The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1886-01-22

a.. NJ w. D~EuJdluius 1CCCutlJ Ou1tcU
States minister at the court of Persia
describes his impressions of that COIN
try in the January Century. From an
illustrated paper in the number on
Teheran we take the following: SIN
such a climate as that of Teheran life is
naturally passed chiefly in the open air.
The chill of winter, rarely severe, seems
to make little difference in the habits of
the people. The shops are all open to
the streets, the customers stand outside,
and even the shop-keeper attends TO
most of his business from the exterior
of the shop. If he is a baker, grocer, or
costermonger, in all probability he and
the customer both stand in the street,
~retreating into the shop only when a
string of camels or a dashing cortege
forces them to move out of the way. A
carpenter may frequently be seen ar
ranging a piece of joinery on the pave
ment in front of his shop. The schools
often in no-wise differ from the shops;
in the midst of a crowded thoroughfare
one may see twenty or thirty lads seat
ed on their heels repeating the lesson
together in monotonous tone.
stAnother common sight in the streets
of Teheran is the itinerant barber. The
Koran enjoins the masculine Moham-
medan to shave his crown. The Sun
nees shave the entire head excepting a
long lock in the center, whereby. it is
said, the a~rchangel may pluck them out
of the grave. But the Sheahs or Persian
Mussulmans shave from the forehead to
the nape of the neck, leaving a highly
,1szoI IN,l- -. onnL rsIo IL - ALrn~
fore, common to see a man of the lower
classes seated on the pavement, going
through the operation of having his head
shaved. The remaining hair and beard
are dyed, and it is rare that one sees
gray hairs in Teheran. The first tint
applied is henna, an orange-yellow yege-
table dye. Many consider this so hand
some as to prefer it without the further
application of indigo which most select
The last tint, combined with the henna.
imparts a durable and rather agreeable
dark-brown color to the hair. The wo-
men also have their hair dyed, and join
the eyebrows with the pencil. All
classes make use of the bath at least
once a week, the wealthy having steam
baths attached to their dwellings. No
Christian is aver permitted admission to
the baths of the Persians. The public
baths answer the purpose of clubs and
sewing Circles; the women 60 in the
morning, take their sewing with them,
and, after being thoroughly steamed and
scrubbed, devote several hours to smok-
ing the kdlian; embroidering, and dis
cussing the scandal of the neighborhood,
which they assiduously circulate ontheir
return home.
Another street sight of Teheran is
the tea-house, equivalent to the coffee
house of Constantinople or the beer
garden of Munich. These establish
ments are generally thronged towards
the close of the day.
'sBoth wine-drinking and card-play-
ing are forbidden to true believers; and,
therefore, neither is seen in these places
of public resort. Bat both are freely
INDUCED in at home. The card-players
of Persia use a set of twenty cards In
five suits of four each.
at is an Interesting fact that Ameri-
ca must relinquish the claim of having
invented the gamblers favorite game of
poker, for it was known in Persia CEN
turtles ago. The game played by the
Persians is in principle poker or brag
pure and simple, and betting often a
high with them.
"Another characteristic sight in the
streets of Teheran Is the bread. Per-
sian bread is made in sheets the thick
ness of sole leather; the best quality is
somewhat thinner. 1t is formed in the
shape and size of a side of leather. The
baker with bare arms dexterously raises
a sheet of this dough from the counter
where it is rolled out, losses and rolls it
owe his left arm until reduced to the
proper tenuity. With a rapid fling Of
both arms he then spreads it over the
hot floor of the oven. In a few minutes
it is baked and spread out to cool. If
there is a convenient ledge in the street
near the shop, one may see it covered
with layers of of bread. This bread is
cheap, one cent a sheet, and what is
more it is sweet and n~ourishing, and,
with curds, cheese, and fruit, forms a
STAPLE article ef diet with 2 large part af
the population. Consequently, one con-
stantly meets with people carrying
sheets of bread home with them, the