Indeed, before leaving Agra, one should pay a score of visits to this place—see it at sunrise, at noon, at sunset, and, above all, by moonlight, unless the visitor can afford the luxury which was provided for H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, and have it specially lit up with electricity. But I very much doubt if it can outdo a clear, full moonlit night. Hunter, in his description of the Taj, most appropriately terms it “a monument designed by Titans and furnished by jewellers.”
Not content with the Taj, Emperor Shah Jehan endowed his capital with other monuments of great artistic and architectural beauty. The Pearl Mosque (Moli-Musjid) is the purest and loveliest house of prayer in the world. Like all other structures erected by this emperor, white marble is the only material used; but in this instance the panels are studded with most costly gems. Another mosque, built by him in Delhi (Jama-Musjid) was commenced in the fourth year of his reign and finished in the tenth.
The palace at Delhi—now the fort—covers a vast parallelogram, 1600ft. by 3200ft., with most exquisite buildings in marble and fine stone. A deeply-recessed portal leads into a vaulted hall, rising two stories like the nave of a gigantic Gothic cathedral, and 375 feet in length—the noblest entrance to any existing palace.
The Diwan-i-Khas, or court of private audience, overlooks the river—a masterpiece of delicate inlaid work of poetic design. Last, though not least, this emperor built the city of Shagehanabad (now New Delhi), and in his palace had the famous peacock throne, which was the most valuable of that brilliant epoch—the jewels alone being valued at £6,500,000.
Beyond these great “lions” Agra had not much to engross our attention—the carpet manufactories and a few temples and palaces—but after Benares the latter had little or no further attractions. The patient and accurate working of the carpet-makers is well worthy of mention, more particularly the work done by prisoners in the Agra jail, where the choicest and most elaborate carpets are made. The loom stands on a perpendicular frame, with two men on either side, and the pattern lays on the floor; the wool, silk, or cotton material, as the case may be, is passed from one side to the other, and “clipped” when properly fixed. These carpets are, of course, reversible. Four men, working twelve hours, are reckoned good hands if they can finish satisfactorily five inches square a-day; but as the job is generally given to men who have long sentences to serve, time is no object. At Allahabad the same carpets are made by machinery, but they cannot compare either for durability, finish, or even beauty, with those made in the Agra penitentiaries.
Agra was the only place where we were left to our own devices. Our friend, Dr. Tyler, had been summoned to Simla on official business; we therefore had to fight our way as we best could.
X.
PRINCELY HOSPITALITY.
