St. Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1845-1863, 1862-03-13

X M()RNING. MARCH l3
ley he imsginings Of the dartsincs
Iin w. tbey lived. barbarous Rbeyond
The cerIfioD Of the inhabitaufS Of be.
'tjg1 psope. they proved ii agents.
" e sbe DEGREES Of the wild, cruel
H. % ho dclnged the West xith.
NJ called himself an :in1,
rs zlnrss u ss6s 1sAaas the
Almighty.
Attlla was one Of those mighty spirits
which arise from time to time, endowed
to all appearance with the power and
will to crush world He was wor-
shipped as god by his followers whom
he led from victory to victory, while he
ruled them with rod of iron. "Where
his horses hoof had trod." said super
stition, 1.-The grass could grow no more
Smiling fields and populous cities stood
before him but a bowling wilderness
marked the. track his savage hordes had
:akcn. From the borders Of the Black
Sea to the banks of the Rhine he led
the Huns, laying waste the country as
he went. The atfrighted populace fed
T everywhere before him and there were
not few who asserted, in the cxtrcmi-
! ty of their fear, that the end of the
world had come. and that the final judg-
lnents foretold in the Scriptures were about
to fall on the earth, by the hand Of the
"Scourge Of God"
The E.stern Empire was the first to
suffer from the inyal,r's fury. Greece
was laid waste from enl to end, and Con-
stantiEoplc only escaped destruction. by
the payment Of tremendous rams nm
Onward through central Europe. towards
Gaul, swept the mighty torrent; and
among the country people there still sur
vive tales of the horrors that accompanied
the march Of these ruthless men. still are
10 be found in various parts of Germany
great mounds and Notifications of earth,
erected in the vain hope of checking the
foe in his onward course. and distinguish
ed BY the names Of Huns Mountains and
Huns bitches Insulated attempts we're,
however. far too feeble against such an in
vasion, and right onward, past the Rhine,
came the hordes of Attila. Nothing stop
ped thesr progress. and tie fate of Eu-
rope tremblcd in the balance
J. Then, at last there seems to have fash
cd upon the minds of the scathed nations
of the West the great idea that in union
alone could sure defence be found
Franks and Vi>igoths, Gsuls and Romans,
| forgot for moment their mutual anino,i-
ties, and resolved to stand side by side
to repel the common enemy. Near Chal-
ions, on the broad plains Of the river
Marne, the nations of the West stood ar
Iayed to make one desperate stand against
their terrible antagonist. There stood
Theodoric the brave monarch of the Vis-
igoths, with Mcrovig, the great warrior,
the fouulcr Of the first race Of Frankish
kings. and the Romish race Of Gauls. un-
der their last brave pro-eonsul, Et:us
On the ether side came At,ila. with his
innumeiable lcgions of horse men. and a
crowd of barbarians VIII IN he had pressed
into his service as aux larics. The
monarch Of the Huns fully understood the
importance of the crisis; and in his haran.
que to his troops before the battle. pro.
missed great rewards to the brave who
should insure him victory. and mcraccd
with death the towards who should fee.
The battle was obstinate and bloody.
So long as the arrow and the javcln were
the weapons for attack the Huns had the
advantage; but when darts and spear:
had been hurled, and the cpmbatants cam,
to closer quarters, Roman disc ip?ine and
stubborn Gothic valor began to tell
Foaming with rage. Attila saw his prom
iscd victory escaping from him; and when
evening came. aud two hundred thousand
of his followers :ay dead upon the field, he
sulienly gave the signal for retreat; and
the deepening night put an end to the
carnage.
: Then followed light of suspense, i.
which neither side knew what the enemy
were doing. When morning dawne.l. II
shone upon scene calculated. in those
rude times, to excite the admiration ,v,.
of an exasperatcd foe During the hour.
of darkness the Huns hal formed q com.
plete fortiication. after their fashion. with
the wagons which always followed their
train. w ttutu tue iuctuSuEc IoTHcu OS
these carriages stood the warriors in 4
deep circle. rank upon rank, many Of them
holding torches in their hands. In the
centre they had raised an immense pile
formed Of the wooden saddles Of their
horses. the yokes of their oxen. and all
the timber they cnuld collect: and on the
summit Of the giant mound lowered. torch
;! in hand, the form Of .Attila. Driven t.
desperation by the unlooked-for revcrses
Of the previous day. the savage king bad
determined to fire the pile and perish in
the flames. rather than fall captive into
the hands of foes.
Courage even ifit were the courage oi
despair. was the quality most respected in
those days Of warfare. Erius and Me-
rovig decliued attacking an enemy ~
humble. yet 50 proud in his debascment.
They remained 1t some distance; and slow
!: ~ aud silently Attila drew off the remairis
Of his army. aud retired beyond the
/. Rhiue. = The ''Sc,urge Of God" was brc-
/; ken. and Europe brcaied more freely.
Yet another year and the sarage king