298 ON THE RELIGION AND 



The offerings made at the temples are very various : 

 boiled rice, fruits, efpecially the cocoa-nut, flowers 

 natural and artificial, and a variety of curious figures 

 made of paper, gold leaf, and the cuttings of the co- 

 coa-nut kernel, are the moft roninion. It is alio very 

 cuftomary for the rich toofter elegant white umbrellas 

 with golden ornaments, large flippers, canes, pillows, 

 and all manner of utenfils, gilded, and of the fineft 

 materials : thefe are depofited in the temples or chapels 

 for the ufe of the divinity. The poor, in place of 

 thefe coftly offerings, content themfelves with paper 

 imitations of the fame utenfils. Thefe giiisare placed 

 before the god or his temples on altars, or on wooden 

 benches : and the eatables become a prey to the crows 

 and dogs. People who have been in peril by water, 

 prefent models of fhips or boats; fome of which are 

 formed with confiderable neatnefs. One of the moft 

 common ways for aperfon to exprefs his devotion, is 

 by gilding a patch of a temple, of which many on this 

 account make a very motley appearance. The king',? 

 royal munificence is extended to a very great amount, 

 in gilding anew many large temples. We were told, 

 that this part of his expence amounted annually to 

 20,000 peiththa of filver, or nearly 86,8051b. weight 

 of that valuable metal. The expence of EimJIic 

 mayn, or the heir apparent, is alfo confiderable in the 

 fame way. When we vifited the celebrated temple 

 Ananda, the perfon, who fuperintended the repairs 

 then carrying on by the prince, told us, that four 

 peiththa of pure gold * were prepared for the gilding, 

 which would be beftowed on the infide of that edifice. 

 The roads leading to the principal temples, near po- 

 pulous places, are on holy-days lined with ftalls, and 

 little portable fliops, where gold leaf, ornamented 

 fruits, fiowers natural and artificial, and other fimilar 

 offerings are fold: fo that the devout walk out, buy 

 their offering by the way, and go to the temple where 

 it is to be prefented. The women are by far the moft 



numerous 



* Value about /'83P. 



