Page:Black Jacob, a monument of grace.djvu/48

40 confidence and esteem of the chaplain and his teachers in the Sabbath-school, till they could have no doubt of his entire reformation and genuine repentance. Though his circumstances were unfavourable, and his opportunities very limited for the developement of Christian character, he was by no means deficient in the manifestation of some of the most striking traits of religious experience.

In the solitude of his cell, he learned the true nature and the value of prayer, as the great means of access to God by a Redeemer; and it was evidently the abundance of his supplication here, that laid so firmly the foundation of his whole Christian character through the remainder of his life. It was by prayer that he found the Saviour, and it was by prayer that he drew from the Bible its most precious truths and abiding consolations. Such was Jacob's uniform deportment, his fidelity and apparent piety, that the great ends of justice were felt to be satisfied in his case, and interest was at length