given away in ten years, and during a period when his average income was sixty thousand dollars a year.  He was a liberal patron of education, giving large sums to its extension; and it was his delight to assist poor clergymen, without regard to denominations.  He gave away clothing, food, books, etc., in large quantities, as well as ready money.  “Two rooms in his house,” says his son and biographer, “and sometimes three, were used principally for the reception of useful articles for distribution.  There, when stormy weather or ill-health prevented him from taking his usual drive, he was in the habit of passing hours in selecting and packing up articles which he considered suitable to the wants of those whom he wished to aid.”  He did not forget the children, and many of his packages contained toys, and books, and other things calculated to promote their enjoyment.

He was beset with beggars of all kinds, many of whom he was compelled to refuse.  In his diary, he wrote on the 11th of April, 1849, “Applications come in from all quarters, for all objects.  The reputation of giving freely is a very bad reputation, so far as my personal comfort is concerned.”

It pained him to have his charities made public, and he frequently requested the recipients to say nothing about them.  He once made a present of some books to the Johnson school for girls, and the gift being acknowledged through the columns of a newspaper, he wrote to the principal of the school:  “I merely want to say that I hope you will not put me in the newspaper at present, and when my work is done here, if you have any thing to say about me that will not hurt my children and grandchildren, say on,” To another party he wrote:  “I must request that my name be not thrust forward, as though I was to be a by-word for my vanity.  I want to do good, but am sorry to be published, as in the recent case.”

As a merchant, Mr. Lawrence was upright, prudent, far-seeing, sagacious, and courageous; as a citizen, he was patriotic, public-spirited, and devoted; and as a man, he was a sincere, earnest, Christian husband, father, and friend.  Viewed in any light, his character affords one of the most perfect models to be found in our history.  He was the Christian gentleman in all things, even in the minutest detail of his business.  His standard was very high, but he came up to it.  Courteous and dignified in manner, with a face handsome and winning in youth, and gentle and benignant in age, he made scores of friends wherever he went, for it was a true index to his character.  It is a significant and interesting fact that, during the hottest passages of the old nullification times, although his views were known to be uncompromisingly opposed to the attitude of the South, he never lost the warmest friendship of some of the most advanced of the South Carolina leaders.  When one thinks of the friendships that were wrecked amid the passions of those days, this fact speaks volumes for the personal attributes of Mr. Lawrence.