130  Ancient  and  Modern  Hindu  Medicine.  {^ii£^mlm' 
more  shops  in  which  are  kept  for  sale  an  assortment  of  English 
medicines,  and  native  medicines  are  found  in  all  the  bazaars. 
The  ordinary  native  doctor,  whose  preparation  consists  in  the 
purchase  of  a  few  bazaar  drugs  and  the  assumption  of  a  knowledge 
he  does  not  possess,  often  succeeds  in  making  a  very  good  living. 
Mercury  is  much  used  as  a  remedial  agent,  and  it  is  not  un- 
common to  see  ankylosis  of  the  jaw,  necrosis  of  the  maxillary  bones, 
and  gangrene  of  the  cheek  as  the  result  of  its  use. 
The  actual  cautery  is  much  used,  and  a  common  way  of  applying 
it  is  by  means  of  wicks  dipped  in  boiling  oil.  Every  newborn  child 
is  burned  a  number  of  times  over  the  abdomen.  Paralysis,  convul- 
sions, abdominal  and  pelvic  disorders  are  treated  with  the  actual 
cautery,  and  we  often  have  patients  brought  to  us  covered  with 
burns. 
The  superstitions  of  the  people  are  taken  advantage  of  by  the 
native  doctors.  This  is  especially  true  in  the  case  of  the  devil  doc- 
tors. Many  forms  of  nervous  and  mental  diseases  are  believed  to 
be  the  result  of  devil  possession,  and  I  have  known  of  well- 
marked  cases  of  hysteria,  mania,  etc.,  being  treated  as  such.  A  few 
months  before  I  left  Guntur,  I  spent  several  hours  with  three  devil 
doctors,  two  old  men  and  their  nephew.  They  had  inherited  the 
profession  from  their  father,  and  would  pass  it  down  to  their  sons. 
They  gave  me  a  very  elaborate  account  of  their  method  of  exorcising 
devils,  the  principal  feature  of  which  was  the  repetition  of  mantrums 
or  prayers,  which  are  composed  of  various  combinations  of  sixty-four 
letters.  After  the  devil  has  been  exorcised  the  doctor  ties  a  charm 
around  the  neck  of  the  patient.  Thurston,  in  his  "  Ethnographic 
Notes,"  devotes  a  large  space  to  omens,  evil  eye,  charms,  etc. 
Mantrams  or  consecrated  formulas  are  considered  so  powerful 
that  even  the  gods  can  be  brought  under  control.  They  are  effi- 
cacious in  curing  diseases,  in  protecting  children  against  devils,  and 
women  against  miscarriage.  Many  of  the  disorders  of  children  are 
attributed  to  the  evil  eye.  The  following  is  one  of  the  many  reme- 
dies :  Some  chillies  salt,  human  hair,  nail-cuttings,  and  finely  pow- 
dered earth  from  the  pit  of  the  doorpost  are  mixed  together,  whirled 
three  times  in  front  of  the  baby,  and  then  thrown  on  the  fire. 
Votive  offerings  also  occupy  a  large  place  in  the  thoughts  of  the 
people,  and  the  temples  are  daily  thronged  with  those  who  have 
come  to  fulfil  vows  made  during  illness  or  because  illness  has 
