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Le Juif errant

The Wandering Jew

(An Artistic Picture)

1. The Shore of the Dead Sea.-Isaac Laquedem, the Wandering Jew, enters driven by a relentless force, which will never permit him to stop and rest in his incessant wanderings. He is condemned to keep on walking throughout eternity, without respite, for having refused water to Christ on his way to Calvary. He is worn out from fatigue and falls upon his knees, but a voice from heaven, which perpetually pursues him, forces him to continue his way. “Walk! Walk!” These wearing words make him tremble. He gets up, but fatigue overcomes him and he falls back to earth and slumbers.

2. The Vision-At this moment his brain is haunted by a nightmare. He perceives in the sky a vague vision. It is Christ, who ascends to the summit of a mountain, bearing his cross and followed by pious women, guards and people. Christ falls, and in his nightmare Isaac Laquedem sees himself again, when he was a shoe-maker, in his youth, refusing to Christ the water which he asked of him, and replying, with a sneer, “Walk!” The vision fades away; the Wandering Jew gets up. He rebels against the divine power, but he is obliged to plod on in spite of his resistance.

3. The Cliffs of Despond.-The view has changed. Isaac Laquedem continues to move on always and comes among some wild cliffs. There he would like again to take a rest, but Satan appears and tears his cane from his hands and beats the old man with terrific blows, and then suddenly disappears. At the same time the voice from heaven orders the Wandering Jew to resume his journey, and, in space, the figure of an angel appears; the latter with an imperious gesture compels the accursed man to resume his wanderings.

4. The Elements Let Loose.-The Wandering Jew pursues his perpetual course amid a frightful storm. He is assailed by torrents of water; ashes of lightning blind him; the wind whistles furiously, but on he plods… he plods… he plods always throughout the succession of the centuries. (A strikingly effective picture.)

MEL 1905-A