en the small boys who sell
grapes, apples, etc. in the streets sing some very charming poems about
their fruits, though they themselves may never have learned to read.

THE SWEETNESS OF PERSIAN LANGUAGE FOR POETRY.

The Persians have one poem about the sweetness of their language for
poetry, as follows:

"The original language was the language of Arabs. The Turkish language
is hard. But the Persian language is honey comb." In comparison with
the other Asiatic languages many scholars think it is indeed honey-comb
and the sweetest of Asiatic languages, if not also of European
languages, for the expression of poetry.

PART II. RELIGION.

CHAPTER I.

PARSEE RELIGION.

This was the prevailing religion of Persia in ancient times. Zerdush
was either the founder or a reformer of that religion. The general
belief is that he was the founder, since the religion and its followers
are called by his name. Some suppose that this religion, the religion
of Hindoo, were originally the same and that they were divided by some
political affair between the Iranians and the Aryans. The Hindoo branch
took the name Brahminian. The doctrines changed somewhat after the
separation, but the fundamental principles remained the same.

Different dates are given for the beginning of the Zerdush religion.
Some authorities date its beginning at 1200 B.C. while others place it
at 500 B.C. The latter is generally agreed upon. There are two
prevailing ideas about his place of birth, both Babylonia and Oroomiah,
Persia being claimed as his native city. There are many good reasons
for believing that Oroomiah was his birthplace. First, the original
worshipers were Persians, and the religion was started in Persia.
Second, all Oriental scholars and writers supposed that this was his
native city. Third, in the district immediately surrounding Oroomiah
the writer has seen more than thirty immense hills of ashes, the
remaining monuments of the fire-worshippers of this religion. Fire was
their god and a continuous flame was kept burning through the
centuries. Some of these mountains of ashes are so huge in size that it
would take a man an entire day to walk around it, and as high as the
Masonic Temple of Chicago, a twenty story office building. Some of
these hills are named as following: De-ga-la, Sheikh-Ta-pa, Gog-ta-pa,
etc. Among these hills we find the "Tower of Silence", a large
structure built of stone and containing the remains of ki