The Washington herald., 1912-12-01

Fifteen years ago, Rt the 1877 COM
mencement exercises OF Georgetown Uni
verstty, Daniel William O'Donoghue, of
the class of 81, delivered the bachelor s
grafton. He chose for his subject the
conditions Of the Balkan states and the
relation of Turkey to them. 1t was a
history of what had come to pass, but
in the light of what is now going on in
the Balkan country, the Grafton proved
TO be a prophecy. for it is almost per-
feet description of the condition of af-
fairs at this day.
In all ages there has ever existed on
the Eastern Hemisphere a persevering
conflict between the North and South
the North aggressive; the South defen-
sive-the South ever having the gifts
Of nature to tempt the invader, the
North ever having the multitudes to be
tempted by them. Thus the barbarous
tribes variously known as Scythians,
Huns, Tartars, Monguls. and Turks. IN
stlgated by their rowing habits. th"ir
warIike propensities, and their dlscOm-
forts at home, have poured fort at va
rious times from their fastnesses about
the great Altai Mountains in countless
NUMBERS upon the countries principally
10 the South and West, devastating fields
leveling cities, and massacring the inhab-
itents.
Persia. fought with little success against
the Scythians, and even Alexander of
Macedon, with his phalanxes, made little
impression upon them.
During the early centuries of the Chris
tian era the frightful Huns, under their
fierce leader, Attila, swept down from
the ever-prolifc wilds of Tartary upon
the frightened people of Europe.
Turks Unlike Predecessors.
But like their predecessors, they soon
spent their fury, and were brought into
a sweet subsection by the civilizing in
huences of the South.
Such, however, has not been the his
tory Of the Turks. Certain peculiar in
fuences have modified and changed
their Tartar nature to that which the
Turkish character to-day presents. This
modification was partly due to the CIV
flied people among whom for four CEN
turis they were dispersed, and partly to
the climate and country in which they
settled. But the more direct and effec-
tive instrument of the change they under
went was afforded them on emerging into
the fair and fertile plains of Sogdiana-
A new religion had arisen in Arabia in
the year $40. 1t was the teachings of
the false prophet, Mahomet. His doc
trines, however, were at first rejected by
the people of Mecca, and he himself was
forced to flee for safety to the neighbor-
ing city of Medina.
From this flight, called the Hegira,
dates the beginning or era of Islamism,
which is a varied mixture Of Judaism,
Christianity, old heresies, and the proph-
cts own fancies.
While in Medina he enlisted many fol-
lowers, and finally he became powerful
enough to secure by force of arms his
triumphant return to Mecca. He sur
vived that return only three years; but
within that brief time all Arabia had
submitted to his sway and accepted his
doctrine.
The Saracens in Egypt.
A few years later Damascus and Jeru-
salem fell before the sword Of Islam,
and simultaneously the great Persian
monarchy of the Sassanides, bearing
down with it the religion of Zoroaster,
was completely overthrow on the plains
of Cadersia. The Saracens then overran
Egypt captured Alexandrian Library,
founded by Ptolemy Philadelphus and
restored by Cleopatra, was destroyed.
Like a vast tidal wave, the surge OF
Moslem invasion rolled westward over
Africa to the ocean shores of the Maure-
tania and Spain; northward to the very
gates of Constantinople; eastward to
. the river Indus and the deserts of Turk
estan and Mongolia; a series Of con-
quests absolutely unexampled in the
history of mankind.
II was just one century after the death
of Mahomet when Abd-er-Rahman, al
man OF great capacity and boundless