A Parsee rises early, washes his hands and face, and recites his prayers toward the sun. He rejects pork, ham and camel flesh and will not eat anything cooked by one outside of the Parsee religion. Marriages can be contracted only with persons of their own creed. Polygamy is forbidden except after nine years of sterility, then a man is allowed to marry another woman. Divorces are entirely forbidden. The crimes of fornication and adultery are very severely punished. They worship the clean creations of the great Hurmizda such as the sun, moon, fire, etc. Aha-ramazda is the origin of light, the sun and fire having come from him, he having first been created by Hurmizda. In the case of a hopelessly sick person the priest will recite some text of the holy bible Avesta, as a consolation to the dying person. After death the body is taken to the ground floor, the place of its birth, to be washed and anointed with perfumes, dressed in white and put upon an iron grating. A dog is brought in to take a last look, and he drives away all evil spirits. The friends and relatives go before the door, bow down and raise their hands to their heads after touching the floor, as an indication of their last respect to the departed soul. The body upon the bier is covered. Two men will bring it out and give it to four pall-bearers dressed in white, who, followed by a great procession take it to the "Tower of Silence." The last prayer will be recited in the holy temple, a building in which the holy fire burns continually through the ages. The body is then taken from the "Tower of Silence" and, placed on an iron bier, is exposed to the fowls of the air and the dew of heaven and to the sun until the flesh has disappeared, and the bleached bones fall through into a pit beneath, and are afterwards buried in a cave. They believe the holy fire is brought down from heaven. Only priests can approach it and they must wear a half-mask over the face lest their breath should defile it, and never touch it with hands, but by instruments. Tobacco smoking is prohibited as the smoker would defile the holy fire. They say there are five kinds of fire and great respect is shown to them. I remember having had a conversation with a Parsee in which he said: "Fire purifies all things, is stronger than all things, is cleaner than all other things, more beautiful than all things; therefore, fire is _god_. Your own Bible says: 'I am a consuming fire.'"