The Washington times., 1920-05-02

perhaps the Interpretation Of the
Koran would now be taught in the
schools Of Oxford, and her pulpits
might demonstrate TO a circum-
cised people the sanctity and truth
Of the revelation of Mahomet."
Mohammedans, like many other
Semitic peoples, practise circum-
cision.
At the battle of Hastings, 1866,
the Normans, led by William the
Conqueror, illegitimate SON of a
tanners daughter, made them
selves masters Of the British is
lands. II was a fine battle, and
Harold, the Englishman, fought
well, until he was killed, as Eng
lishmen usually do.
In the ninth battle, Joan of Arc
led the French and conquered the
English at the battle Of Orleans.
That was important because II
discouraged English fighting in
France.
The poor girl who gave courage
to the miserable French King was
burned alive by the English after
q religious trial, and the King,
whom she had put on his throne,
lifted not q hand to save her. When
they burned Joan of Arc as q
witch, on the 30th Of May, 1881,
they burned one of the best women
the world has even seen.
Get Michelet's big history Of
France at the public library and
read his chapters of Joan OF Arc.
Next among the fifteen battles
(the book is written by an Eng
lishman) comes the destruction OF
the Spanish fleet, the. armada"
off the coast Of England in 1888.
Drake and other good sailors of
Queen Elizabeth fought well. But
the weather did more than the
English fighting men to destroy
the ungainly Armada.
The sea battle, which defeated
the great fleet sent by a Catholic
King against the Protestant
Queen Elizabeth, ought to inter-
est those that seek to stir up re-
ligious strife as late as 1920.
Creasy's other chosen battles are
the battle of Blenheim, 1704, when
Marlborough, fighting for the Eng
ish, destroyed the power Of Louis
the Fourteenth and the prestige Of
French monarchy and opened the
way for the French revolution.
Children in France still sing about
Marlborough, as children in Ire
land talk Of Cromwell. After Blen-
helm Germany was completely
delivered from France, and the
military ascendancy of the arms
of the allies was completely es.
tablished." The word "allies"
means one thing at one time, an
other thing at another time.
The hattie OF Pultowa marked
the downfall of Sweden as one of
the great powers of Europe. The
influence built up by Charles the
Twelfth, as fierce a fighter as ever
lived, and by Gustavus. "the Lion
of the North" crumbled away.
And Russia became the great
power, all menacing, that recently
went to pieces Of its own accord
and is now coming to life again
with democracy replacing autoc-
racy.
Creasy's thirteenth battle, which
the English patriot perhaps did
not enjoy discussing, is the battle
OF Saratoga. That surrender OF
$500 fighting men at Saratoga was
one of the great battles of the
world, since it changed a little
group of American colonies into
an American nation. Had England
won that war, what would be the
power of the British Empire to-
day? Greater, undoubtedly. than
any that Darius, Alexander or Ma
poleon ever dreamed
The battle Of Valmy and the
battle of Waterloo are the last
two of Creasy's fifteen. The
battle of Waterloo established the
British Empire and the Rothschild
fortune and destroyed history's
last war giant, Napoleon.