European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 25, 1964, Darmstadt, Hesse Witnesses to the Herod there shall be no More Loose talk of a Christ sometimes wonder whether Fate was Jreilly kind to me in making me King of Llu Dea in such troublesome i 1 dare not displease the Homeck Patlon and for without their support my kingdom would yet my own people Are they seem to have no appreciation either of Ray person or of the Ali inlay of my office and the truth is that they Are difficult sub i would neither have chosen to be born among nor made ruler Over How unfortunate 1 was not born to the roman that cant be helped the politic course for me is to make certain that no upstart rebellion gets under Way in this and i must say that a difficult order with such unpredictable the latest craze is some mad religious idea fostered by those Damnable they Prate about old Isaiah prophecies i must have them read to me sometime and some silliness about a King to be born o a a Likely i must Why they should Rake up the gibberish of a Prophet who died 600 years ago is beyond but then i have never understood this religious its useful to keep the people but let them stick to i i o born at the Winter sonic Eastern astronomers right now theres an utterly mad Story going around that this King of child of is to be 1 never did like foreigners have started that it has a put my ill fix their Little Caesar has ordered a ill demand that it be taken at he Winter i could use a Little tax anyway be How the Cost of entertaining has gone up since the old Days As i was i flu order the head of each family logo to the place of his birth to Register All children and to be that ought to bring their thoughts Down to then if hut Doest Slop this Messiah ill de Cree that every male child under two years of age shall be your Monarch has spoken Yon will Curry out his gracious orders and i suggest that if any of you have Hopes of advancement in this you will make ii quite Clear to the common people that nothing can possibly be More powerful than the roman Empire within which we now be it decreed that there shall be no More Loose talk of a Christ to be born in nor shall we tolerate any further subversive preaching la the name of the simple fact which my disloyal and deluded jets seem unable to appreciate is that our venerated ancestors worshipped a primitive god who has ton quite superseded by the roman Herod is the Only King the jews have or will have for i know this Wilt please you i have lately been convinced of my own you applaud thai statement i so you but i am surprised you had to hear it from my own one would have thought some of you might have recognized the do my people seek a King of Kings Why need they look beyond Herod am 1 not the fulfilment of the prophets pralines am i not even wonderful could any Prince assure a peace More effective than we enjoy under our roman Alliance let the soothsayers repeal my proclamation in the fullness of he Story the name of Herod will always spoken when people give thanks for the birth of Ezra Joseph and his wife were journeying to Bethlehem am a my caravans travel the roads of Palestine the goods t sell Are of the finest let Deal in my reputation is built in even my competitors jul Tell you that ban the trader shortest and i tall you this not in Pride but in for 1 pm never forget that f started in and my present Prosperity u due More to lie Grace of god than 19 any wit of my i was born in Bethlehem a Little town South of it died when i was a Stab la car Vaneer took pity on me and tired me m be taught me much and in our Umi we became almost As father of Wen m Nazareth when he and in his last tet Tarrent be gave me one of his atthe ume it teemed mar Fortune was even to my i dreamed of great Days to i to toss pm there was in the town c kindly one to had known my family in be entrusted me with his his was of the when i cold his produce inti 8mrtlmirtat Koochi Jess that beginning god has prospered Ive Joseph often to the Yean in Urtnow coincidence i was leading a caravan along the Nat Road to Jerusalem when we overtook a couple walking very imagine my Surprise when i Law the Man was my ol3 wend Joseph he was newly his Young wife is a girl of unusual attractiveness with a spiritual Beauty that complements her natural w Joseph and his wife were journeying to Bethlehem Tor the taxing decreed by Caesar naturally Page 12 i invited them to join and i gave Mary a beast to by Jacobs Well and the Day Gate of Jerusalem the crowds were we were jostled and shoved by noisy mobs of scribes and one scene particularly upset poor Mary roman soldiers elbowed shouted thin Way through he Leadlie Zumr poor wretch to oof Gonna or his the culprit staggered under is Cross even who have so often seen such Felt sympathy for him As he stumbled i Miff to tight even to the quiet of Garden she teemed and she waa obviously near to delivering that holy plact Sweet Mary right us he since 1 had business to attend i bade Farewell to my old Friend and Bis Lovely they went on to i promised to seek them Whin 1 got unfortunately delayed and so nursed but during my Brief stay at the Dingy ton to Beth Lehem an interesting incident occurred one mor Nuu the innkeeper babbled apologies for the ust Urbancek and poor service of the preceding evidently a peasant couple had stayed to the stable and during the night a child waa what a tale he made of it strange lights at mid heavenly a Newborn babe sleeping in the shepherds and Wise men adoring and even of and ass making Obe Sancel i didst believe halt he but it did remind me that i too had often slept to that same stable years if the babe that slept there during the taxing does As Well As Ive hell have reason to a Ian Sod the stars and stripes
