From the little that has been said of the influence of the Persian clergy you will understand that the priests require their pilgrims to adhere strictly to the letter of the laws appertaining to the prohibition and recommendation of certain articles of food. They must reckon as prohibited and, therefore, impure, twelve things, among which may be counted pork, underdone meat, the blood of animals, and wines. Though a digression, it will not be out of place to mention here that the wine, of which Omar Khayyám and the Súfís in general sing, is more likely to be the juice of the grape than the interpretation put on it by such commentators as see in it a symbol of God’s love. For the effect produced on the brain by the forbidden drink is in itself something of a mystery, as it were, a divine afflatus, more particularly is it so considered by a people of such a temperate habit as the Persians. Some of the higher classes, no doubt, drink hard, and even drink to get drunk, but upon the whole the Muhammadans, and especially the Persians, are, in comparison with the majority of European peoples, extremely sober, bearing their griefs without seeking the consolation of the bottle. IV.--THE WORK OF PURIFICATION. Now, purifications must be made either in flowing water, or in about half a ton of stagnant pure water. When the nose bleeds it must be dipped three times, after being well washed. Strange to say, the sweat of the camel--the animal that bears the pilgrim to Mecca--is said to be unclean to the touch and its pollution must, like the handling of dogs, pigs, and rats, be cleansed away by the customary purifications. Ablutions, called _wuzú’h_ should precede every prayer that is _farz_ or incumbent, and _wuzú’h_ consists first in washing the hands three times by pouring water from the right hand over the left hand and rubbing them together, next in washing the face three times with the right hand, then in pouring the water with the right hand over the left elbow and rubbing down the forearm, and last of all in repeating the process with the left hand over the right forearm. After this _maseh_ must be performed by dipping the right hand in water and rubbing it over the front portion of the head, and also by rubbing over the right foot with the wet right hand, and the left foot with the wet left hand. If the hands or the feet be sore or wounded then clay takes the place of water, and this particular kind of purification is called _tyammom_. The devout before reading the Kurán, or before entering the shrine of a saint or the court of a mosque, should perform _wuzú’h_ or _tyammom_, and in doing so they should resolve within themselves to recite such and such a prayer. This is called _Niyyat_, or Declaration of Intention.