PER 
much the fame: it is thus defcribed by fir Robert Porter. 
The bather, having undrefled in the outer room, and re¬ 
taining nothing but a piece of loofe cloth round his wailt, 
is conduced by the proper attendant into the hall of the 
bath: a large white Iheet is then fpread on the floor, on 
which the bather extends himfelf. The attendant brings 
from the ciftern, which is warmed from a boiler below, a 
fucceflion of pails full of water, which he continues to 
pour over the bather till he is well drenched and heated. 
The attendant then takes the employer’s head upon his 
knees, and rubs in with all his might a fort of wet pafte 
of henna-plant into his muftaches and beard. In a few 
minutes this pomade dyes them a bright red. Again 
he has recourfe to the little pail, and fhowers upon his 
quiefcent patient another torrent of warm water. Then, 
putting on a glove made of foft hair, yet pofleffing fome 
of the fcrubbing-brulh qualities, he firft takes the limbs 
and then the body, rubbing them hard for three quarters 
of an hour. A third fplafhing from the pail prepares for 
the operation of the pumice-ftone. This he applies to 
the foies of the feet. The next procefs feizes the hair of 
the face, whence the henna is cleanfed away, and replaced 
by another pafte, called rang, compofed of the leaves of 
the indigo-plant; which brings the beard to a dark-blue 
or black colour. To this lucceeds the ftiampooing, 
which is done by pinching, pulling, and rubbing, with 
fo much force and preflure, as to produce a violent glow 
over the whole frame. Some of the natives delight in 
having every joint in their bodies ftrained till they crack ; 
and this part of the operation is brought to fuch perfec¬ 
tion, that the very vertebrae of the back are made to ring 
a peal in rapid fucceflion. This has a very ftrange eft'eft 
on the fpe<5lator; for, in confequence of both bather and 
attendant being alike unclothed, the violent exertions of 
the one and the natural refiftance of the joints in the 
other, give the two the appearance of a wreftling-match. 
This over, the fhainpooed body, reduced again to its 
proftrate ftate, is rubbed all over with a preparation of 
foap, confined in a bag, till it is one mafs of lather. The 
foap is then waftied off with warm water, when a com¬ 
plete ablution fucceeds, the bather being led to the 
ciftern and plunged in. He pafles five or fix minutes, en¬ 
joying the perfe£tly-pure element; and, then emerging, 
has a large dry warm ftieet thrown over him, in which he 
makes his efcape back to the drefling-room. 
The Perfian ladies regard the bath as the place of their 
greateft amufement. They make appointments to meet 
there, and often pafs feven or eight hours together in the 
carpeted faloon, eating fweetmeats, telling ftories, &c.&c. 
But, although the Perfians bathe fo often, fays Mr. 
Scott Waring, they are a very dirty people. They very 
rarely change their garments, and feldom before it is 
dangerous to come near them. It is thought nothing in 
Perfia to wear a Ihirt a month, or a pair of trowfers half a 
year. We are well juftified, therefore, in confidering ba¬ 
thing as one of the amufements, the luxuries, of a Per¬ 
fian, rather than as a religious duty. All ranks delight 
in it fo much, that they have a faying, that “ No man 
lhould vifit-a foreign country, where there is not a ma- 
giftrate, a phyfician, and a bath.” We have already feen 
the bleflings they derive from the integrity of their ma- 
giftrates; and, though rather out of place, we fhall de¬ 
vote a very few lines to the fkill of their phyficians. The 
fcience of medicine among the Perfians, not being foun¬ 
ded either on anatomy or phyfiology, has nothing but 
conjecture for its guide. This profeflion, which is de- 
fpifed by the Turks, is confidered honourable in Perfia. 
It is not taught in academical inftitutions as in Europe, 
but each of its profeflbrs takes a number of pupils to 
whom he communicates the refults of his experience. 
Their fyftem of practice is derived from the Greeks, and 
has defcended to them with very little alteration. Accor¬ 
ding to their theory, things are either hot or cold in cer¬ 
tain degrees; and the only queftion they have to refolve 
is, whether the difeafe proceeds from too much heat or 
S I A. 721 
too much cold. Heat muft be repelled by cold, and cold 
by heat; and hence, as Olivier remarks, the affufion of 
cold water, in cafes of fever, appears to have been long 
praftifed among them, and he found that powerful diure¬ 
tics were commonly prefcribed to dropfical patients. 
Tavernier mentions, that they give horfe-flelh for the 
cholic; and Mr. Scott Waring was witnefs to nearly as 
curious an experiment. A poor man was violently afflic¬ 
ted with heart-burn; and, inftead of prefcribing an inter¬ 
nal medicine, they heaped on his breaft a great quantity 
of ice and fnow, which they faid was an effeflual cure. 
Kotzebue relates a fimilar inftance in the treatment of 
one of the muficians belonging to the Ruffian embafly. 
This man, being a Mahometan, had not fufficient confi¬ 
dence in the phyfician to the embafly, and defired that a 
Perfian do&or might be called in. His diforder was an 
inflammatory fever. The Perfian dodtor appeared, and 
prefcribed for the patient a large quantity of ice, which 
the poor fellow fwallowed with ecftacy, and died on the 
third day. 
Marriages and Funerals. —“ There is no celibacy 
in Iflamifm: your wives are to you, and you are to your 
wives, what the garment is to the body.” Such are the 
terms in which the Koran fpeaks of marriage. Every 
male, on attaining the proper age, is therefore expected 
to take a female companion; whether it be a Have that 
he purchafes, a woman whom he hires, or a legitimate 
wife whom he marries. His religion allows him the 
choice of thefe three modes; but at the fame time forbids 
him to hold intercourfe with loofe women, or to covet 
the wife of another. 
A female flave, when purchafed by a man, becomes his 
foie and entire property: he can difpofe of her life and 
even of her honour, as he pleafes; and he may raife her 
from fervitude to the condition of a free woman, and 
even of a legitimate wife, without incurring any cenfure : 
fuch is the cuftom. 
The Perfians have a connexion of a Angular nature 
called moutah, which fignifies “ the ufe of any thing for a 
certain time.” It is, in fadt, a temporary marriage, the 
duration of which is fixed by the taker. A man whole 
circumftances do not permit him to form a jointure for 
a legitimate wife, takes one on leafe. The contrail is ex¬ 
ecuted before the Cadi or the Sheik-ul-Iflam. Legitimate 
marriage is called naccah, and is contradted before the fame 
magiftrates. The Koran authorifes a man to marry four 
lawful wives, provided he can maintain them. The 
fame book profcribes marriages between relatives within 
a certain degree. A man may not marry his mother, his 
aunt, his daughter, his After, his niece, his nurfe, his fof- 
ter-fifter, his wife’s mother or daughter, his fon’s wife, 
two filters, or the wife of another. 
The mode of matrimonial courtlhips in Perfia does not 
allow the eyes of the parties to direct their choice till they 
are mutually pledged to each other. An elderly female 
is employed by the relations of theyouth to vifit the objeft 
feledted by his parents or friends, or guefled at by him¬ 
felf ; and her office is to afcertain the damfel’s perfonal 
endowments, and all other fubjedts fuitable to their views 
in the connexion. If the report be favourable, the friends 
of the propofed bridegroom difpatch certain lponfors to 
explain his merits and pretenfions to the relations of the 
lady, and to make the offer of marriage in due form. If 
accepted, the heads of the two families meet, when the 
neceflary contradts are drawn up; the prefents, ornaments, 
and other advantages propofed by the bridegroom’s pa¬ 
rents, difcufled and arranged ; and, when all is finally fet¬ 
tled, the papers are fealed, and witnefled before the cadi. 
On the morning of the day fixed for the wedding, the 
lover fends a train of mules, laden with the promifed gifts 
for his bride, to the houfe of her parents; the whole 
being attended by numerous fervants, and preceded by 
mufic and drums. Befides the prefents for the lady, the 
proceflion carries all forts of coftly viands on large filver 
trays, ready prepared to be immediately fpread before the 
inmates 
