MOSQUE AT MATHURA. 
119 
previously erected by the Rajah of Oorcha. This 
latter is said to have been a noble Hindoo structure 
raised by the Rajah after the rebuilding of Mathura, 
and to have cost upwards of four hundred thousand 
pounds sterling — a vast sum at that period, especially 
where the price of labour is so low. This was the 
temple that was pulled down to make room for the 
mosque, which now stands upon the same ground 
and is a fine structure. The body of the building, 
which is quadrangular, is flanked by four superb 
minarets nearly a hundred feet high. They have 
each ten angles, are sparingly ornamented and sur- 
mounted by small cupolas, supported upon slender 
pillars of stone. At intervals there are balconies, 
which are reached by a staircase from within and 
impart a graceful finish to each minaret. The gate- 
way of this temple is lofty, and its architectural 
decorations are very elegant. The spandrels of the 
arch which forms the portal, are faced with white 
marble, admirably harmonizing with the darker ma- 
terial of which the adjacent parts are constructed. 
The arch, like the gothic, terminates in a point, rising 
to a considerable height above the entrance and lead- 
ing immediately into the interior of the sanctuary. 
There is a projecting stone gallery over the gateway, 
decorated with a profusion of tracery in the very hap- 
piest style of redundant embellishment; for though 
the ornaments are profuse, there is not the slightest 
confusion nor the least violation of taste. On either 
side of this gallery are sunken panels covered with 
finely executed inscriptions from the Koran. 
From the doorway of the mosque to the street 
