The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-12-17
THE INSCRUTABLE TURK
REF. MR. MIlCHELL DISCOURsES
 UPON THE TURK AND TURKEY.

Turks Varying power-The Turk his- toricalIy and Morally Considered-Ihe
 Turk and Mohammed edanism-C -Cau,e of tho Downfall of the Turk-Disoour,e in
 Full Delivered at Grand Avenue ConGre-
 Eational Church Last Sunday Evening.
 Who is the Turk? What is Turkey that they should fling the whole civil ized world into consternation and cause three or four ironclads to sail from the coast thousands of miles away of na- tion avoWedly and admittedly without other ambition than that of simple hu manity? Do we realize that the Turk has been doing this same thing, terri flying and horrifying the civilized world for 800 years, doing it yet himself with out one feathers weight more of right to live than a wolf? He (the TurD is one of the most terrible lessons in hu- manity's social life. He has been a nemesis cyclorama of hell, a day of judgment seven days in the week, a selfish, jealous, divided civilization. That is what the Turk is; Turkey is where he happens to camp. He owned Russia POO years; he has pitched his tents before the walls of Vienna three times; he once almost swung the circle of the Mediterranean. His empire still lasts in China and lasted in India till Great Britain overthrow the great mo- gul, corrupted in spelling from the great mougol. This morning, that we may know him better, I want to consider the history of him: this evening the |, in11 1o,e,l h ceeded in bringing sorrow and dismay even to the shores of our own distant and isolated America
 There are ways and ways of writing and studying history Nearly every body has ceased to attach significance to the succession of courts and courtl- CTS, and are searching for those forces working in the hearts of peoples which really make history and of which kings and armies are the Punch and Judy shows. Even if I should select for our purpose this morning a succession of leading events, the latest high school method, should not, I doubt, if many of you would be able to place them in order a month hence. But if l could be so fortunate as to strike out for us a thought, the idea expressed by this Turk, you might carry it a compact bit of working Knowledge to the grave.
 The Turk, as civilization has known him, has been a two-headed monster. He is what he is by nature and by grace-grace of Mohammedanism In him you see the full redeeming power of religion which blind cavaliers like often to compare to the religion of Jesus which a parliament of religions at a worlds fair dared to blaspheme the Son of God and blaspheme common sense by summoning to speak on the same platform with Christianity, as well might hell be summoned to con- ference of angels. The Turks nature antedates his baptism by grace of Mo- hammedanism but Mohammedanism precedes him as historic figure; there fore glance a. moment at Mohammedan- ism. Six centuries after Christ (six is the only figure I try to remember 1n connection with the birth of Mohamme- danism) the Arabian peninsula was in- habited by the tribes of Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar. Some were settled in cities, some dwelt as Bedouins. This people had rich lit erature, a high state of civilization and, strangely enough, religion >of perfect liberty of conscience. The altar of the fire worshipper, the lewis synagogue, and the Christian church rose side by side, and their worshippers, as the wor- shippers of many forms of idolatry, dwelt together in peace. Arabia was the America of that time. Mecca was, however, a sort of center of the relig- ious idea of the whole peninsula, and there in the shrine of the Kaaba was preserved the black stone claimed to have been given tby an angel to Abra- ham.
 Toward the end of this sixth century a man was born of the distinguished tribe who were the guardians of this shrine, who spent an extremely exem- plary youth as a trader and shepherd, finally marrying a very rich widow whose estate he had managed with great success. Possessed now of leis- ure for dreaming and of fervid people nature which enjoyed it, he became ac- customed to withdraw to certain sea- sons to cave near Mecca for solitary reflection. There he declared, and there is no reason at this time to doubt his honesty. the Angel Gabriel appeared to nm anu UlduG IllIIl tllG iGCIpleiII oL ct new revelation, the sum of which was, "There is but one God and Mohammed is His prophet" This religion was not only revealed to him, but he was com manded to teach it, and began as q humble preacher, his wife and friends becoming his first converts. But the powerful guardians of idolatry took of fense We who have long accepted the reality of God do not realize how that proclamation must have disturbed the thousand forms of idolatry. Moham- med was forced to fly for his life, went to Medina and the inhabitants of Med- ina received both himself and his preaching. Here the new faith took it's final impress. Mohammed changed from preacher to warrior and proclaim cd it the will of God that the new faith should be spread by the sword. He be- gan by plundering caravans; warriors fiocked to his standard and in ten years the whole Arab race owned his sway, and were soon pouring oveI their own borders to the conquest of the fairest portions of the earth. One tide overran Palestine; Syria Persia defeated the Ro- man emperors of the east .storming up to the gates of Constantinople; the oc-lx-