Wisconsin tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1847-1854, 1852-01-15
5Gt&gGggIIn.
P0kTIUS PLATE IT TIEyNA.
TRANSLATED rRoa TIE FRENCH.

rance, the ancient capital OF IraSaIphlIe
Gaul under the Romans. is situated on
the river Rhone There. on the left bank
Of that beautiful stream. is seen a tomb
Of an ancient architecture. which. accord
ing to tradition, is the tomb of Pontius
Pllate-Pllate. under whose government
Jesus Christ suffered PaSSuS est sat
P0Htio PtlC1tO. 1t was in Vienne also
that the Wandering Jew revealed himself
IN l714-a most remarkable occurrence
the spot that contained the ashes of the
Judge of the Righteous. was to be trod
den upon by descendant of his accusers.
The following chronicle was extracted
from an old Manuscript, found in mon
astery near Vienna.
1t was under the reign of Caligula,
when c. Marcus was prator at Yienne.
that an old man bent with age, vet of a
tall stature, was seen to descend from his
litter and enter house of modest appear
ance near the temple of Mars Over the
door of this house was written. in red let
ters, the name of T Albinus. He was an
old acquaintance of Pilates After mu-
tual salutations, Albinus observed to him.
that many years had elapsed since their
separation Yes replied PLATE many
iyears-years Of misfortune and affliction.
Accused be the day on which [ succeed
ed NalerIus Gratus in the government of
Judea My name is ominous it has
been to whoms0ever has borne it One
of my ancestors imprinted an indelible
mark Of lnfamy on the fair front of Impe-
rial Rome, when the Romans passed under
the Caudlng FxrcuIg in the Samnite
war Another persisted by the hands Of
the Parthians in the war against Armini-
US. And miserable me
You miserable q asked Albinus -
what have you done to entail misery on
you2 True, the injustice of Caligula has
eXlled you to Nienne, but fer what crime
| have examined your affair at the Tabu-
ltarlul1. You are denounced by Fitellus,
tprefect of Syria, your enemy. for having
iehastised the rebellious Hebrews, who
had slain the most noble of the Samari-
tans, and who afterwards withdrew them
selves on Mount Gerizm. You are also
accused of acting thus out of hatred to
the Jews
No 2 replied PLATE, No By all the
gods, Albinus, it is not the injustice of
Caesar that afflicts me-
What. then, is the cause of YOUR af-
liction 2 continued Albinus Long have
known you-sensibIe, Just, humane
see it t;-you are the victim Of Vitellus'
Say not so, Albinus-say not that
am the victim of Vitellus No [ am
the victim of Z Higher Power The Ro-
mans regard ne as an object Of Caesars
disgrace the Jews, IS the severe procon-
sui; the Christians, as the executiouer of
their God q
'Of their God, did YOU say. PLATE p
Impious wretches Adore God born in
= manger, and put to death on the cross p
Beware, Albinus, beware ? continued
Plate. If the Christ had been born un-
der the purple, he would not have been
adored. Listen To your friendship |
will submit the events of my life; YOU
will afterwards judge whether / am wor-
thy of your hospitality
On my arrival at Jerusalem, l took
possession of the pretorium, and ordered a
splendid feast to be prepared, to which
invited the tetrarch of Judea. with the
high priest and his officers At the ap-
pointed hour, no guest appeared. This
was an insult offered to my dignity. a
few days afterwards. the tetrarch deigned
to pay me a visit His department was
grave and deceitful. He pretended that
his religion forbade him and his attend
ants to sit down at the table Of The Gen
tiles, and to offer up libations with them
| thought it expedient to accept of his
excuse but from that moment | was
convinced that the conquered had declar-
ed themselves the enemies Of the conquer
.ors
At that time. Jerusalem was Of all con
quered cities, the most difficult to govern
So turbulent were the people, that / lived
in momentary dread of an Instruction
To repress It. / had but a single centuri-
on, and handful of soldiers. I request
ed a reinforcement from the prefect of
Syria who informed me that he had
scarcely troops sufficient to defend his
own province Insatiate thirst of empire {
to extend our conquests beyond the means
Of defending them
Among the various rumors which came
to my ears. there was one that attracted
my attention A young man, it was said.
had appeared IN Galilee. preaching with
a noble JUNCTION, new law, in the name
of the God who had sent him At first
was apprehensive that his design was to
stir up the people against the Romans.
but soon were my fears dispelled Jesus
of Nazareth spoke rather as q friend to
the Romans than to the Jews
One day, IN passing by the place of ST.
toe, where there was a great concourse of
people, | observed in the midst of the
group, q young man leaning against a
tree who was calmly addressing the rnul-
titude. [ was told that it was jesus
! This l could easily have suspected. so
great was the difference between him and
those who were listening to him He ap-
peared to be about thirty years Of age
His golden eolored hair and beard gave
his appearance a celestial aspect Never
had l seen sweeter or more serene
couutenance. What a contrast between
him aud his hearers. with their black
beardsand tawny complexions Unwilling
to interrupt him BY my presence. [ con
tinued my walk. but signifed to my sec