The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 28, 1902, Page 1

e book is prov- two continents installment ap- edition is com- you get ccember 14, ve read this hout any Judas Iscariot” on the strange rated man in either ane history of all easures of never been tells of the com- g and glori- lish his king- earth, and the Judas played in cation is all the more not- thet it is illus- trated by reproductions from the art masterp s of world famous paint- scenes of the stir- ich Christ suffered £ th ers of th ring times in and died. After «T Gospel of Judas Isca- riot” will e “When Knighthood Was in Flower,” by Charles Major; “The Lecpard’s Spots,” by Thomas Gentleman From In- y Booth Tarkington; “Taint- d C. N. Williamson, ry Box,” published a s ago in The Sunday Call, was one of the best stories in this e eeries; “The Turnpike " by Fergus Hume, etc., etc. ponder over this list of well the names of the d rem ber you get all free with The Sunday as as Be sure to read the story on page 6, t dge Mor and also turn lock over our an- 20T ort fiction that best stories from the of the day. Dwi Baldwin. Week.) natic I be- approaching, e Master's he spot sat in deep 1and 2 woman y changed as r thne y & year eets of ore notice- seen her, for ed. Her eyes frenzy; . she as she advanced, half ‘and he hath sent to represent m u No m will wick- e T for the t hej them rted her grievous load of sins, have been ‘reely pardoned. he will praise God and His 1w i departed many followed her and and ped into a vacant place. the Master, her hands out- her veiled face bowed, now What troul the Lord in low yet most sympataetic she faltered, in a voice so w scarcely reached me, miserable woman; I have i loved on earth.” r thyself treasurcs in slready. Thou hast duty and shall find voman turned she ht a glimpse of Joyous face. I amazed of late, fathom so many and I did not start, en I recognized ssing friend, g after her, for she had ize m hen Matthew the jfied until, catch- nd remem- , her very 0 sink with- ring her above ties of ¢ the na- the there 111 s00n by sure that neit er that of Joseph nor my- self was among them. She caused the country for considerable distance around to be gently searched, without o clew lightest bouts. Almo: she managed to reach R lace best calculated to secur ings of us, for she concluded that we had n carrfed away by the soldiers who d slain Diogenes and his wretched sub- and ught that the officlal re- Ports might contain some reference to us. In this she was disappointed, but suc- ceeded in securing some valuable jewel that she had left with a goldsmith to be wrought into bracelets, which supplied to her with ample future search. Employin to assist her, she re- turned , where she soon obtained traces of Joseph, who had been making his way to the eastward across the coun- try. Alw pointed, but never al- together d, she tracked him to the co: ed that he how, c sel bound for Tyre she managed to Philippj, where of him'as I had It was a > qujte lost all ne Betore her. ing, happy circle that gathered around the cheerful lamp that evening. The faith of Ruth was now as strong and unwavering as that.of Mirlam, traces Bimeon and myself, and none of us for & moment doubted that Joseph, happy in the possession of his faculties, would soon be restored to our midst. VL One morning we were all walking on the seashore to the southward of Caper- naum. g only the Master, whose face wore its wonted expression of holy tranquillity, we were in a state of exalta- tion. A few days before, as we were re- turning from an excursion through Soutk alilee, near the city of Nain, d raised to life the body of a young man, the only son of a weeping widow, which was being borne forth for The crowning act of all the Mas- anifold works of .mercy must, we nvince all men and cause pt the Lord as the Messiah te a large ship, which was ichor, the Master expressed r it and cross to the other who knew the owner, ran jon, and we were soon stward. the fourth hour of the reached the southeastern sea. Here we anchored our g 1t in’charge of two of .Pe- ervants, who had come with This sect ten fit and for- conquest of largely populated with d other Gentiles, de there. : had preceded z soon collected upon the beach. Without wasting time, he began to speak, telling them -that the kingdom of heaven was ely at hand, tom wh r he went, at exhort! em to repent Several persons, afflicted ith various dis . presented them- v of Gadara, h’ the Roma after their destruc e count Greeks though many The fame of t him, and quite * said one in n officer. “If this ill be inclined to And I will give credit to any man who will go and fetch him added another officer. “He hath given us no end of trouble. Five times hath he been bound with chains &nd fetters of iron, and as often hath he broken them in pieces with stones, and that hout caring whether he cut and bru self or not. "Twere act of mercy to put the wretch to th. I have often been half-minded to despite the protests of these Jews, who m to think that something of sanctity attach son of a violently demented ma barbarous religion must bé their excuse, though my tender heart, not to say wouid put all such to a comfortable death. Both the voice of the speaker and his strange philosopk struck me how familiar and, looking more S 1 recognized in him the centurion had dispatched the King of Wretched- ss and his subje jaul and carried me y as a slave. I had no fear of being recognized, and cared not if I was, sinc the officer could now exerci: no authority over me. Ac- cordingly I advanced and asked where }:w l;:nalic of whom they spoke could be ound. In the tombs yonder, to the northward, mong the hills beyond them,” replied e time been my master. see a wonder worth the of opening our eyes to stare at, cried 2 man who had overheard my qu tion and the repl As if by magic through arose, many shouting at once. Running forward, I explained the matter to the Master, who immediately started to walk in the direction T indicated, all the peo- ple. including the two Romans, following him. pon_the coa or ed the crowd and a regular tumult the word was pa To the northward of the place .where we had landed the face of the country was the ground rising rapidly from the water's edge and terminating in a series of hills, or mountains, as they were ed by the people. In some places vines and fig trces were cultivated though for the most part the rough land was glven up to the pasturing of the sheep and the herding of swine—the Gen- tiles being very numerous in Decapolis. As we approached a hill, in the face of which were numerous tombs of grayish- white Iimestone, built, doubtless, long be- fore the country was conquered by the Romans, a strange, uncouth figure emerged from one of them and began running toward us. It was that of a large though gaunt man, entirely naked but for a strip of torn and dirty sackcloth that was tled about his loins. His hair and . beard, which were long and matted, almost ob- scured his features from view, though his eyes glowed with all the flerceness of a beast of prey. ‘“‘Come out of him, thou unclean spirit,” said the Master, with grave and com- manding authority, as the unfortunate wretch drew near. “What have I to do with thee, thou Jesus, son of the Most High God?’ shrieked the demoniac, as he prostrated himself upon the ground, fairly groveling in the dust. “I abjure thee by the eternal God, that thoy.torment me not.” “Hast found a task to his liking, one that may well tax his powers,” sneered the Roman officer who had first spoken of the lunatic. “If he cure the wild man T will myself belleve. ““What is thy name?” asked the Master, kindly. “Legion,” replied the unfortunate wretch. “I had a name all to myself once, but now we are become many.” “‘Come out of him, ye devlls!”” command- ed the Master. The man, who was rising to his feet, again fell upon the ground, writhing and struggling as if fighting for his life. “Send them not Into the wilderness,” he CriRI=7" CAZTINYG = | HONE V- CHrNGERS . THE b/ TLMELE \ N\ “lest in their and possess me. cried, ag: rage they return They clamor with- in me that thou suffer them to remain in_this country.” “Where would'st thou that I send them?” “Let them take po: sion of their own and enter into Caesar's cloven-footed horse, which hath been multiplied to re- celve them."” The wild man, who had now struggled to his feet, pointed toward the brow of the hill, ich sloped sharply down to the sea, where an immense herd of swine were feeding. “Depart from him; your wish is grati- fled. Almost instantly there was a great commotion among the, swine, which be- gan biting each other and raising a most discordant noise. In a moment they all rushed wildly down the steep incline and fairly hurled themselves into the sea, where they were speedily drowned. ‘Wonderful as was the spectacle, show- ing, as it did, the power of the Master. and convinced though 1 was from the madman’s reference to Caesar's cloven- fcoted hogpse, that he was none cther than the long-lost friends of my heart, Jo- seph Manasseh, 1 stood astonished. over- W{elmed. 1 marveled not at the miracle, for ‘1 had seen greater ones performed, but what manner of man was this, whose love not only enfolded all mankind In its universal grasp, but harkened to and granted the prayers of devils? Can mor tal man comprehend this deep mystery But If 1 was astonished the people, who numbered more than an hundred souls, were simply amazed, and many of them began'calling upon and praising the name of God, while some prostrated themselves before the Master, offering-him .worship. Among -the latter were theitwo officers, than whom none seemed more nrotouned?y affected. : T Femoving my mantle I‘advanced to- ward Joseph, who had become the center of an eager, pushing throng. I found him already fully clothed, while half a score of men still proffered sarments that they huc hastily removea fiom their own per- sons. Seeing me the late lunatic, now ful- ly restored to the pcssession of his rea- scn, rushed through the crowd, which separated before him, and threw himself into my arms. .Thou also believest?” he questioned. am one of the Lord's cnosen disci- 1 answered, my heart swelling somewhat, I fear me, from promptings of u ‘art on the road to fame, such & king or emperor never attained, while @ herd of swine have reijeved me from a fate fdar worse than death. The words of the foolish and wicked Milo Manlius are proying themselves true.” “The wrath to pralse ‘Gecd, my reply, “and T doubt not that words of ' Tiberius were uttered through the promptings of an overruling providence.” Of all his wanderings Mar.asseh remem- bers nothing from the moment when he discovered in the sand, near the grave of peor Julia, what he fancied to be the f print_of Caesar's cloven-footed hors His first recollectlon dates from the in- stant that his eves fell upon the Lord, Wwhen there entered into his soul a feeling that deliverance from & horrible, though to him, incomprehensible, affiiction, was at hand. n be made BOOK VI. THE GREAT DOCTRINE. L *‘Master, from his prison of Machaerus, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee to ask, art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?” Gabriel Yoma, the young man whom I had known in Alexandria .and met later at Engedi, was the questioner. He had, I afterward learned, attached himself to the tall baptizer and left the calm and peaceful retreats of the Essenes for the wilderness a few days after mine own baptism by John. He had continued ever faithful and had ministered unto the her- ald and prophet after he had been thrown into prison by Herod Antipas. The scene was the seashore near Ca- pernaum, where the Master had been speaking to a large throng, congregated from all quarters of the land. Yoma and a fellow disciple of John had arrived dur- ing the discaurse and awaited an oppor- tunity to ask the question. The Lord smiled graciously, lovingly, upon the two devoted followers of him who had announced his own advent and high mission. “‘Go your way, and tell John again those things which he have seen and heard; how that the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers. are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up and the pcor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is He whomsoever shall not be offended in me.” The two messengers of the captive prophet bowed low, their faces shining with mingled love and awe, Then, with- out wasting a moment’s time, they girded up their loins, said farewell and started away on their journey to the southward. The Master watched them for a moment, then-spoke thus to the people, over whom a deathlike silence had fallen; for many of them had been disciples of the impris- oned Baptist: “What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed In soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft clothing and are gorgeous- 1y appareled and live delicately are in the courts of kings. And what went ye out to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet, for this is he of whom it was written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before thee! Here the speaker paused and stood for a moment with uplifted hand as if to give greater force to what he wt add. “Fog verily. I say unto you,” he con- tinued in a voice calculated to garry con- viction to all hearers, “among those that are born of woman there hath not arisen a greater prophet than John the Baptist, notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” This glowing tribute to the mission of John carried me back to that _bright about to morning when I had met him at Engedi. In imagination I saw him as he appeared h the earnest, that day and, mingled wi convincing voice of the Ma to hear his strident tones “The kingdem of heaven i Almost involuntarily I cast mine eyes to the southward. The two zealous dis- i e bearing a glad messags Imprisoned master. paused in walk, as I gazed, and looked back. that instant there entered into my irresistible desire n who had first opened mine eyes to the spiritual life into which I had since entered. I looked toward the Master, who was conversing now with Philip and Barthol omew, and ‘caught his luminous, dly eve A smile sottled upon his face as he inclined his white turbaned head and made with his right hand a gesture of gracious assent. Waiting only to give Peter the greater portion of the money I had in my purse, I told Joseph Manasseh, who was present, of my destination, said farewel! and hurried after the two rapid- ly disappearing-figures. We journeyed to the westward of the Jordan, passing through Samaria and crossing. the river by the ford of Bethany, Just north of the Sea of Sodom, through which pass travelers who take the Jeri- cho road to Jerusalem. The way was a long one, yet love and anticipation are great ‘quickeners of lagging feet, and we made such good progress that on the morning of the third day we drew near to the mountains that shelter and render procial at hand.” At heart a strong, alm to again see and talk with h well nigh unapproachable the famous fortress of Machaerus. Herod Antipas had retreated to this stronghold soon after I last visited his palace in Tiberias. By putting away his wife that he might marry Herodias, he had involved himself in war with her father, Aretas. the K'g of Arabia, which he_directed from Ma-haerus. The opinion that I had formed of the tetrarch was rather confirmed thar weak- ened by the account given by Yoma. He bhad indeed arrested John, but it had been at the earnest, persistent solicitation of Herodias, who felt insulted and aggrieved at the harsh, though mest just and truth. ful strictures of the Baptist, who knew not the meaning of the word policy, and ‘would not swerve one tittie fromt what he regarded as the path of duty. No matter how mild and benevolent a man may be, unless he is fortified by an abiding faith and a wholesome fear of offending his God he can be driven into almost any course of wickedness by a bad and designing woman who has suc- ceeded in fascinating him. But, though Antipas had thrown John into prison, he treated “him with the greatest possible .Jeniency, permitting his disciples to visit him freely at all times. Yoma had frequently * begn at Wa- chaerus and was everywhera'recognized, 8o that we had no difficulty in passing the numerous guards and soldlers that we encountered, and were soon within the . precincts of the castle proper. ‘““Walt hare, Judas,” sald Gabriel, when we had passed through the entrance in the massive walls and stood within the court of the far-famed citadel. “I will $0. to. the Baptist and return. amon for thee, if 'he wishes to see: thee, as he doubtless will. Left to myself, I walked up and down the broad stone flagging. Despite all my efforts to dispel it, a feeling of gloom took possession of my mind, a sense of impending disaster settled upon my heart. At that moment a richly appareled page entered the court. He looked searchingly al cué, and, seeing me, approached and asked: “Art Judas of Kerioth?" “The same,” I answered, thinking that he came with a message from John or Yoma. “‘Hearing of thy presence in his castle, the tetrarch, my master, would, see thee in the banqueting hall The page waited not for a reply, but led the way from the place. Profoundiy astonished though I was, only one course was open to me, and I silently followed my guide. Passing through numerous corridors and up one broad flight of stone steps, we soon reached our destination, and entered the banqueting hall, where a splendid feast was in progress. Herod Antipas was not a king, yet the scene presented to my eyes was quite worthy the courts of one, would have reflected credit his imperial master, the Emperor, rias Caesar, himself. The apartment was of enormous size, the lafty ceilings being supported by tall corinthian columns of white marble, while the floor was composed of the finest and most artistic mosale work I had ever seen. Beautiful statuary on every hand and splendid pictures upon the lofty walls mutely though eloguently attested that in embracing Judaism the Herods had not lost or forgotten their pagan taste for art. At the head of the principal table, near the place wnere we entered the vast hall, he giver of the feast, Herod Antipas, lilee and Perea. Turning ed_him, he motioned me to approach. As I did so I noticed that Annas sat at right hand with his son-in-law, Joseph Calaphus, beside him, while near by was my old school master, Rabbi Samuel. I knew few of those pres- ent, but saw at a glance that the Sanhe- drim and general aristocracy of Palestine was liberally represented. Perhaps this very scene, so soon to be enacted, had suggested to the Master, his words to the effect that these wearing soft raiment and living delicately are to be found in the courts of kings. “I am right glad to see thee, Judas of Kerioth,” sald Herod in his peculiarly af- fable manner. *“I heard that thou wert here—nore enter this place without my knowledge—and so sent for thee. Hast found thy mad friend, I understand.” Despite my best efforts at composure, I started at this unexpected announcement. ‘‘Nay, be not surprised,” continued the tetrarch, smilingly; “’tis my business to know all that transpires In my domin- fons, particularly where my friends are concerned. I awaited the next remark or question with an almost breathless interest. Domi- ciled in Galilee, the Master is subject to the rule of Antipas, and the present in- terview might be fraught with danger to his safety. To my relief. he changed the subject, though he still lingered on what was to me|dangerous ground. “Hast_come to see John, known better as the PBaptist, who for some time hast been visiting me here In my castle, I dare say?” “Such was my object In coming hither,” I replied. ““Fhou shalt see him anon, but not until thou hast eaten and drunken,” and call- ing a servant, the tetrarch ordered him to serve me at a small table that stood just behind him. I had little appetite for food and still less for questi vet T could pursue no other c¢o than comply with what amounted to a commard. As I waited for the preparations to be made, I noted twp women who reclined at the left of the tetrarel d The first, as the page ad though long past the bloom of youth, was strikingly handsome. The other was but a maid, and as falr a one as I ve_ever seen, Notwithstanding her youth. she lacked ot rance and stared boldly .at.me.. I was certain that the' first” was Herodias, the w of An- tipas, and the second her daughter. As I looked away from them I caught the cold, calculating eyes of Annas, ard realized that 1 had more to fear from bim than from his amiable host. The