In the year 1809, the Government resolved to impose a tax on all the houses in the city; upon which thousands of Brahmins and other inhabitants quitted it, and great excitement and uproar prevailed. A serious riot would inevitably have taken place, had not Mr. W.W. Bird, the late Deputy Governor of Bengal, an able and excellent officer, hurried to the spot and promptly quelled the disturbance. The inhabitants hereupon petitioned the Government; and vowed that if the tax were persisted in, they would represent the matter at Calcutta. The authorities, who had not displayed much judgment in the imposition of the tax, had the good sense at once to abolish the obnoxious impost; but in consequence of the _émeute_, the Government considered it prudent to have a European corps at hand, in the event of any future disturbance; and a royal regiment was accordingly stationed at Ghazepore. Notwithstanding its dense, close, and crooked streets, taken as a whole, there are few cities that can carry off the palm from Benares, with its gilded pagodas, its temples, and its mosques, their slender minarets, rising in majestic grace amid countless domes and cupolas, all standing out in bold relief, among the varied forms and foliage of groves of mangoes, tamarinds, and plantains, the sombre cypress, and the beauteous palm, beneath the deep blue canopy of heaven, and lighted up by the glorious effulgence of an Eastern sun. The most celebrated of these mosques is that built by the Emperor Aurungzebe. In order to mortify the Hindoos, he destroyed their most renowned temple, that of Vishnu, and not only raised his mosque upon its site, but, as if to heighten the indignity, caused the materials of their sacred edifice to be used in the construction of this rival temple, which was to celebrate the triumph of the Koran over the laws of Menu. What a contrast to the liberal spirit evinced by Akbar, in the exercise of his power. That great emperor, at the solicitation of his Brahmin prime minister, rescinded a caput tax, which had been imposed upon all his Hindoo subjects. History and experience teach us by many a lesson, how much we lose by harshly opposing the prejudices of others; and how much we gain by the adoption of conciliatory measures--provided no principle be involved--but alas! how slow we all are to learn this important lesson. This mosque rises in the centre of the noble range of temples, ghâts, and edifices, that run along the left bank of the sacred Ganges. As seen from the river, it presents a most striking appearance. It stands at an elevation of eighty feet above the level of the Ganges, while its graceful minarets, tapering as they rise, tower to a height of 147 feet from their foundation. It is the most conspicuous edifice in the city, being visible for many miles round. The precise date of its erection is not known, but as the emperor died in 1707, we may assign 150 years ago as the period.