Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1876-03-24
THE WANDERING JEW.


r ering Jew had been seen over in Cam
} den county, New Jersey. A reporte
o was sent over at once to hunt him u
t and interview him if he should b
a found. After a somewhat protracte'
? search, the reporter discovered prom
] ising looking person sitting on the to]
? rail of a fence, just outside of Camden
? engaged in eating some crackers AM
cheese. The reporter approached hin
, end addressed him ct a venture.
Beautiful day, Cantaphilus!
/ This familiarity seemed necessary
because if the Wandering Jew has any
family name, the fact has not yet beer
revealed to the public.
Bless my soul, you nan, bow OF
earth did you know my name? ex
claimed the Jew.
Oh, [ don't know; something abou
your appearance told me who it was
l m mighty glad to see you, any way
When did you arrive?
I come on here yesterday. Been
down in Terra del Fuego, where ]
heard about the Centennial, and ]
thought I'd run up and have look al
it. Be a good thing, reckon. Time
flies, though, don't 1t? Seems to me
only yesterday that a man over in 81
IBERIA told me that you people were
fighting your Revolutionary war?
He sat upon the fence as he talked;
his feet, cased in gum shoes. restet,
on The third rail from the bottom; hi
umbrella was under his arm; his face
was deeply wrinkle d, aud his long,
white beerd bobbed up and down
he ate his lunch voraciously, diving
IL TO his carpet bag every now aud then
! f more. The reporter remarked that
! b cared that such liberal diet of
c Sc would disagree with the eater,
but the old man said:
Why. my goodness, sonny, I've been
| hunting all over the earth for seven
teen centuries for something to disa-
gree with me That's what I yearn
for. IF L could only get dyspepsia
once 1 might hope to wear myself out.
But it's DO use., I.coud lunch on
pound of nails and feel as comfortable
as baby after bottle of milk. That's
one of my pecdiarities. You know
uothing ever hurts ne. Why I've been
thrown out of volcanoes, lemme see
| well dozens of times, and never been
sing I a bit. Most always. in real
cod weati er, [ step over to italy and
rooSt around inside of Vesuvius, and
then, may be, there's an eruption and
III lS6bNl QUO ii COuDtc Ot
miles or SO; but always safe and sound.
WHAT I don't know about volcanic
| enuptIops, u ? child, isn't worth know
ing. [ went booming around through
the air when Pompeii was destroyed.
Yes. sir; L vas there; saw the whole
thing. Why, could tell you stories
you wouldn't believe
How do you travel generally?
Oh different waVS hAVA
around some in sieeping cars and had
my baggage checked through. but
ger rerally I prefer to walk. I'm never
i'll hurry, and [ like to take my own
route. I'm mighty good walker. I
did think Of getting up some kind of a
ped estrian match during the Center
uial, with some of your champion
walkers; but it's no use; it'd only
create an excitement.
How do people treat you usually?
Well, [ cannot complain. Snap me
up for a tramp sometimes, or make
disagreeable remarks about me. But
generally [ get along we'll enough.
II e undertakers are hardest on me-
They say L exercise depressing in
fue1ice on their business by setting q
bad example to other people. And one
of 'em, over in Constantinople, he said
a man who had defrauded about fifty
four generations of undertakers ought
to be ashamed to show his face in civil
hzed society. But, bless you, sonny,
do not mind them! Business, you
know, is business. It is perfectly
natural for them to feel that way about
it; row isn't 1t?
Will you have a Cigar, after eat no?
No; none for me. Raleigh wanted
1ne TO learn to smoke when he was in
Virginia, bat I did not care for it.
You remember him, of course? Ono;
| forgot how young you are. Pleasant
man, but a little too chimerica,. [
liked Columbus bett r. Nero was a man
who would have suited you newspaper
people. Most always a murder every
be fiddled. Made a splendid report
for the papers, wouldn't it. Poor sort
of man though. The Ily time [ ever
saw him was when he was drowning
his mother. Dropped the old lady
over and let her drift off as if he did
not care cent.
Taking of newspapers; how would
you like to make an engagement as the
travelling correspondent of the Bulle-
tin
Well, dunno. [ would not mind
sending you letter now and then; bot
[ don't care to make any regular en-
gagement. You see [ have not written
a great deal for about eighteen hun
dred years, ard man kind of gets out
of practice in that time. | write such
an AWFUL poor hand, too. No 1 guess
won't contribute regularly. I have
thought sometimes maybe L might as
we'll canvass for life insurance, or do
q little work as book agent, SO as to
pick up a few stray dollars. But I
never had q fair chance offered me, and
I did not care enough about it to Hunt
it up, and SO nothing ever came of it.
I could make good book fairly hum
around this globe though, don't you
think?
You might start in with "Out of the
Hurly-Burly."
Maybe I might.
We're you ever married? Did you
ever have a mother-in-law.
See here my sou, [ never did you
any harm, aud what is the use of your
bringing up such dissgreeable remi-
niscences? The lady died in Egypt in
70. They made her mp into a mummy,
and 1 reckon they put a pyramid on
her to hold her down. That is enough;
that satisfied me.
Is your memory generally good !?
Well, about fair that is al. [ know
used to get Petrarch mixed up in my
mind with st. Peter, and have several
times alluded to Plutarcn as the god
of the Internal regions. I am often
hazy about people. The queerest
| thing! You know that once i'll CONVEX
sation with Benjamin Fraukliu con-
founded Mark Anthony with Susan B.
Anthony. aud actually alluded to
Susan's Grafton over the dead body Of
Caesar Positive fact. I will tell you
how often keep the run of things. I
say of certain event: that happened
during the century that I was bilious;
or it occurred in the century when
had rheumatism. That is the way
fix the time. I did commence to keep
a diary back in 184, but I ran up a
stack of manuscript three or four hun
I Il II