Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1871-02-16
Alexandria Gazette
ssThe Wandering Jew"

A runOr comes from village near antwerp
that the historic Wandering jew has been
seen in that neighborhood;; tie Is reported as
having passed rapidly through the market
ulacc, and rs having on the outskirts OF the
village addressed few words to some children,
who, bolder than their companions had follow,
ed i'm his path lie was dressed IN worn anu
dingy antique garments, carried long stall,
and, with his profuse beard streaming in the
Wind presented such an awe-insplrlng appear
ance that the terrified villagers fed from him
in fright When he paused and spoke to the
children he told them to go back and inform
the people that new ruler had arisen in tiu,
rope, who would bring Belgium, Holland and
other countries under his sway, that many
strange viesstudes would be witnessed and
that many proud heads would be brought low
On being questioned as to his name ne re-
plied. Seek not to know. have been here
before in the past I shall be here again in
the future Until the end of time shall walk
the earth increasingly The apparition, then
waving his hand, turned from the children and
resumed it's podling walk, and disappeared in
the distance.
The report Of this appearance Of the Wan
deriug Jew has caused great excitement
among the believers in the legend, and the
truth Of the story is credited throughout Bel
GUM The legend Of the jew who had Witness
ed the crucifxion, and had been condemned to
live and wander over the earth until the time
of Christi second coming, originated III the
middle ages, and can be traced back to the
Chronicles of the Abbey of St. Adams, which
was copied and continued by Matthew Paris. -
This chronicle relates that, in l22S, certain
Archbishop of Armenia Major came to Eng
land on visit to sacred places. and while en-
Toying the hospitality Of the Abbey of st. Al
bans among other strange stories, related that
there was a man named Joseph living in Ar
menia, who had witnessed the cruciixion.-
This man, originally called Cartaphilus was Il
porter in Plate service, and while Jesus Was
passing out from the Judgment hail, impiiously
struck him on the back, saying, Go quicker,
why do you loiter? Jesus looked on him with
aseyere cOuntenance and said. Il am going,
dingly Cartaphilus is still waiting his return. =
After Christ's death he was converted and
baptised, and his name was changed to Joseph.
In l542 the wandering Jew appeared ut Ham
burg, telling a story similar to the above. lie,
however, said his name was Ahasuerus, and
that he was shoemaker who struck Jesus on
the back while on the way to Golgotha:
This particular person is described rs Il tall
man, of about fifty years of age, with long hair
hanging down to his shoulders, baretooted,
and wearing strange costume, consisting OF
sailors trousers, gown reaching to the knees,
and long mantle flowing down to his feet.
He spoke good German, i'll the Saxon dialect.
1915 the Wandering Jew appeared III the Ne
therlands, and this time used the Spanish lam
euage. A few years later the Wandering Jew
arrived at Strasbourg, and going before the
MAGISTRATES, informed them that he had visited
the city Just two hundred years before, which
statement, it is asserted, was proven to be true
by u reference to the town records. lie next
was heard of in the West Indies and again
France, where, in 1904, he caused considerable
sensation, his presence beng accompanied by
destructive hurricanes. On April -, l77l an
individual claiming to be the Wandering jew
appeared in Brussels, and told his story to the
common people he, however, mad changeq am9 I'M !ne
popular name of this character, and called HIM,
self Isaac Laquedon. This legend has formed
the subject of numerous popular ballads IN the
different languages of Europe, and also OF
poems, tales and novels by distinguished au,
thors. It may here be remarked that this Gu
rious myth seems to have originated in that
massage of the Gospel of St. John, Xxi, 22,
where Jesus says Of John, IF will that he
tarry till come, what is that to thee follow
thou me. Then went this saying abroad
among the brethren that that disciple should
not die.
A NoTE FOR NovElISTS. An insurance
cause, now pending before the Superior Court
Of New York furnishes suicide that Will con
stitute godsend to some modern novelist
A widow sues well-known company to recover
upon policy Of $4,000 effected on her late hrls-
band 5 life and the defence is that the deceas-
ed after insuring himself in various organiza-
tions to the amount of over $4,000, lew
weeks ago deliberately committed suicide for
the express purpose of dcfrauding the insur-
ance companies. 1t appears, or at least it is so
alleged that the man who was OF a rather un-
practical turn in most matters, having failed in
business and become unable to maintain his
family in any life comfort, arrived at the cOnclu-
sion they would he better off without him. Ac-
cordingly heinsured his lifein their behalf and
then killed himself