The Republican journal., 1875-11-04

birth OF superhuman or preterhuman
| mythS-the Wild HuntSman is believed
by some of the peasantry to be the yeri-
table Wanderer himself, but with a little
change oi attendant incidents. He is a
jew who, eighteen centuries and more
ago, refused to suffer Jesus to drink out
OF river or out of horse-trough, but
contemptuously pointed out to him the
hooi-prlnt of horse, in which a little
water had collected, and babe him quench
his thirst Herewith.
Instead OF the Wild Huntsman other
| legends and beliefs have come to be mix
| ed up with that of the Wandering jew.
There are parts OF France in which the
sudden roar Of gale at sea is attributed
to the Wanderer passing by there. I'm
some countries he has been regarded rs u
kind of impersonation of Jews generally.
one version OF the story associates him
with the servant whose ear Peter cut oil;
While another considers Kim rather as the
lmpenltent thief. The Gypsies are brought
into the melee by some theory which pro-
pounds that the onward-moving Stranger
belongs to that community, and that be Is
doomed to undyine life because he refused
TO shelter the Virgin and Child during the
illght from Egypt. In Switzerland. there
Is popular story to the effect that the
Wandering Jew was one day seen On the
MattefDerg, spur or ot1shoOt from the
Matterhorn, viewing the scene with sor-
row and wonder; that he had once before
been there, when it was the site of Il flour
ishing city; and that he will once again
be there on the eve OF the Last DaV.
The biblical record Of the period ante
rior to the flood, when human lite is set
down at duration oi eight or nh e hun
died years, seems to have had something
to do with many OF the legends relating
to the Wandering jew. True, there are
inconsistencies in time, place, person and
circumstances in such legends; but this
IS 10 more than may reasonably be cX-
pected.
That there are audacious imoStor,.
who have assumed the character of this
mysterious being for purposes Of thejr
own, is unquestonable We have no.
ticed one example as having occurred in
England in the lime of Queen Aunc; and
Sir Henry Ellis, in his edition of Brande',
Popular Antiquities mentions another ot
much more recent date. IL remember
having seen one OF these impostors some
years ago in the north OF England, who
presented very hermit-like appearance,
and went up and down the streets OF
Newcastle with long train of bows at
his heels, muttering ''Poor JOAN alone.
alone; poor John alonew | thought hr
pronounced his name in Il manner -imejr-
larly plaintive. Another authority thought
the name sounded more like ..Puor Joe
alonem and another, Poor jew alone t''
Need we marvel that the story ot the
Wandering jew has been full Of attrac-
ton for poets and painters? 1t is lust the
sort OF subject on which the Imagination
has plenty of material to work upon. An
old ballad relating to it is given in Bishop
Percy's ''Reliques;" :" the poem Of ''Ihc
Undying One" IS built upon it, 50 is ..N.l-
lathiel, and so is Eugene Sues .'Juit
Errant," founded mainly on an old col
lection OF popular French ballads and
metrical stories. The Rev Barring Could
has devoted much attention to the subject,
but more with the view of collecting and
comparing the various myths and legend,
than of presenting any of them in Il pc
etcal OF fanciful form. In our own day,
Gustaye Dore has presented the world
with twelve wonderful designs in which
his eXuberant fancy has depicted the Wan
dering jew in many supposed incidents
Of his undying career There il the shoe
maker ut his shop-doOr, gazing at the
solemn procession to the place of clucliN-
ion, after the awful words had been ut
tered to him. There is the wild scene in
which he is walking on during ra@iug
storm, and startled ut seeing crucitN hy
the Wayside. There is the town scene,
with men and boys assembling to see the
Wandercr pass by There is the scene
outside the alehouse with burghcrs mock
ingly asking him to drink. There is the
dismal scene of the barefoot pilgrim, Wad-
inc through marsh and slough, his tat
tered garments blown about by the wind.
There is the churchyard, WITH the clouds
mysteriouaIy made up Of beings celestial
and terrestrial, to typity the thoughts uc-
| cupying his mind at that moment. There
is the.mountan scene, with trees similar
~ presenting half human outlines; and
another wherein angels and Calvary are
seen among the clouds. There is a terri
bic battle field, in which slaughter is 70
ing on all around him while he, the H.
dying One, cannot give up life even if he
would; and the shipwreck, in which all
are lost but he. There is the VALLEY iui
Of snakes and hldeous reptiles, none ct
which can put an end to his lonely exist
ence. Lastly, there is the Day ol .Judg-
ment, in which Dore's rich imagination
has full scope