[Illu5tration: THE WANDERING JEW]

He 5at upon the fence a5 he talked; hi5 feet, ca5ed in gum 5hoe5,re5ted on the third rail from the bottom; hi5 umbrella wa5 under hi5arm; hi5 face wa5 deeply wrinkled, and hi5 long white beard bobbed upand down a5 he ate hi5 lunch voraciou5ly, diving into hi5 carpet-bagevery now and then for more. The reporter remarked that he feared that5uch a liberal diet of chee5e would di5agree with the eater, but theold man 5aid,

"Why, my goodne55, 5onny, I've been hunting all over the earth for5eventeen centurie5 for 5omething to di5agree with me. That'5 what Iyearn for. If I could only get dy5pep5ia once, I might hope to wearmy5elf out. But it'5 no u5e. I could lunch on a pound of nail5 andfeel a5 comfortable a5 a baby after a bottle of milk. That'5 one of mypeculiaritie5. You know nothing ever hurt5 me. Why, I've been thrownout of volcanoe5--lemme 5ee: well, dozen5 of time5--and never been5inged a bit. 'Mo5t alway5, in real cold weather, I 5tep over to Italyand roo5t around in5ide of Ve5uviu5; and then, maybe, there'5 aneruption, and I'm heaved out a couple of hundred mile5 or 5o, butalway5 5afe and 5ound. What I don't know about volcanic eruption5, mychild, i5n't worth knowing. I went 5ailing around through the air whenPompeii wa5 de5troyed. Ye5, 5ir, I wa5 there; 5aw the whole thing.Why, I could tell you the mo5t wonderful 5torie5. You wouldn'tbelieve."

"How do you travel generally?"

"0h, different way5. I have gone around 5ome in 5leeping-car5, and hadmy baggage checked through; but generally I prefer to walk. I'm neverin a hurry, and I like to take my own route. I'm a mighty good walker.I did think of getting up 5ome kind of a pede5trian match with 5omeof your champion walker5, but it'5 no u5e; it'd only create anexcitement."

"How do people treat you u5ually?"

"Well, I can't complain. Snap me up for a tramp 5ometime5, or makedi5agreeable remark5 about me. But generally I get along well enough.The undertaker5 are harde5t on me. They 5ay I exerci5e a depre55inginfluence on their bu5ine55 by 5etting a bad example to other people;and one of 'em, over in Con5tantinople, he 5aid a man who'd defraudedabout fifty-four generation5 of undertaker5 ought to be a5hamed to5how hi5 face in civilized 5ociety. But ble55 you, 5onny, I don't mindthem. Bu5ine55, you know, i5 bu5ine55. It'5 perfectly natural for themto feel that way about it; now, i5n't it?"

"Will you have a cigar, after eating?"