Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1896-06-18
DESTINY OF NATIONS.
REV. DR.. TALMAGE DISCUSSES THE
STAR OF NORWOOD.
Another Unique Text Taken to Enforce q
Needed Lesson-Conduct, Influence and
opportunity-The FREQ Nation Of tho
! Earth and Its Salvation.

Needed Lesson-Conduct. Influence and
Opportunity-The FREQ Nation Of tho
! Earth and Its salvation.
WASHINGTON, Juno Alt was appro-
pirate that this sermon on the destiny of
nations should be preached in what hns
long been called the presidents church,
because Presidents jackson and Pierce
and Polk and Cleveland have attended 1t.
DIR. Talmage chose for his text Revelation
viii, 10, II, "There fell great star from
heaven burning as it were q lamp, and it
fell upon the third part of the rivers and
upon the fountains of waters, and tho
name of the star Is called Norwood"
Many commentators, like Patrick and
Lowth, Thomas Scott, Matthew Henry
and Albert Barnes, agree In saying that tho
star Wormwood, mentioned In Revelation,
was Attila, king of the Huns. He was so
called because he was brilliant as u star,
and, like wormwood, he imbittorcd every
thing he touched We have studied the
star Of Bethlehem, and the morning star
Of tho Revelation, and the star of peace,
but my present subject calls us to gaze ut
the star OF Norwood, and my thcmo
might be called brilliant Bitterness"
Tho King of the Huns.
A moro extraordinary character history
does not furnish than this man thus re-
ferrcd to-Attila, the king of tho Huns
One day wounded heifer came limping
along through tho fields, and q hcrdsman
followed its bloody track on tho grass TO
sec where the hotter was wounded and
went on back farther and farther until he
came TO sword fast in tho earth, tho
point downward, as though it had dropped
from tho heavens, and against the edges Of
this sword the hcifer had been cut. The
herdsman pulled up that sword and pre-
scented 1t to Attila. Attila said that sword
must have dropped from the heavens from
tho grasp of the god Mars and its being
given to him meant that Attiln should con
quer and govern the whole earth.
Other mighty men have been delighted
at being called libcrators, or the merciful,
or the good, but Attila called himself and
demanded that others call him tho Scourge
of God. At the head of 700 900 troops
mounted on Cappadocian horses, he swept
everything from tho Adriatic to the Black
sea- He put his iron heel on Macedonia
and Greece and Thracc lie made Milan
and Pavia and Padua and Verona bcy
for mercy, which no bestowed not The
Byzantine castles, to meet his ruinous
levy, put up Mt auction massive silver ia
blcs and vases Of solid gold A city cap
tured by him, the inhabitants were brought
out and put into three classes-the first
Glass, those who could bear arms, who
must Immediately enlist under Attila or
be butchcred; the second class, the beauti-
full women, who were made captivcs TO
the Huns; the third class, the aged men
and women, who were robbed of every
thing and let go back to the city to pay
heavy tax.
1t was o common saying that the grass
never grew again where the hoof of At
tia's horse had trod. His armies Redeemed
the waters Of the Seine and the Mosellc
and the Rhine with carnage and fought
on the Cataloninn plains tho flercest battle
since the world stood-3O0, 900 dead left on
tho flcldl On and on until all those who
could not oppose him with arms lay pros
tratc on their faces in prayer, and, n cloud
of dust seen in the distance, n bishop cried,
ut is tho aid Of Godp' and all the people
took up the cry, at Is the aid of GoGr As
the cloud of dust was blown aside the ban
ncrs of reinforcing armies marched in 10
help against Attila, the Scourge of God.
Tho most unimportant occurrences he
used as supernatural resource, and after
three months of failure to capture the city
of Aquilcia and his army had given ur
the siege, tho flight of stork and her
young from the tower Of tho city was taken
by him as n sign that he was to capture
the city, and his army inspired by the
same occurrence, resumed the siege and
took the walls ut point from which tho
stork ha5 emerged So brilliant was the
conquer3r in attire that his enemies could
not look at him, but shaded their eyes OF
turned their heads.
A Peculiar Star.
Slain on tbs evening Of his marriage by
his br't., Ildico, who was hired for tho
assassination, his followers bewailed hin
not with tears but with blood, cutting
themselves with knives and lances. HI
was put into three cofilns-the first o.
iron, the second of silver and the third o.
gold. He was buried by night and int
his grave were poured the most valuabl,
coin and precious stones, amounting t.
the wealth Of kingdom. The gravedig
gers and all those who assisted at the buria
were massacred, so that it would never b.
known where so much wealth was ontomb
ell. Tho Roman empire conquered tn
world but Attlla conquered the Roman
empire. He was right in calling himself
scourge but instead of being the Scourg
of God he was the scourgc OF hell. Becaus
of his brilliance and bitterness the com
mentators wero right in believing him +
lie the star WorInwood. As tho regions h
devastated were parts most opulent wit
fountains and streams and rivers, you Sc
how graphic is this reference In Revcla
ton, "Thero fell a great star from heaven
burning as it were lamp, and it fell NJ
on the third part OF tho rivers and upo
tho fountains OF waters, and the name c
the star Is called Norwood "
Have you ever thought how many In,
FILTERED lives there aro all about us--misar
thropic, morbid, acrid, saturnine? TIL
European plant from which wormwood
extracted, Artcmisia obsinthium, is pei
cnnial plant, and all the year round it
ready to exude its oil. And In many LIT
man livos there is Il perennial distillatio
of acrid experiences. Yea, there are som
whose whole work Is to shed baleful II
1luence on others. There are Attilas Of th
home, or Attilas Of the social circle, or Al
tilas of the church, or Attilas Of the stat
and one-third of the waters of all the worlt
II not thirds the waters, arc poisone
by the falling Of the star Wormwood.
Ia not complimentary to human natuI
that most men, as soon as they get grei
power, become overbearlng. Tho MOI
power men have the better, II their powt
be used for good The less power mon hay
the better, II they use it for evil.
Birds circle round and round and roun
before they swoop upon that which the
are aiming for And II my discourse so fl
has been swinging round and round, tn
-tz.I.A I.