Chapter XIV

TESTIMONIAL TO MR. WEBSTER.--DANGEROUS ILLNESS.--LETTERS.

During the autumn of 1830, in order to testify in a more marked manner his appreciation of Mr. Webster's distinguished services in the Senate of the United States, Mr. Lawrence presented to that gentleman a service of silver plate, accompanied by the following note:

"BOSTON, October 23, 1830.

"HON. DANIEL WEBSTER.

"DEAR SIR: Permit me to request your acceptance of the
accompanying small service of plate, as a testimony of my
gratitude for your services to the country in your late efforts
in the Senate; especially for your vindication of the character
of Massachusetts and of New England.

"From your friend and fellow-citizen,

"AMOS LAWRENCE.

"P. S.--If by any emblem or inscription on any piece of this
service, referring to the circumstances of which this is a
memorial, the whole will be made more acceptable, I shall be glad
to have you designate what it shall be, and permit me the
opportunity of adding it."

To which Mr. Webster replied, on the same evening, as follows:

"SUMMER-STREET, October 23, 1830.

"MY DEAR SIR: I cannot well express my sense of your kindness,
manifested in the present of plate, which I have received this
evening. I know that, from you, this token of respect is sincere;
and I shall ever value it, and be happy in leaving it to my
children, as a most gratifying evidence of your friendship. The
only thing that can add to its value is your permission that it
may be made to bear an inscription expressive of the donation.

"I am, dear sir, with unfeigned esteem,
"Your friend and obedient servant,

"DANIEL WEBSTER.
"AMOS LAWRENCE, Esq."

(TO HIS SON.)

"BOSTON, January 16, 1831.

"Our local affairs are very delightful in this state and city. We
have no violent political animosities; and the prosperity of the
people is very great. In our city, in particular, the people have
not had greater prosperity for twenty years. There is a general
industry and talent in our population, that is calculated to
produce striking results upon their character. In your
reflections upon your course, you may settle it as a principle,
that no man can attain any valuable influence or character among
us, who does not labor with whatever talents he has to increase
the sum of human improvement and happiness. An idler, who feels
that he has no responsibilities, but is contriving to get rid of
time without being useful to any one, whatever be his fortune,
can find no comfort in staying here. We have not enough such to
make up a society. We are literally all working-men; and the
attempt to get up a 'Working-men's party' is a libel upon the
whole population, as it implies that there are among us large
numbers who are not working-men. He is a working-man whose mind
is employed, whether in making researches into the meaning of
hieroglyphics or in demonstrating any invention in the arts, just
as much as he who cuts down the forests, or holds the plough, or
swings the sledge-hammer. Therefore let it be the sentiment of
your heart to use all the talents and powers you may possess in
the advancement of the moral and political influence of New
England. New England, I say; for here is to be the stronghold of
liberty, and the seat of influence to the vast multitude of
millions who are to people this republic."

At the period when the preceding letter was written, the manufacturing interests had become of vast importance in this community; and the house of which Mr. Lawrence was the senior partner had identified itself with many of the great manufacturing corporations already created, or then in progress. With such pecuniary interests at stake, and with a sense of responsibility for the success of these enterprises, which had been projected on a scale and plan hitherto unknown, it may be supposed that his mind and energies were fully taxed, and that he could be fairly ranked among the working-men alluded to. While in the full tide of active life, and, as it were, at the crowning point of a successful career, the hand of Providence was laid upon him to remove him, for the rest of his days, from this sphere of honor and activity to the chamber of the invalid, and the comparatively tame and obscure walks of domestic life. Ever after this, his life hung upon a thread; and its very uncertainty, far from causing him to despond and rest from future effort, seemed only to excite the desire to work while the day lasted. The discipline thus acquired, instead of consigning him to the inglorious obscurity of a sick chamber, was the means of his entering upon that career of active philanthropy which is now the great source of whatever distinction there may be attached to his memory. His business life was ended; and, though he was enabled to advise with others, and give sometimes a direction to the course of affairs, he assumed no responsibility, and had virtually retired from the field.

On the 1st of June, 1831, the weather being very warm, Mr. Lawrence, while engaged in the business of his counting-room, drank moderately of cold water, and, soon after, was seized with a violent and alarming illness. The functions of the stomach seemed to have been destroyed; and, for many days, there remained but small hope of his recovery. Much sympathy was expressed by his friends and the public, and in such a manner as to afford gratification to his family, as well as surprise to himself when sufficiently recovered to be informed of it. He had not yet learned the place which he had earned, in the estimation of those around him, as a merchant and a citizen; and it was, not improbably, a stimulus to merit, by his future course, the high encomiums which were then lavished upon him.

Mr. Lawrence announced his sickness to his son, then in Spain, in the following letter, dated

"BOSTON, June 27, 1831.

"I desire to bless God for being again permitted to address you
in this way. On the 1st day of this month, I was seized with a
violent illness, which caused both myself and my friends almost
to despair of my life. But, by the blessing of God, the remedies
proved efficacious; and I am still in the land of the living,
with a comfortable prospect of acquiring my usual health,
although, thus far, not allowed to leave my chamber. In that
dread hour when I thought that the next perhaps would be my last
on earth,--my thoughts resting upon my God and Saviour, then upon
the past scenes of my life, then upon my dear children,--the
belief that their minds are well directed, and that they will
prove blessings to society, and fulfil, in some good degree, the
design of Providence in placing them here, was a balm to my
spirits that proved more favorable to my recovery than any of the
other remedies. May you never forget that every man is
individually responsible for his actions, and must be held
accountable for his opportunities! Thus he who has ten talents
will receive a proportionate reward, if he makes a right use of
them; and he who receives one will be punished, if he hides it in
a napkin."

"June 29, 1831.

"MY DEAR AND EVER-HONORED MOTHER: Through the divine goodness, I
am once more enabled to address you by letter, after having
passed through a sickness alarming to my friends, although to
myself a comparatively quiet one. I cannot in words express my
grateful sense of God's goodness in thus carrying me, as it
were, in his hand, and lighting the way by the brightness of his
countenance. During that period in which I considered my recovery
as hardly probable, my mind was calm; and, while in review of the
past I found many things to lament, and in contemplation of the
future much to fear, but more to hope, I could find no other
words in which to express my thoughts than the words of the
publican, 'God be merciful to me a sinner!' All the small
distinctions of sects and forms dwindled into air, thin air, and
seemed to me even more worthless than ever. The cares and
anxieties of the world did not disturb me, believing it to be of
small moment whether I should be taken now or spared a few years
longer. With returning health and strength, different prospects
open, and different feelings take the place of those which were
then so appropriate; and the social feelings and sympathies have
their full share in their hold upon me. * * * *

"From your ever-loving and dutiful son,
A. L."

(TO HIS SON.)

"July 14.

"I have been constantly gaining since my last to you, and with
constant care, hope to acquire my usual health. I am, however,
admonished, by the two attacks I have experienced within a month,
that the continuance of my life for any considerable period will
be very likely to depend upon a rigid prudence in my labor and
living. The recovery from this last sickness is almost like being
restored to life; and I hope the span that may be allowed me may
be employed in better service than any period of my past life. We
are placed here to be disciplined for another and higher state;
and whatever happens to us makes a part of this discipline. In
this view, we ought never to murmur, but to consider, when ills
befall us, how we can make them subserve our highest good. What I
am more desirous than anything else for you is, that you may feel
that you are accountable for all your talents, and that you may
so use them as to have an approving conscience, and the final
recompense of a faithful servant at last. The period of trial is
short; but the consequences are never-ending. How important to
each individual, then,--to you and to me,--that we use aright the
period assigned us!"