inferior gods or genii, and that Arimanius created many devils. The
former also created twenty-four devils, and enclosed them in an egg;
but the latter broke the egg, and by that means let out the demons,
and created a mixture of good and evil. The religion of the Persians
underwent a variety of revolutions. Temples were built for the worship
of fire, prior to which Magian priests kept the sacred fire burning on
mountain tops under considerable difficulties. They fed it with wood
stripped of the bark; they were prohibited from blowing the fire with
their breath or with bellows, lest it should be polluted. Had one done
either, he would have been punished with death. The Jews had the real
fire from heaven, and the Magi pretended to have received theirs from
the upper regions likewise.

The Gaures held that the earth was inhabited at first by two persons.
They had a tradition that Eve brought twins into the world every day,
and that for one thousand years death had no power over her seed. They
believed that a select company of angels were appointed guardians of
mankind, but that, notwithstanding this, evil increased: men grew
wicked and perverse in their ways, and therefore the deluge was sent
to sweep them away. The Gaures had their guardian angels for every
month and day throughout the year, and to them they devoted their
prayers. New Year's Day was a high day with them, and they had a great
many lucky and unlucky days.

The Persians hold that at the last judgment every man must pass along
a bridge no wider than a razor's edge; that the unbelievers and the
wicked will certainly in their passage fall into hell, there to be for
ever and ever tormented; but that the faithful shall be so guided and
supported that they shall pass the bridge swifter than a bird can fly
through the air, and enter into paradise, and seat themselves on the
banks of the river of delight, which, they say, is shaded by a tree
of such immense size, that if a man were to ride forty thousand years,
he would not pass the extent of one of its leaves. In Persia it was a
common belief that there were many prophets living between the days of
Adam and Mohammed, who were created before the world was made. Their
prophets, according to history, were possessed of the power of working
miracles; and charms and amulets were common in the country.

Pilgrims who went to Mecca invariably kissed a black stone, regarding
which there is a curious legend: Abraham, we