ii 4 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



this country is very short, we feared that we should lose our way in 

 the maze of the suburban roads. The dervishes of the guttle-house 

 seemed disinclined to converse with strangers, and the children at play 

 on the hill were unable to answer our questions ; but at last we met a 

 well-dressed old burgher, who gave us all the information we desired. 

 "The road to Kapibad passes through my field," said he, "and if 

 you will follow me I will show you the shortest way. I live at the 

 foot of the hill over yonder, where you see that large mosque of the 

 Tripilates." 



" Is not that sect very numerous in this town ?" I asked. 



"Yes, their buildings occupy all the best sites," said he, "and they 

 have the impudence to call themselves the only true Yeshanees." 



" Do you belong to the Thumpers ? " I asked. 



" The Thumpers," said he, " are nearly as superstitious as the Tri- 

 pilates. Their teachers walk in darkness. No, I am a JSHbir, or 

 Senior, of the Grizzlies,* so called because our people follow the rule 

 of the primitive Yeshanees, whose priests were chosen from among the 

 gray -headed and venerable elders of the community. How do you like 

 this part of our land ? " he asked, when we reached the foot of the 

 declivity. 



" The hills remind me of the Khundee highlands," said I ; " the 

 buildings of Khundistan can not be compared to yours, but the in- 

 habitants seem to be happy in their free wilderness." 



" Yes, they have a happy climate," said he, " but they are poor, 

 ignorant wretches, who worship only one God and take a sinful delight 

 in worldly pleasures. They do not know that the welfare of the soul 

 requires the mortification of the body, and that earthly thoughts ob- 

 struct the way to heaven." 



" Where does all this smoke come from ? " I inquired. 



"From the mash-house," said he. "We shall pass it before we 

 reach the city gate. The mashers employ a hundred workmen, and it 

 will surprise you to see what quantities of grain pass through their 

 hands." 



If the mash-house had been a bakery, its usefulness could have 

 reconciled me to the smoke, for in this quarter of the city, too, the 

 people seemed to be in desperate want of bread, and I asked the Kar- 

 man to distribute all our provisions to relieve some of the famished 

 children that gathered around us at the street-corners. 



Near the gate the road was not paved, and the ground was here 

 covered with mire instead of dust. 



" Yes, cities abound with foul odors and all kinds of impurities," 

 remarked the Kabir, " but such evils are outweighed by moral bless- 

 ings. In this town even the poorest enjoy the advantage of spiritual 

 instruction and edifying sermons." 



" A great advantage, indeed," I was going to say, when I stumbled 



* Parduscos (R.). 



