Rensselaer Republican, Volume 17, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 December 1884 — The Water Supply of the Orient. [ARTICLE]

The Water Supply of the Orient.

In the principal Indian cities it is no longer necessary to drink boiled wafer, owing to the excellent supplies furnished by the public water works. In Jaffa the water, is intolerably blackish. In Kontsehuck tho muddy Danube is filtered and'sold to the native Bttlgar-

ians. 'ln Vienna thq water works are very extensive and the water the best I know of, being nearly ice-cold oa the hottest day. In Aden the public water supply is obtained by condensing and distilling common sea water by means of large engines. This unpalatable product is then sold for as high os eight cents a gallon. Bains are too fare" to be depended upon. Filtered rain water is used in Jerusalem, and if yon want enough for a bath you must pay for it extra. This suggests the matter of baths. Whatever the resident Occidentals in (he Orient may be morally, they endeavor to be physically clean. Usually a room in a hotel inclndes a special bath-room adjoining, and nearly every bed-room in a private house is similarly equipped. A morning bath is regarded as a matter of necessity, and an evening bath a 3 a barely dispensable comfort. Even the first-class railway coaches in India are in many cases equipped with bath-rooms, with showerbaths, so that ybn may take your regular ablutions while whirling along at full speed. Many of the railway depots are also provided with baths, so that yon may utilize tedious waits by cleansing yourself. The Japanese bathe to excess, using such hot water that fatal syncope is an occasional consequence. With the Japs a bath is a sensuous luxury. They delight in relieving themselves of superfluous clothing. On the other hand, their neighbors, the Chinese get inside as much clothing as possible, and are never seen in the streams with which their country abounds bathing or swimming. The Malays and natives of Aden, many of them, are scarcely less than human ducks. A bit of silver cannot reach the bottom of the sea before they have it. The Hindoos and Brahmins bathe —especially in the Ganges—as a religious exercise, smearing the body with oil first if they can afford it.—Correspondence of Chicago Inters Ocean.