The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1899-04-20
BITTERNESS OF LIFE.
D. Talmage Draws a Contrast Be-
.-een Sslfishness and Kindness.
..ia Make the World q Pleasant
vm~.-sc, tterers Of WOrmwO0a
Are LIktned to AttilA
the Hun.

fwashington' sopys"'. ,:l los', ,,
:.h,ess and life of kindness is set
firth BY DIR. Talmage while discours-
10 upon the baleful character of a
eoso,eror of olden time; text, Rev
.,.t;on viii. 10. IL: There fell great
.4.r froC, heaven. burning as it were
l,mp. and it fell upon the third part
~ the rivers and upon the fountains
~ water. and the name of the star is
c,lled Wormwood."
Patrick and Lowth. Thomas Scott,
Matthew Henry, Albert Barnes and
.ome other commentators say that
me star Norwood of my text was a
,ype of Attila. king of the Huns. He
was so called because he was brilliant
asa star. and, like ke'wormwood. he em-
uttered 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 MS to gaze at the star Wormwood
and nv 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 wounaed
heifer came limping along through the
fields, and herdsman followed its
bloody tracks on the grass to see
where the heifer was wounded. and
went on back farther and farther un-
iii be came to a sword fast in the
Earth, the point downward. as though
ii 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
il to Attila. Attila said that sword
must have dropped from the heavens
from the grasp of the god Mars, and
It's being given to him meant that At
lila should conquer and govern the
whole earth. Other mighty men have
been delighted at being called libsr-
ators or the Merciful. or the Good.
but Attila called himself and demand
ed that others call him "the Scourge
Of Cod
At the head of 100000 troops. mount
ed on Cappadocian 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 Payia and Padua
and Verona beg for mercy, which he
bestowed not. The Byzantine castles.
70 meet his ruinous levy. put up at
auction massive silver tables and vases
ot solid gold. When city was cap
fured by him. the inhabitants were
brought out and put into three classes.
The first class, those who could bear
arms, must Immediately enlist under
sAttila or be butchered; the second
class. the beautiful women, were made
taptises to the Huns; the third class,
ne aged men and women, were robbed
set everything and let go back to the
city to pay heavy tax.
u was common saying that the
efasS never grew where the hoof OF
sAttila's horse had trod. His armies
eddened the waters of the Seine and
lhe Moselle and the Rhine with car.
rage and fought on the Catalonia n
plains the fiercest battles since the
world stood-300, 900 dead left on the
Aeid. On and on until all those who
could not oppose him with arms lay
r6fTate on their faces in prayer,
then cloud of dust was seen in the
instance. and bishop cried: at is
.ae aid of God" and all the people
stook up the cry: "It is the aid of God. .
IS the cloud of dust was blown aside
sne banners of reinforcing armies
marched in to help against Attila,
'ne Seourge of God" The most un-
Important occurrences he used as a
supernatural resource. After three
months of failure to capture the city
y Aquileia, when his army had given
- the siege, the fight of stork and
81 young from the tower of the city
sasa taken by him as sign that he
sss 70 capture the city, and his army,
inspired with the same occurrence.
tssnmed the siege and took the walls
J. point from which the stork had
erged. So brilliant was the con-
sueror in attire that his enemies could
hot 0ok at him. but shaded their ewes
% turned their heads.
Sialn on the evening of his marriage
~ ms bride. Ildico. who was hired
.o1 the assassination, his followers be-
s"sied him not with tears. but with
Voo, cutting themselves with knives
as anees. He was put into three
..nns the first of iron. the second of
,nser and the third of gold. lie was
sulied by night, and into his grave
@ poured the most valuable coins
~ Precious stones. amounting to the
sHn Of kingdom. The gravedig-
snu all those who assisted at the
, were massacred. so that il
a,u never be known where so much
ssith was entombed.
s.. Roman empire conquered the
~. out Attila conquered the Ro-
1pre. He was right in calling
-. seourge. but instead of be-
tue Sco~rse at Godr he was the
oafye Of he'll.