presenting the persons of the Hindu mythology, and the pillars which support or embellish them, are occasionally fluted or otherwise adorned. On the whole coast of Coromandel, the modern temples are built in the style of these very ancient sculptures, but, in general, with considerably more numerous embellishments, and with less taste. I, however, send you a sketch of one which pleased me exceedingly when I saw it, it is a muntapom or open temple, in which, on days of festivals, the deity is placed, having been brought from an adjoining temple to receive the personal addresses of his votaries. The style of building is, however, very different in different provinces, as you may convince yourself by looking at Daniels's beautiful prints. Those of the north appear to be the most simple; and one might thence, perhaps, argue, that they were the most ancient: however, the sculptured rocks are incomparably the most authentic monuments of the ancient architec ture; and when these shall be better known, it may perhaps be possible to class the different models, and to form some sort of regular system of orders.

With the Mahommedan architecture, intro. duced in the 12th and 18th centuries into India by its conquerors, and probably blended with that of the natives, I am but little acquainted.

But you will find most magnificent specimens in the tombs of the kings at Veyjeyapoor, and in the monument built by Shah Jehan to the memory of his wife, near Agra, and called after her the Taje Mahal; it is of white marble, and beautifully inlaid. The tomb itself is inlaid with precious stones, in so beautiful a mosaic, that it has been ascribed to Italian artists in the

| service of the Mogul. The mosques of Dehli and Agra will also excite your admiration för their grandeur and extent, as well as for the beauty of form and workmanship you will discover in them. Like the Hindû temples, their walls usually enclose a large area, the centre of which is occupied by a consecrated tank or reservoir of masonry; and often adorned with trees, pillars, and seats, along the brink, from which, to the bottom, there is usually a flight of steps. The buildings around the court, something like the cloisters to our colleges, are, with the Hindûs, the residence of priests and other holy men; with the Mussulmans, they are consecrated to hospitality, where travellers of every nation find shelter and rest. The choultry of the Hindûs was naturally separated from the temple to prevent pollution by the admittance of impure tribes, but near enough to answer the humane purpose of protecting the traveller from insult or danger. Some of the most admirable

works of the Hindûs are their tanks or reservoirs of water; some of which have been constructed with consummate ingenuity and incredible labour, by damming up the outlets of narrow valleys, and thus making use of the surrounding rocks as walls. Others, in the flat countries, have been dug and lined with masonry, covering frequently not less than a hundred acres; and wells of every description, for the purposes of agriculture or the relief of travellers, are met with all over the country, more or less in repair, as the towns or villages near them have flourished or been destroyed by war, oppression, or famine.

Among the great public works of Hindostan, there are none more worthy of remark than the canals of Sultaun Firoze, which were dug to supply the city of Hissar Firozeh with water. The first of these passed from the Jumna to Sufedoon, a hunting palace, and thence to Hissar, and was one hundred and fourteen geo-, graphical miles in length. This canal was repaired about A. D. 1626, by Shah Jehan, who prolonged it to Delhi, making in the whole one hundred and seventy-four geographical miles.

The other canal brought the waters of the Sutlege to Hissar: it is said to have been one hundred miles in length; and both these canals are said to have been intended by Firoze to have

answered the purposes of navigation, as well as giving water to the town and adjacent country. I copy verbatim the following note of Major Rennel from Captain Kirkpatrick's manuscripts. Besides the main canals that have been mentioned, it seems that several others were cut, which united them in different parts and in different directions. The banks, both of the main canals and their branches, were covered with towns such as Juneed, Dhatara, Hansi, and Toglucpoor. Firoze, by sanction of a decree of the Cauzees assembled for the purpose, levied a tenth of the produce of the lands fertilized by these canals, which he applied, together with the revenue of the lands newly brought into cultivation, to charitable uses. The lands of Firozeh, which before had produced but one scanty harvest, now produced two abundant ones. This Sircar, ever since the conquest of Hindostan by the Moguls, has constituted the personal estate of the heir apparent of the empire."

Such works as these are really worthy of a great monarch; and the labours of Firoze, and the laws of Akbar, are among the most honourable monuments of conquest that the warriors or monarchs of any age, or any faith, have left.

The early military architecture of India must