The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-03-13
/ LIFE'S BITTERNESS \ i
Or. TALMAGE CONTRASTS SELFISH
NESS AND KINDNESS.


NESS AND KINDNESS.
We Should Strive to Make This
World . Pleasant Place - Those
Who Scatter wormwood Are Lik-
! ened to Attils the Hun.
copyright, 1899. by American Press Asso-
ciation.l
WASHINGTON. March 12.-The contrast
between life Of selfshness and life Of
kindness Is set forth by Dr. Talmage
while discoursing upon the bsleful char
acter Of a conqueror Of olden time; text,
Revelation viii, 10, II, "There fell q
great star from heaven, burning ~ 1t
were a lamp, and 1t fell upon the third
part Of the rivers and upon the fountains
Of waters, and the name Of the star 10
called Norwood"
Patrick and Lowth, Thomas Scott, Mat
thew Henry, Albert Barnes and some 9TH
or commentators say that the star Worm
wood Of my text was type Of Attils, king
Of the Huns. He was 80 called because he
was brilliant a. q star, and, like worm
wood, no imbittered everything he touch
ed. We have studied the Star of Bethlehem
and tho 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 brilliant Bitter
ness"
A more extraordinary character history
does not furnish than this man Attila, the
king Of the Huns. The story goes that
npo day . xpoupdod haitian covro lin, MINI
along through the fields, and herdsman
followed It's bloody track on the grass to
see where the heller was wounded, and
went on back farther and farther until he
came to a sword fast In the earth, tho
point downward, as though 1t had dropped
from the heavens, and against the edges
Of this sword the heifer had been cut. The
herdsman pulled up that sword and pre-
sented it to Attila. ,Attila said that sword
must have dropped from the heavens from
the grasp Of the god Mars, and its being
given to him meant that Attila should
conquer and govern the whole earth. 9th
er mighty men have been delighted at be-
ing called nberators, or the Merciful, or
the Good, but Attila called himself and
demanded that others call him 1.-THE
Scourse Of God"
At the head of 700, 900 troops, mounted
on Cappadocian horses, he swept every
thing, 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 By
zantine castles, to meet his ruinous levy,
put up at auction massive silver tables
and vases Of solid gold. When city was
captured by him, the inhabitants were
brought out and put into three ella sses.
The first class, those who could bear arms
must Immediately enlist under Attila or
be bHtchered; the second class, the beauti-
full women, were made captives to the
Huns; tho third class, the aged men and
women, were robbed of everything and let
90 back to the city to pay heavy tax.
ScOurge of He'll.
1t was 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 carnage and fought on the
Catalonian plains tho flcrcest battle since
the world stood-30O, 900 dead left on the
field. On and on until all those who could
not oppose him with arms lay PROSTATE
on their faces in prayer, then cloud Of
dust was seen In the distance, and bishop
cried, sit 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
occurrences he used az a supernatural re-
source. After three months of failure to
capture the city of Aquileia, when 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 sign
army, inspired with the same occurrence,
resumed the siege and took the walls at a
point from which the stork had emerged.
So brilliant was the conqueror in attire
that his enemies could not look at him,
but shaded their eyes or turned their
heads.
Slain on the evening Of his marriage by
his bride, ldico who was hired for the
his followers bewailed him
not with tears, but with blood, cutting
with knives and lances He
was put into three collins, the first of iron,
the second Of silver and tho third Of gold.
He was buried by night, and into his
grave were poured the most valuable coins
and precious stones, amounting to the
wealth of O kingdom. The gravedigsers
and all those who assisted at the burial
were massacred, so that it would never be
known where SO much wealth was en-
tombed.
Vhn d IL apoIf ho world
but Attila conquered the Roman empire
He was right in calling himself n scourgc,
but instead of being the Scourge of God"
he was the scourgo Of hell.
Because Of his brilliancy and bitterness
the commentators might well have sup
posed him to be the star Norwood of the
text AS the regions he devastated were
parts most opulent with fountains and
streams and rivers, you see how graphic
my text is: "There fell great star from
heaven, burning as 1t were lamp, and
II fell upon the third part Of the rivers and
upon the fountains of waters, and the
name of the star Is called Norwood"
Acrid Oscillations.
Have you ever thought how many i'm
Filtered lives there are all about us, mis-
IlOFUlub hCEIN, buVuluiHcl 1AO
European plant from which wormwood is
extracted, Artemisia absinthium, Ia
perennial plant, and all the year round it
Is ready to exude its oil, and in many hui
nan lives there is perennial distillation
IF acrid experiences Yea, there are some
whose whole work is to shed baleful in
luence on others. There are Attilas of
he home, Attilas of the social circle, At
tilas of the church, Attilas of the state,
and one-third Of the waters of all the
world, IL not two-thirls the waters, are
poisoned by the falling of the star Worm
wood. 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, II thoir
lower be used for good. The less power
men have the better, If they.uso it for evil.
Birds circle round and round and round
,efore they swoop upon that which they
ire aiming for. And if my discourse SO
ar has been swinging round and round
his moment 1t drops straight on your
,eart and asks the question, Is your life
,enedlction to others or an imbitterment,
blessing or a curse, balsaIn or worn-
yoodP Some Of you, know, are morn
ng stars, and you are making the dawn
ny life of your children bright with gra-
'ious influences, and you are beaming Up
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