The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-07-26

marcms-Thc Peacock Throne
which Cost Thirty-Ffvc Millions.
,rnnvright, 1910, by Frank G. Car
*O'f penter.)
AGRA, 1910.
II was at 4 o'clock this afternoon
l nv turbaned Hindoo driver took
49, from my hotel to the TAI Mahal.
WIT hour is one of the best to view
his mighty monument. The tropical
enn then hangs low in the heavens. 1t
ctrikes the marble minarets at the
oorners of the platform and they cast
,org shadows upon the white marble
f1oor It's rays have a SOftening ef-
toct The great building changes from
+a1zling white to the rich cream Of old
;Torv and it's mighty dome seems to
rest more airily in the blue sky. At
sunset the gardens about the Tai are
alive with birds Ihere is a sweet
eineing in the trees, the crows cav
an5 the splendid peacocks come out
and walk across the lawns and In and
ont through the pines and tropical fol-
iage.
The Most Beautiful Building In the
World.
The Tai Mahal is the most beautiful
building of the world. and 1t has a
beautiful setting. It is surrounded by
a frame of red sandstone. Around the
garden Of perhaps ten acres in which
thA structure is situated is a wall OF
low buildings of dark red harmOni-
ousIy Joined to the great gate of the
same material which forms the en-
trance. The Tai is a Mosque as well
as a tomb. and Mohammadans from all
PARTS Of India come here to worship.
The sandstone buildings about the
gardens are rest houses, in which pill
grims may stay over night. The gate
at the entrance is a wonder. 1t was
built twenty-eight years after our pill
grim fathers landed on Plymouth rock,
hut it is in perfect condition today. It
is beautifully carved and is inlaid with
inscriptions from the Koran. Entering
it one gets his first view of
the TAI He sees 1t ooklEg
over a long row of fountains
bordered with cypress trees and rising,
az it were, out of the green In the
distance, the building looks small. 1t
Is. Judge, a thousand feet away, a
marble jewel framed against the clear
est sky that heaven ever gave to q
The dark green of the trees shuts out
the view on each side, and you look
down over the flashing waters at the
great ivory monument AS you do so
the crows cav. the cuckatoOs fly from
tree to tree. the sun turns the falling
waters TO diamonds, and rich colors
Of the Hindoo girls dresses add to
rather than mar the beauty of the
scene.
As YOU go nearer the Tai its size in
CreaSes. and when at last you mount
the steps and stand upon its platform.
you realize its immensity- The marble
foundation upon which it is built COW
ers three acres and at each corner
there is a tower of marble, or mlnaret
as high as a seVen-story house. The
tomb itself covers almost an acre. 1t ls
q building which rises to one-third the
height Of the Washington Monument
and ends IN a central dome, which
floats in the sky. The whole is Of the
purcSt white marble, so Synmetrlcally
Joined that it seems to be carved out
Of one block. The dome looks like a
Filvery bubble which might have been
blown from the mouth of a god. II
IS fifty feet in diameter, and you could
put a big house inside Of 1t. and 1t
would not touch the sides. Still, from
the platform it Is not out of ropor
ton, and it rests lightly upon the
great structure below. i fits down
like the tropical sun when it sets upon
the waters in the midst of the ocean.
AS the sun touches the sea the latter
appears to rise and pull 1T down, as IL
were. When it is tWo-thfrds submerg-
ed It is of just the shape Of the dome
OF the Tai, perfect in every curve ana
Wonderfully beautiful.
Some Views of the Tai.
despair of making you see the IaJ
Mahal Every point of view gives a
different impression and each has new
beauties. Take a walk through the
garden. 1t is filed with plants or
many kinds gathered from all parts
OF the world. Now you are in a forest
OF FIR trees. You might be half way
up the Andees- The green is so thick
mat 1T shuts out all else. Now take
a step forward. The great monument
IS looking at you through the foliage.
you have a glimpse Of the dome, but
a tall palm has thrust it's bushy head
against it and it's fan-like branches
nam hlde but add to it's beauty. A
yep further and you are in a long
avenue where the trees overhang. You
nave only a glimpse of the k at the
tHo. A step to the right and you are
III a rose garden, out of which you can
look at the towers Of the minarets
WIN the white bubble looking be-
.~teh- Upon the minaret stands a
mohammedan imam, or priest, his red