The grounds are beautifully laid out.  No money or labor has been spared to make them attractive, and comfortable benches have been placed along the walks where relatives and friends may sit and converse or meditate after the ceremonies are concluded.  The Parsees are firm believers in the resurrection, and they expect their mutilated bodies to rise again glorified and incorruptible.  The theory upon which their peculiar custom is based is veneration for the elements.  Fire is the chief object of their worship, and they cannot allow it to be polluted by burning the dead; water is almost as sacred, and the soil of the earth is the source of their food, their strength and almost everything that is beautiful.  Furthermore, they believe in the equality of all creatures before God, and hence the dust of the rich and the poor mingles in the pit.

Parsee temples are very plain and the form of worship is extremely simple.  None but members of the faith are admitted.  The interior of the temple is almost empty, except for a reading desk occupied by the priest.  The walls are without the slightest decoration and are usually whitewashed.  The sacred fire, the emblem of spiritual life, which is never extinguished, is kept in a small recess in a golden receptacle, and is attended by priests without interruption.  They relieve each other every two hours, but the fire is never left alone.

The Mohammedans have many mosques in Bombay, but none of them is of particular interest.  The Hindu or Brahmin temples are also commonplace, with two exceptions.  One of them, known as the Monkey Temple, is covered with carved images of monkeys and other animals.  There are said to be 300 of them, measuring from six inches to two feet in height.  The other is the “Walkeshwar,” dedicated to the “Sand Lord” occupying a point upon the shore of the bay not far from the water.  It has been a holy place for many centuries.  The legend says that not long after the creation of the world Rama, one of the most powerful of the gods, while on his way to Ceylon to recover Stia, his bride, who had been kidnaped, halted and camped there for a night and went through various experiences which make a long and tedious story, but of profound interest to Hindu theologians and students of mythology.  The temple is about 150 years old, but does not compare with those in other cities of India.  It is surrounded by various buildings for the residence of the Brahmins, lodging places for pilgrims and devotees, which are considered excellent examples of Hindu architecture.  Several wealthy families have cottages on the grounds which they occupy for a few days each year on festival occasions or as retreats.

[Illustration:  Body ready for the funeral pyre—­Bombay burning ghats]