of a human being sent forth to wander in wretchedness forever. Moreover,
suppose there had been such a man, what a poor, modern creature he would
be compared with me! Even now he would be less than two thousand years
old. You must excuse my perturbation, but I am sure that during the whole
of the Christian era I have never told my story to any one who did not, in
some way or other, make an absurd or irritating reference to the Wandering
Jew. I have often thought, and I have no doubt I am right, that the
ancient story of my adventures as Kroudhr, the Vizier of the Two-horned
Alexander, combined with what I have related, in one century or another,
of my subsequent experiences, has given rise to the tradition of that
very unpleasant Jew of whom Eugène Sue and many others have made good
use. It is very natural that there should be legends about people who in
some way or other are enabled to live forever. If Ponce De Leon and his
companions had mysteriously disappeared when in search of the Fountain
of Youth, there would be stories now about rejuvenated Spaniards wandering
about the earth, and who would always continue to wander. But the Fountain
of Youth is not a desirable water-supply, and a young person who should
find such a pool would do well to wait until he had arrived at maturity
before entering upon an existence of indefinite continuance.

"But I must go on with my story. At one time I made for myself a home, and
remained in it for many, many years without making any change. I became a
sort of hermit, and lived in a rocky cave. I allowed my hair and beard to
grow, so that people really thought I was getting older and older; at last
I acquired the reputation of a prophet, and was held in veneration by a
great many religious people. Of course I could not prophesy, but as I had
such a vast deal of experience I was able to predicate intelligently
something about the future from my knowledge of the past. I became famed
as a wonderful seer, and there were a great many curious stories told
about me.