"Dear Sir William: I lose no time in expressing to you the feelings of my heart, on reading the brief notice of the last hours of dear Lady Colebrooke. All my recollections and associations of her are of the most interesting character; and for yourself I feel more than a common regard. We may never meet again in this world; but it matters little, if, when we are called off, we are found 'in line,' and ready to receive the cheering 'Well done' when we reach that better world we hope for. I trust that you, and all your dear ones, have been in the hollow of our Father's hand, through the shadings of his face from you; and that, in his own good time, all will be cleared away.
"Faithfully and respectfully yours,
Amos Lawrence.
"Boston, Aug. 8, 1851."
(TO THE HON. CHARLES B. HADDOCK, MINISTER OF THE UNITED STATES TO PORTUGAL.)
"Boston, Aug. 19, 1851.
"Dear and kind-hearted Friend: Your letters to me before leaving the country, and after reaching England, awakened many tender remembrances of times past, and agreeable hopes of times to come. In that, I felt as though I had you by the hand, with that encouraging 'Go forward' in the fear of God, and confidence in his fatherly care and guidance. I know your views have always put this trust at the head of practical duties, and that you will go forward in your present duties, and do better service to the country than any man who could be sent. Portugal is a sealed book, in a great degree, to us. Who so able to unlock and lay open its history as yourself? Now, then, what leisure you have may be most profitably applied to the spreading out the treasures before us; and, my word for it, your reputation as a writer and a thinker will make whatever you may publish of this sort desirable to be read by the great mass of our reading population.
* * * * *
"I hold that God has given us our highest enjoyments, in every period, from childhood to old age, in the exercise of our talents and our feelings with reference to his presence and oversight; and that, at any moment, he may call us off, and that we may thus be left to be among the children of light or of darkness, according to his word and our preparation. These enjoyments of childhood, of middle age, of mature life, and of old age, are all greatly increased by a constant reference to the source from whence they come; and the danger of great success in life is more to be feared, in our closing account, than anything else. A brief space will find us in the earth, and of no further consequence than as we shall have marked for good the generation of men growing up to take our places. The title of an honest man, who feared God, is worth more than all the honors and distinction of the world. Pray, let me hear from you, and the dear lady, whom I hope to escort once more over the sides of our Mount Zion, and introduce to some of my children and grandchildren settled upon the borders; and, if any stranger coming this way from you will accept such facilities as I can give to our institutions, I shall gladly render them. It is now many years since I have sat at table with my family, and I am now better than I have been at any time during that period; in short, I am light-hearted as a child, and enjoy the children's society with all the zest of early days. I must say, 'God speed you, my friend,' and have you constantly in the hollow of his hand! In all kind remembrances, Mrs. L. joins me, to your lady and yourself.
"Faithfully and respectfully your friend,
"Amos Lawrence."
On the same day that the preceding letter was penned, Mr. Lawrence, in acknowledgment of some work sent to him by the Rev. Dr. Scoresby, of Bradford, England, wrote the following letter. That gentleman had visited this country twice, and had made many friends in Boston. Once an Arctic traveller, and a man of great scientific acquirement, he has now become an eminent and active clergyman in the Church of England, and has devoted all his energies to the task of elevating the lower orders of the population where his field of labor has been cast.
"Boston, Aug. 19, 1851.
"My dear Friend: Your letter from Torquay, of ninth July, reached me on the sixth of this month. It brought to memory our agreeable intercourse of former years, and cheered me with the hope that I might again see you in this world, and again shake your hand in that cordial, social way that goes direct to the heart. I had been much interested in the account brought by ——, and in your kind messages by him. Your memorials of your father interest me exceedingly, and I thank you most sincerely for the volume and the sermon you sent. This sermon I sent to a friend of mine, and also a friend of yours, who became such after hearing you preach in Liverpool. Professor ——, of —— College, is a most talented, efficient, and popular teacher; and his present position he has attained by his industry and his merit. He was a poor youth, in Liverpool, who followed you in your preaching; came here, and went as an apprentice to a mechanical business; was noticed as a bright fellow; was educated by persons assisting him, and graduated at —— College. He became a tutor, and is now a professor, and is an honor to the college and his nation. We are all at work in New England, and now feel a twinge from too fast driving in some branches of business; but, in the aggregate, our country is rapidly advancing in wealth, power, and strength, notwithstanding the discontent of our Southern brethren. We have allowed the 'black spot' to be too far spread over our land; it should have been restrained more than thirty years ago, and then our old Slave States would have had no just cause of complaint. I am called off, and must bid you farewell, with kind regards of Mrs. L., and my own most faithful and affectionate remembrance.
Amos Lawrence.
"Rev. William Scoresby, D.D., Torquay, Devonshire, Eng."
(TO PRESIDENT HOPKINS.)
"Boston, Nov. 15, 1851.
"My dear Friend: This is a rainy day, which keeps me housed; and, to improve it in 'pursuit,' I have a bundle made up, of the size of a small 'haycock,' and directed to you by railroad, with a few lines enclosed for the amusement of the children. I have told A. and L. that they couldn't jump over it; but H. could, by having a clear course of two rods. Louis Dwight has spent a half-hour with me this morning, exhibiting and explaining his plan for the new Lunatic Asylum of the State, which I think is the best model I have ever seen, and is a decided improvement on all our old ones. The committee, of which Governor Briggs is chairman, will give it a careful consideration and comparison with Dr. Bell's, and perhaps Dr. Butler's and others; and, with such an amount of talent and experience, the new asylum will be the best, I trust, that there is on this side of the Atlantic. Louis Dwight is in fine spirits, and in full employ in his peculiar line. The new institution in New York for vagrant children will very likely be built on his plan. He is really doing his work most successfully, in classing and separating these young sinners, so that they may be reclaimed, and trained to become useful citizens; in that light, he is a public benefactor. * * *
"Faithfully and affectionately yours,
"Amos Lawrence."
In a letter to a friend, written on Sunday, and within a few days of the preceding, Mr. Lawrence says, after describing one of his severe attacks:
"I am not doing wrong, I think, in consecrating a part of the day to you, being kept within doors by one of those kindly admonitions which speaks through the body, and tells me that my home here is no shelter from the storm. I had been unusually well for some weeks past, and it seemed to me that my days passed with a rapidity and joyousness that nothing short of the intercourse with the loved ones around me could have caused. What can be more emphatic, until my final summons? If my work is done, and well done, I should not dread the summons; pray that it may be, and that we may meet again after a brief separation. I am hoping to be safely housed by and by where cold and heat, splendid furniture, luxurious living, and handsome houses, and attendants, will all be thought of as they really merit."