Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-12-17

too low at the sides. were instantly
covered with arrows, pots Of Greek fire
and a rain Of stones launched by the
enemy. The Turkish ships could not
row under the arrows with which the
water was covered; they fouled each
other, and two took fire. The Turks
became demoralized and. the five ves-
sells, favored by a rising wind, forced
passage through the opposition and
entered the harbor.
ITO the lasting shame of Christian
Europe" says Wallace, "the arrival OF
the five galleys with supplies Of corn
and powder and the victory they
achieved were all Of succor and cheer
permitted the heroic Emperor Con-
stantine." In front Of Constantinople
the big gun continued to hurl immense
stones at its cracked and crumbling
walls. Behind those walls, failures
dissensions, watching and labor, dis
parity in numbers. inferiority in arms.
the ravages Of death and the neglect Of
Christendom, slowly but surely invited
despair.
Mohammed, the day before the final
onslaught, made, according to Lane, in
his Selections from the Koran" the
following speech to his soldiers:
when the will of God is done, then
for such as live, 10! over the walls yon-
der are gold refined and coined, and
gold in vessels, and damsels on silken
couches, their cheeks like roses Of
Damascus their arms whittier and cool
er than lilies, and as pearls laid up
are their eyes, and their bodies sweet
er than musk on the wings Of the
south and in a grove Of palms. With
the gold we can make gardens OF de-
light and the damsels shall be set
down in the gardens. only reserve
for myself the houses when you have
despoiled them and the churches. He
who Is first upon the walls shall have
choice of a province, will make him
governor"
Wounds, death and desertion had
reduced the number of Christian
knights and men of arms to 5000. The
Turks were $4,000 in number They
were goaded by religious fanaticism
and the assurance of booty without
limit. The Christian knights might
have escaped to their ships. They pre-
ferred to remain and die. The Genoese
contingent alone, under the lead OF
Justiniana, abandoned the gates they
had been appointed to guard and fled
to the harbor through a passage In
the walls the great cannon had made.
Through this passage and through the
gates opened by treachery the Turkish
soldiers entered in overwhelming num-
bers. Constantine died fighting, and
Constantinople became a Moslem city.
The promise of Sultan Mohammed
that each soldier should have right
to all property he could seize and all
men and women he could make cap
tives prevented further slaughter.
Houses were pillaged Of valuables by
him who wcs first to enter them. Men
were chained to be sold as slaves, and
women, even the nuns, were reserved
for the harems. The churches were
turned into mosques. The great cathe-
dral of Sancta Sophia was reserved for
Mohammed. Herein the Princess Irene
the legitimate successor to the throne
of Constantine, had taken refuge with
her women. Here Mohammed-ac-
cording to Wallace-placed her upon
throne, recognized her as queen Of
the Greeks, and made treaty of peace
with her. He agreed to divide the
houses of God with her, one-half to be
Christian one-half to be Moslem. The
choice of a patriarch to be subject to
his approval. He further offered her
marriage, making her his sultana, the
marriage to be celebrated according to
both Christian and Moslem rites.
These terms the princess formally ac-
cepted, and for 460 years the banner
of the Crescent has floated above Con-
stantinople.