invitation from the Franks in Gaal to settle their domestic broils; and indignation at the refusal of the hand of Honoria, the sister of the reigning emperor of the West. Attila summoned his vassals from the remote parts of his extensive dominions, and began his pompous march towards Gaul. He led an innumerable host across the Rhine, entered the Belgic provinces, and penetrated into the heart of Gaul. Every excess of cruelty marked his progress; lamentation, misery, and death attended his steps; and the vestiges of his invasion long remained. Gaul was then in the hands of the Visigoths and Franks; numbers also of the Alani and Huns had been settled on the frontiers by the policy of the Roman general and minister, Etius. The Roman government still nominally asserted a right to this province, but its influence over the rude barbarians was very feeble. The inhabitants of Gaul were unprepared for this sudden attack, and Attila advanced rapidly without meeting any effectual resistance. He finally sat down before Orleans, and so vigorously battered the walls. of this fortress, that it was upon the point of yielding to his assaults. The pious bishop Anianus looked to the Almighty for aid; he exhorted the people who were unable to bear arms, to join in imploring of God deliverance from their savage enemy. With this firm reliance on Divine help, he sent out a watchman to observe whether the long expected armies of the Romans and Visigoths were approaching. Twice the messenger returned with the sad tidings that no relief was visible, but at the third time he discerned something like the appearance of a small cloud at the extremity of the horizon. "It is the aid of God!" exclaimed the bishop, and the multitude repeated his words. Soon the Roman and Gothic banners were descried, and the combined armies, under the command of Etius aud Theodoric, advanced to the relief of the city. Attila immediately raised the siege, and retired to the plain of Châlons to collect his troops and give battle. Never before had that bloody warrior encountered so formidable a host for, conscious that if they should be defeated, no safety would remain for them in flight, and that the last hope of liberty in Europe would expire with them, they fought with the courage of despair. Etius himself was a consummate general, well acquainted with the character of the Huns, having been a hostage in their camp, and gained their admiration by his virtues. The Visigoths, a warlike race, fought for existence; for if their ranks were broken, they would hope in vain for an honorable peace, that should secure them in their own possessions. Attila also was fully aware of the fearful encounter which must ensue; he therefore animated his troops in an oration to redouble their efforts and maintain their former glory. The battle began-a battle almost without a parallel in history. The centre of the combined army was broken through, the Gothic king was slain, and Attila already exulted in the victory as his own, when Torismond, the valiant son of the fallen king, rushed down from a hill which he had occupied, attacked the Huns with resistless fury, threw their army into consternation, and compelled Attila to retreat with dreadful loss. According to Isidore, 300,000 slain were strewed upon the field of battle. The Huns retired behind their wagons, resolved to burn themselves with their rich booty, if this intrenchment should be forced. The victors did not deem it expedient to force the lion's den, but withdrew their troops, and Attila retreated in sullen silence into Germany, followed by the hostile Franks, in the year 451. The ensuing spring he again demanded the hand of Honoria, and to enforce his claim, invaded Italy with a powerful army. Aquileia first felt the vengeance of the indignant chief; after a siege of three months he reduced the city, and leveled it entirely with the ground. It was his boast that the grass never grew on the spot where his horse once trod. Many cities during his march underwent the same fate, and Italy was doomed to share in the same calamity which had reduced the northern provinces of the Byzantine empire to a desert. In Milan, Attila was offended with a church picture representing the Cæsars seated on their throne, and the princes of Scythia prostrate at their feet. He immediately had the picture reversed; the emperors were represented as emptying their bags of tributary gold before the throne of the Scythian monarch. The unwarlike and trembling Italians fled in consternation before the victorious troops of the invaders; they took refuge on the islands of the Adriatic, and there laid the foundations of the future Venice. Roine was threatened by the insolent victor, but Leo, the pope, met Attila on his march, and for the time deprecated his wrath. Though the Romans were not sparing of promises and bribes, Attila would have executed his threat of laying Italy waste, if the hand of death had not arrested him in his career, in 463. Thus disappeared from the earth a monster, whom the Almighty having sent to scourge the nations, again recalled from his bloody work. His body was exposed in the open air under a silken pavilion: his guards wheeled around it, chanting a funeral song, cutting off their hair and gashing their faces. They laid him in a triple coffin of gold, silver, and iron, buried him during the silence of night, and massacred the slaves who dug the grave, lest the spot should be discovered. His death was the signal for a general revolt or disunion of all the tribes which had bowed under his rod. In vain did Dengisich, his son, endeavor to support the tottering fabric raised by his father; he was slain in a battle with the Greeks, and his head exposed to the delighted populace in the hippodrome at Constantinople. His brother Irnac deemed it prudent to retreat to the Caspian, the ancient abodes of his forefathers, where he was soon overwhelmed by new swarms from Scythia. Some of the hordes amalgamated with other barbarian tribes, or entered the ranks of the Byzantine army, and fought under Belisarius in Africa and Sicily. The same love of rapine led forth the Igouns from the icy deserts of Siberia, who in their turn overwhelmed the Huns and extinguished their short-lived empire. But the once dreaded name is still preserved in the appellation of the former Pannonia, which though repeatedly subjugated by hostile tribes, still retains the naine of Hun gary. The descendants of the Huns are known under the modern name of Calmucks, a feeble though numerous race, humbled under the lash of the Russians, and in Soungaria under the bamboo of the Chinese. They can never again rise to importance, or endanger the peace of Europe. Russia rears an effectual barrier against all incroachments from these barbarians; and they may now expect to reap the fruits of the invasions of their forefathers, in becoming themselves the subjects of civilized nations. China has once sent us swarms of fierce barbarians, endangering the existence of our ancestors. Europeans will not forget this, but let them meditate the noble revenge of imparting for barbarism, civilization; for heathenism, the blessings of the glorious gospel. ART. III. Penang: description of the island; its population, &c.: PULO Penang, or the Island of Betel-nut, is situated off the west In 1805, the colony having risen in importance, the Company determined to constitute it a regular government, subordinate only to the governor-general of India; but on account of the enormous expense incurred by the establishment, some modifications have since taken place. In 1830, it ceased being a regular government, and has become a residency, under the Bengal government. The same has taken place with Singapore and Malacca. There is a resident (a governor nominally,) over the three settlements, and a deputy resident, or resident counselor, at each place. There is a court of judicature and a recorder for the whole, consequently the judge must go on circuit at stated times to each settlement. The population of Penang, according to the last census ending 1833, amounted to 40,322 souls; and on the opposite shore or Wellesley province, to 44,953. The late Dr. Ward, in his work respecting Penang, gives a description of the range of hills already noticed, which is in substance as follows: The western hill is the highest, and rises 2574 feet above the level of the sea. The next is Bel Retiro, or the Government Hill, on which are erected two large bungalows, connected together by a covered plank passage. The hill is eight miles from Georgetown, and the temperature 10° lower than in the valley. On the same range, and at short distances are four distinct bungalows, viz., Mount Hygeia, or Convalescent hill; Woodland Brae or the Doctor's house; Strawberry hill formerly the property of the late honorable John Macalister, and now the property of C. Galastawn, esq.; near to which is Belle Vue, commonly called Halliburton's bungalow. The next range consists of the Pentlands; viz. Lansdowne, 1800 feet high; Sans Town, 1580, a bungalow on each hill, the property of the hon'ble R. Ibbetson. Belmont is 1650 feet high with a substantial brick house, erected by the late David Brown esq.; temperature 8° lower than in the valley, and especially excels all the others in equability of temperature from the wind being totally unobstructed in every direction. Mount Elvira rises 2370 feet above the level of the sea, and has a large substantial house, erected by the late Rev. R. T. Hutchings, chaplain. These hills afford fine retreats for invalids in a convalescent state, and the climates are very salubrious. Mount Olivia is 620 feet high, and has a brick house erected on it. Highlands of Scotland, 1428 feet high, with two excellent bungalows erected. These hills are all in a state of high cultivation with spice trees which flourish well, and produce much fruit. Mount Erskine is 350 feet high, and had formerly a signal staff upon it, being on the edge of the sea. Captain Low's hill is 870 feet high, in a state of good cultivation; also a hill, the property of George Stuart, esq., and another belonging to Hugh Scott, esq. There is of course a considerable outlay in the first instance in cultivating the Penang hills, and which no one can attempt without a capital, but when the trees are productive, the outlay with profit is realized. In giving a brief statement of this mission, it may be necessary to observe that the directors of the London Missionary Society had for several years been desirous to send missionaries to this island, but were unable (except in a preliminary point of view,) to accomplish their wishes till the year 1819, when two missionaries were permanently appointed to the station, viz, Mr. Thomas Beighton for the Malay department, and Mr. John Ince for Chinese. The former with Mrs. B. and child arrived in April, and were joined by Mr. and Mrs. Ince and child, in the June following. Mr. Medhurst had, by a previous visit at the instance of the late Dr. Milne, commenced two schools in Chinese, and had otherwise made arrangements for the Society's immediate occupation of the station. The late honorable Colonel Bannerman was at that time at the head of the Penang government, and previous to his leaving England, had promised the treasurer of the Society, W. A. Hankey, esq., that he would afford to any missionaries the Directors might appoint to Penang, every encouragement and assistance in his power; which promise he repeated, and also fulfilled after his arrival at the seat of his government. The missionaries, however, were only favored with his patronage for few months, as the king of terrors laid him low in the silent grave. The mission commenced under very auspicious circumstances so far as the government was concerned. A monthly allowance of $30 was granted in aid of native schools, which was afterwards sanctioned by the honorable Court of Directors, and is continued to the present time. The first thing that was attempted in direct missionary work was the establishment of schools in the Chinese and Malay languages. One of the brethren, as already noticed, attended to the former, and the other to the latter language. While superintending the schools, and studying the native tongue of the people, they distributed among them many copies of the Scriptures and religious tracts. The Malay missionary could never discover that a single copy of the New Testament had ever before been seen or read by any Malays on the island; and frequently when offering the bread of life, it was rejected with the utmost contempt. The people were sunk in gross darkness, error and superstition. It is true there were some copies of the Malay Testament on the island, but they had not been distributed, and were handed over to the missionaries for that purpose. Considering the degraded and prejudiced state of the Malay population, it might naturally be expected that great obstacles would be thrown in the way of establishing mission schools among them, and so it was. Their own system of education is very defective, and as the scholars are only taught to pronounce or repeat like parrots, sentences in Arabic, chiefly from the Koran, they often leave the school as ignorant of their own language, so far as the reading and writing of it are concerned, as when they entered it. The first attempt, therefore, to establish a native school on different principles from their own, met with considerable opposition, and very erroneous reports were put in circulation. It was rumored that the object was to entrap the children and take them ultimately to some other part of the world, and probably make slaves of them. To counteract this report, a written document was circulated in Malay, denying such an intention altogether, and stating that if the parents would apply to the white man, viz., the missionary, he would explain the affair. After a little time and patience, the report in some measure died away, and the schools already commenced seemed to go on in peace, when another difficulty arose. It was found quite impracticable in |