The Washington herald., 1913-06-01

to cover her hair as her face.
The only things that are free In Per-
STA are air and sunshine. Water. not
only in the cities. but everywhere. Is
one Of the most expensive commodities
and one Of the most dihcult to obtain.
The entire water supply OF Teheran
comes from the snow on the mountains
north Of the city. 1t Is brought for a
distance Of many miles In underground
water courses There are thirty-four
such channels which enter the city. At
various places. as they pass along. there
are openings in these. Through these
openings the water Is dipped up with a
leatherh bucket and poured into goat
skin bag, which Is slung over the Shout
der Of the private servant or the profess
sional water carrier Nothing is more
common In the street than a sight OF
one Of these carriers. In summer the
Persian water carrier is Creased much
like his brother in India, Of whom Kip
ling says:
The uniform e wore
Was nothin' much before.
And rather les than hi o. that BEND;
For q twisty piece o. rag
And guatskin ~ater-oag
Was all the field equipment e could ind
Water In Peddled.
II Is drinking water which the carrier
thus sells from door to door or which
your servant brings to you; water for
other domestic purposes and for irri-
eating Is brought from the large water
courses by smaller channels direct to
your yard Down the narrow streets. It
runs through the center; down the broad
er ones, at one side.
In the spring each man makes an en-
gagement that water shall be brought
to his place at regular intervals during
the summer. and SO 'the man with the
hoe in the Persian city Is the man who
directs the course of the water; damn
ing up a channel here and opening one
there.
There are no drays, express wagons. or
delivery wagons in Persia All articles
are carried about the streets on the
backs of animals or men. Considering
the loads they carry. II Is no wonder that
both the water carrier and the hummal
are short lived.
Residence in the Orient throws a flood
OF light upon many things In the Bible.
and a sight OF these carriers makes Il
easier to understand Christ's indigna-
tion against the Pharisees. when he said:
Yea. they bind heavy burdens and griev-
Gus to be borne. and lay them on mems
shoulders. but they themselves will not
move them with their finger" The bear
ing Of a physical burden Of one kind or
another Is very common in Persia. A
Mohammedan alr avs lifts a heavy load
with the cry IVA All" thus calling to his
aid their greatest Imaum.
An Armenian hodcarrier, a giant for
Size, strength, and agility. used to gain
respect for himself and his religion by
shouting. va Isau' (Jesus), and then
lifting with ease a hod twice as heavy
as any of his companions dared to touch.
Wedding. Held In Spring.
wedding procession is a very COM
mon street scene during the spring and
early summer, for II Is at that season
that most of the weddings take place
Persia is not behind, the rest of the
world in proving the truth of the saying
that "all the world loves a lover and
so as the wedding procession winds its
tortuous way slowly through the streets
the housetops are filled With eager spec
tators- And thes housetops should have
their place in an account OF the street
scenes in a Persian city, for they take
the place of both veranda and park.
What a blessing the fiat roof is to the
of Irani
1t takes even the poorest people up
from the sordid surroundings of a mean
and dirty courtyard into a purer atmos-
phere, and there is scarcely a roof in all
cannot catch a glimpse of lofty noun
tains, especially of snowclad Demavend.
the highest peak Of Persia, situated
forty miles north OF Teheran.
Anon. IL is the funeral procession that
passes by: the body borne on the shoul-
ders of men. Then every man in the
street. whether acquaintance or stranger.
begs the privilege of lending a hand.
and in so doing he is laying up merit.
During the month devoted to mourning
for two OF their martyrs. the professions
are OF religious fanatics. A CHASTITY sight
they are as they march along. beating
their bare breasts and backs with chains,
and shouting their weird. mournful cry.
Many Costumes Seen.
The contrasts which have long marked
the streets OF such Oriental cities as
and the seaport towns of
India and China are gradually becom-
ing one of the sights of the streets OF
Persian cities. There is the European
in his close-fitting "Frangi" suit; the
old-time Persian in his flowing robes.
and the young Persian In a costume
which Is neither the one nor the other,
and which is often worn in a way to
show that he Is not TO the manner
born" There is the same contrast In
equipages. The style of the architecture
Of both public and private houses is
also changing. and many shops are now
built facing directly on the streets.
Teheran Is the only Persian city that
mas a tramway, and that Is a miserable |
lorse-car line, on just one street. 1t
seems quite a luxury, however. to step |
from the dusty, dirty. crowded street |
nto this vehicle: but II you close your
eyes for a moment to rest or to dream |
" the time when Western convenience |
will become common in the old land, |
'ou may be aroused by feeling something |
'oft and cold and Shiny against your |
land or your cheek. Starting up. you |
will see that the leader of a caravan |
" camels has thrust his head in at the |
opening of the compartment in which |
-ou are seated. and with his bright eyes |
$ eagerly investigating this his rival /
III these things are typical OF the many |
Ways in which the West Is today jost-
ing the East; whether or not the change
'e for the better. who shall say?
One He Didn't Touch.
ron Answers
Father was on the warpath, and when
I last he came across Willie In an odc
orner OF the garden the engagement