The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-07-30

garments as European lady. Men who can AFFORD
IT, however, wear cloth instead OF cotton, but these
| are rare exceptions. The masses wear also felt
overcoa1s In The winter, shaped something like
| own. Tie nat, however, Is the most characteristic
| article OF Persian costume IL ia a high s,eeple
crown OF black felt, without any RIM towering up
| foot and half above the brow
| The people live mostly on rice and grain and
| dates The rice or crushed wheat is boiled with a
mOrsel OF meat, and, having been saturated with
'ghee," sort OF butter Is called plaf This IL the
same celebrated dish with the name OF which, at
least, the arabian Nights has made us familiar.
The only bread used large, thin cakes of coarse
meal, about foot IN diameter and quarter OF an
inch thick. They are generally warmed before be-
ing eaten, and although dried camel's dung Is the
most common fuel OF the country they are thrown
directly upon the embers. Persian stomach even
in times OF peace and plenty, is not very fasdous.
In the train OF this famine as usual, follows di-
verse forms OF pestllence. How could Is be
otherwisea The writer was In India in
1868 and witnessed some Of the horrors
or the terrible famine which prevailed IN
Ajmere, and which, according to official
Statistics caused 100000 OF deaths No sight on
earth can be pictured more terrible than crowd OF
miserable creatures frenzied by hunger. Spectral
forms stretch forth long, thin arms, with the elbow
joint standing out In bold relief, like huge ball.
and the hand spreading like the roots OF tree, ana
demand IN shrill accents the means OF life. And
such eyes and faces AZ glare at you Years hence
they haunt you In Dreams like some hldeous picture
Oh a madhouse, or u battle field, or an execution.
ANA II you have courage to calmly examine 10 all
their minutir these revolving forms e misery, the
MOST callous heart may well turn sick with disgust
winch Is strangely mingled with terror. In many
cases the victim of starvation takes peculiar form
OF fever-the famine fever. His body breaks out in
ulcers from head to foot and his blood burns In the
fortunes OF living fire. Better far the quick though
repulsive horrors OF the plague than the prolonged
torments that hang In the wake OF great famine.
In Persia already we hear that cholera Is raging
with terrible fury, and that Russia has erected
quarantine barrier upon her frontier. Whispers,
Oo have been heard OF the plague but these are as
yet unconfrmed. IL Is STILL however grave ques-
ZION whether we are not upon the eve or OF those
terrible ami mfra6Nes which stand out in history to
warn us OF the misery which the human race are
now ana then, for some mysterious cause. called
upon to bear. Earthquakes famine. pestilence. I'M
natural seasons-nay, even the pestilence bug in
Canada-seem to point at danger which may, II
care be not exercised TO prevent it, drag u.s. too.
within Its circle OF fear and suffering. We have
long been spared any great national ca.
lamity at the hands OF nalure, and
1t behooves us to watch we'll that the pestlence al
ready engendered by this terrible famine passes not
within our gates. The cholera, we are told, is al
ready breaking out sporadicaly in Poland; and. ere
the summer be sped, II may have marched the
intervening lands, and be eagerly waiting to glide
upon its hideous work OF death into American
homes Let US keep watch and ward while care
and vigilance may still avail to preserve US from
terrible calamity. We are not alarmists; but the
signs Of the times are pregnant with dreadful mean
ing, and 1t is but vain folly to attempt to escape
the EVIL by ignoring Its existence