The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1896-06-25
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE NOTED DIVINE'S SUNDAY
DISCOURSE.
Subject: "The Bitter Attlla."

the third part OF the rivers, and upon the
fountains of water, and the name of the
star is called Norwood. "-Revelation viii,
10, II.
Many commentators, like Patrick and
LoWth, Thomas Scott, Matthew Henry and
Albert Barnes agree in saying that the star
WormWood, mentioned in Revelation, was
Att1ia king OF the Huns. He was 50 called
because he was brilliant as a star, and. like
Norwood, he embittered everything he
touched We have studied the star of
Bethlehem. and the Morning Star of the
Revelation, and the Star of Peace, but nv
present subject calls US to gaze at the star
Norwood, and my theme might be called
Brilliant Bitterness
A more extraordinary character history
does not furnish than this man thus referred
; 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
| heller was wounded, and went on back fur
Their and further, until he came to a sword
| fast in the earth, the point downward. as
though is had dropped 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 AttiIa. Attila said
the sword must have dropped from the
| heavens from the grasp of the god Mars and
It's being given to him meant that Atilla
| should conquer and govern the whole earth.
Other mighty men have been delighted at
being called liberators, or the mercifnl or the
good, but Attila called himself and demand
ed that others call him the Scourge of God.
At the head CT 1000 troops, mounted Oh
| Cappadocian horses. he swept everything
| from the Adriatic to the Black Sea. He nut
his iron heel on Macedonia and Greece and
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.
A city captured by him, the inhabitants
We're brought out and divided into three
classes-the first class, those who could bear
arms, who must Immediately enlist under
| Att1la or be butchered; the second class, the
beautiful women, who were made captives to
the Huns; the third class, the aged men and
| women. who were robbed of everything and
let go back to the city to pay heavy tax
1t was common saying that the grass
| never grew again where the hoof of Attila's
horse had trod. His armies Redeemed the
waters of the Seine, and the Moselle, and the
Rhine with carnage and fought on the Gaia
lonlan plains the fiercest battle since the
world stood-30O. 900 dead left on the field
On and on until those who could not oppose
| MIN with arms lay PROSTATE ON their faces in
| prayer, and, a cloud of dust seen in the dis
tance bishop cried, at is the aid of God"
and all the people took up the cry, 1T is the
aid OF God ~ As the cloud of dust was blown
aside the banners Of reinforcing armies
marched in to help against Attila, the
| Scourge of God. The most unimportant oc-
currences he used as supernatural re-
source, and after three months of failure to
capture the city of Aquileia. and his army
had given up the siege the flight of stork
and her young from the tower of the city
was taken by him as q sign that he was to
capture the city, and his army, inspired by
the same occurrence, resumed the siege and
took the walls at point from which the
stork had emerged. SO brilliant was tbs
conquerer in attire that his enemies could
not look at him, but shaded their eyes OF
turned their heads
Slain on the evening OF his marriage by his
bride, Ildico. who was hired for the assas-
sination, his followers bewailed him, no,
with tears, but with blood, cutting them
selves 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 were poured the
most valuable coin and precious stones
amounting to the wealth of a kingdom. The
gravediggers and all those who assisted al
the burial were massacred, SO that it wouG
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 {
scourge, but instead of being the Scourge O
God he was the scourSe of hell. Because OF
his brilliance and bitterness the commenta
tors were right in believing him to be the
star Norwood. As the regions he devas
tated were parts most opulent with foun
ta1nS and streams and rivers, YOU see how
graphic is this reference in Revelation
There fell great star from heaven, burn.
ing as it were lamp, and it fell upon the
third part of the rivers and upon the foun
tains of waters. and the name of the star 4
called NORWOOD
Have you ever thought how many imbit
tered lives there are al! about us, misanthro
pic, morbid, acrid, saturnine? The Euro
pean plant from which NORWOOD Is ex
tracted, Artemisia absinthium, Is perennial
plant, and all the year round It Is ready t,
exude its oil. And in many human live
there is perennial distillation OF acrid OK
periences. Yea, there are some chose Who'll,
work is to shed baleful influence on others
There are Attlas of the home, or Attilas O
the social circle, or Attilas Of the church. O.
Attllas OF the state. and one-third Of tn
waters of all the world, If not two-thirds the
waters, are poisoned by the falling of tn
star Norwood. 1t is not complimentary tt
human nature that most men, as soon a
they get greater power, become overbearing
LILO luOTc power men nave the peter II thel
power be used for good. The less powe
men have the better II they use 1t for evil.
Birds circle round and round and rount
before they swoop upon that which they ar,
aiming for. And 1t my discourse 80 far ha
been swinging round and round this mo
ment it drops straight on your heart an,
asks the question, Is your life benedictioI
to others or an imbitterment, blessing or
curse, balsam or wormwood?
Some of you I know are morning stars
and you are making the dawning life Q
your children bright with gracious in
tluences, and YOU are beaming upon all tn
opening enterprises OF philanthropic an
Christian endeayor and you are heralds G
that day Of gospellzation which will yet foo
all the mountains and valleys of our 81
cursed earth. Hail, morning star! Keep o
shining with encouragement and Christia
hope!
Some of you are evening stars, and 70
are cheering the last days of old people, an
though cloud sometimes comes over yo
through the querulousness or unreasonable
ness of your old father and mother it is onl
for moment, and the star soon comes GU
clear aSain and Is seen from all the balco
MES of the neighborhood. The old peopl
will forgive your occasional shortcomings
: Tor they themselves several times lost thei
. patience when you were young and slappe
you when you did not deserve IT. Hal
; evening star! Hang on the darkening SIX
ill.,