described. Then, still
preserving the same silence, they come out, shut the gate, and burn the
rags.

Amongst the fire-worshippers, Death is divested of all his majesty and
is a mere object of disgust. As soon as the last hour of a sick person
seems to approach, everyone leaves the chamber of death, as much to
avoid impeding the departure of the soul from the body, as to shun the
risk of polluting the living by contact with the dead. The mobed alone
stays with the dying man for a while, and having whispered into his ear
the Zend-Avesta precepts, "ashem-vohu" and "Yato-Ahuvarie," leaves the
room while the patient is still alive. Then a dog is brought and made
to look straight into his face. This ceremony is called "sas-did,"
the "dog's-stare." A dog is the only living creature that the
"Drux-nassu"--the evil one--fears, and that is able to prevent him from
taking possession of the body. It must be strictly observed that no
one's shadow lies between the dying man and the dog, otherwise the whole
strength of the dog's gaze will be lost, and the demon will profit by
the occasion. The body remains on the spot where life left it, until the
nassesalars appear, their arms hidden to the shoulders under old bags,
to take it away. Having deposited it in an iron coffin--the same for
everyone--they carry it to the dakhma. If any one, who has once been
carried thither, should happen to regain consciousness, the nassesalars
are bound to kill him; for such a person, who has been polluted by one
touch of the dead bodies in the dakhma, has thereby lost all right
to return to the living, by doing so he would contaminate the whole
community. As some such cases have occurred, the Parsees are trying to
get a new law passed, that would allow the miserable ex-corpses to live
again amongst their friends, and that would compel the nassesalars to
leave the only gate of the dakhma unlocked, so that they might find a
way of retreat open to them. It is very curious, but it is said that the
vultures, which devour without hesitation the corpses, will never touch
those who are only apparently dead, but fly away uttering loud shrieks.
After a last prayer at the gate of the dakhma, pronounced from afar by
the mobed, and re-peated in chorus by the nassesalars, the dog ceremony
is repeated. In Bombay there is a dog, trained for this purpose, at the
entrance to the tower. Finally, the body is taken inside and placed on
one or other of the rows, according t