BEAHMINEE BULLS. 
71 
CHAPTER VI. 
BRAHMINEE BULLS. — SERINGAPATAM. 
Upon quitting Salem, we crossed the Cavery and 
proceeded towards Seringapatam. On the hanks of 
the river, in the neighbourhood of a small pagoda, we 
saw a couple of Brahminee bulls, so sleek and fat as 
to form a perfect contrast with the population around 
them, everywhere suffering from the sad scarcity of 
grain, while the bones of these sacred animals were 
loaded with an encumbrance of consecrated flesh. It 
was melancholy to see, that while thousands of human 
beings were starving, the bulls dedicated to the stern 
divinity, Siva, were so pampered that they would eat 
nothing but the most delicate food, and this was ge- 
nerally taken with a fastidious and palled appetite. 
These bulls were very small, but very beautiful ; 
the dewlap of one of them, hanging from his throat 
and between his fore-legs, almost touched the ground. 
I could not help feeling deeply the sad fact that the 
miseries of their fellow-creatures were looked upon 
with cruel indifference by the wealthy members of 
the Hindoo community ; while before the dumb crea- 
tures devoted to their gods, and those senseless blocks 
which formed the disgusting effigies of their divinities. 
