Parsee who marries a European woman must accept virtual expatriation,
while the wife (although she may bear him children) is never allowed any
of the privileges of a native woman in this life and when she dies her
body cannot be consigned to the Parsee burial place. She is always an
alien and nothing that she can do is able to break down this racial wall
that separates her from her husband's people. The marriage of Parsee
women to foreigners is practically unknown. The Parsee wears a
distinctive costume. The men dress in white linen or pongee trousers,
with coat of dark woolen or alpaca; they like foreign shirts and
collars, but their headgear is the same as that used by the refugees
from Persia over three hundred years ago. One cap is of lacquered
papier-mache in the form of a cow's hoof inverted. Another is a round
cap of gray cloth, finely made, worn over a skull cap of velvet or
embroidered cloth, which is worn indoors. The women wear the sari or
robe, which consists of one piece of silk or brocade, with an
embroidered band. This garment is draped around the body and brought up
over the head, covering the right ear. They all wear shoes and
stockings.

The Parsees are all well educated and most of them possess unusual
refinement. So strong is the pride of race among them that they do not
tolerate any mendicancy among their own people. Their charitable
associations care for the few Parsees who are unable to make a living,
so that their paupers never make any claim upon the municipal government
for aid. They also boast that none of their women may be found among the
denizens of the red-light district. Most of the educated Parsees speak
English, French and German, besides Gugerati (the native dialect) and
most of them read and write English, Gugerati and Urdu, which is the
written form of Hindustani. Yet the Parsees are genuine Orientals. They
sit on chairs, but most of their houses are scantily furnished. They are
remarkably fond of sweets, fruits and nuts. They seem insensible to the
surroundings of their homes, many living in crowded streets and up many
flights of stairs. In their homes all their treasures are kept in the
family safe. If you are fortunate enough to be received in one of these
Parsee homes you will be amazed at the wealth in jewelry and personal
ornaments which are possessed even by families of modest fortune. A
Parsee woman of this class will have invested five thousand dollars in
jewelry, much of