The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1888-04-23
The Story Of Attila, King Of the
81 Huns, the Subject.
His Career of Brilliant Bitterness
or Star Wormwood.
No Grass Grew Where the Hoof OF
His Horse Had Trod.
There Are Attilas About Us, We Meet and
See Them Every yDay-Misanthro-
pic, Morbid Attilas--What
II 10 Your Influence.

4pecinl Dispatch 10 the Appeal
BROOKLYN, April 22.-The Rev. T. De
Wit Talmage, d. d., preached this morn
ing at the Tabernacle on the subject ''The
Star Wormwood or Brilliant Bitterness"
| The musical exercises were assisted by the
organ and cornet Thousands OF voices in
the main auditorium and in the adjoining
. parlor and lecture-room and corridor,
| joined in the singing:
"well crowd thy eates with thankful songs,
High as the heavens our voices raise,
While earth with her ten thousand tongues
Shall Gil Thy courts with sounding pnise."
Prof Browne rendered Sonata Number
in ID minor, by Guillmant. After DIR. Tai
mage had expounded the sarcasm Of Elijah
at the offering OF the Baalites, he spoke as
follows:
Revelation viii. lOand IL: "There fell
great star from heaven, burning as II were
lamp, and it fell upon the third part Of
the rivers, and upon the fountains Of wa
ters; and the name OF the star Is called
Wormwood."
Patrick and Lowth, Thomas Scott, Mat
thew Henry, Albert Barnes and all the
other commentators agree in saying that
the star Wormwood Of my text was Attila,
king OF the Huns. lie was so called be-
cause lac was brilliant as a star, and, like
worlnwood, he embittercd everything hc
touched. We have studied the Star Of
Bethlehem, and the morning Star Of the
Revelation, and the star OF Peace, but my
subject this hour calls us 10 gnze at the
star Wormwood, and my theme might be
called Brilliant Bitterness.
A more extraordinary character history
does not furnish than this man referred to
in my text, Attila, the King OF the Huns.
One day wounded heller came limping
along through the fields, and hcrdsman
iolloecd its bloody track on the grass TO
see where the heifer was wounded, and
went on back, further and further, until
he came 10 asword fast in the earth, the
point downward, rs though IL had dropped
from the heavens, and against The edges OF
this sword the heifcr had been cut. The
hcrdsman pulled up that sword and pre-
sentcd IL TO Attia. Atiila said that sword
must have dropped from the heavens fruin
the grasp OF the god Man, and It's being
given 60 him meant that Atiila should con-
quer and govern the whole earth. Other
mighty men have been delighted at being
called 'liberators, or the merciiul, or the
good, but Atlila called himself and de-
mandcd that others call him the scourec
OF God. At the head Of 100000 troops.
mounted on Cappadocian horses, lac swept
everything from the Adrintc 10 the Black
sea. lie put his iron heel on Macedonia
and Greece and Thracc, lie made Milan
and Pavia and Padua aud Verona beg for
mercy. which he bestowed not. The BY
zantine castles, TO meet his ruinous levy,
put up nj auction massive silver tables aud
vases oi solid gold. A city, captured by
him, the inhabitants were brought out and
put into three classes. The iirst class, those
who could bear arms, who must immcdi-
aicly enlist under Attila or be butchered
the second class, the beautiful women, who
were made capuvcs 10 the Huns the third
class, the aged men and women, who were
robbed Of everything and let g. back TO
the city 10 pay heavy tax.
II was a common saying that the grass
never grew again where the hoof OF At
tila's horse had ,rod Ills armies Redeemed
the waters OF the Seine and the Mosclle
and the Rhine with carnage, and fought
on the Catalonian plains the iicrccst bat.
tie since the world stood-300 600 dead
left on the field. On and on until all
those who could not oppose him With
arms lay proslraic on their faces In prayer,
and, n cloud Of dust being seen In the dis.
tancc, a bishop cried: ut Is the aid Of
God" As the cloud Of dust was blown
aside. the banners OF reinforcing armies
marched In 10 help against Atiila, the
Scourgc Of God. The most unimpofiani
occurrences he used as n supernatural ~
sourcc, and, after three months Of failure
20 capture the city Of Aquilcia, and hi'
army had given up the siege, the flight
OF n siork and her young from the tower
OF the city was taken by him as sign that
he was 20 capture the city, and his army
inspired with the same occurrence, re
sumed the siege and took the walls at :
point from which the stork had emerged
80 brilliant was the conqucror In ailir'
that his enemies could not look at him
but shaded their eyes or turned thei
heads.
Slain on the evening Of bis marriage 10y
his bride lldico who was hired for the ~
sassination, his followers bowalcd him no
with tears but with blood, cutting them
selyes with knives aud lanccs. lie wa
nut into three collins the fint oi iron, th
second OF silver aud the third Of gold. III
was buried by night, and into bis grav
were poured the most valuable coin an,
precious stones, amounting 10 the wcalil
of kingdom. The gravc.diggcrs and al
l thosc who assisted NJ the burial wcr
/ t,nassacrcd, 10 that II would never b
known where 10 much wealth was on
tombcd. The roman empire conqucrc
the world, but Attila conquered the 10
man empire lie was right In calling biin
sclf a scourgc but instead Of being th
scourgc Of God he was the scourgo Of he'll
Because Of his briliancy and hiticrucs
the commentators were right In belicvin
him 10 bo the star Wonnwood of the tcX
As the regions he devastated were part
most opuicnt with fountains and stream
and rivers, you sec how graphic nay teS
is: "Thcru iel great star irom hcaycr
burning as Il wcrc a lamp, and u fell upo
<ihe third part Of the riyeu, and upon "a
fountains u walcr, and the name oi VI
Mar u called Wormwo0d."
Have you ever thought how many Ell
Filtered lives there arc all about ~, nll
snthropic morbid, acrid, snturnincY III
European plant irun which wormvood
Extracted, aricmisia ahtinihium, Il y pe
ennial plant, and all tho year round II