The counts are the most immoral class of people in Persia. They are without education, knowing nothing of the sciences, geography, mathematics or political economy, but most of them can read and write the Persian language and know something of Persian history. It is not much wonder that this leisure class becomes immoral, for it is a disgrace for them to do any kind of work, and "Satan finds work for idle hands to do." A count can't keep his own accounts or sell goods in a store. There are no newspapers and magazines circulated throughout Persia to occupy and lead out the thought of the people of leisure hours. No public libraries, and no private libraries except those of a few Persian volumes. The only newspaper published in Persia is an eight page paper published every three weeks. It does not circulate much outside of the capital city. The Presbyterian Mission publishes a monthly paper about Christian work.
When a subject goes before his lord, he finds the lord seated in his private room before a window. The subject bows before approaching near to the window. When the lord is ready to listen, the subject comes to the window. He usually meets with a frown and gets replies to his questions in a gruff voice. As a class the counts are not strong physically; they eat and drink too much for their own good.
CHAPTER IV.
CITIES, SCHOOLS AND HOLIDAYS.
The Persian cities generally are very old and most of them are surrounded by walls about six feet through and twenty feet high. The walls are made of clay, tramped solid by buffaloes or by men. The gates giving entrance to the city are opened during the day from eight o'clock in the morning until night. These walls would not withstand a charge from modern cannon, but they were very useful fourteen years ago when parts of the empire were overrun by about 60,000 Kurds, a tribe of wild nomads. They spoiled the villages wherever they went but could not take the walled cities. The streets of cities are generally narrow and crooked, and are not paved. The best houses are brick with stone foundation. Some poor men build homes with sun dried brick and still others make the walls of mud. The roof is flat and made of mud supported by timber. The houses are built adjoining one another, so that men can walk all over the city on the housetops. This is the common way of travel in winter when the streets are muddy. In some of the large cities like the capital, Tehran, and Isphahan and Shiraz modern paving of streets with stone is being introduced.
On each business street a single line of goods is sold. One will be devoted to drygoods, another to groceries, another to carpenter shops, another to iron and silver smiths, etc. The streets are from ten to thirty feet in width, and many of them are arched over with brick, so that rain and snow are shut out. Light is let into these enclosed streets by openings in the top of the arch. Camels, horses and donkeys bearing burdens of various kinds of goods may be seen passing through the streets. And in open squares of the city there stand many of these animals belonging to men who have come to the city to buy or sell goods. Before some of the mosques may be seen secretaries or mollahs whose business it is to write documents in business transactions for which they get from two to fifteen cents.
In buying goods in Persia a stranger is liable to be cheated. It is a custom among dealers to ask two or three times what an article is worth, expecting to come down with the price before making a sale. The silver smiths do some highly skillful work in making rings for the ears and fingers, and belts for the ladies. In all Persia you cannot find a lady selling goods in a store, except in one street where poor old women and widows are allowed to come for a few hours each day to sell such articles as caps, purses, sacks and soaps. Their faces must be covered except the eyes. Only a few women of the lower class are seen in the stores buying goods, and they must not have their faces exposed to view. No Christian can sell fluids such as milk, oil, syrups or juicy fruits like grapes. It is against the Mohammedan law to buy such things from a Christian. If a Christian wishes to buy any such goods from a Mohammedan he must not touch the same, as the merchant could not thereafter sell it to a Mohammedan.
There are many pick-pockets, both male and female in the crowded streets. A stranger must beware.
WEIGHTS.