The Cuttub Minar is situated about nine miles bearing S. 16° W. from the Jumma Musjid, that was erected by the Emperor Shaw Jehan in the present city of Delhi, and appears to have been designed for a Minaret to a most stupendous mosque, which never was completed; a considerable part of the second and corresponding Minaret is to be seen, and many other parts of this intended immense building, particularly of the arches. The mosque seems to have been abandoned in this unfinished state, from causes at this time entirely unknown; perhaps the original designer of the fabric found human life too short to see it accomplished during his existence. It may not appear a matter of much surprise that the wealth of one man should be found inadequate to so arduous an undertaking, however opulent and exalted in life his situation may have been. The tomb of Cuttub Shaw, at whose expense the Minar is said to have been built, is to be seen a few hundred yards to the westward of it; the tomb is rather inconsiderable and of mean appearance, when compared with the many more magnificent mausoleums that are to be met with in the extensive ruins of Delhi.

Cuttub Shaw came to the throne of Delhi in the Mussulman year 602, corresponding with the Christian æra 1205, and died in the Mussulman year 607, or Christian æra 1210, a reign of only five years; and certainly a period not sufficient to erect so large a building as a mosque, to correspond in magnitude and grandeur with the Minar and other parts of the structure that were began upon, adjoining to it.

I think it may with some degree of reason be inferred that a stop was put to the building of the mosque at the decease of Cuttub Shaw, and from which period we may date the Minar to have been completed; conformably with this inference, it is as

certained that the Minar has stood at least 580 years. Excepting the unavoidable and irresistible effects of lightning, from the goodness of the materials, and the excellent judgment with which they appear to have been put together, there is every reason to suppose it would have withstood the ravages of time, for succeeding generations to behold with admiration and astonishment, for yet many ages.

XIX.

ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS

MADE ON

A VOYAGE

TO THE

ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS.

BY LIEUT. R. H. COLEBROOKE.

Diamond Island, near Cape Negrais, 1789.

ECEMBER 14th. By the Sun's meridian altitude taken on shore

DEC

By Captain Kyd

Lat. 15° 49′ 39′′

Carnicobar Island, 1790. On board the Atalanta Sloop

of War, about one mile from the western shore.

January 2d, Sun's meridian altitude 57° 44′ 40′ Lat. 9° 852".

Danish Point, at Nancowry, 1790. Observations for the Latitude, taken near the Flag Staff.

If the first observation by Capella be rejected, the mean of the remaining seven will be 8° 2′ 32′′,

The observations were made with a fine sextant by Troughton, and artificial horizon. The refractions applied in computing these, and all the following observations, were taken from Monsieur Le Gentil's table, published in his Voyage dans les Mers de L'Inde. The declinations of the stars were taken from table 7th of the requisite tables, and partly from Dun's catalogue,