AN INDESCRIBABLE TOMB

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1779, 2 March 1888, Page 3

AN INDESCRIBABLE TOMB

Mumtaz-i-Mahal, or exalted of thf Palace was playing at cards one day wilh her husband, the Emperor Shan Jehan, when she asked him what ho would do if ho survived her. The Emperor fondly promised to build her a tomb that ehou'.d hand down her name through all her ages, and betbo admiration of the world. Tho Emprf SB died two hours after giving birth to a daughter on Juiy 18th, 1631. Whilst dying, Bhe reminded tho Emporor of tho promised tomb. Accdrding to Ta vernier, 20,000 workmen labored for 22 years on the edifice. It consists of a centra 1 mausoleum, whose octagonal basis is 186 feet m diameter, surmounted by a great dome and pointed spire, crowned by a crescent. Of the two wings, one is a splendid moßque, the other an imitation mosque, to preserve the harmony of the edifice. But no mere description can give an idea of the comp exity and intricacy with which the whole design Ib worked out. The interior is a marvel of decorative workmanship; the pure white marble walls are relieved with colored marble wreaths and Bcrolla, and thbre is a lavish display of richly -fretted stonework, and rare inlaid work of agate and jasperand other procious stones flooded with the soft light that mellows through a double screen of pierced marble. Beneath the dome ate the tombs of the Emperor and hia wife, enclosed In a imrble trelliswork. Shah Jehan intended to have built a second Taj on the other side of the Jumna, and to have united the two with a bridge of fairy like beauty ; bnt his schemes were cut short by hia dethronement by hia son, Aurncgzebe, and his subsequent Imprisonment m the palaoe at Agra. Dr Russell records how a lady Bald of the Taj,' l cannot criticise, but I oan tell you what I feel. 1 would die to-morrow to have such a tomb.' And he adds, ' Holy and profane men, pro&era, and practical people, all write of the Taj In the same strain. You oan no more describe It, however, than you caa describe Constantinople. Here are some of the utterances of some of those who have seen it. 'Too pure, too holy to be. the work of human hands ;' * A poem m marble ;' ' The sight cf a broken heart*' ' Poetic marble arrayed m eternal glory ;' • The Inspiration is from heaven, the exeouilon worthy of it ;' ' The marble ' Queen of Sorrow, which has power to dim every eye. '