The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-06-19

only 10 be transferred at last To Queen
Victoria.
But il Akbar surpassed his grand
father as a builder. ne was in turn
surpassed by his grandson. shah Jv-
han. This emperor. the last Of tns
great MoguIs. who began his career
BY numbering two brothers ana two
cousins whose rivalry he feared and
who closed his career a prisoner Of his
rebellioas son. has linked his name
with some Of the most beautiful strue-
lures ever conceived by the m.iud Of
man. At Agra, within the walls - his
g~randfather's fort. ne built the Pearl
Mosque which has been described as
"the purest. loVeliest house Of ray@r
in existence" 1t Is constructed of
milk white marble and combines
strength, simplicity ana grace. He
also Quilt the Gem Mosque at Delhi.
The fort at Delhi was quilt by Shah
Jehan. and If its resemblance To The
fort at Agra dcpriEeS him Of credit
for originality. that argument cannot
be raised against the PALACE within.
for this is unrivaled among palaces
n narbIed halls. the jeweled bed
chambers. the pillared halls. the grace
full porticos-all these abound in rich
profusion. But il was upo he great
Hall Of Private Audience that he Law
ished taste and wealth. The floor is
of polished marble. the pillars and the
arched ceiling of polished marble ~
laid with precius stones. 50 SET as To
form figures and flowers Each square
inch Of it speaks Of patient toll and
Skill. and the whole blends harmpl-
ously. For this magnificent audience
Don he designed 4 throne ut Tor the
! chamber in which it stood. 1t was
called the peacock throne because II
was guarded by two peacOcks with eX-
banded tails O~rnamented With jewels
that reproduced the natural colors OF
the bird. The throne itself was MADE
of gold. inlaid With diamonds, rubleS.
and emerallS. over it was q canopy
of gold ~festooned with pearls ppo
ed by II pillars, all emblaZoned with
gems. ON either side stood the orien-
tai emblemS of royalty. an umbfell3.
each candle eight feet high and OF
solid gold. tudded with diamonds, the
covers being of crimson velvet crusted
and frihged with magnificent pearls.
Thus it was described. 1t was too
tempting q prize for greedy
ors to leave undisturbed, and was car
ried off some two centuries ago by q
Persian. Nadir Shah. Shah Jehan.
after contemplating this audience
chamber and throne. had inscribed
upon the wall in Persian characters a
verse which has been freely trans
lated to read,
1t is this, it is his. it is this"
And yet. in view of his sad fate there
seems as much irony in the ines as
there was in the delicately poised
scales of justice which he had inlaid
IF on earth be an eden of bliss,
on one Of the walls of his palace after
he had put his relatives out of the
) way. !.
But of all the works of art that can
be traced to his genius, nothing com
pares with the tomb, the Tai Mahal,
j. which he reared in honor of the best
beloved of his wives. Numtaj Mahal,
''the Chosen of the Palace" This
building. unique among buildings and
alone in its class. has been described
so often that | know not how to speak
OF it without employing language al
ready h~ackneyed. When | was astu-
dent at college. | heard a lecturer de-
scribe this wonderful tomb. and it was
one Of the objective points IN our
visit to India. Since | first heard of
il. 1 had read 50 much of it and had
received such glowing accounts from
those who had seen it. that | feared
t lest the expectations aroused might be
disappointed. We reached Agra to-
ward midnight, md, as the moon was
waning, drove at once to the Tai that
: we might see it under the most favor
> able conditions. for in the opinion of
many it is most beautiful by moon
light. There is something fascinating
in the view which it presents, and we
Toasted our eyes upon it. Shrouded in
the mellow light. the veins of the mar
bic and the stains of more than two
and a half centuries are invisible, and
! it stands forth like an apparation. We
+, visited it again in the day time. and
yet again. and fOund that the sunlight
increased rather than diminished it's
grandeur. | incloSe With this article
q photograph. but am aware that the
camera cannot reproduce it's lowell
ness. | am bringing an ~alabastor min
iature home with me. but | am con-
scious that the Tai must be seen full
5 size and ~silhouetted against the sky
/ To be appreciated
} Imagine a garden with flowers and
lawn, walks and marble water ba-
+ sins and fountains; in this garden
t build a platform of white marble Is
| feet high and 300 feet square. with
an ornamented minaret 131 feet high
at each corner: in the center of this
f platform rear a building $50 feet
square and 100 feet high, With its
: corners beveled off and. like the sides.
t recessed into bays; surmount it With
$ q large central dome and four smaller
E ones; cover it inside and out With in
/ laid work Of many cOlored marbles
and carvings of amazing d~elicacy; be-
meath the central dome place two mar
bic centetaphs, inlaid with precious
e stones. the tOmbS of Shah Jehan and
=. his Wife, and inclOSe them in exquisite.
8 ly carved marble Screens-imagine al
his, if you can. and then your concep-
ton of this world-famed structure vii
= tall far below the Tai Mahal itself. /
is, indeed. "a dream in marble" Ano
Yet, when one looks upon it and thel
surveys the poverty and ignorance o
! the Women who live within its shadow
= he is tempted To ask whether tn,
# building of the Tai might not hav'
honored his wife more had the Sc, 600.
0v0 invested in this tomb been eXpend
" ed on the elevation of Womanhood
The contract between this artistic pill
Z, and the miserable tenementS of tn,
5 people about it robs the structure o
u half its charms.
, Following the Flag.
When our soldiers Went to Cuba an
n the Philippines, health was the mos