Extracts from the Diary and Correspondence of the Late Amos Lawrence; with a brief account of some incidents of his life
Amos Lawrence
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
