Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1895-01-12

you first saw them. In letters Of black
marble the whole Of the Koran is spelled
ont in and on this august pile. The king
sleeps in the tomb beside the queen. al
though he intended 70 build a palace "a
black as this was white on the opposite
side OF the river for himself TO sleep in
Indeed the foundation OF such necrop-
oils Of blacl, marble is still there, and
f-or the white TO the black temple of
the dead bridge was 20 cross, but tine
son dcthroned him and imprisoned him,
and il j. wonderful that the king had
any place 90 all in which to be buried.
Instead Of windows 10 let in the light
upon tho two ;ombs, there is 4 trellis
work OF marble, marble cut 80 delicate
II thin that the sun shines through il rs
easily rs through glass Look the world
over aud find so much translucency.
can0pics, traceries. lace work, emhroid-
cries If stone.
We had heard Of the wonderful reso-
nance of this Tag. and so / tried il.
suppose there are more sleeping echoes
in that building waiting to be Weakened
ly .he human voice than in any build
ing ever constructed. uttered one word,
ard there seemed descending invisible
choirs in full chant, and there was "a re-
verberaiion that kept on long after one
would have expected il TO cease. When
q line Of hymn was sung, there were
replying, rolling. rising, falling. inter
weaving sounds that seemed modulated
ly beings scraphic. There were aerial
sopranos and hassos, soft, high. deep,
tremulous, emotional. commingling 1t
was like an antiphonal Of heaven But
there ARE four or five Tai Mahals II has
one appearance at sunrise, another at
noon, another at sunset and another hy
moonlight Indeed the silver irowol Of
the moon, and the golden trowel Of the
sunlight. and the leaden trowel If the
storm build and rebuild the glory. 80
that /; never seems twice alike. IL has
all moods. all compilations. all gran
deurs. From the top Of the TAI. which
is $50 feet high, springs spire 80 feet
higher aud that Is enameled gold. What
al anthem in eternal rhyihml Lyrics
and olcsics in marble. Sculptured no
sauna Masonry a Of supernatural
hands. Mighty doxolocy ia stone
shall $50 nothing to equal it till see
the great white throne, and on j, him
from whose face the earth and heavens
fee away.
Tie Pride Of India.
Tho Tag is tho pride of India, and es-
pecinlly % Mohammedanism An Eng
lish officer az the fortress told Us that
when during the general mutiny i'll So
the Mchamredans proposed insurrection
At Agra the English government aimed
the guns OF the fort at the TAI and said.
. 1ou make Instruction. and that same
day We Will blow your Tai to atoms. :"
and that threat ended the disposition for
mutinv ~ Agra
But Thought while looking at that
palace for the dead all this constructed
10 cover handful Of dust, but even that
handful has probably gone from the
mausolcum How much better il would
have been tocxpend $50. 600. GOO. which
the Tai Mahai cost. for the living What
asylunis il might have built for The sicl.,
what houses for tho h0mclessl What i'm.
provcmcnt our century has made upon
other centuries in lifting in honor II the
q parted memorial churches, memorial
hospitals. memorial reading rooms, me
marial ulist rvatorirs BY al possible
III. ~ iet ID, keep the emory Of de
parted loved ones fresh in mind. and let
there b. an appropriate headstone OF
monument IN the cemetery, hut there is
a dividing line between reasonable com
mcmosaticn and wicked extravaganza
The Tag Mahal has its uses ~ an archi-
tectural achievement. eclipsing all other
architecture, hut as "a memorial Of de
parted wife and mother it expresses no
more than the piainest slab in many a
country graveyard The best monument
wc can any Of Us have built for "a, when
Sc are gone Is IN the memory Of those
whose sorrows we have alleviatcd in
,he wounds we have healed. ia the kind
ncsss We have done. in the ignorance
we have enlightened. ia the rccrcant we
have reclaimed, in the s0rls We have
savsa such . monument is built ont Of
material more lasting than marble or
srouze AMI will stand amid The eternal
.pic-d1r- long after the TAI Mahal ~
India shall have gone down in the ruins
II world ~ which il was the costliest
adornment. But promised TO show yen
not only tomb II India, but a unique
heather temple, and il is a temple un-
dergroand.
With miners candle we had seen
al the underside Of Australia,
as al Gimpie. rs with guides torch we
had seen II different times something
Of the undo side Of America rs in II: u
moth cave. buf we are now 10 enter one
Of tho sacred cellars Of India, common
j. called the E."phanta caves. We had
il all 10 ourselves. the steam yacht that
was 10 take rs about IS miles over the
haIhor Of Bombay and between cnchant-
I'D islands, and along shores whose curves
and gulchus and pictured rocks gradual.
j. prepared the mind for appreciation
OF the most unique spectacle in India
The morning had been full Of thunder
and lightning and dolugc, but the at
mospheric acitations had ceased, and
the cloudy ruins Of the storm were piled
up in the heavens. huge enough and
darkly purple enough 10 make the skies
a. erandly picturesque As the earthly
scenery amid which we moved
The Idols Of Elephanta.
After an hours cutting through the
water We came to the long pier reach.
Ing from the island called Elephanta II
Is an island saall Of girth, but GOO feet
high IL declines into the marshes Of
mangrove But the whole island is one
tancie OF foliage and verdurc; convolv-
Mas creeping the ground; moses climb
ing the rocks: vines slecying the long
arms az the trees; red flowers here and
there in the woods, like incondiary :
torch trying 20 set the groves on fire
most charm the beholder; tropical bird
meeting particolored butterfly in junslcs
planted the same summer the world was
born. We stepped ont Of the boat amid
enough natives TO afford all the help we
needed for landing and guidance. You
can he carried by coolies in an easy
chair, OF you can walk. if you are bless
cd with two stout limbs, which the
p>almi>t evidently lacked. OF he would
not have 80 deprecated them when he
,.a. The Lord takcih no pleasure in
~. legs Of "a man. We passed up some
ue STEPS. and between the walls we
se awaiting n> cobra, one Of these
>aai, which greet the traveller ofttimes
ID Iaaia Two Of the guides left the CO