FIRE-TEMPLES OF THE GUEBRES. 325 



burned to ashes, and appeared like a heap of 

 charcoal covered with white ashes. The head, 

 arms, legs, and thighs, were also much burned. 

 There was no fire whatever in the grate, and the 

 candle was burned out in the socket of the can- 

 dlestick, which stood by her. The clothes of a 

 child on one side of her, and a paper screen on 

 the other, were untouched : and the deal floor was 

 neither singed nor discoloured. It was said that 

 the woman had drunk plentifully of gin over- 

 night in welcoming a daughter who had recently 

 returned from Gibraltar. 



Among the phenomena of the natural world 

 which are related to those of spontaneous com- 

 bustion, are what have been called the natural 

 fire-temples of the Guebres, and the igneous 

 phenomena which are seen in their vicinity. 

 The ancient sect of the Guebres or Parsees, dis- 

 tinguished from all other sects as the worshippers 

 of fire, had their origin in Persia ; but, being 

 scattered by persecution, they sought an asylum 

 on the shores of India. Those who refused to 

 expatriate themselves continued to inhabit the 

 shores of the Caspian Sea, and the cities of 

 Ispahan, Yezd, and Kerman. Their great fire- 

 temple, called Attush Kudda, stands in the 

 vicinity of Badku, one of the largest and most 

 commodious ports on the Caspian. In the neigh- 

 bourhood of this town the earth is impregnated 

 with naphtha, an inflammable mineral oil ; and 

 the inhabitants have no other fuel, and no other 

 light, but what is derived from this substance. 



The remains of the ancient fire-temples of the 

 Guebres are still visible about ten miles to the 

 north-east of the town. The temple in which 



