The discovery of that exquisite perfume called attar of roses is attributed to Noor Jehan. She had not only baths, but whole canals, filled with rose-water, that she might enjoy its fragrance. One fine morning, walking with the emperor along one of these canals, in his magnificent gardens at Cashmere, she observed a fine scum floating on the surface. She took up some of it, and perceived that it yielded a powerful odour. She caused the chemists to examine it, and from it they produced the essence which has ever since commanded so high a price. Noor Jehan gave it the name of Atyr Jehangire, in honor of her husband, and introduced the use of it throughout Hindostan. Among the foreign nations settled in India are the Parsees, descendants from the ancient Persians, who, like them, worship fire and sun, not as God, but as his most perfect symbol. There are among them holy women, who keep a perpetual fire burning before their habitations, and are very strict in the observance of religious rites; these women are held in the highest veneration. The Parsees, like most other oriental women, are in the habit of bringing water on their heads from the rivers and wells. They are well shaped, and almost as fair as Europeans. They have large black eyes, and aquiline noses. They are married very young, but generally remain with their parents some time after the wedding. The Parsees are allowed to marry but one wife, and she must be of their own nation. The Hindoos in general believe in witchcraft. If the crops are blighted, sickness prevails, or any unusual misfortunes occur, they write the names of all the women in the village on branches of the saul-tree, and let them remain in water four hours and a half; if any branch withers, the person whose name is on it is decided to be a witch. Other superstitious ordeals are likewise resorted to, and certain forms of investigation are gone through with, which not unfrequently end in the death of the accused. They believe in the existence of demons, and use various exorcisms to expel them from those who are possessed. Women are almost always the persons in whom these evil spirits are supposed to have fixed their residence. The Hindoos people the stars, the air, the woods, and the ocean with deities; among which the goddesses are about as numerous as the gods. The two most conspicuous are Saraswadi, goddess of literature and the arts, and Parvati, goddess of time and of enchantments; the latter, like Venus, was born of the foam of the sea, and is the mother of Love. The Hindoo Cupid is called Camdeo, or Manmadin. His bow is of sugar-cane, his arrows made of flowers, and pointed with honey-comb. He is usually represented riding on a parrot, and is particularly worshipped by women desirous to obtain faithful lovers and good husbands.