Middletown transcript., 1895-06-15

AT Constant j n pl
v'S>esSs"~ fell into the hand
of Sultan Mahomet the Second, seen
but dream! Methinks I have bee
drinking of the wine of remembrance
and can feel it's seething life in m
veins, for in place of the stylus witt
which am writing seem to feel tn
hilt of my good sword which neve
failed me in battle, and in place o
the moaning of the waves as they bea
on the shore l seem to hear the dec
breath of my war steed "Haschid," fo
he, when the din of battle was heart
in the distance, would draw dee]
breaths and pant with excitement
what has wrought this change I know
not, unless it be the scent of vim,
that is borne in to me from the sum
mer air by the breezes from the Medi
terranean; this vine grows about my
small iron window, and it grew in The
gardens of the Great Emperor Con
stantine. Thirty years have passed
since l walked in these gardens, but
tonight, this perfume waited to me
brings back my past so vividly to me
that have the impulse to commit its
story to this parchment.
Thirty years have Iipassed in this
still Monastery on the shores of the
blue Mediterranean, laboring, fasting
and praying, and in that time great
changes have taken place. III that time
the Turk has fortified himself in the
heart of Constantinople and the city
has become a citadel Of the disciples Of
Mahomet the Prophet. Never was
there a change so sudden. One day
Constantinople was a Christian city,
sacred to the worship of the Christian
God,another day and the Mahommedan
had fortified himself in the heart of
the city, Mahomet III and his followers
had entered, the churches were mos
ques, the Muezzins call to prayer
sounded and st. Sophia, that pearl of
all churches, yet shows on one of her
pillars dent made by the sword of
Mahomet II as he rode his foaming
charger at full speed into the heart of
her pomp and beauty, and swore that
she, the gem Of all churches, was con-
secrated forever to the worship of the
Prophet of Islam.
We, the Turks, are a race of war;
riors, strong built, swarthy in COM
plexion and with the endurance of the
blades of Damascus, fbred to the core
with the instincts of warriors, in bat
tie our valor lends US additional
strength and we yield to no foe save
the all-conqueror Death. Our valor
in battle, doubt not, is due in some
to the teachings of Mahomet
the Prophet; his is religion of strife,
and to those who in battle won dom in
ion for the true faith, is promised the
Joys of Paradise. Houris, the charms
Of sweet music and all the delights
and luxuries of the east await the true
soldier of Mahomet, and with these
sure hopes to nerve him arm the Turk
ish soldier is unmindful of present hard
ships. =
In the remote antiquity of central
and eastern Asia two tribes, Mongols
and Turks appear, 1.-THE Scourges of
God" they were called, when they came
from their mountain Businesses and
poured themselves in a flood over
Europe. The Turks under that name
are first heard of in the 9th century,
when they founded an empire and furn-
ished the KbalifS of Arabia and
Persia with troops who supplanted
their leaders, their fair beauty and
martial vigor, endeared themselves to
their leaders, whose body guard they
soon became. AS slaves, as military
aristocracy and as Saljukian Sultans,
the Turks from the 11th to the 18th
century pressed forward and absorbed
the lands that border Oh the Mediter-
ranean, and much of the territory
formerly owned by Arabian and Pei
sian.
About the year 1850 Kay Kubad the
the Saljuk Sultan Of iconium was be-
set by Mongol army and the enemy
was fast gaining the day when body
of Turkish horsemen, commanded by
appeared and flew to the aid
of the weaker party, victory declared for
the Seljuks, neither party knew the
other but it was one of those remarka-
BILE incidents which determine the fate
of nations. Ertogruhl, one of the
Oghuz family of Turks, was journey
ing peacefully from the banks of the
AIdtCo WuOu, Ny CuouOGs uC OduO
upon this battle field of Angora and
the Seljukian Sultan was not slow in
rewarding him, gave him territory and
power and from Ertogruhl sprang the
family of Ottoman Turks of whom it
is predicted that they shall rule for
many centuries and be greater than
any other line in Europe. Note:-
The truth of this prediction is found
in the fact that the reigning Sultan in
Turkey to-day, 1895, is descended from
this Ertogruhl and is the 33d member
Of his family to occupy the Turkish
,hrone). The territory given to Erto-
yruhl by this grateful Sultan formed
part Of the district in which the cradle
If the Ottoman Empire was first se-,I
surely set. -
In 1858 was born Othman, son of |