Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 1.djvu/468

414 DRAVIDIAN STYLE. BOOK III. the corners, and the octagonal drum rises from these, pierced by a clerestory. Above this, at the cornice, 45^ ft. up, the octagon is changed to a circle and the dome rises, in the centre, to 75 ft. from the floor. At the north-west corner of the main building is placed the splendid hall shown in the annexed woodcut (No. 241 ),* the two corresponding with the Diwan-i-Khass and Diwan-i-'Amm of Muhammadan palaces. This one, in its glory, 241. Hall in Palace, Madura. (From Daniell's ' Views in Hindostan'). must have been as fine as any, barring the material : most of the connected buildings, however, have long since disappeared. This hall itself is 125 ft. long by 69 ft. wide, and its height to the centre of the roof is 56 ft. ; but, what is more important than its dimensions, it possesses all the structural propriety and character of a Gothic building. It is evident that if the Hindus had persevered a little longer in this direction they might have 1 In this view "a more decidedly Saracenic character is given to the work than it actually possesses." Mr Chisholm's paper, ut sup. p. 161. The dimensions appear much exaggerated if we take the two small human figures as supplying a scale.