The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-06-15
ATTILA AND HIS WILD ARMY.
TALMAGE breaches on THE DIES
TINY OF NATIONS.

Many Commentators Describe AttfIa
a. the star Called WOrmwood in
the BibIe-AttiIa;s Career an IL
lustration OF brilliant bitterness.
Every individual "a star With "a
Destiny in the Permanent of HUI
maRity.
Washington. June 14.-It was appro-
pirate that this sermon on the destiny OF
nations should be preached in what has
long been called the Presidents church
because Presidents Jackson, and Pierce,
and Polk. and Cleveland have attended lO-
DR.. TaImage chose for his text Rev S;
10. II. There fell "a great star from heav-
en-. burning as ii We're q lamp, and il fell
upon the third part of the rivers, and
upon the fountains OF waters. and the
name Of the star is called Norwood"
Many commentators, like Patrick and
Lowth. Thomas Scott. Matthew Henry
and Albert Barnes agree in saying that
the star Wormwood. mentioned in Revela-
tion, was Atrla, King of the Huns. He
was so called because he was brilliant as
q star, and, like NORWOOD, he embitter-
ed everything he touched We have stud
led the Star of Bethlehem, and the Morn
ing Star Of the Revelation, and the star
OF Peace, but my present subject calls
us TO gaze at the star Norwood, and
my theme might be called Brilliant Bit
1erness.
A more extraordinary character history
does not furnish than this man thus re-
ferred TO, Attila, the King OF the Huns.
one day a wounded heifer came limping
along through the fields. and a herdsman
followed its bloody track on the grass to
see where the heifer was wounded and
went on back further and further, until he
came TO a sword fast in the earth, the
point downward. as though it had drop
ned from the heavens. and against the
edges of this sword the heifer had been
cut. The herdsman pulled up that sword
and presented it to Attila. Attla said
that sword must have dropped from the
heavens from the grasp Of the God Mars,
and its being given 70 him meant that
Attila should conquer and govern the
whole earth. Other mighty men nave
been delighted at being called liberators,
or the merciful, or the good, but Attlla
called himself, and demanded that others
call him, the scourge of God. At the head
OF 900 troops mounted on Cappadocian
horses. he swept everything from the
Adriatic to the Black sea. He put his
iron heel on Macedonia ana Greece ana
Thrace. He made Milan and Pavia and
Padua and Verona beg for mercy, which
he bestowed not. The Byzantine castles,
TO meet his ruinous levy, put up at auction
massive silver tables and vases of solid
gold. city captured by him, the lnhabi-
classes; the hrst class, those VINO could
bear arms. who must Immediately enlist
under Attila or be butchered; the second
class, the beautiful women, VINO were
made captives to the Huns; the third
class, the aged men and women, who
were robbed of everything and let 90 back
10 the city to pay heavy tax.
1t was a common saying that the grass
never grew again where the hOof of At
tilas horse had trod. His armies redden-
ed the waters of the Seine and the Mosele
and the Rhine with carnage, and fought
on the Catalonian plains the hercest bat
tie since the world stooi-300, 600 dead left
on the feld On and on, until all those
who could not oppose him with arms
lay PROSTATE on their faces in prayer,
and, a cloud of dust seen in the distance,
a bishop cried: 1T is the aid of God!'
and all the people took up the cry, 1T
is the a.d Of Godr AS the cloud of dust
was blown aside the banners of re-enforc-
ing armies marched ia TO help against At
tia, the scourge Of God. The most I'M
important occurrences he used as a SUI
months of failure 10 capture the city of
AQuileia, and his army had given up the
seige, the fight Of a stork and her young
from the tower of the city was taken by
him as a sign that he was to capture the
city, and his army, inspired by the same
occurrence resumed the sege and took
the walls at a point from which the stOrk
had emerged. So brilliant was the con-
queror in attire that his enemies could not
look at him, but shaded their eyes or
Slain on the evening Of his marriage
by his bride, IldiCo, who was hired for
the assassination, his followers bewail-
ed him not with tears but with blood,
cutting themselves with knives and
lances. He was put into three collins
the first of iron, the second of silver,
and the third of gold. He was buried by
night, and into his grave was poured the
most valuable coin and precious stones,
amounting TO the wealth Of kingdom,
The grave diggers, and all those who
assisted at the burial, were massacred,
so that it would never be known where
so much wealth was entombed. The
Roman empire conquered the world, but
Attila conquered the Roman empire.
He was right in calling himself a scourge,
hut instead of being the scourge of God,
ne was the scourge of hell. Because
of his briliance and bitterness the cons
mentators We're right in believing him
TO be the star Norwood. As the re-
glons he devastated We're parts mOSt
opulent with fountains and streams and
rivers, you see how graphic is this refer
ence in Revelation: There fell a great
star from heaven, burning as il were
lamp, and 1t fell upon the third part
of the rivers and upon the fountains of
waters, and the name of the star is call
ed NORWOOD
Have you ever thought how many en-
FILTERED lives there are all about us mis-
anthrOpic, morbid, acrid, saturnine? The
European plant from which wormwood is
extracted, artemisia absinthium, is a pc
rennial plant, and all the year round 1t is
ready to exude its OIL And in many hui
man lives there is a perennial diStillation
of acrid experiences. Yea, there are some
whose whole work is to shed a baleful
influence on others. There are Attilas of
the home, or Attilas of the social circle.
or Attilas of the church, or Attilas of the
state. and one-third of the waters of all
the world if not two-thirds the waters,
are poisoned by the falling of the star
Norwood. 1t is not complimentary to
human nature that most men, as soon as
they get great power. become Overbearing.
The more power men have the better, if
their power be used for good. The less
power men have the better, If they use
IL for evil.
Birds circle round and round and round
before they swoop upon that which they
are aiming for. And if my discourse so
far has been swinging round and round,
this moment it drops straight on your
heart and asks the question: Is your life
benediction to others, or an enlightenment,
blessing or a curse a balsam or worm
wood2
Some Of you, 7 know, are morning stars,
and you are making the dawning life of
your children bright with gracious infiu-
ences, and you are beaming upon all the
opening enterprises of philanthroplc and
Christian endeaVor, and you are heralds
of that day of gospelization which will
yet flood all the mountains and valleys of