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TAJ-MAHAL

1866

TALC

Peter's College, Cambridge, England, where he graduated as senior wrangler and first Smith-prizeman. In 1852 he was appointed a fellow of Peterhouse; and in 1854 professor of mathematics i. Queen's College, Belfast; but after 1860 he was professor of natural philosophy in Edinburgh. Few men ever exercised more thoroughly healthful influence on the teaching of physics than did Tait. At the same time he set a wholesome example to students and instructors by a very important series of contributions to knowledge. As evidence of this, witness the two quarto volumes of his Scientific Papers published by the Cambridge Press. Among his other important publications may be mentioned Dynamics of a Particle; Quaternions; Recent Advances in Physical Science; Thomson and Tait's Natural Philosophy; and text-books covering his university lectures. He died at Edinburgh on July 4, 1901.

Taj=Mahal (tdzh-ma-hdl'), a costly tomb built in Agra, India, by Jehan, the Mogul emperor as a burial-place for Noor Mahal, his favorite wife. It is said to have cost $4,000,000, and building it employed 20,000 workmen for 22 years. Facing Jumna River, where tall cypresses lead to a splendid park in the background, rises the loveliest monument of man's skill combined with nature's material. It is of white marble, 100 feet long and wide and 200 high. It is an eight-sided palace resting on a marble terrace, which is supported by a terrace of red sandstone. A dome flanked by cupolas surmounts the building and minarets rise from the four corners of the marble terrace. Inside and outside are mosaics of precious stones and beautiful tracery. The whole Koran is written in precious stones on the walls. This tomb of tombs has been described by travelers as a''glimpse of Paradise." The Taj-Mahal, where Shah Jehan's own remains also rest, appears more like a palace of the frost-king than a building of alabaster and marble. In the sunlight the great dome seems to float above it like a silken balloon, and the minarets resemble exquisite ivory carvings of feathery lightness. Within, beneath the dome, is a tall circular screen of marble lace, 60 feet around, which encloses the tombs covered with carved inscriptions thickly jeweled. The only light which reaches this heart of the Taj is filtered through the delicate meshes of the screen. A well-known writer says concerning the echo: ^ "The dome receives all sounds within its silvery crucible, transforms them into purest harmony, and then sends them down again as if the upper space were tenanted by a celestial choir chanting an endless requiem."

Yet this marvelous mausoleum is but one among many specimens of Mogul art. The Mogul empire in India existed between 1526 and 1857, when the fashion of extravagant

architecture reached its height. Among the great Moguls one should remember Babar the founder; Akbar (q. v.) the ruler; and Jehan (g. v.) the master-builder. So large were the stones of the splendid structures in comparison with the small and delicate patterns carved upon them, that the world declares that these people "built like giants and finished like jewelers." Among their other works are a mosque at Futtehpore Sikri and a tomb at Secundra by Akbar; the Pearl Mosque; and the Palace at Delhi built by Jehan. The Moguls borrowed characteristics or marks in construction from their Persian and Arabic neighbors. Some of these are the bulbous or turnip-shaped domes grouped about a central, large dome of the same shape; the curving, pointed arch called an ogee; and arabesque as well as floral patterns in their carving. The high portals to the buildings curve inwards, forming an inside porch with three doors elaborately carved to match the rows of pillars, pointed arches and windows. Slender towers called minarets connect the buildings with balustrades, and are charming view-points from which one may look down upon the courts where flowers bloom and fountains play, thus repeating the beauty of the gardens. The stone or brick walls are faced inside and out, usually by marble slabs; and are often inlaid with onyx, jasper, carnelian and other semiprecious stones, which are cemented into cuttings in the marble and in wonderful patterns of vines and flowers. The love of gems for decoration was shown in the making of Jehan's famous peacock-throne, now in Persia. The back of the seat is two golden peacocks set with rubies, sapphires, emeralds and diamonds, with a pearl-fringed canopy above. This was placed in a private audience-hall overhanging the sea. On the walls of the gorgeous room were these words: "If there be a paradise on earth, it is this." Consult Fergusson's History of Indian Architecture; Gordon Hearn's Seven Cities; J. L. Stoddard's India; and the models in the London Museum of Indian Curiosities. See ARCHITECTURE, FINE ARTS and MONGOLS.

Talc (talk), a mineral consisting of magnesium silicate containing a little water, much like mica in appearance and easily divided into thin flakes, which can be bent and are transparent but are not elastic like mica-flakes. It, however, is much softer than mica, can be readily scratched by the finger-nail, and feels greasy when rubbed with the fingers. It is silvery white, greenish white, or green with a pearly luster. It is found in crystalline and in masses. The massive varieties cannot always be separated into flakes. Massive talc, called soap-stone, steatite, potstone and French chalk, is quarried in large quantities in Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maryland,