The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1877-07-12
IsLAms COMINCD oWNFALL.

The approaching fall OF the
Turkish power in Europe cannot
fail to reveal to the student OF
history the period when socalled
prophecy, reiterated in every age
pointed to the fall Of CONSTANT
nople. and the Christian religion
and the time when the victorious
Turk adopted the Byzantine
crescent as the symbol Of Ro-
man imperialism now belonging
TO the Turk. Rome owned the
world and the Osmanlis owned
the Roman Empire. The cres-
cent which blazed over pagan
Byzantium and saved the city
from Philip of Macedon had been
the star of hope of the Eastern
empire, of Christian Rome and
the burning light of the world,
set on a hill, where so long as it
Dlazed undimmed Christianity
was safe. When it went down
in disastrous eclipse, and blazed
out again a Moslem insignium,
the faithful were in despair, and
every city in Europe resounded
with the fatal peal Of the famous
Turk Bell" knelling a fallen re
ligiOn.
But four centuries have passed
by and christianity has spread
over the world. 1t has seen two
Saracenic empires go down, and
one Turkish rule, the Sc ljuh SUI
percededvby the power Of Osman,
and now itl sees the crescent
wane and the,pOwer of Osmanli
crumbling>before the only nation
yet imbued with the enthusiasm
of christianity-the only one ca
pable Of the romance and poetry
necessary to a crusade f3E a relig-
ion and a wal for a sentiment.
The Saracenspower that. sprung
up in the wake Of christianity,
the sole repository of Greek IA
talism and Hebrew mOnotheism,
combined, overspread the East
and established the splendors Of
empire and the sensuality OF
Moslem paradise, and strength Of
military p~owertin the holy city,
lin the Persian empire on the
ruins Of the Indian empire, in the
groves of. Damascus, on the
wreck of Alexander's kingdom in
Asia and in his splendid palaces
on the Nile. Two Saracenic en-
pires flourished-one in Asia, the
other in Spain and Africa, foster
ing luxury, and learning, sloth
and activity, Marahd science, he
roism and sensuality, the spen-
doris of art and the despotic pow
er of a military hierarchy. One
melted before the stern genius
Of Christian power, the other fell
before the impetlious assaults Of
the SelJuk Turks. Thus there
we're side by side an Eastern and
a Western Christian and Moslem
Imperialism. The two Chistian
empires, the Roman Of the East
md the West, were on the wane,
long declining. The two Saracen
empires, grew and faded and fell
while the two Roman empires
still stood. Upon the ruins Of
the two Western empires were
built CHRISTIAN civilizations. The
Seljuk commenced the empire Of
Islam in the East and Osman
built it complete on the ruin of
the Seljuk dyna t and the debris
Of the Eastern Rome. 49,
On that fatal night. when Con
stantinqple fell, and John Pale-
ologus, the last of the great EN-
perors, fell through cowardice
and treachery, the light went out
in all Christendom, and the Turks
carried his own almost where he
would, and the fatal j%anizaries
held the East ravaged the West,
to the very walls Of Vienna. For
tunately, with success and unlim-
tied power came speedy disease,
and decay set in from that. ti're.
Instead Of increasinS4to the full
orb, the blazing crescent began
TO wane toward the dark noon,
and Christian hopes to revive.
Until now the ellete barbarism of
Islam is about to sink under the
power of the barbaric Russ, the
only fit instrument for the entire
destruction of modern imperial
ism. Islam has ruled the East
and worried the West for a thous-
and years. For three centuries
it has been on the downward
slope, in the agonies of the death
struggle, and all civilized people
and Christian nations who hold
ION Turkish bonds, will be glad to
bid tia final farewell, and see
the crescent go down in ahblare
Iof fireworks, destroyed by the
military art and science Of civil
zatiOn of Christianity.-Ameri-
can.