birds, the little mina and the
green paroquets being of special interest, while immense black crows
hovered about everywhere.

The European aspect of Bombay is imposing, and the public and municipal
buildings are hardly to be surpassed, the railway station claiming the
distinction, architecturally, of being the finest in the world. The
dominant type of public building is designed in what is called Gothic
Indian style.

The drive along Queen's Road is a dream of beauty. The private
residences, each with fine grounds, are many and tasteful, those along
Queen's Road being usually occupied by the military class or by
officials in the civil service. Malabar Hill is also a residential
centre, and a drive there affords one an extended view of the city.
There also one may have a glimpse of the Arabian Sea, but a much better
view is to be had from the grounds of the Towers of Silence, that
strange exemplification of the faith of a peculiar people.

We had met a Parsee gentleman of culture and refinement on the steamer,
_en route_ for Bombay, which fact made us eager to learn something of
this sect. They came to India from Persia, twelve hundred years ago,
driven away on account of Mohammedan persecution. They are strict
followers of the tenets of Zoroaster, their creed, briefly epitomized,
being "Good thoughts, good words, and good deeds." There are about one
hundred thousand in Bombay; as a class they are well educated, and have
great business capacity; hence they are prominent in commercial affairs,
particularly in banking. They are generous and charitable, and are at
the head of most of the philanthropic institutions of the city; many
distinctions have been won by them from the English Government.

[Illustration: _Victoria Station at Bombay_]

Their strange treatment of the dead shows what a strong hold custom and
faith can have over a people; believing that fire is a symbol of Deity,
and also revering the earth, neither cremation nor burial of the dead is
permitted. The Towers of Silence, five of them occupying the most
beautiful site on Malabar Hill, and surrounded by spacious grounds with
trees, shrubbery, and flowers, hold the Parsee dead.

These towers are of whitewashed stone, two hundred and seventy-five feet
in circumference, and twenty-five feet in height; the upper floors are
of iron grating, with three circles, whereon the corpses are placed; the
inner circle is for children, the next for women, and the outer