Attila, King of The Huns

1915

Warrior-Barbarian Who Ravaged a Great Part of Europe in the Fifth Century

"Like the Huns under Attila" is a phrase which is on everybody's lips at the present time. Yet comparatively few people know by whom it was first used, or understand the reference.

It was with these words that the Kaiser bid farewell to his troops when they were dispatched to China to help put down the Boxer rising: "Gain a reputation like the Huns under Attila," he told them, says London Tit-Bits. The significance of the advice will be appreciated when it is realized that Attila was a barbaric chief whose ravages in Europe about the beginning of the fifth century gained for him the name of "the Scourge of God."

The leader of countless hordes of Huns, who were a Mongol race which crossed the Volga and struck terror into Europe, he was regarded by his men with superstitious reverence and by Christendom with superstitious dread. Among the acts which were committed by his direction were the following:

Bleda, his brother and co-chieftain, put to death.

All the countries between the Black sea and the Mediterranean devastated and pillaged.

Thrace, Macedon and Greece overrun, and 70 flourishing cities devastated.

Several cities in Italy razed to the ground and their inhabitants put to the sword.

Conquered peoples either killed or forced to follow in his train as prisoners.

Yet for all this ruthlessness Attila was a magnificent soldier and a striking personality. He was induced to spare Rome from destruction by the personal mediation of Pope Leo I, who is said to have subdued his ferocity into awe by the apostolic majesty of his mien. This deliverance was regarded as a miracle by the affrighted Romans, and old chroniclers relate that the Apostles Peter and Paul appeared in Attila's camp and changed his purpose.

Attila died on the night of his marriage with the beautiful Hilda — possibly by her hand. His death spread consternation through the host of Huns, who cut themselves with knives, shaved their heads and then prepared to celebrate the funeral rites of their king.

His body was placed in three coffins — the first of gold, the second of silver and the third of iron. The caparisons of his horses with his arms and ornaments were buried with him, while the captives employed to make his grave were all put to death so that none might betray the last resting place of Attila, king of the Huns.

Note: In World War I reporting, the Germans were frequently called the "Huns."

Picked Personals — "Oscar Wilde Has Grown Thin"

1888

PICKED PERSONALS

The Pope is a careful reader of the daily papers.

Bronson Alcott left a diary that fills fifty-seven large bound volumes.

According to a report the Presbyterian scruples of Mrs. Cleveland prevent her visiting any theatrical entertainment save the opera.

Oscar Wilde has grown thin since he began to edit a woman's magazine. His contributors are all women, and so are his subscribers.

—St. Joseph Herald, St. Joseph, MI, April 14, 1888, p. 4.


Preserving Live Fish

1888

A Discovery of Great Use to Shippers and Sportsmen

A new method of preserving live fish, which seems to depend upon some phenomenon that it is at present difficult to explain, has been patented in America. The discoverer is Mr. W. G. Murphy, of New York City, who found, from numerous experiments, that fish can be kept alive for a long time without either change of air or water, by placing them in a vessel partly filled with water, but hermetically sealed.

Fish so placed in a closed jar were found alive and apparently in good health at the end of three weeks' confinement; while fish placed at the same time in an open jar of water all died within forty-eight hours. It was also found that when the air in the jar containing the fish and water was compressed, their life was still further prolonged. It has been suggested that the reason for these strange results lies in the fact that the water in the jar which is hermetically sealed does not undergo such rapid changes as water left in an open vessel.

The discovery is one which will be of very great use in the carriage and transportation of fish. Sportsmen, too, will appreciate a method which will permit them to carry live bait for an indefinite period. — Chambers' Journal.