Connecticut western news., 1886-07-07
THE PERSIANS.
Some Characteristics of An
 Oriental People.
A Country of Natural Liars and Alto
 gether Hopeless Procrastinators.

The modern Farsee is natural liar, says Teheran letter to the San Francis co Chronicle. It goes against his grain, against all he holds most sacred in this queer world, to speak the truth. It is born with him, this inveterate love of prevarication, and it is bred in the bone for generations and generations. I have noticed with the interest the student of human nature is liable to feel in such cases how astonished the Farsee is when he has caught himself unaware telling the truth. He then IS out of his role, and feels so abashed and ashamed of him. self that he looks sheepish and guilty; much as an American might after get ting off an awful fib. Even with such a people, however, where the noble art of romancing is carried to such perfection, moments will arise when it is desirable to know and hear the truth. And for such occasions the stock of Persian ad- juration, oaths, curses and appeals seems almost inexhaustible. One of the fun niest is "Rishe mera Kasz,tu Rerdil" Giterally, May you put my beard in the winding sheeD.
 Procrastination is another besetting sin of theirs. "Foran mikonana" is their reply when you want thing done at once, and another great phrase of theirs is Chason (meaning "By my eyes I'll do it'). But that means an hour, next day, next month, or next year, according to circumstances-never at once. To des- patch thing and be done with it, to ''hurry up" seems to be utterly impossi- ble to the Persian, who is lavish of noth- ing so much as of time. You give your servant, for instance, tchibouk to be mended, and tell him you must have it back repaired next morning. Your ser want knows he will 'tget fts'' if he does not attend to it at once, and that he will probably get little money if he does. The pipemaker across the street keeps a little shop, and has large and hungry family at home to keep out of the very slender profit of his trade. He knows, too, he will be paid thrice the ordinary price if he does the job at once-enough to keep the pot boiling for his entire family for one day at least. Still, so in- grained is the policy of tardiness with both these gentlemen that you are mighty lucky if you get your tchibouk back in a week.
 The other day had business at the central post office here. I wanted to register five letters and buy postage stamps for eight other ones. entered the little ofice-eight feet by ten-ir which the registration of letters is per formed. Four native gentlemen, seated around huge table, on which stood z clumsy scale, where extremely busy do ing nothing; or, rather, they chatted and took pulls by rotation from common ghatyan. The chief came in at thi juncture-a very handsome but foppish looking man-to whom was introduced The chief sat down and made the fifth il this happy gathering. told them wa in hurry and wished to have my letter registered and to buy fourteen kerauns worth of stamps. They could not under stand how could be in hurry. The, were very polite and amiable and talked pleasantly, but it took ten minutes of m, eloquence to induce one of the quartet tt let up on his ghatyan and tend to busi ness, and it took me just forty minute to have my letters registered and to buy those stamps. The latter he counted over at least score of times, very slowl, and deliberately, before he consented t release his hold on them. It was no cussedness on his part-it was just hi natural love of doing things slowly. Hi chief sat there and evidently though his clerk very rash and suspiciousl active young man. And for Persia the young fellow had really been quic about it.
 It is one of the great trials which ever foreigner has to go through with after hi arrival here-the promiscuous lying ge ing on all around him, and the exasper ating slowness of people. To see Per sian write letter or sign document treat. He seizes his reed pen with a awful deal of circumspection, and dips
 slowly, hesitatingly, into the ink, the as slowly brings it on straight line wit his optics and examines it careful, if the ink hasn't since disappeared ished into thin air, as it were Havin convinced himself that no such piece magic has been performed by an unsee power, he gets himself into shape to pc his first letter. This requires vario,
 painful and violent contortions of tf
 body, similar to those Sammy Weller, (
 Pickwickian fame, used to underg
 when indicting his valentine, and the
 the paper is seized, again very slow
 and unwillingly, and brought to withi
 six inches of his nose. Then dab
 made. The first letter is done. It
 taken up and duly admired, whereupc rest of five minutes is taken, when tt same series of evolutions and maneuvr
 is repeated to give birth to another lette
 and so on. I watched a profession nsirza (scribe.) the other day. He was man noted for his quick work. It toe
 him eighteen minutes by the watch
 write his first line.
 It is related of Old Doc, horse of u Toronto fire department, recently kille
 while on duty, that one night he got o' 1 of his stall and found a nile of hars