Page 45
JACOB HODGES
37
afternoon we visited the penitentiary.
The prisoners were all confined to their
cells, while their keepers were abroad, en¬
joying the freedom and recreation of the
anniversary. Passing through the ex>
tended corridors, though in the midst of
five hundi^d souls, all was silent as the
grave, and no human being was visible,
except here and there one leaning against
the iron grate of his cell.
The chaplain conducted me to the door
of Jacob's narrow apartment. He arose
before its small aperture, and I had a full
view of his broad African face, every line
of which spoke the language of a mind
and heart of no ordinary character. There
was a subdued, tender, yet cheerful aspect
to his countenance, as if fully conscious
of what he had been, yet blessed with the
conviction of a new heart, and in hope of
a better state yet to come.
On learning my profession and the ob¬
ject of my visit, Jacob became free and
cheerful in his conversation with me.
While it has mostly passed from my nrv