Chapter XXIII

LETTER FROM DR. SHARP.--ILLNESS AND DEATH OF SON.--LETTERS.--AFFLICTIONS.

The Rev. Dr. Sharp, of the Baptist denomination, who has been previously alluded to as a valued friend of Mr. Lawrence, had made a visit to England, the land of his birth, after an absence of forty years, and thus addresses him from Leeds, July 1:

"I esteem it one of the happy events of my life that I have been
made personally acquainted with you. Not certainly because of
your kind benefactions to me and mine, but because I have enjoyed
your conversation, and have been delighted with those
manifestations of principle and conduct, which, let them grow
under what Christian culture they may, I know how to honor, to
knowledge, and to love."

The same gentleman writes, shortly afterwards:

"I thank you for the kind manner in which you express yourself in
regard to my occasional sermons. I never had any taste for
controversy, nor for theological speculation; although, as a
Christian watchman, I have kept myself informed of the religious
opinions that have been, and that are. I thank you, as does my
dear wife, for your thoughtful concern of the sacred spot so
dear both to my recollections and hopes. There, when life's
journey is ended, I hope to rest by the side of those whose
company and unfailing affection have gladdened so many of my
years; and it has given me a subdued pleasure, when I have
thought that my own bed of death would be so near that of the
kind and gentle-hearted friend who provided me with mine. May all
who shall repose near that interesting spot be imbued with a pure
and loving Christian spirit, that, when the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall arise, we may all rise together in glorious
forms, to be forever with the Lord!"

(TO ONE OF HIS PARTNERS.)

"Tremont-street, September 30, 1845.

"DEAR MR. PARKER: I am buoyant and afloat again, and able to
enjoy the good things you are so liberal in providing. The
widow's box of ointment was broken before its value was learned.
The sermon is significant and practical. I would be thankful to
improve under its teaching. Will you send me two thousand dollars
this morning in Mr. Sharp's clean money? thus allowing me the
opportunity of expressing my gratitude to a merciful Father
above, that he still permits me to administer the good things he
has intrusted to me. Dear R. had a quiet night, although he did
not sleep much during the first part. This experience is, indeed,
the most trying; but I hope to be able to say truly, 'Thy will be
done.'

Your friend,
"A. L.
"C. H. PARKER, Esq."

The trying experience alluded to was the serious illness of his youngest son, Robert, then a member of Harvard College. He had for some time been troubled by a cough, which had now become alarming, and excited the worst apprehensions of his friends. In relation to this sickness, he writes several letters to his son, from which the following extracts are made:

"October 15

"We are in great anguish of spirit on account of dear R. We are
getting reconciled to parting with the dear child, and to feel
that he has done for us what any parents might feel thankful for,
by living a good life, and in nineteen years giving us no cause
to wish any one of them blotted out. If now called away, he will
have lived a long life in a few years, and will be spared the
trials and sufferings that flesh is heir to, and will be gathered
like early fruit, before the blight or frost or mildew has marked
it."

"October 29.

"R. remains gradually failing with consumption, but without much
suffering, and perfectly aware of his situation. He never
appeared so lovely as he has on his sick bed; so that his happy
spirit and resignation, without a complaint or a wish that
anything had been done differently, keep us as happy as we can be
under such a weight of apprehension that we may so soon part with
him. He asked me yesterday what I should write to you about him.
I told him I should say that he was very sick, and might never be
any better; but that he might also be better if the great
Physician saw best, as it is only for him to speak, and the
disease would be cured. If he were taken before me, I told him,
it would be, I hoped, to welcome me to the company of the loved
ones of our kindred and friends who have gone before, and to the
society of angels and just men made perfect, who compose the
great congregation that are gathered there from all the world,
that God's love, through Christ, has redeemed. God so loved the
world that he gave his only-begotten Son to redeem it from sin;
and his teachings should not be lost on us, while we have power
to profit by them. In this spirit, we talked of the good men
whose writings have an influence in helping on this good work;
and especially we talked of Dr. Doddridge, and his 'Rise and
Progress.'

"P. M.--I have been with M. to Brookline since writing the above.
The falling leaves teach a beautiful lesson. The green leaf, the
rose, the cypress, now enclosed to you, and all from your
grounds, are instructive. These were cut within the last two
hours."

"November 1.

"Dear R. had a trying day yesterday, and we thought might not
continue through the night. He is still alive, and may continue
some time; was conscious and clear in his mind after he revived
yesterday; feels ready and willing and hoping to be with his
Saviour."

"November 14.

"We toil for treasure through our years of active labor, and,
when acquired, are anxious to have it well secured against the
time when we or our children may have need of it; and we feel
entire confidence in this security. We allow the common flurries
of the world to pass by without disturbing our quiet or comfort
essentially. What treasure of a temporal character is comparable
with a child who is everything a Christian parent could desire,
and who is just coming into mature life universally respected and
beloved, and who is taken before any cloud or spot has touched
him, and who has left bright and clear marks upon those who have
come within his sphere of influence? Such was R. The green earth
of Mount Auburn covers his mortal remains; the heavens above
have his immortal; he was a ripe child of God, and I therefore
feel that blessed assurance of entire security which adds another
charm to that blessed company to which I hope, through mercy, to
be admitted in our Father's own good time. This early death of
our beloved youngest comes upon us as an additional lesson,
necessary, without doubt, to prepare us for our last summons; and
the reasons which now seem mysterious will be fully understood,
and will show us that our good required this safe keeping of this
treasure, so liable to be made our idol. R. had passed the
dangerous period of his college life without blemish, and was
only absent from prayers three times (which were for good cause),
and had a settled purpose, from the beginning of his college
life, so to conduct in all respects as to give his parents no
cause for anxiety; and, for the last year, I have felt perfectly
easy in regard to him. We have visited his grave to-day. The
teachings there are such as speak to the heart with an eloquence
that language cannot. Dear S. and R.! She the only daughter, he
the only son of his mother! and both placed there since you
left!"

"November 22.

"President H., in a letter a few days before I wrote to you, had
this sentiment: 'The old oak, shorn of its green branches, is
more liable to decay.' Applying this to the old oak fronting the
graves of those loved ones who have passed on, the outspread
branches of which make the spot more lovely, I was more deeply
impressed than mere words could have impressed me. A few months
after the death of S., a violent storm tore off a main limb of
the old oak about midway between the ground and the top, in such
way as to mar its beauty, and endanger its life. The limb fell
upon the graves, but avoided the injury to the monuments which
might have been expected. Since then, I noticed that some of the
lower limbs cast a sort of blight or mildew upon the pure white
of your mother's monument, and they required dressing. I desired
the 'master' to do this, and also to come and heal the wound
occasioned by the loss of this main limb on that side of the
tree. The trimming out was done at once; the other was left
undone until the request was renewed. On my visit there last
week, I discovered, for the first time, that the wound had been
healed, and the body of the tree appeared smooth, and of its
natural color, and its health such as to give good hope that its
other branches will spread out their shade more copiously than
before. What a lesson was here! The appeal was to the heart; and,
in my whole life, I remember none more eloquent. To-day I have
been to Mount Auburn again; and the spot seems to be none other
than the gate of heaven.'"

"December 22.

"Twenty-five years ago this morning, I came home from Plymouth,
where I had spent the night previous, and heard Webster's great
address. He has never done anything to surpass it; and it now is
a model and a text for the youth of our country. The people who
then were present are principally taken hence; and the
consideration of how the time allowed has been spent, and how it
now fares with us, is of deep interest. God in mercy grant us to
act our part so as to meet his approval, when called to answer
for the trust in our hands! I have thought of the emblem of the
'old oak,' till it has assumed a beauty almost beyond anything in
nature; and, if I live to see the fresh leaves of spring
spreading their covering over the head of the stranger or the
friend who may stop under its shade, I will have a sketch of the
spot painted, if the right person can be found. There is in the
spot and scene a touching eloquence that language can scarcely
communicate. The dear child's expressive look, and motion of his
finger, when he said 'I am going up,' will abide with me while I
live. The dealings of a Father with me have been marked, but
ofttimes mysterious for a season. Now many things are clear; and
all others will be, I trust, when I am fitted to know them."

(TO HIS GRANDSON.)

"BOSTON, December 30, 1845.

"MY DEAR F.: Your charming letter of 28th November reached me by
last steamer, and showed, in a practical way, how important the
lessons of childhood are to the proper performance of the duties
of manhood. It carried me back to the time when my own mother
taught me, and, from that period, forward through the early
lessons inculcated upon your father, and especially to the time
when he began to write me letters, which I always encouraged him
in, and thus formed a habit which has been the best security for
our home affections that can be devised when separated from those
most dear to us. If the prayers and labors of your ancestors are
answered by your good progress and good conduct in the use of the
privileges you enjoy, you will come forth a better and more
useful man than any of the generations preceding; for you enjoy
advantages that none of us have enjoyed. My heart beats quicker
and stronger whenever I think of you; and my prayers ascend for
you at all hours, and through every scene connecting us. Last
Saturday, I had the first sleigh-ride of the season. The day was
beautiful; and there was just snow enough to make the sleigh run
smoothly. I visited Mount Auburn; and the day and place, the 'old
oak' standing in front of our graves leafless and apparently
almost lifeless, spoke to me a language as intelligible as if
utterance had been given in sounds. I thought of you, dear F., as
my eldest grandson, and in a manner the representative of the
family to future times, and asked myself whether I was doing all
I ought to make you feel the force of your trusts. There lie the
mortal parts of your dear aunt and uncle, both placed there since
you left home; and the spirits of both, I trust, are now
rejoicing with the multitude of the beloved ones, whose work here
is well done, and whom the Saviour has bid to 'come unto him,'
and through whom they hoped to be accepted. Dear R. seems to call
to us to 'come up;' and, whether I ever see you again or not, I
pray you never to forget that he was such an uncle as you might
well feel anxious to copy in your conduct to your parents; for he
had a settled principle to do nothing to cause his parents
anxiety. So, if you see your young companions indulging in any
evil practices which may lead to bad habits, avoid them; for
prevention is better than remedy. When you stand near the 'old
oak,' whether its branches are green with shady leaves, or dry
from natural decay, let it speak to your conscience, 'Come up,'
and receive the reward promised to the faithful.

"Ever your affectionate grandfather,
A. L."

The year 1845 closed with many sad recollections; and nearly every letter written at this period dwells upon the mournful events which had marked its course. In one letter, he says, "Death has cut right and left in my family." In a little more than twelve months, ten of his own immediate family and near connections were removed, and most of them when least expected. Although bowed down, and penetrated with grief at each successive blow, there was a deep-seated principle in Mr. Lawrence's heart, which made him rise above them all, and receive each call in that spirit of submission which the Christian faith alone can give. His own sorrows seemed only to augment his sympathy for the woes of others, and to excite him to renewed efforts in the great cause of charity and truth, to which he had consecrated every talent he possessed. In this spirit he makes an entry in his memorandum-book on the first day of the opening year.