rtune to brush
against one of these men, must instantly throw off his clothes and
bathe.

The Parsees are not less exclusive with respect to their temples; no
one of any other belief is allowed to enter them, or even to look
in. The temples which I saw here, of course only from the outside,
are very small, extremely plain, and destitute of the slightest
peculiarity of architecture; the round entrance-hall surrounds a
kind of fore-court, enclosed by a wall. I was only allowed to go as
far as the entrance of the wall leading to the fore-court. The
handsomest temple in Bombay {228} is a small unimportant building,
and I must again contradict those descriptions which make so much of
the beautiful temples of the Fire-worshippers.

As I was informed by Manuckjee, the fire burns in a kind of iron
vase, in a completely empty, unornamented temple or apartment. The
Parsees affirm that the fire which burns in the principal temple,
and at which all the others are lighted, originates from the fire
which their prophet, Zoroaster, lighted in Persia 4,000 years since.
When they were driven out of Persia they took it with them. This
fire is not fed with ordinary wood alone; more costly kinds, such as
sandal, rose-wood, and such like, are mixed with it.

The priests are called magi, and in each temple there is a
considerable number of them. They are distinguished, as regards
their dress, from the other Parsees, only by a white turban. They
are allowed to marry.

The women visit the temple generally at different hours from the
men. They are not forbidden to go there at the same time as the
latter; but they never do so, and, indeed, very seldom go at all. A
pious Parsee is supposed to pray daily four times, and each time for
an hour; for this purpose, however, it is not necessary that he
should go to the temple; he fixes his eyes upon fire, earth, or
water, or stares into the open air. Whoever finds four hours of
prayer daily too much, ingratiates himself with the priests, who are
humane and considerate, like the priests of other religions, and
willingly release applicants from their cares for the consideration
of a moderate gift.

The Parsees prefer offering up their prayers in the morning in the
presence of the sun, which they honour the most, as the greatest and
most sacred fire. The worship of fire is carried to such an extent
by them that they do not pursue any trades which require the use of
fire, neither will they