REFLECTIONS.--BUNKER HILL MONUMENT.--LETTERS.
_1st of January, 1828._--After an account of his affairs, he remarks:
"The amount of property is great for a young man under forty-two
years of age, who came to this town when he was twenty-one years
old with no other possessions than a common country education, a
sincere love for his own family, and habits of industry, economy,
and sobriety. Under God, it is these same self-denying habits,
and a desire I always had to please, so far as I could without
sinful compliance, that I can now look back upon and see as the
true ground of my success. I have many things to reproach myself
with; but among them is not idling away my time, or spending
money for such things as are improper. My property imposes upon
me many duties, which can only be known to my Maker. May a sense
of these duties be constantly impressed upon my mind; and, by a
constant discharge of them, God grant me the happiness at last of
hearing the joyful sound, 'Well done, good and faithful servant,
enter thou into the joy of thy Lord!' Amen. Amen."
Previous to this date, but few private letters written by Mr. Lawrence
were preserved. From that time, however, many volumes have been
collected, a greater part of them addressed to his children. Out of a
very large correspondence with them and with friends, such selections
will be made as are thought most interesting, and most worthy to be
preserved by his family and their descendants. The nature of this
correspondence is such, involving many personal matters of transient
interest that often scraps of letters only can be given; and, although
it will be the aim of the editor to give an outline of the life of the
author of these letters, it will be his object to allow him to speak
for himself, and to reveal his own sentiments and character, rather
than to follow out, from year to year, the details of his personal
history. This correspondence commences with a series of letters
extending through several years, and addressed to his eldest son, who
was, during that time, at school in France and Spain.
"BOSTON, November 11, 1828.
"I trust that you will have had favoring gales and a pleasant
passage, and will be safely landed at Havre within twenty days
after sailing. You will see things so different from what you
have been accustomed to, that you may think the French are far
before or behind us in the arts of life, and formation of
society. But you must remember that what is best for one people
may be the worst for another; and that it is true wisdom to study
the character of the people among whom you are, before adopting
their manners, habits, or feelings, and carrying them to another
people. I wish to see you, as long as you live, a well-bred,
upright _Yankee_. Brother Jonathan should never forget his
self-respect, nor should he be impertinent in claiming more for
his country or himself than is due; but on no account should he
speak ungraciously of his country or its friends abroad, whatever
may be said by others. Lafayette in France is not what he is
here; and, whatever may be said of him there, he is an ardent
friend of the United States; and I will venture to say, if you
introduce yourself to him as a grandson of one of his old Yankee
officers, he will treat you with the kindness of a father. You
must visit La Grange, and G. will go with you. He will not
recollect your grandfather, or any of us. But tell him that your
father and three uncles were introduced to him here in the State
House; that they are much engaged in forwarding the Bunker Hill
Monument; and, if ever he return to this country, it will be the
pride of your father to lead him to the top of it."
Among Mr. Lawrence's papers, this is the first allusion to the Bunker
Hill Monument, in the erection of which he afterwards took so
prominent a part, and to which he most liberally contributed both time
and money. From early associations, perhaps from the accounts received
from his father, who was present during the battle, his mind became
strongly interested in the project of erecting a monument, and
particularly in that of reserving the whole battle-ground for the use
of the public forever. He had been chosen one of the Building
Committee of the Board of Directors in October, 1825, in company with
Dr. John C. Warren, General H. A. S. Dearborn, George Blake, and
William Sullivan. From this time until the completion of the monument,
the object occupied a prominent place in his thoughts; and allusion to
his efforts in its behalf during the succeeding years will, from time
to time, be introduced.
On December 13, 1828, he thus alludes to the death of an invalid
daughter six years of age:
"She was taken with lung fever on the 4th, and died, after much
suffering and distress, on the 8th. Nothing seemed to relieve her
at all; and I was thankful when the dear child ceased to suffer,
and was taken to the bosom of her Saviour, where sickness and
suffering will no more reach her, and the imperfections of her
earthly tenement will be corrected, and her mind and spirit will
be allowed to expand and grow to their full stature in Christ. In
his hands I most joyfully leave her, hoping that I may rejoin her
with the other children whom it has pleased God to give me."
(TO HIS SON.)
"December 29.
"My thoughts are often led to contemplate the condition of my
children in every variety of situation, more especially in
sickness, since the death of dear M. Although I do not allow
myself to indulge in melancholy or fearful forebodings, I cannot
but feel the deepest solicitude that their minds and principles
should be so strengthened and stayed upon their God and Saviour
as to give them all needed support in a time of such trial and
suffering. You are so situated as perhaps not to recall so
frequently to your mind as may be necessary the principles in
which you have been educated. But let me, in the absence of these
objects, remind you that God is ever present, and sees the inmost
thoughts; and, while he allows every one to act freely, he gives
to such as earnestly and honestly desire to do right all needed
strength and encouragement to do it. Therefore, my dear son, do
not cheat yourself by doing what you suspect _may_ be wrong. You
are as much accountable to your Maker for an enlightened exercise
of your conscience, as you would be to me to use due diligence in
taking care of a bag of money which I might send by you to Mr. W.
If you were to throw it upon deck, or into the bottom of the
coach, you would certainly be culpable; but, if you packed it
carefully in your trunk, and placed the trunk in the usual
situation, it would be using common care. So in the exercise of
your conscience: if you refuse to examine whether an action is
right or wrong, you voluntarily defraud yourself of the guide
provided by the Almighty. If you do wrong, you have no better
excuse than he who had done so willingly and wilfully. It is the
sincere desire that will be accepted."
To his second son, then at school in Andover, he writes:
"I received your note yesterday, and was prepared to hear your
cash fell short, as a dollar-bill was found in your chamber on
the morning you left home. You now see the benefit of keeping
accounts, as you would not have been sure about this loss without
having added up your account. Get the habit firmly fixed of
putting down every cent you receive and every cent you expend. In
this way you will acquire some knowledge of the relative value of
things, and a habit of judging and of care which will be of use
to you during all your life. Among the numerous people who have
failed in business within my knowledge, a prominent cause has
been a want of system in their affairs, by which to know when
their expenses and losses exceeded their profits. This habit is
as necessary for professional men as for a merchant; because, in
their business, there are numerous ways to make little savings,
if they find their income too small, which they would not adopt
without looking at the detail of all their expenses. It is the
habit of consideration I wish you to acquire; and the habit of
being accurate will have an influence upon your whole character
in life."
(TO HIS SON IN FRANCE.)
"April 28, 1829.
"I beseech you to consider well the advantages you enjoy, and to
avail yourself of your opportunities to give your manners a
little more ease and polish; for, you may depend upon it, manners
are highly important in your intercourse with the world. Good
principles, good temper, and good manners, will carry a man
through the world much better than he can get along with the
absence of either. The most important is good principles. Without
these, the best manners, although, for a time, very acceptable,
cannot sustain a person in trying situations.
"If you live to attain the age of thirty, the interim will appear
but a span; and yet at that time you will be in the full force of
manhood. To look forward to that period, it seems very long; and
it is long enough to make great improvement. Do not omit the
opportunity to acquire a character and habits that will continue
to improve during the remainder of life. At its close, the
reflection that you have thus done will be a support and stay
worth more than any sacrifice you may ever feel called on to make
in acquiring these habits."
(TO THE SAME.)
"June 7, 1829.
"I was forcibly reminded, on entering our tomb last evening, of
the inroads which death has made in our family since 1811, at the
period when I purchased it. How soon any of us who survive may
mingle our dust with theirs, is only known to Omniscience; but,
at longest, it can be in his view but a moment, a mere point of
time. How important, then, to us who can use this mere point for
our everlasting good, that we should do it, and not squander it
as a thing without value! Think upon this, my son; and do not
merely admit the thought into your mind and drive it out by vain
imaginations, but give it an abiding and practical use. To set a
just value upon time, and to make a just use of it, deprives no
one of any rational pleasure: on the contrary, it encourages
temperance in the enjoyment of all the good things which a good
Providence has placed within our reach, and thankfulness for all
opportunities of bestowing happiness on our fellow-beings. Thus
you have an opportunity of making me and your other friends
happy, by diligence in your studies, temperance, truth,
integrity, and purity of life and conversation. I may not write
to you again for a number of weeks, as I shall commence a journey
to Canada in a few days. You will get an account of the journey
from some of the party."