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Rh is said that on the death-bed of the beautiful and idolized partner of his splendour, the imperial mourner promised to erect a monument to the expiring object of his affections, which should be as unrivalled in magnificence, as the charms and virtues which had distinguished her above the rest of her sex; and, faithful to his vow, engaged the most celebrated artists from the western world to superintend the work. It is erected in a spacious garden washed by the Jumna, in the close vicinity of the city of Agra, and formed of the most precious materials, the outside being of white marble, and the interior inlaid with an infinite variety of gems, opals, agates, turquoise, &c. &c. no less than fifty different kinds of cornelian being employed in the production of one carnation. The gates, which are lofty archways, crowned with cupolas, approach in beauty and splendour to the Taaje Mahal itself; the name interpreted signifies "tomb" and "palace," and conveys in two words the best idea that can be given of a building, of which there is no prototype in the known world.

There are few things more shocking to European eyes than the publicity of death-bed scenes in India, and the apathetical indifference displayed by the Hindoos while