Page:The invasion of the Crimea vol. 1.djvu/420

 378 ORIGIN OF THE WAU OF 1853 CHAP. xvi r. The Porte declares war. Warlike spirit of the belligerents. In Russia this hail been fore- stalled. Warlike Ardour of the people In the Otto- man Empire, upon war. A declaration was issued, which made the further continuance of peace dependent upon the evacuation of the Principalities ; and the Rus- sian General there commanding was summoned to withdraw his troops from the invaded provinces, within fifteen days. He did not comply with the demand; and on the 23d of October 1853 the Sultan was placed in a state of war with the Emperor of Russia* But meanwhile the preachers of the Orthodox Church and the preachers of Islam had not been idle. In Russia, the piety and the spirit of the people had been forestalled by the consuming evil of a vast standing army, and crushed down by police and by drill. The Government had already taken so much by sheer compulsion, that the people, however brave and pious, had little more that it was willing to offer up in sacrifice. It was not thus in the Ottoman Empire. Through the vast and scattered dominions of the Sultan, the holy war had not been preached in vain. There, religion and love of country and warlike ardour were blent into one ennobling sentiment, which was strong enough, as was soon shown, to make men arise of their own free will and endure long toil and cruel hardships that they might attain to some battle-field or siege and there face death with joy. And under the counsels and ascend- state of war on the ilk of October, hut, as ahove stated, the 23d was the day. See in the Appendix a note showing this — viz., Note v.
 * There was an idea that Russia and Turkey passed into a