ACQUAINTANCE WITH PRESIDENT HOPKINS.--LETTERS.--AFFECTION FOR
BRATTLE-STREET CHURCH.--DEATH OF MRS. APPLETON.--LETTERS.--AMESBURY
CO.
At the commencement of the year 1844, President Hopkins, of Williams
College, delivered a course of lectures on the "Evidences of
Christianity," before the Lowell Institute, in Boston. Mr. Lawrence
had previously seen him, and had thought that he detected, in some
features of his face, a resemblance to the family of his first wife.
In allusion to this acquaintance, he writes to his son about this
period:
"President H. has the family look of your mother enough to belong
to them; and it was in consequence of that resemblance, when I
was first introduced to him many years ago, that I inquired his
origin, and found him to be of the same stock."
The acquaintance was renewed, and an intimacy ensued, which was not
only the cause of much happiness to Mr. Lawrence through the remainder
of his life, but was also the means of directing his attention to the
wants of Williams College, of which he eventually became the greatest
benefactor. An active and constant correspondence followed this
acquaintance, and was so much prized by Mr. Lawrence that he had most
of the letters copied, thereby filling several volumes, from which
extracts will from time to time be made. In one of his first letters
to that gentleman, dated May 11, he says:
"If, by the consecration of my earthly possessions to some
extent, I can make the Christian character practically more
lovely, and illustrate, in my own case, that the higher
enjoyments here are promoted by the free use of the good things
intrusted to me, what so good use can I make of them? I feel that
my stewardship is a very imperfect one, and that the use of these
good things might be extended profitably to myself; and, since I
have known how much good the little donation did your college, I
feel ashamed of myself it had not been larger,--at any rate,
sufficient to have cleared the debt."
To the same gentleman, who had informed Mr. Lawrence that an accident
had befallen a plaster bust of himself, he writes, under date of May
16:
"DEAR PRESIDENT: You know the phrase 'Such a man's head is full
of notions' has a meaning that we all understand to be not to his
credit for discretion, whatever else may be said of him. As I
propose throwing in a caveat against this general meaning, I
proceed to state my case. And, firstly, President H. is made
debtor to the Western Railroad Corporation for the transportation
of a barrel to Pittsfield. The bill is receipted, so that you can
have the barrel to-morrow by sending for it; which barrel
contains neither biscuit nor flour, but the clay image of your
friend. In the head are divers notions that my hand fell upon as
I was preparing it for the jaunt; and, when the head was filled
with things new and old, I was careful to secure the region under
the shoulders, especially on the _left side_, and near the heart,
by placing there that part of a lady's dress which designates a
government that we men are unwilling openly to acknowledge, but
is, withal, very conservative. Within its folds I wrapped up very
securely 'Pilgrim's Progress,' and stuffed the empty space
between my shoulders, and near my heart, _brim full_, I hope my
young friend will find a motive and a moral in the image and in
the book, to cheer him on in his pilgrimage of life."
* * * * *
"_July 22, 1844._--Sixty-seven years ago this day, my mother, now
living, was married; and, while standing up for the ceremony, the
alarm-bell rang, calling all soldiers to their posts. My father
left her within the hour, and repaired to Cambridge; but the
colonel, in consideration of the circumstances, allowed him to
return to Groton to his wife, and to join his regiment within
three days at Rhode Island. This he did, spending but a few hours
with his wife; and she saw nothing more of him until the last day
of the year, when he made her a visit. I have ordered a thousand
dollars paid to the Massachusetts General Hospital, to aid in
enlarging its wings, and to commemorate this event. The girls of
this day know nothing of the privations and trials of their
grandmothers."
On the same day with the above entry in his diary occurs another, in
which he alludes to assistance afforded to some young persons in
Brattle-street Church,--"sons of Brattle-street, and, as such,
assisted by me." Mr. Lawrence's early religious associations were
connected with this church, where, it is believed, he attended from
the first Sunday after his coming to Boston. With such associations,
and connected as they were with the most endeared recollections of
those who had worshipped there with him in early days, all that
pertained to this venerable church possessed a strong and abiding
interest. In this connection is quoted the beautiful testimony of his
pastor, the Rev. Dr. Lothrop, furnished in the funeral sermon
delivered by him, where he speaks of Mr. Lawrence's love for the
church, as well as of his religious character:
"The prominent feature in Mr. Lawrence's life and character, its
inspiration and its guide, was religion,--religious faith,
affection, and hope. He loved God, and therefore he loved all
God's creatures. He believed in Christ as the Messiah and Saviour
of the world, and therefore found peace and strength in his soul,
amid all the perils, duties, and sorrows of life. His religious
opinions lay distinct and clear in his own mind. They were the
result of careful reading and of serious reflection, and were
marked by a profound reverence for the Sacred Scriptures, and the
divine authority of Jesus Christ. A constant worshipper here
during the forty-six years of his residence in this city, for
more than forty years of this period a communicant, and for more
than ten a deacon of this church,--resigning the office, at
length, because of his invalid state of health,--he had strong
attachments to this house of God. 'Our venerable church,' he says
in one of his notes to me, 'has in it deeply impressive,
improving, instructive, and interesting associations, going back
to the early days of my worshipping there; and the prayers of my
friends and fellow-worshippers of three generations, in part now
belonging there, come in aid of my weakness in time of need; and
no other spot, but that home where I was first taught my prayers,
and this my domestic fireside, where my children have been taught
theirs, has the same interest as our own old Brattle-square
Church.'"
To an old business friend and acquaintance, Joshua Aubin, Esq., the
agent of the Amesbury Company, who had from the beginning been
associated with him in this first and favorite manufacturing
enterprise in which he had engaged, he writes on September 18, after
receiving a quantity of manufactured articles for distribution among
the poor:
"You are brought very near to me on such a day as this (when I am
shut up in the house), by your work as well as by your words.
"Now, as to your last consignment, I have derived, and expect to
derive, as much comfort and enjoyment from it as I ordinarily
should from a cash dividend on my shares. In truth, I am able to
employ these _odds and ends_ to such uses and for such persons as
will make me feel as though I were spared here for some use.
"For instance, I had a call from a most respectable friend
(president of one of the best colleges in the West) last week,
who agreed to come again this week to do some shopping as soon as
he got some money for preaching on Sunday, and look over my stock
of goods.
"I intend making him up a good parcel of your work, and, depend
on it, it is good seed, and will take root at the West. He says
that they have no money, but plenty of corn, and beef, and pork.
Corn pays for growing at ten cents a bushel, and will not bring
that in cash; and ten bushels will not pay for a calico gown, or
a flannel petticoat.
"With his large family of children, don't you think these _odds
and ends_ will come as a blessing? Besides, he is an
old-fashioned Massachusetts Whig; loves the old Bay State as well
as ever the Jews loved their State, and is, through his college
exercising an influence in ---- that no body of men in that State
can do; and will, in the end, bring them into regular line, as to
education and elevation of character. Send me some of your
flannels to give to Madam ---- for her family of one or two
hundred children in the Children's Friend Society.
"---- will give them over to these poor little destitute, unclad
creatures. They are taken and saved by this interesting society.
"A rainy day like this is the very time for me to work among my
household goods. Many a poor minister and his family, and many a
needy student at school or college, fare the better for your
spinning and weaving.
"I am living in my chamber, and on very close allowance. Every
day to me is a day of glorious anticipations, if I am free from
bodily suffering, and if my mind is free."
On another occasion he writes to the same gentleman:
"I have your letter and package; the cold of this morning will
make the articles doubly acceptable to the shivering and sick
poor among us. J. C.'s case is one for sympathy and relief.
Engage to supply him a hundred dollars, which I will hand to you
when you visit me; and tell the poor fellow to keep in good
heart, for our merciful Father afflicts in love, and thus I trust
that this will prove a stepping-stone to the mansions of bliss.
I shall never cease to remember with interest the veterans of
the A. F. Co. How are my friends B. and others of early days?
Also, how is old father F.? Does he need my warm outside coat,
when I get supplied with a better?
"After your call upon me a few weeks since, I went back in memory
to scenes of olden times, which had an interest that you can
sympathize in, and which I intended to express to you before
this; but I have had one of those admonitory ill turns since,
that kept me under the eye of the doctor for a number of days.
"In reviewing my beginnings in manufacturing, under your
recommendation and care, almost a quarter of a century ago, I can
see the men, the machines, the wheel-pit, and the speed-gauge,
and especially I can see our old friend W. lying on the bottom of
the pit, lamp in hand, with his best coat on, eying the wheels
and cogs as an astronomer makes observations in an observatory.
All these scenes are as fresh in my memory as though seen but
yesterday.
"Do you remember C. B., the brother of J. and G. B.? All three of
whom were business men here at the time you were, and all were
unfortunate. C. tried his; hand in ----, and did not succeed
there; returned to this country, and settled on a tract of land
in ----, where he has been hard at work for ten years, and has
maintained his family. His wife died a few months since. One
after another of his family sickened, and he became somewhat
straitened, and knew not what to do. He wrote to an old business
friend, who was his debtor, and who had failed, had paid a part
only, and was discharged thirty years ago, and who has since been
prosperous. He stated his case, and asked me to say a good word
for him. That person sent one half, and I sent the other half,
the day before Thanksgiving. It will reach him on Monday next,
and will make his eyes glisten with joy.
"Remember me to Capt. ---- and J. C, and B., and any other of the
veterans."
Sept. 23, Mr. Lawrence receives from an old debtor, once a clerk in
his establishment, a check for five hundred dollars, which a sense of
justice had induced him to send, though the debt of some thousands had
been long since legally discharged. On receiving it, he writes, in a
memorandum at the bottom of the letter received, to his brother and
partner:
"DEAR ABBOTT: I have the money. J. D. was always a person of
truth. I take the statement as true; but I had no recollection of
the thing till recalled by his statement. What say you to putting
this money into the life office, in trust for his sister?
Your affectionate brother,
AMOS."
"MEMORANDUM. _November 23._--Done, and policy sent to the
sister."
There are but few men, distinguished in public or private life, who
are burdened with an undue amount of praise from their contemporaries;
and yet this was the case with Mr. Lawrence, who was often chagrined,
after some deed of charity, or some written expression of sympathy, to
see it emblazoned, with superadded colors, in the public prints. Some
one had enclosed to him a newspaper from another city, which contained
a most labored and flattering notice of the kind referred to, to which
he writes the following reply:
"September, 1844.
"DEAR ----: I received the paper last evening, and have read and
re-read it with deep interest and attention. However true it may
he, it is not calculated to promote the ultimate good of any of
us; for we are all inclined to think full well enough of
ourselves; and such puffs should be left for our obituaries.
Truth is not always to be pushed forward; and its advocates may
sometimes retard it by injudicious urging. Such is the danger in
the present case. The writer appears to be a young man who has
received favors, and is laboring to repay them or secure more. He
has told the truth; but, as I before said, neither you nor I, nor
any one of our families, are improved or benefited in any degree
by it. God grant us to be humble, diligent, and faithful to the
end of our journey, that we may then receive his approval, and be
placed among the good of all nations and times!"
On the 29th. of October, Mrs. Appleton, his sister-in-law, and widow
of the Rev. Jesse Appleton, D.D., formerly President of Bowdoin
College, died at his house, after a lingering illness. In a letter to
his son, after describing her character and peaceful death, he says:
"With such a life and such hopes, who can view the change as any
other than putting away the fugitive and restless pleasures of an
hour for the quiet and fixed enjoyments of eternity? Let us,
then, my dear children, not look upon the separation of a few
short years as a calamity to be dreaded, should we not meet here
again in any other way than as we now meet. While I am here,
every joy and enjoyment you experience, and give us an account
of, is not less so to us than if we were with you to partake, as
we have done of all such heretofore; and, in this source of
enjoyment, few people have such ample stores. Three families of
children and grandchildren within my daily walk,--is not this
enough for any man? And here I would impress upon my grandsons
the importance of looking carefully to their steps. The
difference between going just right and a little wrong in the
commencement of the journey of life, is the difference between
their finding a happy home or a miserable slough at the end of
the journey. Teach them to avoid tobacco and intoxicating drink,
and all temptations that can lead them into evil, as it is easier
to prevent than to remedy a fault. 'An ounce of prevention is
worth a pound of cure.' I was going on to say that, according to
my estimate of men and things, I would not change conditions with
Louis Philippe if I could by a wish, rich as he is in the matter
of good children. I have a great liking for him, and a sincere
respect for his family, as they are reported to me; but I trust
that mine will not be tried by the temptations of great worldly
grandeur, but that they will be found faithful stewards of the
talents intrusted to them. Bring up your boys to do their work
first, and enjoy their play afterwards. Begin early to teach them
habits of order, a proper economy, and exact accountability in
their affairs. This simple rule of making a child, after he is
twelve years old, keep an exact account of all that he wears,
uses, or expends, in any and every way, would save more suffering
to families than can fairly be estimated by those who have not
observed its operation.
"And now, to change the subject," he writes Nov. 15, "we have got
through the elections, and are humbled as Americans. The
questions affecting our local labor, produce, and pecuniary
interests, are of small moment, compared with that of annexing
Texas to this Union. I wrote a brief note yesterday to our friend
Chapman, late Mayor of the city, and a member of the Whig
Committee, which speaks the language of my heart. It was as
follows:
"'MY DEAR SIR: The result of the election in Massachusetts is
matter of devout and grateful feelings to every good citizen,
and, so far as pride is allowable, is a subject of pride to every
citizen, whatever his politics; for, wherever he goes, and
carries the evidence of belonging to the old Bay State, he may be
sure of the respect of all parties. This glorious result has not
been wrought "without works;" and for it we, the people, are
greatly indebted to your committee. So far as may be needed, I
trust you will find no backwardness on our part in putting
matters right. I bless God for sparing my life to this time; and
I humbly beseech him to crown your labors with success in future.
If Texas can be kept off, there will be hope for our government.
All other questions are insignificant in comparison with this.
The damning sin of adding it to this nation to extend slavery
will be as certain to destroy us as death is to overtake us. The
false step, once taken, cannot be retraced, and will be to the
people who occupy what rum is to the toper. It eats up and
uproots the very foundation on which Christian nations are based,
and will make us the scorn of all Christendom. Let us work, then,
in a Christian spirit, as we would for our individual salvation,
to prevent this sad calamity befalling us.'"