carvings, render the Taj an object that must be seen by both daylight and moonlight in order fully to realize its perfect beauty and finish. All parts of the Orient have contributed their treasures to the embellishment of this marvellous mausoleum: Jeypoor its white marble; the Narbudda its rock-spar and yellow marble; Charkoh its black marble; China its crystal; the Punjab its jasper; Bagdad its carnelian; Thibet its turquoise; Yemen its agate; Ceylon its sapphires; Arabia its coral; the Bundelkund its garnets; Punnah its diamonds; Gwalior its lodestone; Villate its chalcedony; and Persia its onyx and amethyst. Many of the most valuable of these precious stones have been rifled from their settings by the Jats and Europeans; and consequently a guard is now kept constantly on watch day and night. What is huge and massive is usually associated in the mind with what is rough and ponderous; but here is the majesty of a giant building combined with the lightness and delicacy of a costly jewel-casket.

The tomb of Akbar the Great, is 8 miles from Agra, near Secundra, in a court a quarter of a mile square, with a heavy fortress-like wall surrounding it. It is 30 feet square and 100 high; rising in terraces of pyramidal form with cloisters, galleries and domes, to the height of 5 stories. The body of Akbar is interred in the vault beneath; but on the extreme top, in the

centre of the building, is his white marble tomb, with the 99 names of the Almighty beautifully inscribed upon it in Arabic characters; and at its head stands a marble urn upon which once was— placed there by his grandson Shah Jehan the great gem known as the Koh-i-noor diamond, now the centre ornament in the crown of England.

Cawnpore, situated on the Ganges, is a busy, populous town, with cotton factories, flour mills and leather works; but its principal interest centres in the monuments and commemorative spots which testify to the hardships and cruelty that prevailed during the mutiny of 1857. Of these is a well, which is now covered over and surmounted by the marble statue of an angel, with drooping wings, leaning against a cross; her arms folded over her breast, and in her hands two palm-leaves emblematical of martyrdom and victory. On the pedestal is the following inscription:

"Sacred to the perpetual memory of a great company of Christian people, chiefly women and children, who, near this spot were cruelly massacred by the followers of the rebel Nana Dhoondopunt of Bithoor; and cast, the dying with the dead, into the well below on the 15th day of July, 1857."

A memorial church, a short distance away, stands in the midst of what was Wheeler's intrenchment; where that general, gathering to

gether the 330 women and children, surrounded and guarded them with 250 soldiers and 300 citizens, the balance of his army having mutinied; and when at length this worn-out band, reduced by sickness and death, yielding to the treacherous promises of the Nana Sahib of safe conduct down the river, surrendered, they were cruelly massacred at the Suttee Chaore a temple now marking the spot on the banks of the Ganges.

Lucknow the capital of Oude, is a city of 262,000 inhabitants, situated on the banks of the river Goomti, a tributary of the Ganges. Like Cawnpore it was the scene of much suffering and bloodshed during the great mutiny. It was in the Residency here that in 1857, 2,200 souls consisting of 1,000 European residents with their families sought refuge; and that 1,000 soldiers under the English general, Sir Henry Lawrence, kept a large army of Sepoys at bay for six months.

The building is a large three-story house, with towers and thick walls, standing on an elevation in the midst of extensive grounds. We descended into the vast cellars where the women and children had found refuge; shot and shell having left their traces on every side. The

tombs of Lawrence and other brave men are within the grounds, bearing touching epitaphs commemorative of the events attending their deaths. The house is a ruin and a melancholy

spectacle; but Nature has mantled the spot with verdure, and the gardens are blooming with flowers.

Lucknow has some very grand and imposing buildings, especially those in the fort; among which are, the Imaun Barra- an old palace- and several mosques and gates crowned with domes, of a very pleasing style of architecture.

Among the most important buildings which we visited are the Kaisar Bagh with its large grounds and Turkish pavilion; the Chattar Manzie, surmounted by a gilt umbrella,— the emblem of ancient royalty; the Hooseinbad-or Palace of Light; and the Dilkusha palace where Henry Havelock died.

The Martinière College is an immense building styled a second Versailles. It was built by a Frenchman named Martin who came out to India a private soldier, and after having become a general, with a large fortune, built this edifice for his private residence.

At the Elephant Stables, 3 miles from Lucknow, the English government keeps 100 of the largest of these animals, which are used on state occasions, or in time of war for transporting cannon. The obedience of these huge brutes who salaam, or salute, and lie prostrate at the word of command, is proof of their remarkable intelligence and docility.

CHAPTER XXIX.

BENARES: THE GANGES: SERAMPORE: DARJEELING:

CALCUTTA ITS ENVIRONS.

BENARES, the sacred city of the Hindus, located on the west bank of the mighty Ganges, has a population of 208,000. It dates from 1200 B. C. and was frequently alluded to in early Sanscrit literature. What Jerusalem is to the Jew; what Rome is to the Latin; what Mecca is to the Mohammedan, Benares is to the Hindu.

It contains 1,400 temples, over 3,000 shrines, 300 mosques, and 25,000 Brahmans, or priests. Its chief source of revenue is obtained from the offerings of the horde of pilgrims who resort there daily to worship at the shrines.

In Benares one sees what Hinduism practically is, idolatry of the basest description; the worship of Vishnu, the preserver, and of Siva, the destroyer, being represented by numberless idols and symbols of the most revolting character. Here Brahmanism and Caste hold sway, and Hinduism has acquired a stony compactness and solidity almost impenetrable. The sanctity of Benares its temples, reservoirs, wells and