Perth Amboy evening news., 1904-05-27
MOST FAMOUS MAUsoLEUM.
Beautiful Pavilion Wherein Rests the
Remains of a Much-Loved
Princess of India.

Princess of India.
The Tai Mahal, the Wonder of Agra
and the Grown of the World was
\ erected as a mausoleum for the remains
of the fair Arjamand a Began, by
her lord and lover, the Emperor Shah
Jehan, writes Mrs. j. Ghosal, in Records
\ of the Past" The Mogul princes and
\ princesses used to choose in their life
\ time a piece of picturesque ground, to
\ inclose it with high walls, embellish its
\ precincts with flower beds and groves
\ of shady trees and to build upon it a
4 pleasure house, where they took delight
\ during their lifetime. After the founder
4 died the pavilion became a mausoleum,
4 and never again echoed with song and
\ music. In all the world no king or queen
\ had ever such monument as the Tai
4 Mahal. 1t is known also by the name of
\ Mamtatzie Mahal, or exalted of the pal
aces. The queen died in 1929: and the
\ building was set on foot soon after her
! death, though not completed till 1913.
The beautiful domes of the Tai, "a dream
in marble" rise on the river bank. The
completely of it's design and the delicate
intricacy of the workmanship battle de-
scription. The Tai is built entirely OF
white marble, which is inlaid with pre-
cious stones arranged in lovely patterns
of flowers. A feeling of purity impress
es itself on the eye and the mind from
the absence of any coarser material.
The lower walls and panels are covered
with tulips, oleanders and full blown
II : .-.I.-1 - -oJ;nF ~, fhn xuh ~ q m q =
BILE, and although the inlaid work of
flowers, done in gems, is very brilliant
when looked at closely, there is on the
whole but little color, and the all pre-
vailing sentiment is one of whiteness,
silence and calm, the sameness being
relieved by the fine color of the inlaid
gems, by lines in black marble and by
4 delicately written Inscriptions, also In
black, from the Koran.
4 The whole mausoleum Stands on a
raised marble platform, at each of whose
corners rises q tall and slender minaret
4 of graceful proportions and exquisite
J beauty. In the center of the whole de-
A sign the mausoleum occupies a square
i of 1856 feet, with the angles deeply trun-
Gated, so as to form an unequal octagon.
n The main feature of this central pile is
4 the great dome, which swells upward
4 to nearly two-thirds of a sphere and
a tapers at its extremity into a pointed
a spire, crowned by a crescent. Beneath
y it an Enclosure of marble trellis work
q surrounds the tombs Of the empress and
4 her husband, the emperor. Each cor
4 ner of the mausoleum is covered by a
4 similar though much smaller dome,
4 erected on a pediment pierced with
q graceful saraceme arches. Light is ad-
4 mitted into the interior through a dou-
4 BILE screen of pierced marble, which
4 tempers the glare of an Indian sky, while
4 its whiteness prevents the mellow effect
I IRON degenerating into gloon. The in
D ternal decorations consist OF inlaid work
in precious stones, such as agate II
jasper, with which every %spandrel or
other salient point in the architecture
Y is richly fretted. Brown and violet
marble is also freely employed in
wreaths, scrolls and lintels to relieve
the monotony of the white walls.
y The color and design of the interior
of The Tai, the perfect symmetry of its
4 exterior and the aerial grace Of its domes
represent the most highly architectural
period of India-the stage at which the
architect ends and the jeweler begins.
The gateway is also magnificent. The
x diagonal o~rnamentation at the corners
I by fine marble cables, in bold twists, Is
strong and beautiful. The triangular
i insertions Of white marble and large
X flowers have in like manner given place
to fine inlaid work. Firm perpendicular
lines in black marble, with well pro-
portioned panels of the same material,
n are effectively used in the interior OF
n the gateway. On its top the Hindoo
Z brackets and monolithic architraves OF
I sikandra are replaced by Moorish cusped
Y arches. usually single blocks of red sand
stone in the kiosks and pavilions which
u adorn the road. From this beautiful
= and splendid gateway one passes up a
straight alley, shaded by evergreen trees
= and cooled by a broad shallow piece OF
a water running along the middle OF the
81 path, to the Tai itself. The garden adds
4 to the beauty of the buildings as the
81 buildings to the garden. 1t is such an
N orderly wilderness of lovely vegetation
II as could only be had in India. Yet, says
- a great poet, If the Tai rose amid the
u sands of a dreary desert, the lovely edl-
a flee would beautify the waste and turn
Sc it into a tender parable of the desolatlon
N of death and power of love, which Is