Page:The Land of the Veda.djvu/13



Great Emergencies of Christianity—Our Narrow Escape—Origin of Caste—The Brahmin—Brahminical Devotions—Prerogatives and Investiture—Discriminations in the Brahmin's Favor by the Law—Four Stages of a Brahmin's Life—Brahminism a Dead Failure—The People of India—The Ladies of the Land—The Nautch Girls—The Gentlemen of India—Conversion and Career of Maharajah Dhuleep Singh—Habits of the Hindoo Aristocracy—Christianity alone Creates a Home—Hindoo Visits of Ceremony—Marriage Expenses—Manners and Customs Page 11

Civil and Religious Statistics of India—The Languages of India—India Compared to Europe—Trade, Commerce, and Revenue—Railroads and Telegraphs—English Empire—Value of India to England—The Higher Motives for English Rule—Mapping out Eternity—Measurements of Time—Mythology, Geography, and Astronomy of the Hindoos—The Vedas—Beef-eating Sanctioned by the Vedas—Manners of the Hindoos at the Time of the Macedonian Invasion, (326 B. C.)—Vile Character of Vedic Worship—Deception as to the Contents of the Veda—Hindoo Literature—The Ramayana—The Temptation and Abduction of Seeta—The Mahabarata 66

Personal Narrative of Appointment and Journey—Our Reception in India—Character of Mohammedan Rule—The Moslem Dynasty Passing Away—Zeenat Mahal—The Khass and the Mogul Sinking Together—Architectural Taste of the Emperors—Moore's Blunder in Lalla Rookh—Paradise and its Privileges—The Dewanee Khass and its Glorious Furniture—Interview of Nadir Shah and Mohammed Shah—Tact of the Courtier—The First Sight of the Taj Mahal—View from the Gate—Inside of the Taj—The Effect of Music over the Tomb—The Taj Matchless—Origin of the Taj—The Lost Opportunity of Romanism at Agra—A Prayer which God will ever Refuse to Answer—Cost of the Taj—Etmad-ood-Doulah's Tomb—The Daughter of the Desert—The Heroine of Moore's Poem—The Kootub Minar—Its Origin and Style—The Government of Jehovah Christ over Nations and Dynasties—The Unfinished Minar—The Palladium of Hindoo Dominion 101

Position of the Emperor of Delhi—Terms of the English Bargain with the Mogul—Why the Munificent Provision Failed—The Pageant felt to be a Bore—Moslem Hate