The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-05-13

often held in this few hours after
death has interviewed. The deceased on
this occasion had been q Bombay mer-
chant on visit to his kindred in Per-
STA, and death had come suddenly. The
body, loosely wrapped in the folds of a
spotless white shawl of soft material,
but leaving the face exposed, was
stretched out in the middle of the room
on a bier. The floor was strewn with
flowers, and the mourners stood around
in a semi-circle, with the priest
tall, handsome man-near the
head of the corpse. Their faces
were grave, while the priest ex-
pressed the hope that 'sthe soul of this
dead man would be found worthy to
dwell in the good place and that Ash
man would have no part of him" A
silent prayer followed, and the bene-
dictfon, pronouncedshy the priest with
outstretched hands, closed with these
parting words: ''Let now the sun have
his part, and the water it's part of this
form of clayl"
Then the bier was lifted up, the
shroud drawn over the still face, and
the procession moved out. The body
was carried head foremost, and when
passing the Threshold the priest opened
the fold over the mouth a trife, SO as
''to allow the soul to escape"
In front of the door there was litter
drawn by four mules, and the whole
crowd accompanied this to the Guebre
cemetery, the men on donkeys, the
women in kedchawehs baskets hang
ing from the backs of mules), some
three smiles ont from the Derwazeh
Izfahanee Qspal1an gate.) The ceme-
terry is on the ridge of a mountain,
forming part of the Elburz range, and
is visible from a long distance by rea-
son of the glaringly white color of the
circular wall surrounding 1t, standing
it out distinctly against the som Der hue
of the bleak rock. The mountain is
very steep, and 1t takes some hard
climbing to get up to the cemetery; but
there we were at last, but q stones
throw from the dismal place. A piece
of wall had already been broken out to
admit the corpse (the opening always
being closed afterwards SO as to prevent
intrusion), and through it the 'sfield of
the dead" could be plainly surveyed.
Nothing bnt bleaehed bones could be
seen here and there on the calcareous,
porous soil, but overhead, far up in the
sky, the vuftures We're already drawing
their circles, ready to swoop down soon
and begin their CHASTITY feast; for the
dead are in nowise protected here, eth
er against the elements or the birds of
prey.
These were few incidents in Parsee
life l was an eye witness to, but at the
south of Persia, particularly at Yezd,
more of the original ceremonies of this
almost defunct race have survived.
There, too. they still have temples
very much as in the days Of Darius or,
Kosroes-where Hormazd and his sym
boil, the sun, are worshiped with some
show Of splendor. There, too, on the
holy days consecrated to the sun, the
rising of the orb is greeted with music
and joyful shouts. AS to the 'snever-
ending fire." however, which used 10
draw Parsee pilgrims from all over the
Orient to Baku, the ancient city by the
Caspian sea, it has been extinguished
by order of the Russian government,
for Baku to-day forms part of the czar'a
Asiatic possessions.
No longer does the noble and simple
creed, of which zoroaster lin Persian,
Zerdusht) was the ablest exponent,
rule in the ancient land Of Persia The
Allah, whom Mohammed taught, with
slight native notifications, rules in
stead of the dual divine essence. The
very name of their forefather's religion
has been blotted out of the memory OF
the modern Persians, and they look
upon the Guebres or Parsees purely as
infdels, as pagans.
WOLF Won SWITZERLAND.