THE GUEBRE PRIEST. 
237 
high moral elevation which stamps upon our frail hu- 
manity the impress of God’s image. A spirit may 
indeed be extinguished, but cannot be subdued. 
It could no longer remain a secret from the daugh- 
ter that Jumsajee had united himself to a band 
of desert robbers. He was visibly amassing trea- 
sure from his depredations. He was in the habit of 
absenting himself for days together ; he would then 
return with his companions, laden with booty, which 
was always secretly deposited in some dark recess of 
the tomb. The four Parsees, having been alienated 
from their tribe, ceased to observe those forms to 
which all true Guebres adhere with rigid scrupu- 
losity. They extinguished fire with indifference ; 
they saw the sun rise without making a single 
prostration ; they beheld the moon and stars, but 
not one thought was directed to Him who has so 
beautifully spangled the heavens, and written upon 
the broad page of the sky the grandest record of his 
omnipotence; they had, in fact, abjured their faith, 
and Zerdusht was no longer to them either an oracle 
or an object of veneration. Caring not with whom 
they associated, so long as such association procured 
them advantages, they became companions of the 
lowest among the Hindoo outcasts. 
In the course of time the name of Jumsajee was 
notorious as chief of a formidable gang of robbers; 
but as he took care that the scene of his predatory 
exploits should be at a distance from the tomb 
which he had made his dwelling, he thought him- 
self secure from all chance of discovery. He now 
occasionally absented himself, with his three com- 
