Page:Life in India or Madras, the Neilgherries, and Calcutta.djvu/584

512 with joy and approbation. The wealthy merchants of Calcutta on these occasions indulge in an expenditure that is astonishing, making most costly entertainments, not only for their own countrymen, but also for Europeans, with tables set out loaded with viands and wines, and giving away vast numbers of presents. It is calculated that more than two millions of dollars are expended every year, in Calcutta alone, on this single festival. How do the gifts of Christian cities for the spread of the gospel sink into insignificance before this sum, expended in honour of a false god, and to foster self-love, in the idolatrous metropolis of India!

The house of the babu to which I went to see the worship of Durga was built in the ordinary shape of a hollow square. On the right and left of the quadrangle are galleries and apartments, two stories in height. The central court was roofed by a canvas covering, from which hung numerous chandeliers, which threw a glittering light on the tinsel and ornaments with which the house was hung. At the opposite extremity of the court, in an apartment elevated and fronting on the court, stood the image before which the pujah was performed. The group of gods and goddesses, as large