180 
SCENES IN INDIA. 
eye in the altitude, leaving a perfect circle, the whole 
terminating in a dome of great extent, and magnifi- 
cently ornamented. The doorways at the base, of 
which there are nine, and the cornices above them, 
are covered with a profusion of minute but admirable 
architectural embellishments ; the floor is beautifully 
paved with a fine smooth stone almost as closely 
grained as marble, and much more durable. It has 
resisted the wear of four centuries without exhibiting 
the least roughness of surface. 
The entrance to this fine mosque is very striking. 
The external doorway is flanked by two square masses 
of stone-work which rise, on either side, to the height 
of at least eighty feet. These buttresses are united 
by a wall traversing the top of the arch, and sur- 
mounted by a parapet enclosing a spacious terrace. 
The arch of the entrance is sunk several feet beneath 
the external surface of the stone buttresses, which 
are embellished at intervals with a rich tracery, in 
bold relief. The centre of the arch extends as high 
as the base of the transverse wall, and the spandrels 
are covered with different devices, skilfully wrought 
in the solid marble with which they are cased. The 
stone of which this sacred edifice is built is of so firm 
a texture and of so durable a quality, that the angles 
of the various carvings are just as sharp as the first 
moment they were finished. This mosque has no 
minarets, and therefore differs, though in no other re- 
spect, from the generality of Mahomedan temples. The 
terrace over the entrance is the spot whence the priest 
announces the hour of prayer. 
