TURKISH INVESIONS OF EUROPE IN 1670-83.

Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette, Issue 3, 20 October 1877, Page 4

TURKISH INVESIONS OF EUROPE IN 1670-83.

(From the ' Contemporary Review.) (Continued from our la»t issue.) Again in 1863, however, the indefatigable Porte prepared for another invasion, as a preliminary to whieh the sultan recognised Count Tekli as prince of Hungary under hifl vassalage, while a confederation of Christian states, Transylvania, Wallachia, Hungary, and the Ukraine, under hi* protectorate, reached from the Danube to the Carpathian .Mountains. The tide of war was evidently now to l»e turned on Austria. Tl tnperor tcok fright, but it was in vain that he sought help in his peril. France was his deadly enemy ; the elector of Bradenburg rejoiced in his humiliation; a child of nine years old, afterwards to be known as Peter the Great, reigned in Russia. Poland only remained; Leopold had treated Sobieaki as a personal enemy ; he had refused all help in the perils of Poland, but now he literally implored the king to conic to his assistance, and the Austrian envoy positively Hung himself at his feet in the fervency of his entreaties. It was difficult to say whether Leopold was meanest in adversity or prosperity. Sobicski now indeed commanded the position, and his alliance was sought on all sides, Louis XIV. offered his aid in securing the inheritance of Poland for his son, and promised to assist him in obtaining Hungary for himself. Leopold had recourse to the great argument of the house of Austria in all times, the hand of an archduchess for the young prince, his son ; Mahomet solicited his friendship, and declared that the armaments he was preparing were not intended to be used against him.

Sobieski refused all offers for himself, and, after long considering what would be most advantageous to Ids country, threw in his lot with the empire. He did his best to persuade Leopold to treat the Hungarians with fairness, if only to detach them from the Porte, hut with small success, Leopold could not do the right, even when it was his interest. At length it was announced that the sultan and his grand vizier, Kar Mustapha, were marching from 'Constantinople, where the standard of Mahomet had been unfurled with great pomp at the Seraglio. The whole of Europe and Asia teemed to he> in movement; Christianity and Islamism, civilization and barbarism, were preparing for a decisive battle. The first blow was to he struck on Austria, the second on Italy, "The vizier will never he satisfied till ho has sullied the h,>rs<'s of the sultan in the Basilica of St. Peter," said one of the defenders of Candia.

The Turkish preparations had lasted nearly seven years, and were equally gigantic and minute. All the provinces had furnished their contingents of soldiers from the Euphrates and the Nile ; whole Arab tribes, Kourds,

lelukes, Greeks, Albanians, and

Tartars, were marching under the same Hag. The merchant vessel of all nations which came within reach were seized to bring munitions of war from Smyrna, Aleppo, and Alexandria ; two thousand camels had been employed for two years in the transport of corn, etc., from the vEgean Sea to the Danube; the river itself wits covered witli boats; ten thousand waggons were collected to convey stores through Hungary, which began to sutler under the burden of her ally as much as under that of her oppressor.

Sobieski would have made any efforts to detach Hungary from the Turks, and had an interview with Tekeli, but without success, a.s he could give no pledges for Leopold's good faith. He made an alliance with Sweden, and the Ukraine, and attempted negotiations with the czar, with Persia, Venice, and Louis XIV. His cabinet was said to lie the best served in Europe, the East was open tolas spies, and he had friends even in the Divan ; and he now warned the emperor tint the Porte was marching on Vienna, and that the suburbs ought to be demolished lest they should afford shelter to the enemy ; but Leopold judged bis defender by himself, mistrusted him, and refused to follow bis counsels. Between Belgrade and Hilda the sultan stopped, and confided to Kar Mustapha with great pomp the doublo aigrette of heron's feathers, the golden robe and quiver of diamonds, signs of sovereign power, and the standard of Mahomet, an emblem that the contest was in the cause of Islam. He then returned to his beloved chase, where thousands of men were employed in driving game, on the slopes of "the Balkan.

Louis XIV., * utterly regardless of anything but his own "fancied interest and pique against the empire, chose the opportunity of making an alliance with Tekeli, ami sent his fleet to the Baltic to attack the allien of the emperor. Sobieski was therefore obliged to divide his troops, while Leopold could only collect thirty thousand men on the

* Amour the multitude of petty meanneMoi to which tlic great Louie oondawwnded whs a letter which Bo mote to Tekeliatthii time. In describing the ldc~siiig which Intel been riven to Hungary, he proiied the entire liberty of religion which wa enjoyed there. In the snnie official " (lunette," appeared u declaration 'that the property »f any Protestant who bad esoaped from the kingdom would be coutisciitea, and all contract* they had entered into annulled. The gorernor of I'oitou, in the sumo paper, announced that he hint mudo 39,8-I'J conver«ion«. adding nn edict by which any »f the "converts" found entering a Protectant

Danube, and even threw every otutruction in the way of his deliverer, lint the cause was everything in Bobleeki'l eyes, and with a magnanimous disregard of all |>crsonal feelings he devoted himself to what he considered to be his dutv.

The last series of letters to his wife begins in August, 16.53. Marie Ca-simire was a bad, ambitious, intriguing Frenchwoman, intent only on her own aggrandizement and her own pleasure, who used and abused her influence over her hen) in the worst way and for the most selfish ends. In spite, however, of her continual provocations, he continued faithful to her until the end of his life. " Mon incomparable," he continually calls her in his letters, which all began " Scale joie de mon ame, charinante, et bien aimce Marietta," They are often dated in the middle of the night; in spite of the fatigue and anxiety he was enduring, and of his sufferings from acute rheumatism, he never fails to sacrifice the rest so necessary to him, to sending off long and entertaining letters to his exacting and selfish wife, who complains of his not writing enough, ami of what he writes, with singular cynicism. She forgets to give him important information which ho asks her for, to convey his orders, even to date her letters, while she sends him all the injurious gossip she can pick up, intrigues with his enemies, and publishes letters he has desired to be kept secret. " You finish by telling me, dear heart, that you are very discontented with me. Yet I tell you everything in my letters. It is my fate. What consolation do I get in my troubles ? I try and unravel something pleasant in your cyphers and to find some comfort from my heart, and get only the old and eternal complaints [he writes pitifully].

The difficulty we have had in crossing the Danube at three in the morning opposite the Turkish camp was immense ; the bridges broke down under the weight of artillery and baggage waggons; we had to seek out fords, which we found luckily on the smaller branches of the river, but the current was too rapid in the main stream ; there is no river which can compare with the Danube in violence. After this important passage we have had to cross a line of mountains, or, more strictly speaking, to climb them. A furious wind blew straight into our teeth; it seemed as if the "powers of the air" were unchaned against us ; the vizier is said to lie a great magician ! We had left our baggage behind us, and I have only with me two light carts ; since Friday we have neither eaten nor slept—more than the horses. We can see from here the immense camp of the Turks and the town of Vienna in the distance, but we are separated from it by forests, precipices, and a very big mountain, of which no one told us a word. The horses have nothing to eat hut the leaves of the trees; we have neither food nor forage [which had been promised but never furnished by the emperor]. Humanly speaking, however, and pitting all our trust in God, I must believe that the chief of an army who, like the grand vizier, has not thought of entrenching himself or collecting his scattered troops, but has encamped there as if he were a hundred miles off, is predestined to be beaten.

I passed the night on the extreme right; we could see the whole Turkish camp, and the noise of the cannon prevented all sleep. This letter is my eighth ; it has taken me till daylight." At last the emperor discovered a remedy for the fearful state of affairs :

" it was forbidden, under pain of death to speak of ' present circumstances'! " as they were euphuistically called at Vienna. The march of Kar Mustapha had been a stroke of genius; in those days an army generally last much time during a campaign by attempting to subdue the strong places, while he aimed straight at the heart of the country, threw his bridges of boats across the Danube, and appeared before Vienna in the shortest possible time. The fortifications of the town had been much neglected, and there were but few troops to man them. In twenty-four hours the emperor became aware of the approach of the Turks by harsher signs than words ; he took flight immediately by night, with all Ids court and family, having his cousin, the Duke of Lorraine, to do his best in defending the kingdom —the same prince who had contested the throne of Poland with Sobieski, and now acted with great loyalty towards him. For four days the enormous crescent of the enemy was seen forming round the city, with an extraordinarynoi.se of hells, trombones, and cymbals ; tents, horsetails without number, troops of camels and mules, armies of bullocks and sheep going to drink at the Danube, the tent of executions, which, as usual, was placed in the most conspicuous position, could all lx> lean from the walls. At night the watch-fires and lanterns all over the camp lighted up the sky, the noise of artillery never ceased, and the cries of the muezzin Summoning the Moslems to prayer made all sleep impossible.

Hut the vizier, instead of carrying the town, r.h he could have done, bya •> co U p de main," was afraid of losing the valuable booty of Vienna by ftre,andfVe eonKUineil the whole mouth of August Striving to reduce the city hy famine, and thud lost his prize. Surrouuded by his harem, his one hundred ami Jifty valets, even his menagerie, he spent his time in his tents of silk and gold, which covered a larger extent than the town of Kudu, and refused to believe iu the advance of Sobleski

Suddenly he hoard thai the king wan upon him, when n' panic terror took

MMMloa <if tin' aniiy—a bad prepara lion for tin- mxt day's work.

At eight in tie- morning the action began. Sobieski and his allies defended from the hills in live columns, like greet torrents, and were met at first by the Sjiahis. who, being on horseback, became embarrassed in the broken ground, the narrow lanes, vineyards, and woods which surrounded Vienna, and gave way on all sides. The defenders of the city took courage and tired from the walls, while Kar Mustapha, still not believing in the imminence of his danger attempted to continue the battle with the town before him, at the same time that he marched himself to the rear, to meet King John, now at the head of seventy thousand men, the finest army lie hail ever commanded, eighteen thousand of whom were Poles.

The heat was intense. The Christian army stopped for a moment to eat, without, however, putting down their muskets and lances; then in a great semicircle the allied force continued its march, Sobieski passing from column to column, encouraging the troops, and speaking to each in the language of their country.

The Turks had profited by this halt to form a new line on the glacis of the camp. The vizier commanded here in person, with all his l>cst troops ; the king was in front. It was nearly live o'clock, and the work before them seemed too great an undertaking for tired men ; he. determined therefore to sleep on the field, and put off the battle till the next day. The grand vizier, in his contempt for the Christians, and his indomitable pride, treated the whole matter so lightly that at this moment hi! retired to his crimson tent, to drink coffee with his sons.

At the sight, the king's choler rose; although his infantry had not yet marched up, he pointed two or three cannon upon the tent; ami the ammunition having not yet arrived, a French officer stuned into one gun his gloves, his wig, and a packet of "Gazettes de France " which he had with him. Sobieski, as soon as his troops appeared, ordered them to take a neighboring height. Kar Mustapha in defending himself left his Hanks hare, the whole line was troubled. The king cried aloud that the enemy was lost, and surrounded by his squadrons, distinguished afar by his brilliant aigrette, his bow, his golden quiver, and the magnificent buckler carried before him, lie rushed straight on flic crimson tent, crying, "Non nobis, Domine exereituum, sed nomini tuo des gloriam." Tho Tartars and Spa his recognized him and drew back. The name of the king of Poland ran through the ranks. "By Allah, the king is with them," repeated they. An eclipse of the moon made the "crescent" grow pale in the sky, and appeared to the excited armies as an omen from on high. " Heaven is against us," cried the Turks.

The vizier, at last, after trying to rally his troops in vain, was obliged to take flight himself, weeping, it was said, bitterly. Sohieski's next letter is dated "from the tents of the vizier in the night."

"God lie praised; he has given our nation such a victory as lias never been known in any former century. All the artillery, the camp of the Mussulmans, infinite riches, have fallen into our hands. The victory has hern so sudden and extraordinary that in the town as in the camp there have been constant alarms that the enemy was returning upon us. They have left powder and munitions t*> the value of a million of florins, but half of this wax set fire to and the explosions were like the last judgment.

The vizierabandonedeverything except his coat ami his horse, i have constituted myself his heir. The private tents alone cover a.s much space as Warsaw. I have sent the great standard to the pope, hut have hardly had time to look at the multitude of rich tents, superb equipages, and a thousand beautiful and costly trifles, such a.s quivers mounted with rubies and sapphires, which are said to he worth thousands of ducats.

Night put an end to the pursuit, for the Turks defended themselves desperately. They made the finest possible retreat The Janissaries were forgotten in the trenches, and were all cut to pieces. Such was their pride and presumption that one part of the army was assaulting the town while the other gave us battle, and their forces were enough for both. Without the Tartars I believe they amounted to three hundred thousand men. One hundred thousand tents were counted. In flying they left a number of captives, particularly women, after having massacred as many as they could. Many were killed, but also many were only wounded and may recover. I saw yesterdav u charming little hoy of three years old whose head one" of these cowards had split open from the mouth. It is impossible to describe the refinements of luxury which the vizier had collected in his tents—baths, little gardorus with fountains, even hj rabbitwarren . . . He had taken possession

of u lino ostrich found in one of the emperor 1 ! country houses, but I ut off its head that it not fall again into the hands of the Christians ... I have boon in to see the town; it could not have held out five more days. The imperial palace is honey-combed with bullets, tin' li.'istions in a ti-iril>Jc Mute with great pieces of wills about to fall over, like masses of rock, All the troops of tin' allies have done their duty well ; they attribute the victory to God and to us. Tin' greatest shook of the battle was ju i opposite where I was, in front of the

.izicr; and at the tiwmfnt tie enemy •>egan to yield, the elector of Bavaria, die prince of WaMeek, afid the other generals crowded round me embracing me, the soldiers and officer) on foot and horse-back crying, 'Our brave king!' ami kissing my feet. In the town they called me their "saviour." I went into two churches, where the people kissed my hands and bet. and coat, crying. Let us touch your victorious hands. " He doth not mention the text of a sermon preached in Vienna on that day — " There was a man sent by tied, and his name was John.''

" But the day is just lieginning to break, and I must finish this letter. Cod is indeed great. Let us render glory and honor to him for it now and f.r ever. I cannot longer enjoy this pleasant

' tete-a-tete ' with you. We have lost n great number of men, but we shall march to-day to pursue the enemy into Hungary : the electors say they will accompany me. The heat is most oppressive.

The princes of Bavaria and Saxony will follow me to the end of the world, but we must get over the first two miles quickly, for the smell and infection fi i so large a number of corpses of men, horses, and camels, is insupportable. The emperor is a mile and a half away. 1 perceive that lie has no great wish to see me, so I shall make room for him, and am very glad to escape all the ceremonies that arc going to take place in Vienna.

To-day we are pushing on, but I feel sure tliat the Germans will not budge. 1 have sent the elector of Saxony, as a remembrance, two richly caparisoned horses, two Turkish standards, etc., etc He has gone back with his army after having expressed his resentment "against the emperor very vehemently.

Sept. 17. —I have had my interview with the emperor yesterday. " He arrived at Vienna some hours after my departure. Not expecting to see him after so many delays, 1 sent him, as a compliment in memory of our victory, one of the standards of the vizier,"

Leopold had taken every pains to show that he felt no gratitude to or interest in bis deliverer, but finding that Sobieski had literally begun his march from Vienna, he sent an awkward message to him intimating that he did not know how etiquette would allow him to receive an elected king. When the dilemma was laid before Charles of Lorraine, he replied, " With open anus if he has saved tl mpire '." But Sobieski dues not mention this little passage at arms. " I proposed that we should meet on horse-back, 1 in front of my army, he before his and his capital. "l need not describe him to you; his appearance is well known ; he wore an embroidered surcoat and a hat with white and red plum.--. I made my compliments in Latin in a very few words. He replied in the same way. [Sobieski again does not give his answer to the emperor's cold and awkward address—" 1 am very glad, sire, to have rendered you this little service."] I presented my son ; the emperordid not even put his hand to his cap. To avoid scandal I said a few words more to him, and then turned my horse; we saluted, and J went back to my camp. He then went on to look at our army with the palatine of Russia, but our people are extremely piqued, and complain openly that the emperor did not deign to thank them for all the privations and pains they have endured, even by salutin« them.

Our sick have nothing but dun" to lie on; the wounded, of wl there are a great number, cannot obtain boats to go down the rive,- to Presburg, where I could haw them nursed at mv own cost. They refuse to allow our dead to be buried in the cemeteries of Vienna, even the superior officers. They pillage our baggage and carry away tho horses following us. A German dragoon struck one of my pages on the face and brought blood, at four steps from me ; another tore away my cloak from one of unpeople. Some of my body-guard, left near the Turkish cannon we have token, lost their cloaks, their clothes, and their horses. We have never been in such bail case, and if it had not been for the oats found in the Turkish camp we should have lost all the horses; the misery is so great everywhere that it is difficult to find a truss of hay or any fresh grass ; bare fields is all that remain after the passage of these clouds of pagans. Several of our men have pressed into the town to find some food, as we are dying of hunger in tho country, the commandant gave orders to tire upon them. After such a battle, where, we have lost so many men, and officers of our highest families, we are to lose our horses and baggage, and to be left to perish of misery. Wo are treated as if we had the plague, while before the battle mv tents, which, thank God, are spacious enough, could not contain the crowds. We aro marching on a still greater famine, but I want to get away from this town of Vienna, where they fire on our peoplo Bit tell no of these subjects of com-plaints-the old adage says, " Qui „„ , sll j t cacherson ennuiapprctea lire a i'ennemi," We are like flic Israelites by the waters of Babylon, we weep the loss of our horses, the ingratitude of those we have saved, and so many chances of success thrown away,

Sept, IN. We are onlv (lire.- miles from Presburg. The roads are full of corpses. „t one of the fords of the river the Turks lost nearly two thousand men. killed partly by our people, partly by the peasants. The Columns have not st'iried from Vienna,

It hai been hinted to bm by tl» imperial equerry thai 1 ihoulddo weilfc offer BOOM tine saddlc-lioiscs to the emperor. This isa very pretty eompliiiinit when I have hardly any for myself, but 1 shall try and ne whether any oan be found in the army, as it is my fete to have to oblige everybody and to have nothing to expect except from God. It is not the least extraordinary thing we have experienced that we do not know what is going to become of us. It would only have been right, I think, to ask me how I intend to go on with the war, but they have no communication with me. If they would at least declare frankly tliiit they did not want us any more, I should In- free to go where I please. The Turks are inarching day and night in a straight line on Belgrade, where is the sultan, abandoning their baggage at the defiles or river-tori's.

The soldiers and officers are suffering from fever and dyscntry, brought on by fatigue, the want of nourishment, and the excessive heat. The Duko of Lorraine comes often to see me; 'le pauvre diable' has neither spoils from the enemy nor honors from the emperor." Ingratitude was the order of the day at Vienna, and generals, feudatories, and allies vveiv all treated with the same coldness. (to BK CONTINUED.)