"April 1, 1841.—S. N., of T., an apprentice on board the United States ship 'Columbus,' in this harbor, thirteen years old, whom I picked up intoxicated in Beacon-street a month ago, and to whom I gave some books, with request to call and see me when on shore, came to-day, and appears very well. Gave him a Testament and some good counsel.
"June 6.—G. M. called to sell a lot of sermons called the ——, which he said he caused to be published to do good; he repeated it so often that I doubted him. He seems to me a wooden nutmeg fellow, although he has the Rev. Mr. ——'s certificate."
The preceding entry is given here merely as a sample of many such which are found in Mr. Lawrence's diary. Few who have not had the like experience can estimate the annoyance to which his reputation for benevolence and well-doing subjected him, in the shape of applications for aid in every imaginable form. His perceptions were naturally acute; and a long experience and intercourse with men enabled him to form, at a single glance, a pretty fair estimate of the merits of the applicant. He may sometimes have judged precipitately, and perhaps harshly; but, when he discovered that he had done so, no one could have been more ready to confess his fault and make reparation. A few years after this time, the annoyance became so serious, from the number and character of the applicants, that he felt obliged, on account of ill-health, to deny himself to all, unless personally known to him, or accredited by some one in whose statement he had confidence. Further than this, he was confirmed in his decision by actual abuse which had occasionally been administered to him by disappointed candidates for charitable aid. He kept upon his table a small memorandum-book, in which he recorded the names of those who sought aid, with their business, and often their age, the age and number of their children, sometimes facts in their past history, and any other information which could enable him to form an opinion of their claim upon him for assistance. He sometimes indulges also in somewhat quaint remarks respecting those who apply, or the manner in which they have presented their application.
To the Rev. Robert Turnbull, a Baptist clergyman then settled in Boston, and who had sent to Mr. Lawrence a copy of his work entitled "Claims of Jesus," he writes under date of Nov. 2:
"Rev. and dear Sir: I thank you for the little volume so kindly presented, and deem it the duty of all the friends of the Saviour to do what they can to stop the flood of infidelity and atheism that threatens such waste and devastation among us. However we may seem to be, I trust many may be found, in the ranks of my Unitarian friends, who admit the 'claims of Jesus' in their most elevated character, and who repudiate the doctrine of those who sink him to the level of a mere human teacher, as subversive of his authority and as nullifying his teachings. We take the record, and what is clearly declared; we do not go behind, even though we do not clearly comprehend it. It gives me pleasure to learn you are so well recovered from the injury you received from the overturn of your carriage near my house.
"With great respect, believe me truly yours,
A. L."
"January, 1842.—This year opens with renewed calls upon me to bless God for his mercies throughout its course. My family circle has not been broken by the death of any one of our whole number, and my own health has been better for the last half-year than for five years before. I have not had occasion to call a physician through the year. My brothers A. and W. have been dangerously sick, but are happily recovered; and both feel, I believe, that their hold on life is not as firm as they have felt it to be in former years. My dear children are growing up around me to bless and comfort me; and all I need is a right understanding of my duties, and a sincere purpose to fulfil them. I hope to have the will to continue them in as faithful a manner as heretofore, to say the least."
Among the traits in Mr. Lawrence's character was that enlarged spirit of Christian feeling which enabled him to appreciate goodness in others, without reference to sect or denomination. This spirit of universal brotherhood was not in him a matter of mere theory, but was carried out in the practice of daily life, and was the means of cementing many and lasting friendships, especially among the clergy of various denominations around him. It may not be uninteresting in future years, for those now in childhood, for whom this volume has been prepared, to be reminded of the strong feeling of sympathy and affection which their grandfather entertained for the Rev. John S. Stone, D.D., once the Rector of St. Paul's Church, in Boston, and now the Rector of St. Paul's, in Brookline, Mass. The following is an extract from a letter written by that gentleman from Brooklyn, N. Y., daring the year 1842, with a memorandum endorsed by Mr. Lawrence, dated October, 1847, in which he says:
"This letter was very interesting to me when received. I kept it in my pocket-book with one from Judge Story, which he had requested me to keep for my children. While son —— was in Europe, I did not expect to live but a short time, and sent him the two letters, as the proper person to keep them for the use of his children."
The letter commences by strong expressions of affection and regard, over which Mr. Lawrence's modesty had induced him to paste a slip of paper, endorsed as follows: "Personal matters between the writer and myself, covered up here, and not to be read by any of the friends to whom I may show this letter." The letter continues as follows:
"Shall I ever forget the happy moments, hours, days, I may say weeks, which I have spent in riding with you, and chatting, as we rode, of all things as we passed them, till I seemed to myself to be living in the by-gone days of Boston and its neighborhood; and all its old families, houses, names, and anecdotes, became as familiar to my mind as the stories of my boyhood? Can I forget it all? I trow not. These things are all blended in with the beautiful scenery through which we used to ride, and associated with those graver lessons and reflections which you used to give me; insomuch that the picture which my memory retains of nature, society, history, and feeling, truth, friendship, and religion, and in which Boston and the living friends there are comprehended, has become imperishable. It never can fade out of my mind. It is a picture in which man has done much, friendship more, religion most, and God all; for religion is his, and friendship is from him, and man is his creature, and the green earth and glorious heavens are his home. There are many, very many, objects in this picture, which I contemplate with special delight; and few which give me pain, or which I would not have had there, had the whole ordering of its composition been left to me. Indeed, had this whole ordering been left to me, it may well be doubted whether, as a whole, it would have contained half of the beautiful and blessed things which it now contains. Taking it as it is, therefore, I am well content to receive it, hang it up in the choicest apartment of my memory, and keep it clean and in good order for use." * * *
As an illustration of the pleasant intercourse alluded to above, among Mr. Lawrence's papers is found another most friendly letter from the Rev. Henry Ware, jun., dated a few days afterwards, with the following endorsement:
"I went on Friday to Mr. Ware's house, and had a free, full, and deeply-interesting conversation upon the appointment of his successor; and was delighted to find him with the same views I have upon the necessity of removing the theological department from Cambridge."