Two things play an important part in the family life of Persia. The first of these, the yearly almanac or _taghvím_ is studied with a pathetic trust by all. In a day that has been marked unlucky they see the frustration of their hopes and prayers, however perseveringly they may strive, by earnest effort, to elude the working of the fateful stars and to bring about the consummation of their wishes. “The most blessed hour for prayer,” I was told by one of them, “is when the planet Jupiter is in conjunction with the culminating point of the firmament.” And when I began to argue with him, he said in astonishment: “Have you no faith in _estakhhareh_ either?” I replied: “If you can prove to me by any passage in the Kurán that God will lend his advice to the Muslim who shall consult Him through the beads of a rosary, I will believe in the _taghvím_, the _estakhhareh_, or any _fáll_ or omen you care to mention. But, first, let me be sure that I understand the method of making an _estakhhareh_. Having read a verse of the Holy Scriptures, you place the finger on a bead, then, counting the beads from that point to the nearer end of the thread, you believe that God will grant you your heart’s desire provided the number be odd, but that He will refuse your request if it be even. Am I right?” “Certainly,” he replied; “for if my prayer be reasonable and I deserving in the sight of God, He will assuredly guide my hand.” “It is obvious,” I retorted, “that God can and does guide His slaves; but I deny that He shares your belief in the luck of odd numbers. Let the Prophet be my intercessor. This is what he says: “‘Do ye acquire knowledge, for he who acquireth knowledge in God’s service performeth an act of piety; he who giveth utterance to it praiseth the Lord; he who is diligent in search of it worshipeth God; and he who imparteth it offereth sacrifice to Him.’ Now, your faith is rooted not in knowledge, but in superstition. Look around you, and you will see the wonders of God in the working of laws immutably just, eternally the same. I tell you that action and reaction are equal and opposite, that the ordered weal and woe are the results of our own actions good and evil, and I advise you to put on the armour of knowledge in the desert less you fall a victim to the superstitious of whom you now are one. ‘The ink of the scholar,’ the Prophet tells us, ‘is more holy than the blood of the martyr.’” My opponent, however, remained unconvinced. He assured me that his spiritual director would not dream of wearing a new ’abá without first consulting the _taghvím_, nor would he take it on himself to administer a dose of medicine to a sick child without asking God, through the beads of his rosary or the pages of the Kurán, whether the remedy would be efficacious or not. Of the progress of medical science the Shi’ah pilgrims knew nothing. [Illustration: A PERSIAN PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY.]