[290]. Dr. Haug, Essays, p. 2. 67
[291]. Prof. Roth, Tubingen. Chips, p. 85.
[292]. There are also many so-called historical works, which, although deficient in sound criticism, and to a greater or less extent unreliable, still furnish some curious and noteworthy data. They have translations of the Maha-bharata, the Ramayana and other standard works of Sanskrit literature, but the original fire of Persian genius appears to be hopelessly crushed.
[293]. The Tazieh is the outgrowth of a ceremony which, for centuries, the Persians have annually performed in the holy month Moharrem. At this time they celebrate the tragic death of Hossein, the grandson of the Prophet who perished with all his house at the hands of a rival for the honors of a caliphate. The month of mourning is largely occupied with the recitals and ceremonies pertaining to the event; halls being especially constructed for these rhapsodies, as after more than seven hundred years, the terrible scenes of the tragedy were dramatized and placed upon the Persian stage. In the royal Takieh, or theatre, the great drama is unfolded for ten successive days, during the month of mourning, while in all other portions of the empire it is reproduced with more or less power, at the same time.
Transcriber’s Note
Footnote 172, the first on p. [123], has no referent in text, and refers to a topic that is not obviously apparent in the text.
Small lapses of punctuation in the Index have been regularized with no further comment.
Errors deemed most likely to be the printer’s have been corrected, and are noted here. The references are to the page and line in the original. For index entries, the middle reference is to the column. Corrections in footnotes are referred to solely by the number as it appears, re-sequenced, in this version.