262 The Wilson Bulletin — Xo. 90 



people, but no chattering tongues were there, not a word fell 

 from the lips of any one. The only sound heard was the sil- 

 very tinkling- of the little fountains beside the paths. An arti- 

 ficial light gleamed from the doorway ; a mere point of light 

 did the illumined doorway appear when comparedl with the 

 'entire structure. It seemed to beckon me like a will-o'-the- 

 wisp, and responding to the beckoning 1 advanced, then with- 

 drew ; at last I approached the very doorstep, but dared not 

 break the spell of the nigdit by entering*. 



Considerable time was given at one period of my life to 

 the subject of Saracenic art and ornamentation, therefore I 

 longed to linge-r over each of the remarkable examples that 

 I met. Notwithstanding the great beauty of the interior dec- 

 orations of the Taj I deem them surpassed by some of the 

 mosaics to be found in the so-called " Jasamine Tower," a 

 portion of the harem of Shah Jehan's palace in Fort Agra. 

 In the same inclosure is the Pearl Moscjue, truly a pearl 

 among mosques, renowned for its exquisite proportions, fo-r 

 ihe simplicity and peerless beauty of its design. iVmong" 

 these gems of the architect's art one is tempted to linger, and! 

 to note among- other things that the artists of Shah Jehan's 

 rime were allowed to depart from the rigid laws of Saracenic 

 art that forbade any likeness of living- things in their decc-ra- 

 tions ; also that the mosaics that ornament the tomb of Akbar 

 at Sikandra, conforming- strictly to the canons of that art, 

 consist of geometric patterns, but are far less pleasing- than 

 many of the purely Saracenic mosaic designs that may be 

 found elsewhere. A cjueer structure is this tomb of Akbar, 

 and similar tombs of several kings at Lucknow. From a 

 distance such an edifice, large enough for a palace, would 

 be taken in America to be a casino or a summer hotel. 



Temptation comes to continue this digression : to speak of 

 visits to the deserted cities of Amber and Fatehpur Sikri ; of 

 some of the sights of Benares, such as the Golden Temple, 

 the Monkey Temple, and the Cow Temple, which is the home 

 of sixty sacredl cows: paved with tiles and gayly o-rnamented, 

 it probably is the finest cow-stable in the world. But for the 



