'Through Persia on a side-saddle' [‎126] (157/360)

126 THROUGH PERSIA ON A SIDE-SADDLE
was much shocked that I should see her in such deshabille,
as she considered it, and would cover her hair up in a
great hurry. Even at night she would only divest her
self of one or two of her many handkerchiefs; but the
Parsee children wear half a dozen long plaits, which
fall picturesquely below the little white coif that they
affect.
Contrary to the Persians, they have no prejudice against
dogs, and Baji was devoted to 'Diana,' although on
one occasion she was much upset when the latter stole
some of her food. She rushed round the courtyard weeping
and lamenting, and finding the servants unsympathetic,
cried out that neither they nor the dog were her friends.
This remark caused quite an uproar in our establishment,
our whole staff rushing in a body to Nasrullah Khan to
complain that my maid had dared to put them on a level
with the unclean animal!
The Gabres are careful not to pollute the earth, air, fire,
or water; hence their peculiar mode of burial. They
never smoke, as such an act would profane the sacred fire
that they worship, and their priests wear veils over their
mouths while officiating, in order not to defile the holy
flame with their breath. This fire, burning brightly on a
tripod, is never suffered to go out, and when a little colony
of Parsees wish to start a temple of their own, they procure
the object of their worship from Yezd, where it has burnt
unextinguished for centuries.
The men wear a belt tied in a peculiar knot, the three
cords of which it is composed being symbolic of the good
thoughts, good words, and good deeds which are the basis
of their religion, and they refasten this girdle five times
daily at their hours of prayer.