The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-01-07
TALMACE on The TAI MAHAL
Twenty thousand Hen Twenty Years
Building II.

Its Cost $50. oOo, 900 II The Famous
Structure Built by q shah as a Tomb
for His Beautiful Queen The Threat
of the English 70 Blow the Tai to
Atoms Ended the Disposition for Mu-
tiny at agra During the Dark Days Of
Is57-A Visit TO the Young Mems
Christian Association Rooms at Bonn
bay.
Brooklyn. Jan. Sin continuing his
series Of 'Round-the-World sermons,
through the press. Rev. Dr. Talmage to-
day chose for his subject. Tomb and
Temple" HANG reference 10 that most
famous and beautiful of mausoleums. the
Tai Mahal. The text selected was. From
India Even Unto Ethiopia" Esther !. L.
in all the Bible this is the only book
IN which the word India occurs. but fl
stands for a realm of vast interest ia the
time Of Esther AS iu our time. Il yielded
then as now. spices and silk. and cotton.
and rice. and indigo. and ores Of all
richness, and precious stones OF all sparkle
and had a civilization Of its own as marked
as Egyptian or Grccian or Roman civ
ilization. it holds the costliest tomb ever
built. and the most unique and wonderful
idolatrous temple ever opened. For prac-
teal lessons, in this my sixth discourse
in 'Round-the-World" series. l show
you that tomb and temple of India.
In journey around the world it may
not be easy to tell the exact point which
divides the pilgrimage into halves. But
there was one structure toward which
we were all the time travelling. and hav-
ing seen that. we felt that If we saw moth
ing more. our expedition would be a sue
cess. That one object was the TAI Mahal
of India: It is the crown Of the whole
earth. The spirits of architecture met
10 enthrone a king. and the spirit Of the
Parthenon Of Athens was there. and the
spirit Of St. Sophia of Constantinople was
there; and the spirit of ST. lzaak OF st.
Petersburg was there; and the spirit of
the Baptstry Of Pisa was there; and the
spirits of the Great Pyramids and of
Luxor Obelis6. ana of the Porcelain Tower
of Nankln, and of ST. Marks of Venice;
and the spirits of all the great towers.
great cathedrals great mausoleums, great
Earcophagi great capitols for the living.
and Of great necrOpOlises for the dead,
were here. And the presiding genius of
the thrOng with gavel of Parian marble
emOte the table OF Russian malachite,
and called the throng of spirits to order.
and called for "A vote as TO which spirit
should wear the chief crown, and mount
the chief throne, and wave the chief
sceptre, and by unanimous acclaim
Theory was: Long live the spirit of the
Tai, king of all the spirits Of architecture!
Thine is the Tai Mahal of Indiar'
The building is about six miles from
Agra, and as we rode out I'm the early
dawn we heard nothing but the hoofs and
wheels that pulled and turned us along
the road, at every yard of which our ex-
pectations rose until we had some thought
that we might be disappointed at the first
glimpse, as some say they were disap-
pointed But how can any one be disap-
pointed with the Tai is almost as great
wonder to me the Tai itself. There
are some people always disappointed, and
who knows but that having entered heaven
they may crticse the architecture of the
temple, and the cut of the white robes
and say that the River of Life is not quite
up to their expectations, and that the
white horses on which the conquerors
ride seem little spring-halt or spawned?
Ny son said, There it isg' / said
"Where?" For that which he saw to be
the building seemed 10 me to be more
like the morning cloud blushing under
the stare Of the rising sun. 1t seemed not
so much built up from earth as let down
from heaven. Fortunately, you stop
at an elaborated gateway of red sand
stone, one-eighth of a mile from the Tai,
an entrance so high, SO arched, so grace
full, so four-domed, so painted and
and scrolled that you come
very gradually upon the Tai, which struc-
ture is enough to intoXicate the eye, and
stun the Imagination, and entrance the
soul. We go up the winding stairs of this
majestic entrance of the gateway, and
buy a few pictures and examine few
curios, and from it look off upon the Tai
and descend to the pavement of the gar
den that raptures everything between the
gateway and the ecstacy of marble and
precious stones. You pass along a deep
stream of water in which all manner of
brilliant fins swirl and float. There are
eighty-four fountains that spout and
bend, and arch themselves to fan in show
ers of pearl in basins of snowy wilderness.
Beds of all imaginable flora greet the
nostril before they do the eye, and seem
to roll in waves Of color as you advance
toward the vision you are soon to have
of what human genius did when IL did
ats best; moon flowers, lilacs, marigolds,
tulips, and almost everywhere the lotus;
thickets of bewildering bloom; on either
side trees from many lands bend their
aborescence over your head, or seem with
convoluted branches to reach out their
arms toward you in welcome. On and
on you go amid tamarind, and cypress,
and poplar, and oleander, and yew, and
sycamore. and banyan, and palm, and
trees of such novel branch, and leaf and
girth, you cease to ask their name or ma
tivity. AS you approach the door of the
Tai one experiences a strange sensation
of awe, and tenderness, and humility, and
worship. The building is only grave, but
what grave! Built for a queen, who, ac-
cording to some was very good, and ac-
cording TO others was very bad. I choose
TO think she was very good. At any rate
it makes me feel better TO think that this
commemorative pile was set up for the
naturalization of virtue rather than
vice. The Tai is a mountain of white mar
Bile but never such walls faced each
other with exquisiteness; never such
tomb was cut from block of alabaster;
never such a congregation of precious
stones frightened, and gloomed and
blazed, and chastened and gloriied a
building since sculptor's chisel cut its
first curve, or painters pencil traced its
first figure, or mason's plumb-line meas
ured its first wall or architects compass
swept its first circle.
The Tai has sixteen great arched win
dows, four at each corner. Also at each of