ere is not a single spot in the garden
itself which gives a view of the composition as a whole.

Advancing down the main terrace, paved with stone and laid out with
geometric flower-beds, we reach a marble platform with its fountain
(see frontispiece), [11] where a nearer view of the Taj may be
enjoyed. Such a platform was the central feature in all Mogul
gardens. The terraces to the right and left of it end in two fine
pavilions of red sandstone, intended for the accommodation of the
custodians of the mausoleum and for storehouses.

From this point we can admire the effect of the exquisite inlaid
decoration, fine and precious as the embroidery on the raiment of
Mumtaz herself. At the end of the main terrace we reach the steps
leading up to the great platform on which the Taj and its minarets,
"four tall court ladies tending their Princess," are raised.

Let us reverently enter the central chamber, where Mumtaz Mahal and
Shah Jahan, her lord and lover, lie. Fergusson has truly said, no
words can express its chastened beauty seen in the soft gloom of the
subdued light coming from the distant and half-closed openings. The
screen of marble tracery which surrounds the tombs is in itself a
masterpiece. Even with all the artistic resources which Shah Jahan had
at his command, it was a work of ten years. Mumtaz Mahal lies in the
centre. The white marble of her tomb blossoms with a never-fading
garden of Persian flowers, which the magic of the Mogul artists
has created.

The inscription on it is as follows: "The illustrious sepulchre of
Arjumand Banu Begam, called Mumtaz Mahal. Died in 1040 A.H." (1630
A.D.).

At the head of the tomb is the line: "He is the everlasting: He is
sufficient;" and the following passage from the Koran: "God is He,
besides whom there is no God. He knoweth what is concealed and what
is manifest. He is merciful and compassionate."

On one side of it: "Nearer unto God are those who say 'Our Lord
is God.'"

The inscription in the tomb of Shah Jahan is as follows: "The
illustrious sepulchre and sacred resting-place of His Most Exalted
Majesty dignified as Razwan (the guardian of Paradise), having his
abode in Paradise, and his dwelling in the starry heaven, inhabitant
of the regions of bliss, the second lord of the Qiran, [12] Shah
Jahan, the king valiant. May his tomb ever flourish; and may his
abode be in the heavens. He travelled from this transitory world to
the world of eternity on the night