied with objects. The last one finished was commenced last
May, and it is one I delight to think of. It was then I
determined to get your Uncle Mason[3] here. N. thought it a
castle without foundation, but the result shows otherwise.
"I send some of W.'s late letters, by which you perceive he is
not idle; the thought of the dear fellow makes the tears start.
God in mercy grant him a safe return, fully impressed with his
obligations as a man and a Christian! That I am now living in the
enjoyment of so much health, surrounded by so many blessings, is
overpowering to my feelings. What shall I render unto God for all
these benefits? I feel my unworthiness, and devoutly pray him
that I may never lose sight of the great end of my being; and
that, whenever it shall please him to call me hence, I may be
found in the company of the redeemed through the merits and
mediation of the Son of his love. If there is any one thing I
would impress on your mind more strongly than another, it is to
give good heed to the religious impressions with which you may
be imbued; and, at a future day, these may prove a foundation
that will support you when all other supports would fail. The
youthful imagination frequently magnifies objects at a distance;
experience is an able teacher, and detects, too late, perhaps,
the fraud upon youth. Be wise in time, and avoid this fraud."
[3] Hon. Jeremiah Mason, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, who passed the
rest of his life in Boston.
A few days later, he writes to the same son, on the subject of
systematic charity:
"It is one of my privileges, not less than one of my duties, to
be able thus to administer to the comfort of a circle of very
dear friends. I hope you will one day have the delightful
consciousness of using a portion of your means in a way to give
you as much pleasure as I now experience. Your wants may be
brought within a very moderate compass; and I hope you will never
feel yourself at liberty to waste on yourself such means, as, by
system and right principles, may be beneficially applied to the
good of those around you. Providence has given us unerring
principles to guide us in our duties of this sort. Our first duty
is to those of our own household, then extending to kindred,
friends, neighbors (and the term 'neighbor' may, in its broadest
sense, take in the whole human family), citizens of our state,
then of our country, then of the other countries of the world."
In another letter, written soon after the preceding, he speaks of
certain principles of business which governed him in early life, and
adds:
"The secret of the whole matter was, that we had formed the habit
of promptly acting, thus taking the _top of the tide_; while the
habit of some others was to delay until about _half-tide_, thus
getting on the flats; while we were all the time prepared for
action, and ready to put into any port that promised well. I
wish, by all these remarks, to impress upon you the necessity of
qualifying yourself to support yourself. The best education that
I can secure shall be yours, and such facilities for usefulness
as may be in my power shall be rendered; but no food to pamper
idleness or wickedness will I ever supply willingly to any
connection, however near. I trust I have none who will ever
misuse so basely anything that may come to them as a blessing.
This letter, you may think, has an undue proportion of advice.
'Line upon line, precept upon precept,' is recommended by one
wiser than I am."
(TO HIS DAUGHTER.)
"Sunday morn.
"MY DEAR DAUGHTER: In the quiet of this morning, my mind
naturally rests on those objects nearest and dearest to me; and
you, my child, are among the first.
"The family are all at church, but the weather is not such as to
permit my going; and the season by them employed in the service
of the sanctuary will by me be employed in communicating with
you.
"You have now arrived at an age when the mind and heart are most
susceptible of impressions for weal or woe; and the direction
which may be given to them is what no parent can view with
indifference, or pass over without incurring the guilt of being
unfaithful in his duties. My earnest desire for you is, that you
may fully appreciate your opportunities and responsibilities, and
so use them that you may acquire a reasonable hope that you may
secure the object for which we are placed here. The probation is
short, but long enough to do all that is required of us, if
faithfully used; the consequences are never-ending.
"These simple views are such as any child of your age can
comprehend, and should be made as familiar to your mind as the
every-day duties of life. If the mind, from early days, be thus
accustomed to look upon life as a school of preparation for
higher services, then the changes and adversities to which we are
all liable can only be viewed as necessary discipline to fit us
for those higher services, and as such be considered as applied
for our good, however painful they may seem at first. There is no
truth better settled than this: that all the discipline of our
heavenly Parent, if rightly used, will eventuate in our good.
How, then, can we murmur and repine at his dealings with us? This
conduct only shows our weakness and folly, and illustrates the
better care of us than we should take of ourselves.
"We are in the condition of the sick man, who sometimes craves
that which, if given him by his friend, would cause his certain
death; but he is not aware at the time that it is withheld for
his good. The importance, then, of cultivating a right
understanding of the things of which our duties and our happiness
are composed, is second to no object which can employ the mind;
for, with this knowledge, we must suppose that no one can be so
lost to his own interest as not to feel that in the performance
of these duties is to result the possession of those riches which
are promised to the faithful by our Father in heaven, through the
Son of his love. In the preparation which awaits you, do not stop
at the things which are seen, but look to those which are unseen.
These views, perhaps, may be profitably pondered long after I
have been gathered to my fathers.
"The tenure of my life seems very frail; still it may continue
longer than the lives of my children; but, whenever it shall
please God to call me hence, I hope to feel resigned to his will,
and to leave behind me such an influence as shall help forward
the timid and faint-hearted in the path of duty; and particularly
on you, my child, do I urge these views. They debar you from no
real or reasonable pleasure; they speak to you, in strong
language, to enjoy all those blessings which a bountiful Parent
has scattered in your path with unsparing plenty, and admonish
you that to enjoy is not to abuse them; when abused, they cease
to be enjoyed."
CHAPTER XVI.
DAILY EXERCISE.--REGIMEN.--IMPROVING HEALTH.--LETTERS.
During the summer and autumn of 1832, Mr. Lawrence's health and
strength were so much improved, that he was enabled to take exercise
on horseback; and almost daily he took long rides, sometimes alone,
sometimes with a friend, about the environs of the city. This habit he
was enabled to continue, with some intermissions, for two or three
years, through summer and winter. The effect of the exercise amidst
the beautiful scenery of the environs of Boston, of which he was an
enthusiastic admirer, was most beneficial to his health, and, it is
believed, was a great means of prolonging his life. Whenever he could
do so, he secured the company of a friend, and kept a horse expressly
for the purpose. As the ride was taken in the morning, when his
business acquaintances were occupied, his most usual companion was
some one of the city clergy, whom he secured for the occasion, or one
of his sons. No denominational distinctions seemed to regulate his
choice on these occasions. His own beloved pastor and friend, the Rev.
Dr. Lothrop, Rev. Drs. Stone and Greenwood, and Father Taylor, the
seamen's chaplain, were often his companions. Occasionally a stray
merchant or lawyer was engaged; and, as was sometimes the case where
they had not been much accustomed to the exercise, a long trot of many
miles in the sun, or in the face of a keen winter north-wester, would
severely tax their own strength, while they wondered how so frail a
figure as that of Mr. Lawrence could possess so much endurance. With
all this apparent energy and strength, he was extremely liable to
illness, which would come when least expected, and confine him for
days to his house. An item of bad news, some annoying incident, a
little anxiety, or a slight cold, would, as it were, paralyze his
digestive functions, and reduce his strength to the lowest point. It
was this extreme sensitiveness which unfitted him to engage in the
general current of business, and which compelled him to keep aloof
from participation in commercial affairs, and to adopt that peculiar
system in diet and living which he adhered to for the remainder of his
life. This system limited him to the use of certain kinds of food,
which, from time to time, was slightly modified, as was thought
expedient. This food was of the most simple kind, and was taken in
small quantities, after being weighed in a balance, which always stood
before him upon his writing-table. To secure perfect quiet during his
meals, and also that he might not be tempted to overstep the bounds
of prudence, a certain amount was sent to him in his chamber, from
which he took what was allowed. The amount of liquid was also weighed;
and so rigid was he in this system of diet, that, for the last sixteen
years of his life, he sat down at no meal with his family. The amount
of food taken varied, of course, with his strength and condition. In a
letter to his friend, President Hopkins, of Williams College, he says:
"If your young folks want to know the meaning of epicureanism,
tell them to take some, bits of coarse bread (one ounce and a
little more), soak them in three gills of coarse-meal gruel, and
make their dinner of them and nothing else; beginning very
hungry, and leaving off more hungry. The food is delicious, and
such as no modern epicureanism can equal."
For a considerable period, he kept a regular diet-table, in which he
noted down the quantity of solid and liquid food taken during the
twenty-four hours. One of his memorandum-books, labelled "Record of
Diet and Discipline for 1839 and 1840," contains accurate records of
this sort.
In October, 1832, in writing to his son in the country, he alludes to
this improvement in his health and strength:
"We are all doing as well as usual here, myself among them doing
better than usual. My little 'Doctor'[4] does wonders for me. I
ride so much, and so advantageously, that I do not know but I
shall be bold enough, by and by, to ride to B---- and back in a
day, but shall hardly dare do so until I have practised a little
more in this neighborhood.
"I want you to analyze more closely the tendency of principles,
associations, and conduct, and strive to adopt such as will make
it easier for you to go right than go wrong. The moral taste,
like the natural, is vitiated by abuse. Gluttony, tobacco, and
intoxicating drink, are not less dangerous to the latter, than
loose principles, bad associations, and profligate conduct, are
to the former. Look well to all these things."
[4] The name of his horse.
The year 1833 opened with bright and cheering prospects; for, with Mr.
Lawrence's increasing strength and improved health, there seemed a
strong ground of hope that he might yet recover all his powers, and
once more take his place among his former business associates.
He writes at this time to his son at Andover:
"I am as light as a feather this morning, and feel as if I could
mount upon a zephyr, and ride upon its back to A----; but I am
admonished to be careful when my spirits are thus buoyant, lest I
come down to the torpor of the insect, which is shut up by the
frost. Extremes are apt to follow, unless I take great care. Last
Sabbath, I kept my bed, most of the day, with a poor turn.
Brother A. said, on Saturday, he knew I was going to have one,
for I talked _right on_."
In March, he writes:
"The season is coming forward now so as to allow me the use of
the roads around Roxbury and Dorchester. My 'Doctor' looks so
altered by a two hours' canter, that his own mother would hardly
know him at first sight. We continue excellent friends; and I
think he has never used me better than during the last few days.
We both 'feel our oats' and our youth. I feel like sweet
twenty-five; and he, I judge, like vigorous seven."
On April 28, he writes to a young friend:
"When you get married, do not expect a higher degree of
perfection than is consistent with mortality in your wife. If you
do, you will be disappointed. Be careful, and do not choose upon
a theory either. I dislike much of the nonsense and quackery that
is dignified with the name of intellectual among people.
Old-fashioned common sense is a deal better. * * * *
"There was a part of Boston which used to be visited by young men
out of curiosity when I first came here, into which I never set
foot for the whole time I remained a single man. I avoided it,
because I not only wished to keep clear of the temptations common
in that part, but to avoid the appearance of evil. I never
regretted it; and I would advise all young men to strengthen
their good resolutions by reflection, and to plant deep and
strong the principles of right, and to avoid temptation, as time
gives them strength to stand against it."
On December 23, he writes to his wife, who had been summoned to the
bedside of a dying relative:
"Your absence makes a great blank in the family; and I feel that
I must be very careful lest any little accident should make me
feel of a _deep blue_ while you are away. Confidence is a great
matter, not only in curing, but in preventing disease, whether of
the body or the mind; and I have somehow got the notion that I am
more safe when you[5] are looking after me than when you are not,
and that any trouble is sooner cured when you are present than
when you are not. This is, I suppose, the true charm which some
people have faith in to keep off their ills. I have been forcibly
reminded of the passage of time, by reviewing the scenes of the
last three years, and am deeply sensible of the mercies that have
been extended to me. What little I do is a poor return: may a
better spirit prompt and guide my future services! What few I
have rendered are estimated by my brethren beyond their value,
and of course tend to flatter my self-love. This should not be;
and I ought to see myself as I am seen by that eye that never
sleeps. The situation I occupy is one that I would not exchange,
if I had the power, with any man living: it is full of agreeable
incidents, and free from the toils and anxieties frequently
attendant on a high state of prosperity; and is, beside, free
from that jealousy, or from any other cause of uneasiness, so
common among the ardent and successful in this world's race."
[5] The editor, in justice to his own feelings, will here remark, that
he believes the continuation of Mr. Lawrence's life, after he became a
confirmed invalid, was, under Providence, in a great measure due to
the care and faithful attentions of his wife. For more than twenty
years, and during his frequent seasons of languor and sickness, she
submitted to many sacrifices, and bestowed a degree of care and
watchfulness such as affection alone could have enabled her to render.
To his daughter, who was on a visit at Washington, he writes:
"BOSTON, May 18th, 1834. Sunday evening.
"MY DEAR CHILD: The contrast in the weather to-day with what it
has been most of the time since you left home, is as great as is
usual between a bleak November day and the soft air of June.
To-day it is beautiful, but on Wednesday it snowed, hailed, and
rained, and I am told, indeed, that a few miles beyond Amherst
the snow fell four inches in depth. You have reason to be
thankful that you have been in a milder climate, and, at the same
time, are seeing all the wonders that open upon you in the new
world on which you have entered.
"I shall be expecting a letter from you within a day or two;
there can be no want of materials where so many new objects are
constantly presenting themselves, and there is a pleasure in
receiving them just as they appear to you; so you need not be
afraid to place before me the first sketches, precisely as you
catch them.
"To-day I suppose you are in Philadelphia, and, if so, I hope you
have attended a Friends' meeting. The manner of worship and the
appearance of the people are different from anything you have
seen; and the influence of this sect upon the taste and manners
of the people is very striking, particularly in the matter of
their dress. It is said that you can judge something of the
character of a lady from her dress. Without deeming it an
essential, I think it of some consequence. This strikes the eye
only, and may deceive; how much more important that the dress of
the heart and mind and affections be right, and that no deception
be found there! I do most earnestly pray God that every
opportunity may be improved by you, my dear S., to adorn yourself
with all those graces that shall not only charm the eye, but also
with those that shall win the affections of those whose affection
you would prize, and more especially that you will secure the
approval of our best Friend.
* * * * *
"_Monday afternoon, May 19._--I have received your charming
letter, dated on Thursday last. It is just the thing, a simple
narrative of facts; and you will find plenty of materials of this
sort, as I stated to you before. I have been in the saddle to-day
nearly five hours with your Uncle W. and Father Taylor, and am
very tired, but shall get refreshed by a night's rest.
"The day is beautiful, finer than any we have had since you left
home. We went to Mount Auburn, and it appears very lovely; how
much better than the dreary resting-places for the dead so common
in New England, overgrown with thistles, and the graves hardly
designated by a rude stone! Our Puritan forefathers mistook very
much, I think, in making the place of deposit for our mortal
remains so forbidding in appearance to the living. A better taste
is growing among us. It may become a matter of ostentation (we
are so apt to go to extremes), to build sepulchres and monuments
to hold our bodies, that will speak to our shame when we are no
longer subjects of trial; when, in short, we shall have gone to
our account. If these monuments could speak to their living
owners, and induce them to labor to merit, while they may, a good
word from the future lookers on, then they would be valuable
indeed. As it is, I have no fault to find; it is decidedly better
than the old fashion of making these tenements look as dreary as
anything in this world can look."
To the same he writes, a few days later:
"Tell ---- that I saw little ---- this morning. She is the
sweetest little creature that ever lived, and I find myself
smiling whenever I think of the dear child in health. Sympathy is
a powerful agent in illustrating through the countenance the
feelings within. I believe my face is as arrant a tell-tale as
ever was worn; and w
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