. A visit to the Russians in central Asia. sit to the Russians give a kind of darkness that is oppressive,something hke the sensation of an approach-ing thunder-storm. It is strange to feel frequently a gentle pushagainst your back or shoulder, and turninground you see a patient little donkey, generallywhite, ridden by a native whose feet nearlytouch the ground on each side ; he may have aboy mounted behind him, or a dark blue orblack bundle that represents a wife, her eyesand features completely concealed by the uglyblack veil that women in Buchara wear overtheir faces. Or there may follow th
. A visit to the Russians in central Asia. sit to the Russians give a kind of darkness that is oppressive,something hke the sensation of an approach-ing thunder-storm. It is strange to feel frequently a gentle pushagainst your back or shoulder, and turninground you see a patient little donkey, generallywhite, ridden by a native whose feet nearlytouch the ground on each side ; he may have aboy mounted behind him, or a dark blue orblack bundle that represents a wife, her eyesand features completely concealed by the uglyblack veil that women in Buchara wear overtheir faces. Or there may follow the ridertwo or three camels tied one after your attention is required to get out of theway, especially if at the same time you happento meet a cart with two great wooden wheelsover ten feet high. The cry of warning is pusht or poisht, I have heard it pro-nounced both ways, and should the rider beyoung or impatient you must step briskly do not appear to occur and perfectorder is kept. It is considered beneath the. THE TOWER OF BLCHARA L in Central Asia 163 dignity of a Bokhariot to walk, but Jews arenot allowed to ride. The lofty tower of Buchara, about two hun-dred feet high, ornamented with brickwork inbands of different designs, is one of the mostbeautiful monuments in Central Asia and is inperfect preservation ; at the top is a storksnest. Thanks to Russian civilization, it is nolonger the place of execution for criminals, whountil lately were thrown from its summit intothe market-place, to be dashed to pieces beforea ferocious and admiring populace. Thisdreadful form of punishment was not peculiarto Buchara; we read in the Bible that thesons of Judah brought their prisoners to thesteep of a certain rock and cast them downheadlong from the top, and they were allbroken to pieces. The Tarpeian Rock isfamiliar to all visitors to Rome, but nothingmakes one realize the horror of the scene inthe same way as does the sight of this wonder-ful tower. Tortur
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