altar, grasping a cobra with its hood extended-an emblem of Siva in his manifestation as destroyer. The figure on the left is smiling and holds in his hand a flower. The Indians give this god the name of Trimoorti, or triple idol. To him the temple is dedicated, and he is the most striking object in it. Seen from the centre of the principal aisle, which is in front of it, this colossal figure stands out in bold relief from the obscure depths of the temple, and the vast niche which it occupies is guarded by gigantic caryatides.

On the right of Trimoorti, and facing one of the lateral passages, is the sanctuary. This chapel is, in fact, the true temple where prayers are offered up and oblations made, while the immense chamber which surrounds it is merely a magnificent accessory. The bas-reliefs which adorn the walls of the cave represent all the acts of the fabulous life of the god Siva and his various incarnations. Although executed with much talent and taste, these sculptures, nevertheless, are too often carelessly done, and the proportions not correctly observed; the grouping of the figures, moreover, is not always very happy, and errs on the same side as the Gothic sculptures-that is to say, we have a whimsical assembly of gigantic deities or saints together with human beings reduced to a most diminutive scale. The stone on which they are carved being a spongy sandstone, the moisture has effaced very many of the details; and the Portuguese have assisted the hand of time with their fanatical mutilations. It is still easy, however,

to follow the subjects with which the fertile imagination of the ancient sculptor has covered the wall. Siva and Parvati are represented in the most diverse attitudes; sometimes sitting together in Kailas, or embracing one another in the most loving manner; sometimes surrounded by all the divinities of the Hindoo Olympus, who are engaged in paying them homage. Their marriage, the birth of Ganêsa, the sacrifice of Daksha, and a thousand other scenes of Saïva mythology, fill the vast panels that lie between the pilasters. This immense temple has been entirely carved out of the mountain rock; chambers, ceilings, columns, and statues all form part of the natural mass. If the stone composing it had been hard and resisting, it is probable that it would have lasted, one might say, forever in its primitive state; but, unhappily, it is of a yellowish sandstone, which, though of a sufficiently fine grain and great hardness to the chisel, is easily attacked by moisture. Therefore, the columns whose surfaces are the most exposed have been gradually worn away by the water which infiltrates through the vaulted roof or accumulates in the hall during the rainy season; several have lost their pedestals, and sometimes even part of the shaft, and hang from the ceiling like enormous stalactites. On the sides of the lateral passages landslips have occurred, and the façades are greatly damaged. The passage on the right contains. another chapel of the lingam, and also a large pool filled with very pure water, which, at a certain distance, disappears horizontally in the rock. On the opposite side is

another passage in the form of a shaft, receiving the light from a high opening in the mountainside, which is now obscured by creepers and some trees whose branches are entwined above. One of the sides of this passage is taken up by a chapel, surrounded by a verandah on columns, and in front of which two lions of basalt have been placed, which were discovered in clearing away the débris of ancient landslips. Some parts of the ceiling and walls of the great hall still show traces of colour, which proves that all the interior was decorated with paintings. It is difficult to form a just idea of the effect these monuments must have produced when to the beauty and richness of the sculpture there was added all the splendour of the decoration. The statues painted in lively colours, the golden ornaments, the ceilings and the columns covered with roses and garlands of flowers, enhanced, by the light of torches and lamps, the beauty of these vast and mysterious halls. This magnificent temple has been abandoned for more than three centuries; and although they still hold a small annual fair, during which the great emblem is covered with flowers and adored, the Hindoos consider that it has lost all its sanctity. It is probable that the Mussulmans or the Portuguese in some of their invasions profaned the idols, and caused the abandonment of their shrine. The Portuguese distinguished themselves here by shameful vandalism, mutilating the statues, throwing down the columns, and, according to their own account, erasing the inscriptions. This last act is most to be regretted, because it

compels us to remain in uncertainty as to the time when this immense excavation was effected. A great many people, comparing these works with the vaults cut in the rocks of Nubia, have imagined they discovered in their solemn grandeur, in the imposing majesty of the arrangement, and in the shape of the columns, ornaments and idols, a striking resemblance to the Egyptian architecture. Unhappily, though this theory may not be entirely false, since there exist, in fact, many points of similarity between the Egyptian style and the Indian excavations of the highest antiquity, the caves of Elephanta are about the last that have been made in this country, and consequently do not date farther back than the Ninth Century of our era.

AT

GOLCONDA

PIERRE LOTI

T the corner of one of the outlying streets of Hyderabad, this inscription can be read upon an old wall-Road to Golconda. It would have been equally true to have written up Road to Silence and Ruin.

Passing along the deserted road, from which our horses' feet raise clouds of dust, we first see a number of abandoned little mosques, and many crumbling little minarets of rare elegance and exquisitely beautiful design. Then nothing more. We plunge into the parched and ashy coloured steppes and see heaps of granitic blocks of such strange shapes that it seems as if they could not belong to our terrestrial sphere.

After driving for an hour we arrive on the banks of a lake, whose waters are so low that its muddy bed is exposed to view. Behind the lake the whole horizon is walled out by a phantom town of the same ashy-gray colour as the surrounding plain. This is Golconda, the city which for three centuries was one of the marvels of India.

It is well known that all cities, palaces and monuments that man has erected look larger when they are in ruins; but really these ruins are too overwhelming. First, there is a crested rampart, at least thirty feet high, finished with