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JACOB HODGES.
none of fh<s circumstances attending his
crimes ever induced him to plead the least
justification. His clear perceptions of sin
and deep agony of heart, arose from the
conviction that he had offended not
against man alone, but against God. Is
was this that caused his " load of sin to
grow heavier and heavier."
For some time there was, apparently,
no change in the character of his feelings.
All was constant reflection, intense study,
deep feeling, bordering on despair. The
fifty-fifth chapter of Isaiah, and what the
chaplain had told him of the blood and
righteousness of Jesus Christ, served to
keep his mind still inquiring for relief. At
length, as he himself described it, "One
day, when I was praying in my cell, my
burden of guilt was removed. I felt that I
might be pardoned through Jesus Christ."
The relief which this gave him seems
to have been almost indescribable. Every
•hing wore a new aspect. Even the
gloomy prison seemed a cheerful anil
happy place. His expressions of joy