The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1897-03-11

Imagine a valley in the form OF 8
huge crater, the sides Of which aresc COW
cred with thick jungle, in the center Of
Which rises green mound, forming a
pedestal for a fairylike and dazzling
marble palace, beside which the won
Sders Of Seville and of Granada in Spain
pale into insignificance, and around
this palace, which looks upon a great
gloomy lake, a large town, a great
metropolis, the smallest houses Of
which are stately palaces. Not a soul
is to be seen in the broad streets, not
"a trace Of smoke rising into the air,
\ not a sound is to be heard. Such is
Ambir, which, in architectural beauty,
in stateliness, and in the loneliness
with which nature has supplemented
I art and art nature, surpasses every
other city in the old world. a mix
I ture of the romantic and the myster-
I ious takes possession Of the tourist
who gazes for the first time upon this
deserted city. He feels tempted to; ask
himself whether, after all, it is not a
mere phantom of the Arabian Nights,
and whether, like a second calender, he
has come to disturb the silence of this
sleeping metropolis and to bring to.
light some frightful mystery. The pail
ace in particular has a supernatural APP
pearance, with its marble turrets that
have the yellowish tint Of ivory, and
it's lofty walls that are ornamented
with gilded balconies. Il.
| In spite of the impression which pre-
| walls widely that there is some mys-
terry connected with the desertion Of
Ambir, once the capital of Rajpoutana,
| yet its abandonment was solely and
| entirely due to a piece of capricious
/ despotism on the part of King Jey Sing
/ II, who reigned at Ambir some 200
years ago, and who is famous in Or
iental history as the greatest astrono-
mer that India has ever known. He
/ took it into his head that Ambir, in
closed in the valley of the Kalikho
/ Mountains, was incapable of develop
/ ment or extension, that it was too in
I accessible, and that it was unworthy
4 Of the grandeur Of his kingdom. Ac-
/ cordingly, he planned and built new
i capital some eight or ten miles lower
j down, and gave it the name Of Jeypore.
/ AS soon as he had completed his task,
i he commanded the entire population of
4 Ambir to abandon their homes, and to
take up their residence in Jeypore. No
one was permitted to remain behind,
and thus it happens that to-day the
n great city of Ambir, which, founded in
the first century of the Christian era,
4 was SO magniicently built that none of
it's palaces or public buildings have
! yet fallen into ruin or decay, is to-day
tenanted only by myriads Of monkeys,
i while here or there a naked fakir, who
i has come to pray at one Of the shrines
a which abound on the shores Of the lake
almay be seen bathing in its sombre
waters.
| The royal palace is one hundred feet
above the level of the lake. But the
stone buttresses which support the
sides of the green hill upon which il
stands descend perpendicularly into
the water and look like continuation
&of the castle walls, which are built ex.
actly over them, thus making the front
age appear more than two hundred fee
high. The principal gateway of thu
Ipalace, known as the .'soeve' gate, ant
which is shown here, is acknowledged
to be one of the most beautiful work.
a Of art in India. It is difficult to con
vey, by means of an engraving, an,