to resist absolutely the ravages of time. The oldest and smallest of the
towers was constructed about 200 years since, when the Parsees first
settled in Bombay, and is used only for a certain family. The next
oldest was erected in 1756, and the three others during the next
century. A sixth tower of square shape stands alone, and is only used
for criminals.

The writer proceeds as follows:

Though wholly destitute of ornament and even of the simplest
moldings, the parapet of each tower possesses an
extraordinary coping, which instantly attracts and
fascinates the gaze. It is a coping formed not of dead
stone, but of living vultures. These birds, on the occasion
of my visit, had settled themselves side by side in perfect
order and in a complete circle around the parapets of the
towers, with their heads pointing inwards, and so lazily did
they sit there, and so motionless was their whole mien, that
except for their color, they might have been carved out of
the stonework.

No one is allowed to enter the towers except the corpse-bearers, nor is
any one permitted within thirty feet of the immediate precincts. A model
was shown Mr. Williams, and from it he drew up this description:

Imagine a round column or massive cylinder, 12 or 14 feet
high and at least 40 feet in diameter, built throughout of
solid stone except in the center, where a well, 5 or 6 feet
across, leads down to an excavation under the masonry,
containing four drains at right angles to each other,