36 INDIAN ART. 



out the entire edifice there runs, distinctly traceable, 

 a vein of aesthetic thought of very high order, by 

 which it might be said to approach high art more 

 closely than any other monument in India, if only one 

 could strip it of those monstrous representations of 

 the Hindu gods and their acolytes which disfigure 

 its walls throughout. It seems difficult to reconcile 

 the latter with tlie proposition so frequently advo- 

 cated by men of no mean authority in such matters, 

 that nowhere in India " figure " sculpture shows indica- 

 tions of an independently developed art, but can be 

 traced to Greek origin after Alexander's invasion of 

 the Punjab. As to the architecture, the proportions 

 and forms of columns, obelisks, &c., are, at first sight, 

 apt to give a shock to one's preconceived ideas of 

 beauty, since we are prone to compare them in our 

 mind either with the pure and perfect style of Greece, 

 or the overwhelmingly grand designs of Ancient 

 Egypt, whose rock-cut temple of Ipsamboul is cer- 

 tainly the most beautiful of its kind. But on looking 

 at Indian objects of art, in order to appreciate them 

 at their true value, we ought to do so free of 

 all bias. Seldom have I seen anything more 

 beautiful than the Kylas, taking it as a whole, of 

 purely Indian origin ; and it was with a heavy heart 

 that I returned on the next morning to take a last 



