The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1906-01-25


would have been forever lost to civili-
zation; the Germans would have been
annihilated, or enslaved, and there
would have been no Germany, no Eng
land, no Holland, no Norway, no
Sweden, no Denmark, land without
the three latter tits cinch there would
have been no Minnesota) no United
States of America, and the English
race, whose language, energy, and en-
terprise, have penetrated the four
corners of the earth, would have been
utterly cut off from existence. In
order fully to appreciate just what all
this would have meant to civilization,
we have only to note, with Arnold, to
what an extent the Germanic element
now dominates rhe earth. He says:
sit affects, more or less, the
whole west of Europe, from the
head Of the Gulf OF BOthnla TO
the most southern prOmOntOry OF
sicily, from the Oder and the Adrl-
attic to the Hebrides and to Lisbon. 1t
is true that the language spoken over
a large portion of this space is not
predominantiy German; but even in
France, and Italy, and Spain, the in
f1uence vi the Franks, Burgundians,
VisigOths, OstrOgoths, and Lombards,
while 1t has colored even the language,
has in blood and institutions left its
mark legibly and indelibly. Germany,
the Low Countries, Switzerland for
the most part, Denmark, Norway, and
| ioIn A
in language, in blood, and in institu
tions, German most decidedly. But
all South America is peopled with
America and all Australia with
EngIishmen. say nothing of
the prospects and influence of the
German race in Africa and in India;
it is enough to say that half of Europe,
and all America an0 Australia are
German, more or less completely, in
race, in language, or in institutions, or
in all"
Now, did the time permit, should
like to quote for you Prichard's ad-
mirable analysis of the German char
acter, which was thenceforth to have
so great an influence in converting the
provinces of Rome into the states, and
kingdoms, of modern Europe, and, fol-
lowing the decisive victory of Armini-
us, this influence gradually gained the
ascendancy and impaired to mediBval
civilization a new force-a sense of
individual independence, and domestic
virtues, heretofore unknown to the
20 Gffh nf,1ru
in the fall of the Roman Empire (476
A. d. and was known as the Era of
Great Migrations, when the restless
Germans, from the more remote pOr-
tions of Germania, we're compelled to
flee before the savage Huns and, arms
in hand, win homes in many of the
more desirable portions of the crum-
: bling empire of Rome, and there alb
| sorb the civilization and undergo the
> metamorphosis that contact with the
, conquered in arms has not infrequent.
+ ly impaired to the cultureless conquer.
Ors.
During this century the Eterna
City was twice at the mercy of barbar
, ian hordes and, finally, Attila, King o1
' the Huns, who styled himself th'
Scourge of God, and declared tina
@ where his horse set foot grass neve
Y grew again, emerged from his strong
! hold, amid the wilds of Hungary
|. placed himself at the head of million
f savages, and descended on the center
J. of civilization with the avowed inten
d tion Of making one supreme effort t.
s overthrow both the old and the ne1
powers of the earth, in order that b
d might found pagan dynasty on tn
# debris of the temporal power of Rome
/. So determined, and so resistless, wa
y the onslaught of this savage horde tina
l. city after city, and tribe after tribe
Q went down before their advance, an
3, Aryan civilization, and Christianit!
II were saved to Europe only whe
4. Aetius, the Roman general in Gau
8, and Theodoric, King of the Goths, ha
IS effected combination of their force
rt and administered defeat to Attila i
IN an engagement that has gone into hi,
r tory as the Battle of Chalons, (451 4
" d. the Importance of which is ou
8. lined by Greasy, as follows:
- aThe victory which the Roman gel
- eral. Aetius, with his Gothic allie
had then gained over the Huns, we
c. the last victory of Imperial Rome. Br