Page:Black Jacob, a monument of grace.djvu/49

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jacob hodges.
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made with the governor of the State to obtain his pardon for the remaining part of the time for which he was sentenced.

He was asked if he thought he would conduct himself properly if he should be released? He replied that he did not know, but he feared that he should not; adding, "unless the grace of God keep me, I know I shall not."

He had naturally a very ungovernable temper, and he feared the result of its exposure when he should be brought again into the temptations of the world. He remembered his former habits of intemperance, and he might soon be overtaken and fall. Above all, he did not forget his sinful heart, and he trembled at the thought of being again exposed to the evils of life, when freed from the restraints with which he was now surrounded. In his cell, he felt a security. In his daily abour, he met but few temptations. In his solitude, he communed alone with his own heart and his Saviour, and here he was satisfied. The place of

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