PRACTICES TO OBTAIN CHILDREN 123 



painted red, at other times a mere rough upright stone. 

 Such idols are to be seen everywhere in India; and 

 their pious worshippers may often be observed decking 

 them with flowers, red cloth or gilt paper, like the 

 Madonna in Roman Catholic churches. Siva himself, 

 the third in the modern Hindu Trimurti, is represented 

 under this form ; and under this form softened down 

 by Southey in his finest poem from the grotesque 

 obscenity of the original story he appeared when 



Brahma and Vishnu wild with rage contended, 

 And Siva in his might their dread contention ended. 



Many of the incidents of the cult of Siva and similar 

 gods have been described from travellers' reports 

 by Dulaure, to whose sixth chapter I refer the reader. 

 A cannon, old and useless and neglected, belonging 

 to the Dutch Government, lay in a field at Batavia, 

 on the island of Java. It was taken by the native 

 women for a linga. Dressed in their best, and adorned 

 with flowers, they used to worship this piece of sense- 

 less iron, presented it with offerings of rice and fruits, 

 miniature sunshades, and coppers, and completed the 

 performance by sitting astride upon it as a certain 

 method of winning children. At length an order 

 arrived from the Government to remove it as lumber ; 

 and removed it was, to the great dismay of the priests, 

 who had pocketed the coppers and had manufactured 

 and sold the sunshades probably also to the dismay 

 of the ladies who depended upon its miraculous 

 power but at all events, it is satisfactory to know, 

 without injuriously affecting the increase of the 

 population. 1 



i /. A. I. vi. 359. 



