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JACOB HODGES.
and though entirely alone, he never ap¬
peared to be lonelv, nor otherwise than
contented and cheerful. Indeed, there
was such an interest felt for Jacob by
those who knew him, that the thought of
his solitude was seldom indulged.
He had another reason for abstracting
himself from the society of his own peo¬
ple. He remembered his former habits
of life; the ease with which he had been
led into temptation, and the misery and
guilt which he had brought upon his soul.
He was so watchful and prayerful, ever
guarding against evil, that it was not
known that he ever relapsed into any of
his early habits, but in one solitary in¬
stance. And the very associations of this
hour, throwing before his mind the long
train of disastrous events through which
he had passed, filled him with horror, and
led him to double watchfulness against
temptation, or even the appearance of
evii.
Jacob had the entire charge of the
house where he lived, and proved himself