New-York tribune., 1883-11-05
NEW PUBLICATIONS.

No oman
4raveI bv anv fear that because the journey was
,s~.oi,en For nurposes Of scientific investigation
- - or. drvlv technical Though the author
10 - ,,orit rare in travellers of knowing the
~ everything he sees, to tell that name Is not
tis obies object A happy combination OF technlcal
lpowledge and poetic feeling has produced an eh
ooedinolv brilliant book. He tells us incldentaIly
and in n naive and frank way enough aoouV hnISeh
.pd his life to enable us to see why he Is snch an
engaging traveller. This journey OF SIX mohths !ls
5uration was performed in the winter OF 1851 o.
He was then forty-eight years OLD, ana hao ooen
since twenty five accustomed TO making prolohse"
excursions but up to this time had no opportunity
of studyng the tropics. His great reputatoh' ana,
what seems quite as evident his warm PERSONA
friendsbips. paced at his command every facility,
and from the start TO the end Of the journey not
moment was lost. Perhaps the most interesting
obantcr in the book is the one entitled "A week IN
Rombav.D In brief space the author has gwen
nc y stndv of the city and its surroundings which
1vonld make a visit to it unnecessary or doubly IN
4eresting. So much that was purely sensational
and vulgar has been said in late years about the
Parsees that it is worth while to note how they ap
near in Bombay to person of wide and high intel
lgence:
One of tbe most remarkable and important ele-
ments of the population is ahorded IN q" or
IN .Io o,i'' IJnr number amounts only to about
40 OOO-nOt more than q twelfth OF the Wholo 9opu 9p
latonbut their ndeiati%gaOe % sc envigSi mHSSi nHence
and industry have gained them SO lhuOr It'll i nSnont
that they play an important par ~. IN EUrSoreSpS i'm
IT, as is often done we classify 5i9 tinctiop fo All
Bombay in class, IN ContIaulS'iil,5Iii CU az m
the other subdivisions OF the hlA9d TluIEellous ~
native inhabitants we find that tne IaIsS tollS.l- @
fnte a third important class, StanQlne' rs II Wele,
hetyveen the other two They are descended IRON
those ancient PeTsans who, after the conquest Ol
Persia by the Mohammedans IN inc SeNSntn t I'LL TvI-
4 panft he new
TO that of ZorOaster. Being IN consequence dIlHth
ont of their own country, they hrst rctrcatgd 10
Ormuz and thence dispersed over lh0'l. lhey
marry only among themselves, keeping the race
unmfxed and, irrespective OF their peculiar COS
tune, are recognizable at a glance 4lhol!g @ Gld .e
other races The men are tail ana slaIWaIl hEuicS
with ycllOw-olve faces, generally S0neWhal he.N-
ily built and far finer and stronger men man lne
feeble HindoOs. They dress III long luIl VIII Jot7
ION shirts and trousers, and wear ON their heads
hiph black cap or tiara. something Ike plSn3P
mitre Their expressive faces and, not uhusualiN;
fine aouiline noses reveal energy ana pluueIcS' any
at the same time the Parsis are saving ana IlusaI,
and like the Jews among rs, nave lhaH3scu tQ
absorb large sums into Their own haloS' iinS Sd ~
the richest merchants OF Bombay arc "LSlI, I1 anu
they are also capital hOtel-keepers, shlp-pHiuelS
engineers and artisans. Their domestic lie and
virtues are highly spoken o. Inc Falal NolIvn Hlc
generally tall and dgnifed, their expression dIS-
Greet and TesOute, their color yelloWSIl WIN fhe
blacklist hair and eyes. lRet HieIS C"ISSlS ~,
rod oT yellow The children of wealthy ParSS are
often 10 he seen out walking Ill dresses emorodcrcd
Nyith
some villas like TO have beautiful galutilN ana ny
their easy circumstances excite the envy ol Iue
TurOpeans At the same time the llCl IdIsIS are
often distinguished by their noble puOllc spilt ana
many have founded useful and beney0lent ipStltu-
lions Some have been raised by the EhsIsh EoN-
ernment to the dignity OF baIohelS' III recognition
of their distinguished merits.
oi smotber circumstance which has undoubtedly
contributed i'm no small degree TO the remarkable
energy and success of the Parsis Is that they nave
remained to a great extent, fTee llOhl lS dollihIo
of the priesthood. Their rellgon-lhe d9ciIlht oi
ZorOaster-iS III its puTes form one OF the IoIls OF
natural religions and founded on the worship oI
+he creative and preserving elements. Among these
the first place mast be given to the llght ana neat
Of tLe procreative Sun and its emblem on earth
Fire Hence as the sun rises and sets, we see nun
hers of piOus PaTSiS on the strand at DupaN' sldu
ing, or kneeng on spread d-oul rugs anu al lcSIIiE
their alteration OF the coming ol u1P@IIHS u"0 o'i
The religious ceremonies of the PaTss are, indeed
extremely simple. and in some measure baSed-Ike
those of the Moslems-On sound sanitary principles
as narticularlv their detetic rules and numerous
daily ablutons Their stalwart bodies ENJOY IN
consequence, excellent health as rue, ana Ihelr
bright and eager children make much more pleas
inc impression than the pale-taced, languid Euro
pean children who fade into debility Ill the over
Tbe funeral ceremonies of the Parsis are most re-
markable usage High up on the ridge OF the Mala-
bar Hill-indeed, on one OF the hgneSi ana hIcat
peaks where splendid panorama OF Bombay lies
~ the feet of the admring spectator, like the Bay
of Naples from the summit OF POSllppoII tHe faTsl
Community possess beautiful garden full of palms
and flowers. In this cemetery stand the SIX I(okh,
mas or Towers of Silence. They are cylindrical
white towers, from thirty to forty feet IN diameter
and about the same height. The inside Is dNlded
like an anpnitheatTe, into three cOnceDtrlc circles
sub-divided by IA liating walls INTO number OF
open chambers. Each OF these divisions holdS
body, those of children IN the centre, those Ol
women in the second circle, and men IN the outer
one As soon as the whitc-TObed servants OF the
dead have received the corpse which the relatives
have escorted to the cemetery, they carry II, ac-
cOmpanied by chanting priests and place II IN one
of the open graves, where they leave It, tI0cks ol
the sacred bird of OrmuZ-the fine brown yutUrc-
at once come down from where they have been SIT
fling ON the neighbOring Palmyra palms. They ding
themselves on the body inside the rO0hess tower
and i'm few minutes the whole OF the hesh Is
deyoured. Numbers of black ravens finish on the
slender remains of their meal The bones are alter
ward collected in the centre OF the tower
10 most Europeans this mode of dsposng OF
corpse is simply horrible, just as in the classical
iimrs il was regarded as a peculiar mark of scOTn
to throw out a body to be food Tor the yultnrcs,
But to the student of comparative zoology IL seems
that it may perhaps, be more aesthetic ana poelcaI
TO see the remains of one We have loved destroyed
In few minutes bv the powerful bcaks of birds of
prey or like the llndOOs TO know that IL is Duiht
TO ashes than to think of 1t as undergoing the slow
and loatbsOne process of decomposition INTO food
for the worms which is inevitable under the pres
emf conditions of European culture, ana winch IS rs
revolving to feeling as it is injurious to health
beinG i'm fact the source of much disease How
eyer what is there that dear habit Will not DO and
that mighty lever PTopnctyI
The burning of the dead by the Hindoos on the
strand of the Back Bay is described and the process
noted as far simpler, cheaper and more eliectual
than the new process introduced into GOtha and
Pennsylvania but it is added that the romans Of
the lowest class of HndOos are not burnt, but
buried on the sandy shore.
Ceylon, lying but seven degrees north of the
equator seems to have realized to IIaeckel all his
fondest dreams of tropical vegetation. To usc his
own expression, "A crowd of new, grand and de
hghtfu impressions rushed upon him" We have
sense of his having seen, recognized and enjoyed
TO the utmost everything on the island, and his
glowing account carries away the reader until lie
wishes himself in his shoes-even though they are
full of leeches. lie speaks with enthusiasm
of the splendid specimens of scorpions six
inches and millipedes a foot long and
makes them seem only rare kind of ornament