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monuments of one land with those of another far distant.

In spite of present disorders, we hope that the day will soon come, when the best portions of India will be rendered easily accessible; and when all will be able to take advantage of even brief hours of leisure, in examining those features both of the country and of its monuments, which it is most desirable to know.

Our traveller commences his account of India, by an excellent description of Aden, its western portal. He thence passed to Bombay, where he landed, December 27, 1853. He thus describes his state of mind, as he drew near the desired haven :

'I have rarely approached any country with a keener interest. Scarce Vasco de Gama himself, after weathering the Cape of Storms, could have watched for the shores of India with more excited anticipation. That vision of gorgeous Ind, the Empress far away in the empurpled East, throned on the best grandeurs of History, and canopied by sublime tradition, was about to be confirmed, or displaced for ever. Near at hand, close behind the blue sea-horizon, lay that which would either heighten the fascination of her name, or make it thenceforth but an empty sound to the ear of Fancy."

Having remained but a few days in Bombay, Mr. Taylor says very little about the city, the fort, and the society of the place. His chief visits were paid to some Parsi friends, at whose house he beheld a nautch; and to the well-known caves in the island of Elephanta. He thus describes the colossal heads for which the caves are celebrated, and gives what we conceive to be an original explanation of the model from which the capitals of the pillars in the subterranean temples were first formed :—

"The Portuguese, in their zeal for destroying heathen idols, planted cannon before the entrance of the cave, and destroyed many of the columns and sculptured panels, but the faces of the colossal Trinity have escaped mutilation.

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This, the Trimurti, is a grand and imposing piece of sculpture, not unworthy of the best period of Egyptian art. It reminded me of the colossal figures at Aboo-Simbel, though with less of serene grace and beauty. It is a triple bust, and with the richly-adorned mitres that crown the heads, rises to the height of twelve feet. The central head, which fronts the entrance, is that of Brahma, the Creator, whose large, calm features, are settled in the repose of conscious power, as if creation were to him merely an action of the will, and not an effort. On his right hand is Vishnu, the Preserver, represented in profile. His features are soft and feminine, full of mildness and benignity, and are almost Grecian in their outlines, except the under lip, which is remarkably thick and full. The hair falls in ordered ringlets from under a cap, something between a helmet and a mitre. The right arm, which is much mutilated, is lifted to the shoulder, and from the half-closed hand droops a lotus-blossom. The

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third member of the Trinity, the terrible Shiva, the Destroyer, is on the left of Brahma, and, like Vishnu, his head is turned so present the profile. His features are totally different from the other two. His forehead is stern, ridged at the eyebrows; his nose strongly aquiline, and his lips slightly parted, so as to show his teeth set, with an expression of fierce cruelty and malignity. A cobra twists around his arm and hand, which grasps the snake by the neck and holds it on high, with hood expanded, ready to strike the deadly

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Nothing astonished me more, in this remarkable group, than the distinct individuality of each head. With the exception of the thick under lip, which is common to all three, the faces are those of different races. Brahma approaches the Egyptian, and Vishnu the Grecian type, while Shiva is not unlike the Mephistopheles of the modern German school. *

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"The columns supporting the roof were unlike any others I had seen. The lower part is square, resting on a plinth, but at about half the height it becomes circular and fluted-or rather filleted, the compartments having a plane and not a concave surface. The capital is a flattened sphere, of nearly double the diameter of the shaft, having a narrow disc, with fluted edges, between it and the architrave. I knew these columns must have some type in Nature, and puzzled myself to find it. On visiting one of the smaller temples on the eastern side of the island, the resemblance flashed upon me at once it was the poppy-head. The globular capital, and its low, fluted crown, are copied almost without change from the plant, and these two symbols-the poppy and the lotus-with the closed eyelids and placid faces of the colossal guardians, give the whole temple an air of mystic and enchanted repose. One involuntarily walks through its dim and hushed aisles with a softer step, and speaks, if he must speak, in an undertone."

Our author's general view of Pagan religions is expressed in the following extract :

"There is something in every form of religion worthy of general respect; and he who does not feel this, can neither understand nor appreciate the Art which sprang from the ancient Faiths. Our teachers of religion speak with sincere and very just horror and contempt of all forms of idolatry; yet, under pain of their anathemas, I dare assert, that he who can revile Osiris and Amun-Re, is unworthy to behold the wonders of Thebes. The Christian need not necessarily be an iconoclast: nay more, his very faith, in its perfect charity, and its boundless love, obliges him to respect the shrines where the mighty peoples of the ancient world have bowed and worshipped. Besides, there is truth, however dim and eclipsed, behind all these outward symbols. Even the naked and savage Dinkas of Central Africa worship trees; and so do I. The Parsees worship the sun, as the greatest visible manifestation of the Deity; and I assure you, I have felt very much inclined to do the same, when He and I

were alone in the Desert. But let not the reader, therefore, or because I respect the feeling of worship, when expressed in other forms than my own, think me a Pagan."

Against the doctrines laid down in this extract, we object on many grounds. We had thought that the views expressed in Pope's 'Universal Prayer' had been long since exploded among men of sense, from being so perfectly inconsistent with each other. In studying the religions of the world, regard must be paid, not merely to the fact of men's worship, but also to its objects. Amongst men all objects of knowledge are known by the qualities and characters with which they are invested. The ancient Jove, the goddess Aphrodite, the Hindu Mahadeo, Krishna, and Kàli, the Gods of the Khonds, the devils feared by the Shánars and Yezidees, have each and all distinctive attributes, by which they are separated from all other objects of knowledge or of faith, and by which they are specially known to their worshippers. How can they be representatives of the one true God, with whose real attributes theirs have scarcely any thing in common? Those that worship them cannot be said to worship Him. The difference is not merely one of name. It is an essential difference of persons, because it is a difference of fundamental attributes. Religious worship, to be acceptable, must be paid to the right person, who, so far as he is known, must at least be known correctly. How can he be worshipped rightly, where his true attributes are unknown? Again, the worship even of the works of God is idolatry: idolatry is folly; -and idolatry is strictly forbidden. There is a great difference between paying homage to the work, and indulging in that admiration, which at once calls to mind the Creator with thankful joy, and revels in his works with filial delight. Mr. Taylor would do the former, as the Parsees do. The patriarch Job however condemned what he approves. He says:

"If I beheld the sun when it shined;

Or the moon walking in brightness,

And my heart hath been secretly enticed,

Or my mouth hath kissed my hand;

Then I should have denied the God that is above."

In addition to these views of worship in general, we object strongly to Mr. Taylor's account of the Hindu religious system. Its earliest form, as made known to us in the Vedas, especially in their Upanishads, is by no means a "consistent monotheism." It is an avowed pantheism, taught in the clearest and most express terms, with transmigration and even idolatry accompanying it. The present number of Gods received by the Hindus, is not 33 millions, but 330 millions: and we have never seen

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any book of authority which declares that, of these, "three millions are evil and the rest good," thus "strikingly acknowledging the beneficence of the ruling Deity." It is again quite a mistake to suppose that the more intellectual of the professors of Hinduism understand it as a system of monotheism. Everywhere the intelligent Hindus are either idolators or pantheists. The only exceptions are those who have received an English education; but who too generally, afraid to act up to their convictions, maintain outwardly at least, all the forms and ceremonies enjoined by Puranic idolatry.

Our traveller having spent a week in Bombay, prepared for a journey to Agra direct. The road by Indore, along which the telegraph has since been erected, is even to this day, but little used by European travellers, beyond Nassik. The country is to a great extent covered with jungle, and is but thinly populated. Very little is known of its character; and as Mr. Taylor has described his progress in a very vivid and picturesque manner, we shall give several extracts from his journal. We consider the narrative of his journey over this part of India, one of the most interesting portions of his book. The only mode of conveyance that was at all available for a road so little used, was a banghy-cart, a mere box on wheels; without cover above, and without springs below. Though it cost him considerable suffering, Mr. Taylor accomplished the journey in safety. After crossing the islands of Bombay and Salsette, he traversed the plain lying between the western Ghauts and the sea, and then began to ascend into the hills:

"Khurdee lies at the base of the Ghauts, and our road now plunged into a wild, hilly region, covered with jungle. The road was broad, but very rough, and so steep that nothing but the emigrant trail over the Sierra Nevada could equal it. At the worst descents, my conductor called upon the aid of half a dozen bullock-drivers, who seized the shafts and pushed backward with all their force. Our progress was still further hindered by the endless throng of bullocks which we met. They were laden with bags of rice and of grain, and bales of cotton, and on their way downward to the coast. Between Khurdee and Kussara, a distance of twelve miles, we must have passed from fifteen to twenty thousand of them. * * * *

"We were nearly four hours in making the twelve miles over the pass of Rudtoondee, and then came down upon Kussara, a little village situated in a dell at the foot of the Tull Ghaut. The highest parapet of the range was now above us, and the final ascent to the table-land commenced. The physical formation of this part of India very much resembles that of the Western Coast of Mexico. The summit level is nearly uniform, but instead of presenting a mural front, it thrusts. out projecting spurs or headlands, and is cloven by deep gorges. Sharp peaks rise here and there from the general level, formed of SEPT., 1857.

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abrupt but gradually diminishing terraces, crowned by domes or towers of naked rock. At a distance, they bear an extraordinary resemblance to works of art, and what is very striking, to the ancient temples of the Hindus. Is this an accidental resemblance, or did not the old races in reality get their forms of architecture directly from Nature? It is certainly a striking coincidence that all the hills in the Nubian Desert should be pyramids, and all the peaks of the Indian Ghauts pagodas. The word ghaut means a flight of steps, as the Ghauts are a succession of terraces descending from the tableland to the sea; and every principal Hindu temple is approached by a ghaut. The formation of the summits is a characteristic of Indian scenery. Tennyson, who, I believe, has never been in India, describes in two lines the most peculiar aspects of the country:

"And over hills with peaky tops engrailed,
And many a tract of palm and rice,
The throne of Indian Cama slowly sailed,
A summer fanned with spice.”

"There is a splendid artificial road leading up the Tull Ghaut. As a piece of engineering, it will vie with some of the best roads in Europe. The grade is so slight that we drove all the way on a fast trot; and the windings around the sides of the gorge gave me grand views of the lower terraces of the Ghauts. At the top, we entered on the great table-land of Central India. It was an open, undulating region, much better cultivated than any I had yet seen, and crossed, at intervals of twenty to thirty miles, by high ranges of hills. The air was drier and purer than below, and the setting sun shone broad and warm over tracts of wheat and sugar-cane. We rolled along merrily, through the twilight and into the darkness again, and towards nine o'clock came to the large town and military station of Nassick.

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"All the rest of the night we travelled slowly along, through a rolling country, and about nine next morning reached Chandore, only forty-five miles from Nassick, Chandore is a walled town, situated in a hollow at the foot of the Chandore Ghaut. It boasts several Hindu temples of dark stone, but none of them remarkable for size or beauty. The grotesque idols, their faces smeared with red paint, were visible through the open door.

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"We crossed the Chandore Ghaut by a wild pass, half way up which stands a pagoda, so old and black that it might properly belong to the Yezidees or Devil-Worshippers. Beyond the Ghaut we came upon a waste, hilly region, entirely covered with thorny jungle.

"All this part of India reminded me strongly of the table-land of Mexico. There are the same broad, sweeping plains, gashed by deep ravines and gullies; the same barren chains of hills, and the same fertile dips of lowland, rich in corn and cane. I passed through more than one landscape, where, if I had been brought blindfold and asked to guess where I was, I should have declared at once: "This is Mexico." Substitute the words nulla for " arroyo," (gully,) ghaut for

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