The Elbert County tribune., 1913-12-19

not penetrate into the bottomess depth. Judas!
Is it with kiss you betray the Son of MANI"
And he how that monstrous chaos trembled
and stirred. Speechless and stern, like death in
It's naughty majesty, stood Judas Iscariot, and
within him thousand impetuous and fiery voices
groaned and roared.
"Yes We betray thee with the kiss of love!
With the kiss of love we betray thee to outrage,
to torture. to DEATH With the voice OF love we
call together the hangmen from their dark holes,
and we place cross-and high over the top of
the earth lift lover crusfed by love upon a
cross"
Thus stood Judas, silent and cold. like death,
and the shouting and the noise about Jesus
swered the cry of his SOUL With the rude ir-
resoluteness of armed force. with the awkward
ness of vaguely understood purpose. the soldiers
seized him and dragged him somewhere-their
irresoluteness they mistook for resistance, their
fear they mistook for derision and mockery over
them. Like herd OF frightened lambs the dis
ciples stood hudded together not interfering with
anything, yet disturbing everybody and even
themselves. Only a few Of them resolved to walk
and act separately Jostled from all sides. Peter
drew out the sword from its sheath with difficulty,
as though he had lost his strength and family
lowered it upon the head of one of the priests
without causing him any harm. Jesus, who no.
ticed 1t, ordered him to throw down the unneces-
sary sword. and, clanking family. the sword fell
to the ground. sisist
Thus 1t remained there. until many days later
children at play found it and made toy of it.
When Jesus was led away Peter who
had hidden himself behind the trees came out and
followed his Master in the distance Noticing an
other man in front of him. who walked silently
he thought that 1t was John, and he called him
softly:
John. is that you?"
And is that you Peter?" answered the other
pausing, and by the voice Peter recognized the
Traitor. Peter, why did you not run away to-
gether with the oths-s?"
Peter stopped and said with contempt:
Leave me, Satan!'
Judas began to laugh, and paying further at
tention to Peter, he went farther there where the
torches were flashing dmly and where the clanl-
ing of the weapons mingleds with the footsteps.
Peter followed him cautiously, and thus they
tered the court of the high priest almost stimuli
taneously and mingled in the crowd of the priests
who were warming themselves at the bonfires.
Judas warmed his bony hands morosey at the
bonfire and heard how Peter said loudly some
where behind him.
No do not know him"
But 1t evident that they were insisting
there that he of the disciples of Jesus,
for Peter repeated st louder But do not un-
derstanc what you saying"
Without turning around, and smiling nyolun-
tarily, Judas shook his head afirmatively and
muttered
That's right Peter! Do not give up your place
near Jesus to anybody"
And he did not see how the frightened Peter
night until the very death of Jesus Judas did not
see a single one of the disciples OF Jesus near
him. and amid all that multitude there were only
two. inseparable until DEATH strangely bound to-
gether by sufferings--he who had been betrayed
to abuse and torture and he who had betrayed
him. Like brother, they both. the betrayed and
the traitor. drank out Of the same cup of suffer
ings, and the fiery liquid burnt equally the pure
and the impure lips.
He saw how the soldiers led Jesus away. Night
was passing, the bonfires dying out and were
becoming covered with ashes, and from the sentry
house came dull cries. laughter and abuses. They
were beating Jesus. AS though lost, Iscariot was
running around the deserted yard stopping
lifting his head and then starting to again,
stumbling upon the bonfires and the walls. Then
he clung to the wall of the sentry house. and
stretching himself clung to the windows, to the
crevices In the doors. and looked greedy to see
what going on, within. He saw narrow
sitting ROOM like all the sentry houses in the
world. with filthy floors and walls. And he saw
a man being beaten. They beat him the face.
on the head, they hurled him like soft bale from