150 



that's .it ; 



the world. This shrine is called 

 the "Taj Mahal," or crown of 

 edifices, a term it well deserves 

 from its singular perfection and 



16 



471. 



beauty. The building itself is 

 composed entirely of white mar- 

 ble, and is raised on a splendid 

 terrace of white and yellow mar- 

 ble. It contains a central hall 

 with the 'tomb of the Begum and 

 the Shah Jehan himself, the hall 

 being surrounded by corridors 

 and smaller apartments. This 

 magnificent erection cost the 

 enormous sum of £750,000, and 

 is kept by our government in 

 excellent preservation and order, 

 as well as the beautiful garden of 

 trees and rare shrubs that en- 

 compass it, as in a sweet-scented 

 grove. The houses of the city 

 are* built of stone, and are very 

 lofty; but the streets are exces- 

 sively dirty and narrow. The 

 place contains several public 

 baths, caravansaries, and mosques ; 

 a British garrison, a military 

 station two miles from the town, 

 and an English and Oriental 

 college. 



Afghanistan is the vast section 

 of north-western India that lies 



between the parallels of 24° and 

 37° of north latitude, and ex- 

 tends east and west from 62° to 

 77° of eastern longitude ; com- 

 prehending in that immense area 

 the countries of Cabul, Cash- 

 mere, Herat, Beloochistan, and 

 Balkh, the once powerful king- 

 dom of Bactria; and includes a 

 mixed population, of Afghans, 

 Persians, and Indians, of more 

 than 14,000,000 souls. Afghani- 

 stan consists chiefly of an enor- 

 mous table-land, of great eleva- 

 tion, extending from the Korea 

 to the Black Sea; the country 

 Itself stretches from the Indus 

 in the east, to Persia on the west, 

 and from the mountains of Hin- 

 doo-coosh, or Hindoo-Koosh, on 

 the north, to the Indian Ocean on 

 the south." This vast tract is in- 

 tersected by several chains of 

 mountains, the principal of which 

 are the Himalaya in the south ; 

 the Hindoo-Koosh in the west, 

 the highest ridees of which are 



472. 



bare rocks, 17, without a blade 

 of grass or vestige of verdure, 

 and in many parts covered with 

 perpetual snow. 



