Charles the Hammer, with his French soldiers, went forth to meet the Moslems, and near Tours he beat them so badly that they never attempted to go farther. So Europe at last was saved from Islam and the Saracens. This battle of Tours was in 732, just 110 years from the time of the Hegira. The Mohammedan religion had only been started 110 years before; yet in this short time the Mohammedans had conquered and converted the whole of the country bordering the Mediterranean from Constantinople all the way round the southern edge and as far up into France as Tours. The people south and east of the Mediterranean are still Mohammedans to-day. 44 Perhaps you have read the “Arabian Nights.” This is the story of Arabian Days The Moslems had tried to get into Europe by the front gate and failed. They had then tried the back gate and failed. Burning tar and oil had stopped them at Constantinople. Charles the Hammer had stopped them at Tours. So Europe was saved from the Moslems and from the Moslem religion of Islam. Yet we may wonder what Europe would have been like if the Moslem Arabs had conquered, for the Arabs were in many ways a great people, and we have learned many things from them. Here are some of the things. The Phenicians invented our alphabet, but the Arabs invented the figures which we use to-day in arithmetic. 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on are called Arabic figures. The Romans used letters instead of figures, V stood for 5, X for 10, C for 100, M for 1000, and so on. Think how difficult it must have been for a Roman boy to add such numbers as IV XII + MC CXII VII ---- They could not be added up in columns as we do. And when you think of multiplying and dividing with Roman numbers, it seems almost impossible, for example: MCMCXVII × XIX Occasionally you may see Roman figures still used--on clock-faces, for instance--but all the figures that you use every day in your arithmetic and that your father uses at the bank or store or office are Arabic figures. Another thing: