The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1868-11-28
From the New Orleans Sunday Times.
Does the wandering Jew stIII
Exist


EBut tell you of truth, there be som
standing here which shall not taste of deaf
till they see the kingdom of God. Luke i,
Not long ago l came across a littl
book written by s. Barring Gould, emit
tied myths of the Middle Ages" !
is certainly one of the most singula
volumes / ever CHANGED to read, and to
deep thinker most suggestive. In fact
gives rise to the above momentous ques
ton. Does the Wandering Jew reall,
still exist in flesh as we'll as spirit? Fo
the sake of argument, why not say aye
Centuries ago Christ performed miracle
far more wonderful and inscrutable, anC
the book of ages teaches US what is i'm
possible with man is always possible tt
God.
If we return to the erucifxion, we be-
hold Christ led by the Jewish shoema-
ker's house, bowed down beneath the
weight of that very cross which the
manifold guilt of the race he loved toe
well had condemned him to bear. Pale
with fatigue, suffocated by signs, yet
with the glory of an i96nite compassion
and mercy irradiating his countenance
he fingers an instant near the door to
rest But, observed, he is driven bru
tally forward. Then it was that Christ,
looking at him, said, II shall stand and
rest, but thou shalt go till the last day"
And when did Christ ever speak an idle
word ?
.se--asro is no improbabilityi in our
Lords words being fulfilled to the let
ter" says Barring Gould And if we
Ia Of divinity we
will discover that beyond the mere yisi-
bic object of purging souls from sin, and
lifting them from out the darkness of
disbelief into the clear pure light OF
Christianity, its ways are mysterious and
iocomprehensible.
We are aware that the seoffer has been
doomed to ceaseless wanderings. But do
so recognize nothing beyond just Gods
vengeance in that terrible sentence Ac-
cording to authentic accounts, writes b.
G., many people of high degree and title
have seen this man. He has appeared in
England, France, Poland, Moscow, Per-
STA, Spain, Lapland, Hungary, Sweden,
Denmark, Scotland and other places,
though the earliest mention of him is to
be found in the Book of the Chronicles
of the Abbey of St. Adams, which was
copied and continued by Mathew Paris.
This poor, erring creature, if he be no
myth, waiteth now in sorrow and dread
tor the return of the Messiah, fearing
lest he behold again upon that glorious
brow the same stern shadow of sorrow
full displeasure which drove him forth
from Jerusalem, filled with the frantic
desire to place hills, oceans, mountains,
between himself and the scene wherein
Hin drop His head aud die
Centuries have elapsed since these
cities have crumbled into ashes and been
replaced by new ones. Jerusalem was
RACED to the ground, and the weary pill
grim has stood again upon its site and
discovered no familiar landmark of the
past The wife of his bosom, the child
Of their love, all have long since return
ed to dust. He, and he alone, survives
the ruin and the desolation of time Of
ten terrible fear possesses his soul-the
fear that ages of remorse and peniteuce
may not atone for the sin of his igno-
rance, and that wife, child and other be
loved ones are lost to him forevermore.
y
tient. Well practiced in all sorrows, the
one great woe of sacrilege appears to
have swallowed up and absorbed all mi
nor Affections. OF grave and pathetic
eountenance, he seldom speaks and never
laughs or smiles, though at the mention
of the Lords name he breaths heavy
signs, and light beyond and above all
earthly lights illuminates his face. "He
eats little, drinks in great moderation,
then hurries on, never remaining long in
one place. b. &.
We dare not question Gods purpose
in thus preserving undying, perhaps to
this present day, the poor weary wan
derer. May we not suggest, however,
that sometime hence he will probably be
brought forward before the atheists and
anti-christs as the visible and tangible
evidence Of Christ's death and existence
and imperisable proof of his living power.
There are obdurate hearts among the
multitude and satirical skeptics whom
nothing less than so great mirical could
convince or redeem. God Wills that not
even one shall be lost. Does the wan
dering Jew, then, really still exist? If
we are to believe in the annals of the
past, in the evidence upon oath of Chris
topher Krause and Jacob Won Holstein,
legates to the court of Spain, and many
other distinguished personages too num-
erous to mention here, we would say yes,
uuhesitatiugly, The earliest mention of
the Jew is 1928, seen afterwards in 1912
and again in 1905, then in 1917. On
the 22d of July, 1921, he reappeared at
the gates of the city of Munich, after
which he was lost site of for an indef-
mite period. To return when and where,
perhaps soon, it may be ip our midst-a
messenger sent by Divinity to this new
country of ours, to dissipate the lethargy
which threatens to destroy our Christian
souls, and light the torch of faith anew.
Myth or no myth, the legend of the Wan
dering Jew Cand there must be super
structure of truth for so ancient and
we'll prssarvad a traditionA possesses for
the thinker and scholar a potent -
1t bridges the immensely of space which
appears to roll. between our souls and
God, and forms the earthly link whereby
We are united.
The crucifxion. Christ's death and
sufferings and his bitter passion, will nc
longer be simple pictures which centu
ries have rendered dim and indistinct
for there is man, if we can so believe
who was the witness of Christ's great
love and sacrifice. History pales before
the eloquence of audible language
4 IL. L.