The Progress., 1895-01-12
"TOMB AND TEMPLE.'
m TALMACE WRITES OF HIS
TRAVELS IN INDIA.
From India Even Unto Ethiop'a as
the Text for His Sermon Through
the Press-~The Gilded Palaces Of
Eastern IdOlatry.


Eastern Idolatry.
"a n HIS Sc r NJ 0 n
9 NT3 through the press, dated
GlCCy, Brooklyn, Jan. 6, Dr.. Tai
4GCIdmage writes as follows:
9 Ccs7MH In all the Bible this is the
| RWTN1I only book i'll which the
| 49, Sl|1 word India occurs, but it
T/&WW stands for a realm Of vast
| e]RSzL1A interest in the time OF
~O .IsY Esther as in our time. 1t
! NlE@SM yielded then as now spices,
Gk - } and silks, and cotton. and
ne! Z rice, and indigo, and ores
@ . q ofall richness, and precious
q stones of all sparkle, and
had a civilization of its own as marked
as Egyptian or Grccian or Roman c'v-
| ilization. 1t holds the c0stllcSt tomb
ever built, and the most unique and
| idoIatrous temple ever opened. For
practical lessons. in this my sixth DIS
| course in round the world series,
show you that tomb and temple OF
| India
In a Journey around the world 1t
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 TN" time
travelling, and having seen that, we
felt that if we saw nothing more, our
expedition would be a success. That
one object was the Tai Mahal of India,
| It is the crown of the whole earth.
The spirits Of architecture met to en-
throne a king, and the spirit Of the
Parthenon of Athens was there; and
the spirit of St. Sophia of Constantl-
nople was there; and the spirit OF st.
Izaak of St. Petersburg was there; and
the spirit of the Bapistery of Pisa was
there; and the spirits Of the Great
Pyramid, and of Luxor Obelisk, and OF
the Porcelain Tower of Nankin, and OF
st. Marks of Venice; and the spirits OF
all the great towers, great cathedrals,
great mausoleums, great sarcophag1'
great capitols for the living, and OF
great necropolises for the dead, were
there And the presiding genins OF
the throng with gavel OF Parlan
marble smote the table Of Russian mala-
chite, and called the spirits to order,
and called a vote as to which spirit
should wear the chief crown, and
mount the chief throne, and wave the
chief scepter, and by unanimous &C
claim the cry was: Long live the
spirit of the Tai. king of all the spirits
of architecture! Thine is the TaJ
Mahal of fndia!'
The building is about six miles from
Apra. and as we rode but in the early
dawn we heard nothil g but the hoofs
and wheels that pulled and turned us
along the road, at every yard of which
our expectation rose until we had
some thought that we might be disap'
pointed at the first glimpse, as some
say they were disappointed. But how
can any one be disappointed with the
Tai is almost as great wonder tc
me as the Tai itself There are some
people always disappointed, and who
knows but that having entered HEAVIER
they may criticise the architecture O.
the temple, and the cut OF the white
robes. and say that the river of life i
not quite up to their expectations, ane
that the white horses on which thu
conquerors ride seem little spring
halt or spawned?
NY son said, There it is!" said
"Where?" For that which h
saw to be the building seemed
10 me to be more like the morn
ing cloud blushing under the
stare of the rising sun. 1t seemed no
so much built up from earth as lie
down from heaven. Fortunately, yo'
stop at an elaborated gateway of ret
-, sandstone one eighth of mile frol
the Tai, an entrance so high, so arched
so graceful, so four domed, SO painte
and chiseled and scrolled that you com
very gradually upon the Tai, whicl
D. structure is enough to intoxicate tn
+ eye, and stun the imagination, an
entrance the soul. We go up tn
winding stairs of this majestic entranc
of the gateway, and buy few pict
t ures and examine a few curios, an
from it look off upon the Tai, and Dc
scend to the pavement of the garde
that raptures everything between tn
gateway and the ecstasy of marble an
" precious stones. You pass along dee
10 stream Of water in which all manne
of brilliant fins swirl and float. Their
are eighty four fountains that spou
and bend, and arch themselves tc e.
in showers of pearl in basins OF snow
whiteness. Beds of all lmaginab
- flora greet the nostril before they d
the eye, and seem to roll in waves {
colors as you advanco toward the visio
you are soon to have of what huma
If genius cid when it did its best; moe
N flowers, lilac, marigolds, tulips, ar
L almost everywhere the lotus; thicke
10 of bewildering bloom; on either sic
?" trees from many lands bend the
1T aborescence over your head. or see
Or with convoluted branches to reach o.