Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1899-05-11
BITTERNESS OF LIFE.
DR.. Talmage Draws a Contrast Be-
tween Selfshness and Kindness.
should Make the World n Pleasant
Place-scatterers of wormwood
Are Likened to Attila
the Hun.

a.
isbpess and a life of kindness is set
forth by DIR. Talmage while discours-
ing upon the baleful character Of a
of olden time; text, Rev
elation viii. 10. IL: There fell a great
star from heaven. burning as II were
q lamp, and it fell upon the third part
Of the rivers and upon the fountains
of water, and the name of the star Is
called Norwood"
Patrick and Lowth, Thomas Scott,
Matthew Henry, Albert Barnes and
some other commentators say that
the star Norwood OF my text was a
type of Attila, king of the Huns. He
was 40 called because he was brilliant
as a star. and. like NORWOOD, he EN-
FILTERED everything he touched. We
have studied the Star of Bethlehem
and the Morning Star of Revelation
and the Star of Peace, but my subject
calls us to gaze at the star Norwood,
and my theme might be called Bril-
liant Bitterness.
A more extraordinary character his
tory does not furnish than this man
Attila. the king Of the Huns. The
story goes that one day a wounded
heifer came limping along through the
fields. and a herdsman followed its
bloody tracks on the grass 10 see
where the heifer was wounded, n
went on back farther and farther IN
til he came to a sword fast in the
earth, the point downward, as though
il had dropped from the heavens, and
against the edges of this sword the
heifer had beer cut. The herdsman
pulled up that sword and presented
IL to Attila. Attila said that sword
must have dropped from the heavens
from the grasp of the god Mars, snd
its being given TO him meant that At
tia should conquer and govern the
whole earth. Other mighty men have
been delighted at being called hber-
ators, or the Merciful, or the Good,
but Attila called himself and demand
ed that others call htm "the Scourge
Of God"
At the head of 700. 900 troops, mount
ed on C~appadocian horses, he swept
everything from the Adriatic to the
Black sea. He put 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. When a city was cap
tured by him. the Inhabitants were
brought out and put into three classes.
The first class. those who could bear
arms, must Immediately enlist under
Attila or be %butchered; the second
class. the beautiful women, were made
captives to the Huns; the third class.
the aged men and women, were robbed
Of everything and let go back to the
city TO pay a heavy tax.
1t was a common saying that the
grass never grew where the hoof of
Attila's horse had trod. His armies
redeemed the waters of the Seine and
the Moselle and the Rhine with car-
mage and fought on the C%atalonian
plains the f~iercest battles since the
world stood-3OO. 600 dead left on the
field. On and on until all those who
could not oppose him with arms lay
prostrate on their faces in prayer.
then a cloud of dust was seen in the
distance, and a bishop cried: ut is
the aid of God" and all the people
took up the cry: ut 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 in
important occurrences he used as a
supernatural resource. After three
months Of failure 20 capture the city
Of Aquileia, when his army had given
up the siege, the flight Of a stork and
her young from the tower Of the city
was taken by him as a sign hat he
was 10 capture the city, and his army.
inspired with the same occurrence,
resumed the siege and took the walls
at q point from which the stork had
emerged.
Slain on the evening Of his marriage
by his bride, ndico. who was hired
for the assassination, his followers be-
walled 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
were poured the moet valuable coins
and precious stones. amounting TO the
wealth Of a kingdom. The grsvedig-
gers and all those who assisted at the
burial were mastered. so that il
would never be known where 80 much
wealth was entombed.
The Roman empire conquered the
world. but Attila conquered the Ro-
man empire. BE was right in calling
himself a scourge, but instead Of be-
ing "the Scourge Of God" he was the
scourge Of he'll.
Because Of his brilliancy and bitter
ness the commentators might well have
supposed him TO be the star Norwood
Of the text. As the regions be dsvss
tated were psrts most opulent with
fountains and streams and rivers, you
see how graphic my text Ia: There
fell a great star from heaven. burning
as II were a lamp. and il fell upon the
"