40 



a similar descent on the other side leads to an extensive garden, 

 enriched with groves of cypress and other trees. In the centre is 

 a noble avenue, with a canal and fountains, leading to a large 

 marble reservoir, with a beautiful jette d'eau. On each side of the 

 garden is a respondent structure of elegant architecture; one a 

 musjid, or place of worship, the other apparently intended for the 

 accommodation of the great officers of the imperial court. Be- 

 tween those buildings, at the termination of the garden, on the 

 banks of the river Jumna, stands the mausoleum of the empress 

 Momtaz Mahal, deservedly the wonder of the eastern world. 



This magnificent mausoleum, slightly introduced from Sir 

 Charles Malet's manuscript in my account of Ahmedabad, is now 

 considerably illustrated from the same valuable source, several 

 sheets of Mr. Cruso's journal being lost after mentioning the ar- 

 rival of the embassy at Agra. 



Taje Mahal, standing due north and south on the southern 

 bank of the river Jumna, was built by the command of the empe- 

 ror Shah Jehan, for the interment of his favourite sultana, Momtaz 

 Mahal, pre-eminent, or most honoured of the seraglio ; or Momtaz 

 al Zumani, superior of the age ; both having been the titles of the 

 empress. This mausoleum is commonly called Taje Gunse, or 

 Taje Mahal, meaning the repository, or the abode of the diadem, 

 alluding allegorically to her as the most brilliant gem of the serag- 

 lio. The word seraglio being an Italianization of scrah, or mohl 

 serah, signifying the female apartments held sacred amongst the 

 Mahomedans. The posthumous title of the empress was Mehd 

 Aalea, which means " Reposing in Heaven." 



