About the same date, he says to President Hopkins:
"I am happily employed, these days, in administering upon my own earnings, and have hope of hearing soon from you and your good work. I am still on my good behavior, but have been able to chat a little with Mr. D., and administer to His Excellency Governor Briggs, who has had a severe trial of fever and ague. On Saturday he rode an hour with me, and returned with his face shortened considerably. I can only say to you that I believe I am left here to do something more to improve and help on the brethren and sons who have more mind and less money than I have; but the precise way to do it is not so clear to me as it may be by and by."
After receiving the proposed plan of the library which he had authorized to be built at Williams College, Mr. Lawrence writes to the same, on May 15:
"I left off, after a brief note to you, three hours since, furnishing you a text on epicureanism to preach from, which I trust will find favor and use.
"What think you? Why, that I am interfering in your business. When I awoke this morning, thinks I to myself, My friend won't have elbow-room in the centre of his octagon; and, as there is plenty of land to build upon, he may as well make his outside to outside fifty feet as forty-four feet, and thus give himself more space in the centre. The alcoves appear to me to be very nice; and, in the matter of expense, my young friend A. L. H. will see to that, to the tune of one or two thousand dollars. So you may feel yourself his representative in acting in this matter."
"April 22.—My birth-day! Three-score years old! My life, hanging by a thread for years, and apparently, at times, within a few hours of its close, still continued, while so many around in the prime of life and vigor have been called away!"
(TO A FRIEND.)
"Tremont-street, April, 1846.
"My Friend ——: I have arisen after my siesta, and, as the Quakers say, am moved by the spirit to speak. So you will give what I have to say the value you consider it worth. And, in the first place, I will say, that this period of the year is so full of deeply-interesting memories of the past, that I hardly know where to begin. From my earliest days, the story of the intelligence reaching Groton at ten o'clock on the 19th April, 1775, that the British were coming, was a most interesting one. My father mounted Gen. Prescott's horse, and rode, at a speed which young men even of the present day would think rapid, to the south end of the town, by Sandy Pond, and notified the minute-men to assemble at the centre of the town forthwith. He made a range of seven miles, calling on all the men, and was back at his father's house in forty minutes. At one o'clock, P. M., the company was in readiness to march, and under way to Concord to meet the British. They kept on until they reached Cambridge; but, before that, they had seen and heard all that had been done by the troops sent out to Concord. The plough was left in the field; and my grandfather, with his horse and wagon, brought provisions to his neighbors and his son shortly after. My grandmother on my mother's side, then living in Concord, has described to me over and over again the appearance of the British, as she first saw them coming over the bill from Lincoln, about two miles from the centre of Concord; the sun just rising; and the red coats, glittering muskets, and fearful array, so captivating to us in peace-times, appearing to her as the angel of destruction, to be loathed and hated. She therefore left her house with her children (the house was standing within the last thirty years, and may be now, near the turn to go through Bedford, half a mile or more this side of Concord meeting-house), and went through the fields, and over the hills, to a safe place of retreat. The British, you are aware, on their retreat, had a hard time of it. They were shot down like wild game, and left by the wayside to die or be taken up as it might happen. Three thus left within gun-shot of my grandmother's house were taken up, and died in the course of a very few hours. But what I am coming to is this: Lord Percy, you know, was sent out from Boston with a strong body of troops to protect those first sent out; and, but for this, the whole would have been destroyed or made prisoners. About three years ago, Lord Prudhoe, second son of Lord Percy, was here; and I had considerable delightful intercourse with him. He, as you may well suppose, was deeply interested in all that related to his father; and I met him in the library at Cambridge, where he was very observant of the order and arrangement, and especially of the curious old documents and books, so nicely arranged, touching the early history of the province. After leaving Cambridge, he went to Mr. Cushing's and Mr. Pratt's, at Watertown, and was much interested in all that we in this city are proud of. I had not strength to be devoted to him more than an hour or two at a time, having then some other strangers under my care, belonging to Gov. Colebrooke's family, Lady Colebrooke being a niece of Major André; so that I had only some half-dozen interviews with him, all of which were instructive and interesting."
The dissection of human bodies by medical students has always been a subject of deep-rooted prejudice in New England; and, even to this day, it exists in so great a degree that the facilities for this important and absolutely essential branch of instruction are not nearly as great as they should be, nor such as are afforded in the schools of other countries. When these difficulties shall be removed, and the prejudice allayed against the acquisition of a kind of knowledge which it is of the utmost interest to every one that the surgeon and physician shall receive, many young men will remain at home, and acquire that education which, with few exceptions, might be attained here as well as by a resort to foreign schools. In this prejudice Mr. Lawrence could not sympathize, as will be seen in the following extract of a letter to a friend
* * * * *
"Many years ago, there was a great stir, on account of graves being robbed for subjects for dissection, and some laws were passed: the want became so pressing, that subjects were brought from a long distance, and in a very bad state. Dr. Warren was attending me, and said he had invited the Legislature, then in session, to attend a lecture in the Medical College. He told me he intended to explain the necessity of having fit subjects, he having been poisoned in his lecture to his students a few days before, and was then suffering from it. He invited me also to attend, which I did, and took with me my precious boy R. While lecturing, the doctor had a man's hand, which he had just taken off at the hospital, brought in, nicely wrapped up in a wet cloth, by his son J. M. W., then a youngster. There were present about two hundred representatives; and, as soon as they saw the real hand, two or three fainted nearly away, and a half-dozen or more made their escape from the room. The scene was so striking, that I told Dr. Warren it was a pity that such a prejudice should exist; and, as I was desirous to be of use as far as in my power, and probably should be a good subject for him, I would gladly have him use me in the way to instruct the young men; but to take care of my remains, and have them consumed or buried, unless my bones were kept. I also told him that I desired very much to have this false feeling corrected, and perhaps my example might do something toward it. Some time afterwards, I spoke to —— upon the subject; but I found it gave pain, and the plan was given up. * * *
A. L."
"Outward gains are ordinarily attended with inward losses. He indeed is rich in grace whose graces are not hindered by his riches."
In a letter, dated June 3, Mr. Lawrence bears testimony to the character and services of the late Louis Dwight, so long and favorably known as the zealous Secretary of the Massachusetts Prison Discipline Society:
"I have this moment had an interview with Louis Dwight, who leaves for Europe in two days. My labors and experience with him for nearly a quarter of a century enable me to testify to his ability, and unceasing efforts in the cause."
"May 27, 1846.—The following commentary[9] on the Lectures of the Rev. Dr. —— accompanied their return to me from one to whom I had loaned the volume. I have now no recollection who the person is; but the words are full, and to the point:
"'This sucking the marrow all out of our Bible, and leaving it as dry as a husk, pray what good to man, or honor to God, does that do? If we are going to fling away the old book from which ten thousand thousand men have drawn and are still drawing the life of their souls, then let us stand boldly up, and fling it away, cover and all; unless, indeed, a better way would be to save the boards and gilding, and make a family checker-board of it.'"