The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-02-28

upon his chaplain objected, saying he
had made twenty pflgrinlages 10 Mecca
but that none OF them annoyed him as
NE at the kings court annoyed him.
Dy reason OF the noise, which left MIN
no time for meditation and devotion.
Therefore" seid the chaplain, zone
Of US must leave
The king begged that he Cthe king
be permitted to depart; so he came to
Agra, then desert, and built a city
that will remain one of the world
wonders for many centuries In addi-
ton to the Tai MahaI. the most beauti-
full building in the world, agra contains
EdinbOrOugR, in Scotland, as the sun
is superior to the moon. And 1t WAS
built by the MOhammedans, more than
three hundreds years ago.
The Tai Mahal. about which students
Of art rave necessarily, Is one of the
great sights that Is never disappoint-
ing it is as wonderful as tourists and
the books claim. When traveller at
tempts to tell you about the Tai Mahal,
listen patiently; If the traveller is
fairly good talker. he can tell an in
teresting story. No other country pre-
tends to have an equally beautiful
structure.
It is built OF white marble. and .enor-
nous in proportions. The architect
was an italian, and. when he cOmplet-
ed his work at the end Of seventeen
years with the aid of twenty thousand
men working constantly and the ex
penditure of fifteen million dollars) his
right hand was cut or. and his eye put
out, that he might not build another
like it.
The term Tai Mahal means tomb
in memory of person named TAI This
person was the favorite wife of king.
The king intended building a tomb for
nfrr1uaIf pr1Cffvr fika the Tai the
pOsite side of the river, but of black
marble; before he could carry out his
design, he was deposed and imprisoned.
He died a prisoner on the turrets of
the fortress to be described hereafter,
looking at the beautiful tomb of his
beautiful wife and his remains now
rest beside those Of the woman he loved
above all others
This man had many wives and con-
cubines; he could dismiss his old ones
at viii, and procure new ones, but one
woman pleased him so much that he
forgot all the others. Every man Is a
sort Of Mormon, but the right woman
can capture him, and make him dutl-
fully faithful and kind. And no bossy
woman, no equal Fighter, was ever
loved as the king loved the Tai: it is
always the gentle, patient, womanly
woman who wins the love Of a man.
And in the building the Tai Mahai,
the king didn't make a bad investment:
MS EOIllDt ana lIdL OL his DGHl AAtitAA
has been visited many. many years Ey
people from all over the world, and
will be 50 visited for many centuries to
come.
The art Of writer. particularly a
poor writer, is so paltry, after all,
doubt if 7 can give the reader crude
idea of the Tai Mahal. Imagine your
self standing inside the great tomb tat
midnight, with the moon shining
brightly, as I saw it, Back of you,
the entrance gate: a noble structure Of
red sandstone that would of itself at
tract pilgrims in any other country In
front of you, a quarter Of q mile away,
the Tai Mahal, built entirely of white
marble, and enormous in its proooF-
tions. Beyond the Tai. the river To
your right, a palace Of red sandstone;
to your eft q palace of red sandstone
exactly ike that on your right. Sear IN
mind that The gate, the Tai, and the
palaces on the right and left, form an
enclosure a quarter of q mile square
In the center of this enclosure. beau
tiful. garden, and fountains, and great
pools Of water in marble basins, as may
he seen in the grand court of a worl Is
fair Then imagine yourself walking to-
ward the Tai or monument or white
marble completing the enclosure ahead
Of you. In the center Of the enclosure,
a raised platform of white marble,
where You sit down, ard look in wonder
at the great white structure. You OBJ
serve that the center of the Tai (al-
ways remember that every part of it IS
of white marbIe) consists of a great
dome enc hundred and fifty feet 7bove
The general surface: surrounding this
dome. and a part of the main structure
four small domes. all built after he
feshion Always seen in Mohammedan
edihces of every kind.
At the base of the main edihce,
great floor of white marble. extending
on either side hundreds of feet. At
the four corners of this marble floor,
and hundreds of feet away from the
main edifice, four round towers of
white marble. tapering toward the top,
and each 40 feet high and surmOunt-
ed with a dome. When you stand on
the great marble platform surrounding
the Tai with a tower at the four cor
neFs. remember that you are thirty or
forty feet above the level Of the gar
den. and that below you is another
platform of red sandstone.
This is very brief and imperfect
description of the Tai Mahal, as seen
by moonlight at midnight. The red
sandstone palaces on the other three
sides of the enclosure are notable, but
YOU forget them in the presence of the
great white Tai Mahal. And If you
want to imagine what I saw at twelve
o'clock last night by moonlight, walk
around to the river side of the white
tomb. and look down at the river and
I'D the river at the great fortress. and
the city of Agra, with the twinkling
lights.
Daylight reveals still greater wonders