The Dickinson press., 1890-03-15


survival-Towers Which Have Stood Two
Hundred Years.
They looked so human with their gen.
tleeyes, SO like other people, whether they
talked Guzerati or English, whether one
saw them in the market place or at
meet, that it was difficult to believe this
horror of them. Yet it was true, for
there were the facts and statistics in a
little hand book in the reading room of
the hotel, facts and statistics of yesterday
and today and not of any remote period
of anti-civilization. This as to time; and
as to place-not three miles from where
we sat, on the topmost point of Malabar
hill, an eminence which also bore the
residence of Lord Reay, governor of the
Bombay presidency. We asked the hotel
manager, who was Parsee, if he had
ever visited the spot. He shook his head
and shrugged his shoulders Just as All
Englishman might have done talking of
the churchyard or the family vaults.
"Parsees go only once," he said, "and
then they are carried" But he advised
US to go; all tourists did, he said; and he
knew the secretary, he would get us
tickets.
ON THE HILL.
So we arranged to drive the next morn
ing very early, to see the Towers of ST.
lence on Malabar hill, whittier the Parsee
living bear the Parsee dead, bidding them
more utter farewell than is conceived
byany other people of any other creed on
earth. Two native soldiers stood in the
queens uniform at the gate, and looked
at us with surprise. 1t was late in the
season and early in the day for people
who wanted to see the century old sight
they protected from the over curious.
Louis went up to one of them with in
trepidity and showed him our passes. He
shook his head and said something in his
own tongue. Neither of us understood
it in the very least. produced phrase
which I had carefully concocted on the
way from Handbook of Hindustanee"
purchased in Calcutta, and which I in
tended to mean eve wish to see the Tow
ers Of Silence" But the man only looked
at his fellow and grinned. tried an
other phrase and yet another, but COM
prehension did not come. Then reflect
ed that perhaps the language of the Baboo
OF Bengal was not necessarily that of the
native "Tommy" of Bombay, and later
investigation proved this to be the case.
Finally one of the men pointed with his
gun to small house near by, and nodded
his head violently as Louis made as if she
would knock. So she knocked loudly
and presently there appeared, in blink
ing undress, very short, stout old Par
see, who instantly retreated again. We
then sat down beneath mango tree and
awaited events.
The old Parsee was not long in reap
pearing, tall red cap and gown, and Cir
die and all. In his hand he carried a
large key, with which he beckoned to us
to follow him. He went up the steps,
unlocked the gate and let US in. The
road still ascended before us through the
outskirts of a tropical garden, and we
climbed to another iron gate, which the
old Parsee unlocked. There we stood in
the dead calm of early morning, with
the yellow light in the eastern sky threat
ening every moment to break into flame,
in a strange place. Flowers bloomed
around us, those crimson and purple
flowers of the tropics that are all sense
and no soul. Bordered paths led in diff
ferent directions, neatly kept, and clumps
of trees did their best to give the spot
shadow and sentiment. We were not
looking at the flowers, but at five strange,
round, white structures that rose at a
little distance, divided from us by a wall,
in the midst of heavy masses of trees.
The Oldest of them had been there 200
years, with never proclamation of its
name or offce-a tower of silence all
that time. The others had been added as
they were needed. They were not vaults
and they were not cemeteries, yet their
business was with the dead.
BY ORDER OF zORoAsTRR,
They first arose 5000 years ago by
| command of ZOrOaSter as Won douhtloea