nary architectural principles
as practised in Europe. Many of these criticisms, which might be
appropriate enough if applied to a modern provincial town hall, are
only silly and impertinent in reference to the Taj. Some are born
tone-deaf, others colour-blind, and there are many who can find beauty
in one particular form or expression of art and in no others. So the
Taj will always find detractors. But whoever tries to understand
the imaginative side of Eastern thought will leave the critics to
themselves, and take unrestrained delight in the exquisitely subtle
rhythm of this marvellous creation of Mogul art.

* * * * *

The gateway of the Taj faces a spacious quadrangle surrounded
by arcades. This is a _caravan serai_, or place where travellers
halted. Here, also, the poor were provided with food and shelter,
and on the anniversary day vast sums were distributed in charity
from the funds with which the Taj was endowed. It is well to pause
before entering, and admire the proportions and perfect taste of
the decoration of this gateway; for afterwards one has no eyes for
anything but the Taj itself. It is much finer in design than the
similar gateway of Akbar's tomb at Sikandra. An Arabic inscription in
black marble, of passages taken from the Koran, frames the principal
arch, and invites the pure of heart to enter the Gardens of Paradise.

The first view of the Taj is from within this noble portal, framed by
the sombre shadow of the great arch which opens on to the garden. At
the end of a long terrace, its gracious outline partly mirrored in the
still water of a wide canal, a fairy vision of silver-white--like the
spirit of purity--seems to rest so lightly, so tenderly, on the earth,
as if in a moment it would soar into the sky. The beauty of the Taj,
as in all great art, lies in its simplicity. One wonders that so much
beauty can come from so little effort. Yet nothing is wanting, nothing
in excess; one cannot alter this and that and say that it is better.

The garden, as originally planned, was an integral part of one great
design. The solemn rows of cypresses were planted so as to help out
the lines of the architecture; the flowering trees and flower-beds
completed the harmony with a splendid glow of colour. [10] Beautiful
as the first view of the Taj is even now, one can hardly realize how
glorious it must have been when the whole intention of the design
was fulfilled. At present th