Minnesota weekly times. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1859, 1854-05-23

AL were OOcOtc0C 10 ul1us DcuOIus tu0 tOIICus
of Mount Cedron flows with blood-the statues
of Caesar are solid with the filth Of the gemonie
the columns of the Pretorium have given way,
and the sun is yelled in mourning like vestal in
the tomb! O, PLATE! evil awaits thee. If thou
wilt not listen to the words Of thy wife, dread the
curse of Roman Senate-dread the frowns OF
Caesarp'
By this time my marble stairs groancd under
the weight of the multitude. The Nazarene was
brought back TO me-; proceeded to the Hall OF
Justice, followed by my guards, and asked the
people in a severe tone, what they demanded?-
'!The death of tho Nazarene," was their reply.
t'For what Grim ,?''
Gle has blasphemed; no has prophesied the
ruin of the temple, he calls himself the Son OF
Goi-the Mcssiah-the King Of the jews"
''Roman justice" said l, ''pun;sheth not such
offenses with deaths
'.Cruc:fy him, cruelty him!'' shouted forth the
relentless rabble.
Tho vociferations of the infuriata multitude
shook the palace to lis foundations. One man
alone appeared calm in the midst of the tumult.
lie was ike unto tho statute Of Innocence placed
| in the temples of Eumindes. 1t was tho Naza-
| rene.
After my fruitless attempts to protect him from
| the fury Of his mcrci.eas prosecutors, had the
| baseness to adopt measure which, at that mo-
ment, appeared to me to be tho only ono that
cou'd save his life. ord cred him to be scourged,
then calling for an ever, washed my hands in
the presence Of the clamorous multitude, thereby
signifying to them my disaprobation Of the deed.
| But in vain. 1t was his life that these wretch
| es thirsted after. Often in our civil connections
have with 2ssed tn, furious luminosity OF the null
titul,, but nothing could ever be compared to
what beheld in the present instance. 1t might
have been truly said that on this occasion all the
phantoms of the Internal regions had assembled
together at Jcrusalcm. Tho crowd appeared not
| to walk they were borne of and whirled as a
vortex, rolling along like living waves, from the
portals Of tn, Prctorium even unto Mount Zion,
with bowling, screams, shricks, and vocfcrations,
| such as were navcr heard either in the solutions
Of Panonia, or in the tumults of the Forum.
BY grees tn day darkencd like winter twi-
| light, such as had been n at the death OF the
great julius Cesar. 1t was likewise towards the
ides of March, l, the condemned governor of a re-
bellious province, was leaning against column
| Of NV basalica, contemplating athwart the dreary
gloom, this Theory Of Iartarus dragging to exc
cu:ion the innocent Nazarcne. All around me
was desert; Jerusalem had vomitcd forth her
indwell ers through the funeral gat, that leads to
| the Gemoni;e. An air Of dissolution and sadness
envelopcd me. My guards had joined the cayal-
~, and tho Centrum, to display shadow Of
was it alonc, and my breaking heart admoniahed
me, that what was passing at that moment apper-
tain ID rather to the history Of tho gods than to
| that Of man. Loud clamOrs were card proceed
ing from Golgotha, which, borne on the winds,
| appeared to announce an agony such as never
had been ,asd by mortal ear. Dark clouds low
cred over the pinnacle Of the Temple, and large
ruptures s,t;l ID over the city and covered it as
with veil. So dreadful were the signs that
were manifested, both in tn, heavens and on the
earth, that DionySius, the Areopagite, is reported
| to have exclaimed, ssEither the Author of Nature
is suffering, Or the Universe i, falling apart.''
Towards tn, first hour Of the night, l threw my
mantle arounl me, and went down into the city
toward, tn, gate OF Golgotha. The sacrifice had
home. still agitat-d, it is true, but gloomy and
taciturn, d .sp rate. What they had witnessed
had struck them with terror and remorse. / also
saw my littl, Roman Cohort pass by mournfully,
tn, standard bearer having yelled his eagle in to-
K Of g.i (, and ovcrhea ID some of the soldiers
murmurlng strangs words which did not CON-
prchoni. Others were accounting prodigies al
most similar to those which had so Often smote
III, Romans with di .may by the will Of the gods.
Sometimes groups Of men and women would halt;
then, looking backwards towards Mount Calvary,
would remain moiionless, in the expectation OF
Witnessing some n,w prod gy.
return ID to the Pyetoiium, sad and pen iivc.
On ascending the stairs, the steps of which were
still stained with the blood Of the Nazarene,
behind him, several wonen in tears. IIo threw
himself at my feet, and wept bitterly. 1t pain
ful old weep esEatA "a, .,esid
to him mildly, ''who arc you, and what is your
request" 81 am Joseph Arimathea," replied
he, ''anl am come to beg of you upon my Knees
the permission to bury Jesus of Nazareth.''-
''Your prayer is granted" said to him and, q!
the time, ordered Manlius to take some SOL
diers with him, to superintend the interment, lest
it might be pgofanea. few days afterwards
the sepulchrc was found empty. The disciples of
Jeeus published all over that Jesus had risen
from the dead, as he had foretold. ..-.
A last duty remained for me to perform. 1t was
to communicate to Caesar the "details Of this de-
plorable event. did it the same night that fol-
lowed the fatal catastrophe, and had just finished
the communication when the day began to dawn.
At that moment the sounl Of clarions playing
the air Of Diana, struck my car. Casting my
eyes towards the Cesarean gate, beheld a troop
Of soldiers, and heard at a Distance other trump
cts sounding Caesar March. 1t was the reinforce
ment that had been promised me-two thousand
chosen men, who, to hasten their arrival, had
marched all night. ''It has then been decreed by
the Fates," cried l, wringing my hands, ssthat
the great iniquity should be omplishcd-that,
for the purpose Of averting the deeds of yester-
day, troops have arrived to-day! Cruel destiny,
how thou sportcst with the affairs Of mortals -
Alas! it was but too true, what the Nazarene ex-
claimed when writing on the cross: AH is CON-
! Su7lndte3.
| Translated from the Courier Des Eta.s Unis.