§ 5.-The Hodges Family.

AFTER this, some days elapsed, and still no Jacob Brockbourn appeared. But one morning, as I passed by the cluster, I had the satisfaction of hearing from Mrs. Martin, that the young woman had written to him, and had received an answer. What was the

exact purport of these letters she could not inform me, but I myself could easily conjecture; especially when I understood that a meeting was to take place in consequence of them at some early opportunity. But Mrs. Martin gave me a still greater satisfaction when she assured me, that the event, which I had been long anxiously expecting, would most certainly very soon occur; for that Jacob Brockbourn had visited her again, and had told her himself, that he both intended and wished to see me, and only delayed his call, till he could make it at some hour which would be perfectly convenient to me. "Let him come to me then," I said, "in the evening, whenever he pleases; for that will be convenient both to me and to him."

On this same day I at length found the young Mrs. Hodges at home, and I had been already informed by Mrs. Martin, that she was desirous of some conversation with me. I was glad of this, because it betokened, I thought, a wish for her own improvement, or implied at least that she considered it of some consequence to her to stand fairer in my opinion than she yet did. So I went to her without loss of time, and with pleasant anticipations. She had her fire up-stairs, and was sitting there, as I discovered afterwards, quite alone; but at first, when I

called to her by her name, she came down to me in the apartment below, which was very desolate and disagreeable, having no furniture in it, and being only used, as it seemed, for a store-house of bones. Of these there was a large heap in one corner; and, putrefaction having begun in the flesh attached to them, I retired hastily with my children, some of whom happened to be with me, beyond the door-way into the open air. The wind was blowing bitterly cold; but the rude blast was pure and sweet at least, and therefore far preferable to the noxious, charnelhouse scent of the bones.

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Mrs. Hodges herself now stood in the door-way, and I had a full opportunity of observing her. She was pretty; but the character of her beauty was entirely ruined, when she began to talk, by the levity, and the boldness, and the ill-humour, which by turns displayed themselves in every feature of her face. She was very young withal; so young indeed in appearance, that she might easily be mistaken for one not far advanced in her teens; but her age perhaps might be as much as seventeen or eighteen years. Alas!' I thought to myself, that a person, looking like a mere child, should have already seen and practised, so early in life, the very utmost profligacy, to which she might be expected to arrive after a long period, and by slow steps. By some unfortunate concatenation of events, unknown to me, she has acquired almost at once all the habits of vice, and she does not seem to be conscious of her own depravity. Yet she was not pale, but had a bloom upon her countenance, which might have been taken for a symptom of health; but I discovered afterwards, that it was only the effect of the fire. In fact

she was but just up, and still at her breakfast; too sure a proof that the night had been ill spent in riotous living. Her hair, as before, was done up in curl-papers, which were not of the cleanliest sort; and, as for her face and hands, she had not yet found time to wash them. In no respect was she either decent, or tidy. In short, at this hour of the day she was a dirty slattern. But such another opportunity of speaking to her might never occur, whilst Mrs. Brockbourn's death was fresh in her recollection; so I shut my eyes against annoyances, and began as follows; having first dismissed my children, under pretence of the cold wind, to run about at their pleasure till I had done.

"I can

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"Mrs. Hodges," I said, " although you are a stranger in this parish, you know very well, I believe, who I am, and for what purpose I have been here amongst you so often of late, and why I have been desirous of seeing you in particular." not tell, Sir," she answered, tossing her head, why you particularly wished to see me; but I know that you have enquired after me, and talked about me to others; and I dare say you have heard plenty of bad things about me, but they are false, Sir, quite false, depend upon it." "Why, yes, Mrs. Hodges," I said, "I have heard some bad things of you, certainly; and I will tell you presently what they are, that, if they are false, you may prove them to be so to my satisfaction, if you can, and if you wish it. But perhaps it may appear strange to you, that I should concern myself about you, or your actions, at all. I must first, therefore, inform you, that I take a deep interest, as it is my duty to do, in the welfare of my parishioners; and that I am anxious more espe

cially about their souls, whether they are likely to be saved or not; because it is their souls, chiefly, which God has put under my care." At this she turned her face from me with a half-stifled laugh, as if it were mere talk, or as if she knew nothing, or cared nothing about her soul; but I proceeded, without rebuking her, till I had advanced further into my subject." And how," I said, wishing her to apply it to herself, "how could I consider their souls to be safe, who had anything to do with the horrible deed, which has lately been committed here? Believe me, Mrs. Hodges, there are more persons than one, who will be called to a dreadful account for this deed hereafter, unless they make their peace with God before they die. And, therefore, fearing, as I do, that he might snatch them out of this world, in his anger, without giving them time to prepare themselves to meet him in the next, if they throw away or abuse the precious moments which he still allows them, I have come amongst you, again and again, to warn you, and to beseech you, not to put off the most necessary of all works; the work of sorrow for your sins, and reformation of your lives." Nothing of this seemed to touch her at all, and I went on thus" You have seen, by a tremendous example, how unexpectedly and suddenly a person may be taken away with all her sins upon her head.

But if God has caused you to see such a thing, without doubt he intended that you should lay it to heart; and, without doubt also, if, in spite of it, you go on in the same course, he will punish you the more severely and the more terribly, either here or hereafter. He is a consuming fire to those who despise him. I tremble therefore for many of you; for I

observe no change in them for the better; but I tremble more especially for you, Mrs. Hodges."

"For me, Sir!" she exclaimed, either with surprise, or only affecting it, (I do not know which,) "for me? Why for me, Sir? I cannot understand your meaning." "I will tell you plainly," I said, "because, otherwise, I perceive, there will be no chance of my being useful to you. In my eye, and, I should fear, in the eye of God too, you are one of those who are guilty of Mrs. Brockbourn's death. I lay it in a great degree to your charge; and, I fear, it is written and charged in God's book against you; that very book, out of which you will be judged when you die. I say, I fear; because you seem to have

no fear for yourself. If you had any at all, I should have the less, or even none; for your fear might lead you to repentance, and repentance, of the right kind and on the right principle, would save your soul from that dreadful ruin, which will overtake and overwhelm the giddy and thoughtless, as well as the hardened and the incorrigible sinners. Think of this, I entreat you."

During this little speech of mine she was very impatient, and she would have interrupted me in the outset, if I had not checked her by my looks and gestures; at length then, when I gave her the opportunity, she cried out in an angry tone, "But was I the person that killed the woman? I think, Sir, you can have no right to say that I had any hand in her death at all. I was not near the place; I was gone to see my friends home; and when I came back, it was all over." "Had her husband any hand in her death, do you suppose?" I enquired. husband?" she answered, "to be sure, he had.

VOL. III.

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