he had been in olden time, he could not shake
off from his mind the sad memory of the past. His mind was continually
brooding upon poor little Dobbin's death, and upon the share which he
had in it. For now he knew all the truth. He had seen old Leonard, and
sat with him for many hours; and at his earnest request the old man had
told him all the truth. "Keep nothing back from me," said the young
squire, as he sat by old Leonard's humble fire-place, with his face
covered with his hands; and over and over again had the old man to
repeat the same story, and to call to mind every word that his departed
son had said.

"What shall I do, Leonard, to show my sorrow?" asked James Courtenay one
day. "Will you go and live in a new house, if I get papa to build one
for you?"

"Thank you, young squire," said Leonard; "it was here that Jacob was
born and died, and this will do for me well enough as long as I'm here.
And it don't distress me much, Master James, about its being a poor kind
of a place, for I'm only here for a while, and I've a better house up
yonder."

"Ay," said James Courtenay, "and Jacob is up yonder; but I fear, with
all my striving, I shall never get there; and what good will all my fine
property do me for ever so many years, if at the end of all I am shut
out of the happy land?"

"Master James, you need not be shut out," said old Dobbin; and he pulled
down the worn Bible from the shelf; "no, no; you need not be shut out.
Here is the verse that secured poor Jacob's inheritance, and here is the
verse that by God's grace secures mine, and it may secure yours too;"
and the old man read out the passage in 1 John i. 7, "The blood of Jesus
Christ his Son cleanseth us from _all_ sin." "All, all!" cried old
Dobbin, his voice rising as he proceeded, for his heart was on fire;
"from murder, theft, lying, stealing,--everything, everything! Oh, what
sinners are now in glory!--sinners no longer, but saints, washed in the
precious blood! Oh, how many are there now on earth waiting to be taken
away and be for ever with the Lord! I am bad, Master James; my heart is
full of sin in itself; but the blood of Jesus cleanseth from all
sin;--and whatever you have done may be all washed out; only cast
yourself, body and soul, on Christ."

"But how could I ever meet Jacob in heaven?" murmured the young squire
from between his hands, in which he had buried his face; "when I saw
him, must not I feel I murdered him? ay, I was the cause