"Dear S. and R. speak in words without sounds, through every breeze and in every flower, and in the fragrance of every perfume from the field or the trees."
And again:
"Is there anything in Scripture to discourage the belief that the spirits of departed friends are still ministering spirits to such as are left here, and that a recognition and reünion will follow when we are called off? I believe fully in this happy reünion; and it is, next to the example of the beloved, the most animating feeling that prompts me through this wearisome journey."
To a friend who had invited him to pay her a visit at her residence in the country, he writes:
"N—— says I am like a child in the matter of the visit, and would be as much disappointed if it should not be accomplished; and I must admit that I am guilty of this weakness. There are so many loved ones on the old spot, so many lessons to be reviewed, and so many friends 'passed on,' whose spirits surround and fill the place with the peculiar halo and charm of the good angels (those ministering spirits in whose company we may ever find comfort, if we will think so). I say, with all these things, can I be blamed for being a child in this matter? You will all say No, and will love me the better for it."
On the anniversary of his commencing his business, Dec. 17, Mr. Lawrence, as usual, reviews his past life and mercies, and adds:
"My daily aspirations are for wisdom and integrity to do what is required of me; but the excuses for omissions, and the hidden promptings of pride or selfishness in the sins of commission, take away all confidence that all is done as it should be. I am in the enjoyment of as much as belongs to our condition here. Wife, children, and friends, those three little blessings that were spared to us after the fall, impart enjoyment that makes my home as near a heaven on earth as is allowed to mortals.
"Dec. 23.—This morning has been clear and beautiful, and I have enjoyed it highly. Have been sleigh-riding with Chancellor Kent. Went over to Bunker Hill Monument, and around by the river-side to Charlestown Neck, and had a regular old-fashioned talk with him. He gave me an account of the scenes which occurred where he was studying, in Connecticut, when the news came of the Lexington fight. As we parted, he promised to come again in the spring, take another ride, and resume the conversation. He leaves for New York at three o'clock, and is as bright and lively as a boy, though seventy-eight years old. The old gentleman attends to all his own affairs, had walked around the city this morning some miles, been to the Providence Railroad Dépôt for his ticket, overlooked divers bookstores, and so forth. He is very interesting, and has all the simplicity of a child."
About this time, also, Mr. Lawrence seems to have had pleasant intercourse with the Chevalier Hulsemann, the Austrian Minister, so well known by his correspondence with Mr. Webster when the latter was Secretary of State. The minister was on a visit to Boston, and, from the correspondence which ensued, seems to have conceived a high regard for Mr. Lawrence, expressed in very kind and courteous terms; and this regard seems to have been fully reciprocated.