ACQUAINTANCE WITH PRESIDENT HOPKINS.—LETTERS.—AFFECTION FOR BRATTLE-STREET CHURCH.—DEATH OF MRS. APPLETON.—LETTERS.—AMESBURY CO.
At the commencement of the year 1844, President Hopkins, of Williams College, delivered a course of lectures on the "Evidences of Christianity," before the Lowell Institute, in Boston. Mr. Lawrence had previously seen him, and had thought that he detected, in some features of his face, a resemblance to the family of his first wife. In allusion to this acquaintance, he writes to his son about this period:
"President H. has the family look of your mother enough to belong to them; and it was in consequence of that resemblance, when I was first introduced to him many years ago, that I inquired his origin, and found him to be of the same stock."
The acquaintance was renewed, and an intimacy ensued, which was not only the cause of much happiness to Mr. Lawrence through the remainder of his life, but was also the means of directing his attention to the wants of Williams College, of which he eventually became the greatest benefactor. An active and constant correspondence followed this acquaintance, and was so much prized by Mr. Lawrence that he had most of the letters copied, thereby filling several volumes, from which extracts will from time to time be made. In one of his first letters to that gentleman, dated May 11, he says:
"If, by the consecration of my earthly possessions to some extent, I can make the Christian character practically more lovely, and illustrate, in my own case, that the higher enjoyments here are promoted by the free use of the good things intrusted to me, what so good use can I make of them? I feel that my stewardship is a very imperfect one, and that the use of these good things might be extended profitably to myself; and, since I have known how much good the little donation did your college, I feel ashamed of myself it had not been larger,—at any rate, sufficient to have cleared the debt."
To the same gentleman, who had informed Mr. Lawrence that an accident had befallen a plaster bust of himself, he writes, under date of May 16:
"Dear President: You know the phrase 'Such a man's head is full of notions' has a meaning that we all understand to be not to his credit for discretion, whatever else may be said of him. As I propose throwing in a caveat against this general meaning, I proceed to state my case. And, firstly, President H. is made debtor to the Western Railroad Corporation for the transportation of a barrel to Pittsfield. The bill is receipted, so that you can have the barrel to-morrow by sending for it; which barrel contains neither biscuit nor flour, but the clay image of your friend. In the head are divers notions that my hand fell upon as I was preparing it for the jaunt; and, when the head was filled with things new and old, I was careful to secure the region under the shoulders, especially on the left side, and near the heart, by placing there that part of a lady's dress which designates a government that we men are unwilling openly to acknowledge, but is, withal, very conservative. Within its folds I wrapped up very securely 'Pilgrim's Progress,' and stuffed the empty space between my shoulders, and near my heart, brim full, I hope my young friend will find a motive and a moral in the image and in the book, to cheer him on in his pilgrimage of life."
"July 22, 1844.—Sixty-seven years ago this day, my mother, now living, was married; and, while standing up for the ceremony, the alarm-bell rang, calling all soldiers to their posts. My father left her within the hour, and repaired to Cambridge; but the colonel, in consideration of the circumstances, allowed him to return to Groton to his wife, and to join his regiment within three days at Rhode Island. This he did, spending but a few hours with his wife; and she saw nothing more of him until the last day of the year, when he made her a visit. I have ordered a thousand dollars paid to the Massachusetts General Hospital, to aid in enlarging its wings, and to commemorate this event. The girls of this day know nothing of the privations and trials of their grandmothers."
On the same day with the above entry in his diary occurs another, in which he alludes to assistance afforded to some young persons in Brattle-street Church,—"sons of Brattle-street, and, as such, assisted by me." Mr. Lawrence's early religious associations were connected with this church, where, it is believed, he attended from the first Sunday after his coming to Boston. With such associations, and connected as they were with the most endeared recollections of those who had worshipped there with him in early days, all that pertained to this venerable church possessed a strong and abiding interest. In this connection is quoted the beautiful testimony of his pastor, the Rev. Dr. Lothrop, furnished in the funeral sermon delivered by him, where he speaks of Mr. Lawrence's love for the church, as well as of his religious character:
"The prominent feature in Mr. Lawrence's life and character, its inspiration and its guide, was religion,—religious faith, affection, and hope. He loved God, and therefore he loved all God's creatures. He believed in Christ as the Messiah and Saviour of the world, and therefore found peace and strength in his soul, amid all the perils, duties, and sorrows of life. His religious opinions lay distinct and clear in his own mind. They were the result of careful reading and of serious reflection, and were marked by a profound reverence for the Sacred Scriptures, and the divine authority of Jesus Christ. A constant worshipper here during the forty-six years of his residence in this city, for more than forty years of this period a communicant, and for more than ten a deacon of this church,—resigning the office, at length, because of his invalid state of health,—he had strong attachments to this house of God. 'Our venerable church,' he says in one of his notes to me, 'has in it deeply impressive, improving, instructive, and interesting associations, going back to the early days of my worshipping there; and the prayers of my friends and fellow-worshippers of three generations, in part now belonging there, come in aid of my weakness in time of need; and no other spot, but that home where I was first taught my prayers, and this my domestic fireside, where my children have been taught theirs, has the same interest as our own old Brattle-square Church.'"
To an old business friend and acquaintance, Joshua Aubin, Esq., the agent of the Amesbury Company, who had from the beginning been associated with him in this first and favorite manufacturing enterprise in which he had engaged, he writes on September 18, after receiving a quantity of manufactured articles for distribution among the poor:
"You are brought very near to me on such a day as this (when I am shut up in the house), by your work as well as by your words.
"Now, as to your last consignment, I have derived, and expect to derive, as much comfort and enjoyment from it as I ordinarily should from a cash dividend on my shares. In truth, I am able to employ these odds and ends to such uses and for such persons as will make me feel as though I were spared here for some use.
"For instance, I had a call from a most respectable friend (president of one of the best colleges in the West) last week, who agreed to come again this week to do some shopping as soon as he got some money for preaching on Sunday, and look over my stock of goods.
"I intend making him up a good parcel of your work, and, depend on it, it is good seed, and will take root at the West. He says that they have no money, but plenty of corn, and beef, and pork. Corn pays for growing at ten cents a bushel, and will not bring that in cash; and ten bushels will not pay for a calico gown, or a flannel petticoat.
"With his large family of children, don't you think these odds and ends will come as a blessing? Besides, he is an old-fashioned Massachusetts Whig; loves the old Bay State as well as ever the Jews loved their State, and is, through his college exercising an influence in —— that no body of men in that State can do; and will, in the end, bring them into regular line, as to education and elevation of character. Send me some of your flannels to give to Madam —— for her family of one or two hundred children in the Children's Friend Society.
"—— will give them over to these poor little destitute, unclad creatures. They are taken and saved by this interesting society.
"A rainy day like this is the very time for me to work among my household goods. Many a poor minister and his family, and many a needy student at school or college, fare the better for your spinning and weaving.
"I am living in my chamber, and on very close allowance. Every day to me is a day of glorious anticipations, if I am free from bodily suffering, and if my mind is free."
On another occasion he writes to the same gentleman:
"I have your letter and package; the cold of this morning will make the articles doubly acceptable to the shivering and sick poor among us. J. C.'s case is one for sympathy and relief. Engage to supply him a hundred dollars, which I will hand to you when you visit me; and tell the poor fellow to keep in good heart, for our merciful Father afflicts in love, and thus I trust that this will prove a stepping-stone to the mansions of bliss. I shall never cease to remember with interest the veterans of the A. F. Co. How are my friends B. and others of early days? Also, how is old father F.? Does he need my warm outside coat, when I get supplied with a better?
"After your call upon me a few weeks since, I went back in memory to scenes of olden times, which had an interest that you can sympathize in, and which I intended to express to you before this; but I have had one of those admonitory ill turns since, that kept me under the eye of the doctor for a number of days.
"In reviewing my beginnings in manufacturing, under your recommendation and care, almost a quarter of a century ago, I can see the men, the machines, the wheel-pit, and the speed-gauge, and especially I can see our old friend W. lying on the bottom of the pit, lamp in hand, with his best coat on, eying the wheels and cogs as an astronomer makes observations in an observatory. All these scenes are as fresh in my memory as though seen but yesterday.
"Do you remember C. B., the brother of J. and G. B.? All three of whom were business men here at the time you were, and all were unfortunate. C. tried his; hand in ——, and did not succeed there; returned to this country, and settled on a tract of land in ——, where he has been hard at work for ten years, and has maintained his family. His wife died a few months since. One after another of his family sickened, and he became somewhat straitened, and knew not what to do. He wrote to an old business friend, who was his debtor, and who had failed, had paid a part only, and was discharged thirty years ago, and who has since been prosperous. He stated his case, and asked me to say a good word for him. That person sent one half, and I sent the other half, the day before Thanksgiving. It will reach him on Monday next, and will make his eyes glisten with joy.
"Remember me to Capt. —— and J. C, and B., and any other of the veterans."
Sept. 23, Mr. Lawrence receives from an old debtor, once a clerk in his establishment, a check for five hundred dollars, which a sense of justice had induced him to send, though the debt of some thousands had been long since legally discharged. On receiving it, he writes, in a memorandum at the bottom of the letter received, to his brother and partner:
"Dear Abbott: I have the money. J. D. was always a person of truth. I take the statement as true; but I had no recollection of the thing till recalled by his statement. What say you to putting this money into the life office, in trust for his sister?
Your affectionate brother,
Amos."
"Memorandum. November 23.—Done, and policy sent to the sister."
There are but few men, distinguished in public or private life, who are burdened with an undue amount of praise from their contemporaries; and yet this was the case with Mr. Lawrence, who was often chagrined, after some deed of charity, or some written expression of sympathy, to see it emblazoned, with superadded colors, in the public prints. Some one had enclosed to him a newspaper from another city, which contained a most labored and flattering notice of the kind referred to, to which he writes the following reply:
"September, 1844.
"Dear ——: I received the paper last evening, and have read and re-read it with deep interest and attention. However true it may he, it is not calculated to promote the ultimate good of any of us; for we are all inclined to think full well enough of ourselves; and such puffs should be left for our obituaries. Truth is not always to be pushed forward; and its advocates may sometimes retard it by injudicious urging. Such is the danger in the present case. The writer appears to be a young man who has received favors, and is laboring to repay them or secure more. He has told the truth; but, as I before said, neither you nor I, nor any one of our families, are improved or benefited in any degree by it. God grant us to be humble, diligent, and faithful to the end of our journey, that we may then receive his approval, and be placed among the good of all nations and times!"
On the 29th. of October, Mrs. Appleton, his sister-in-law, and widow of the Rev. Jesse Appleton, D.D., formerly President of Bowdoin College, died at his house, after a lingering illness. In a letter to his son, after describing her character and peaceful death, he says:
"With such a life and such hopes, who can view the change as any other than putting away the fugitive and restless pleasures of an hour for the quiet and fixed enjoyments of eternity? Let us, then, my dear children, not look upon the separation of a few short years as a calamity to be dreaded, should we not meet here again in any other way than as we now meet. While I am here, every joy and enjoyment you experience, and give us an account of, is not less so to us than if we were with you to partake, as we have done of all such heretofore; and, in this source of enjoyment, few people have such ample stores. Three families of children and grandchildren within my daily walk,—is not this enough for any man? And here I would impress upon my grandsons the importance of looking carefully to their steps. The difference between going just right and a little wrong in the commencement of the journey of life, is the difference between their finding a happy home or a miserable slough at the end of the journey. Teach them to avoid tobacco and intoxicating drink, and all temptations that can lead them into evil, as it is easier to prevent than to remedy a fault. 'An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.' I was going on to say that, according to my estimate of men and things, I would not change conditions with Louis Philippe if I could by a wish, rich as he is in the matter of good children. I have a great liking for him, and a sincere respect for his family, as they are reported to me; but I trust that mine will not be tried by the temptations of great worldly grandeur, but that they will be found faithful stewards of the talents intrusted to them. Bring up your boys to do their work first, and enjoy their play afterwards. Begin early to teach them habits of order, a proper economy, and exact accountability in their affairs. This simple rule of making a child, after he is twelve years old, keep an exact account of all that he wears, uses, or expends, in any and every way, would save more suffering to families than can fairly be estimated by those who have not observed its operation.
"And now, to change the subject," he writes Nov. 15, "we have got through the elections, and are humbled as Americans. The questions affecting our local labor, produce, and pecuniary interests, are of small moment, compared with that of annexing Texas to this Union. I wrote a brief note yesterday to our friend Chapman, late Mayor of the city, and a member of the Whig Committee, which speaks the language of my heart. It was as follows:
"'My dear Sir: The result of the election in Massachusetts is matter of devout and grateful feelings to every good citizen, and, so far as pride is allowable, is a subject of pride to every citizen, whatever his politics; for, wherever he goes, and carries the evidence of belonging to the old Bay State, he may be sure of the respect of all parties. This glorious result has not been wrought "without works;" and for it we, the people, are greatly indebted to your committee. So far as may be needed, I trust you will find no backwardness on our part in putting matters right. I bless God for sparing my life to this time; and I humbly beseech him to crown your labors with success in future. If Texas can be kept off, there will be hope for our government. All other questions are insignificant in comparison with this. The damning sin of adding it to this nation to extend slavery will be as certain to destroy us as death is to overtake us. The false step, once taken, cannot be retraced, and will be to the people who occupy what rum is to the toper. It eats up and uproots the very foundation on which Christian nations are based, and will make us the scorn of all Christendom. Let us work, then, in a Christian spirit, as we would for our individual salvation, to prevent this sad calamity befalling us.'"
"'My dear Sir: The result of the election in Massachusetts is matter of devout and grateful feelings to every good citizen, and, so far as pride is allowable, is a subject of pride to every citizen, whatever his politics; for, wherever he goes, and carries the evidence of belonging to the old Bay State, he may be sure of the respect of all parties. This glorious result has not been wrought "without works;" and for it we, the people, are greatly indebted to your committee. So far as may be needed, I trust you will find no backwardness on our part in putting matters right. I bless God for sparing my life to this time; and I humbly beseech him to crown your labors with success in future. If Texas can be kept off, there will be hope for our government. All other questions are insignificant in comparison with this. The damning sin of adding it to this nation to extend slavery will be as certain to destroy us as death is to overtake us. The false step, once taken, cannot be retraced, and will be to the people who occupy what rum is to the toper. It eats up and uproots the very foundation on which Christian nations are based, and will make us the scorn of all Christendom. Let us work, then, in a Christian spirit, as we would for our individual salvation, to prevent this sad calamity befalling us.'"