39 



mass of ruin. Few persons can have, an idea of the painful sen- 

 sations excited by such a view of this once celebrated city, for 

 few have the opportunity of contemplating an object so deplor- 

 able! In the midst of this chaotic heap of desolation, our atten- 

 tion was suddenly roused by a stupendous fabric bursting on our 

 view, in complete repair and resplendent beauty — a splendid struc- 

 ture, with domes and minarets of the purest white, surmounting 

 the dark umbrage of rich surrounding groves, produced in such. a 

 situation a most extraordinary effect. 



Previous to our arrival, Sir Charles Malet had corresponded 

 with Mr. James Anderson, the British resident at Sindia's durbar, 

 and his last letter mentioned that the Taje Mahal had been appro- 

 priated by the Mahratta chief for our accommodation at Agra. 

 This was the edifice which had now excited our astonishment, and 

 thither we were immediately conducted. On alighting at the grand 

 entrance, built of a light red stone, inlaid with white marble, we 

 walked into a large court, with apartments on three sides like those 

 of the serais. To the right and left of this square, a gate of simi^ 

 lar construction opened into the street; near each of those gates 

 is an enclosure containing a beautiful dome of white marble, sacred 

 to the memory of eminent persons ; opposite to these mausolea is 

 a spacious serai. Magnificent as was the first entrance, the one 

 fronting it on the opposite side of the square was still more so ; 

 the roof being ornamented with two rows of small domes above the 

 entablature, each row containing eleven of those elegant white 

 cupolas with gilded spires. This superb portal, which indeed 

 forms a spacious apartment, is ascended by a noble flight of steps; 



