irst
received the sick till there was time for the erection of the present
elegant structure, which is built in the Gothic style, and is capable
of accommodating some six or eight hundred patients, besides nurses
and attendants. The physicians have been from the beginning of the
enterprise all English, as are many of the nurses, and the supplies in
every department are the very best the country can furnish. Since the
death of the noble founder, the son, who inherits his name and title,
has continued to foster with loving devotion the institution
which stands as a lasting monument of the fame and virtues of his
illustrious sire. The conception of such a charity tells not only of a
generous heart, but of far-reaching intelligence, while the energy and
perseverance of both father and son in carrying on, year after year,
so vast a system of benefactions, challenge our warmest admiration.

The name of the late Sir Jamsetjee stood for more than a score of
years at the very head of the list of merchant-princes and ship-owners
in Bombay, where he was born, and where his ancestors for many
generations resided. He came of an old and wealthy family, who trace
their genealogy back to the Parsee exodus of the eighth century; and
it is said that the "sacred fire" has never once during all that time
burned out upon their altar. Sir Jamsetjee himself, though probably
faithful in the observance of the actual requirements of his creed,
was assuredly less strict than the majority, and being a man of large
intellect, cultivated mind and great independence of character, he did
not hesitate to borrow from other nations any customs, institutions or
inventions that might tend to the improvement of his own people.
His stately mansion was built and furnished in European style; his
children, even his daughters, were carefully educated in foreign as
well as native lore; and his own associations were with refined and
cultivated people, without any regard to their nation or creed. It was
while visiting at his house, in familiar intercourse with his family,
and with other Parsees of similar position, that I gleaned many
items of interest concerning the history and practices of the
Fire-worshipers. Other facts were added from time to time during
several years of frequent association with these singular people, in
whose glorious though unsuccessful struggles for home and liberty it
is impossible not to feel an interest.

As a race, the Parsees are in