The palace buildings comprise the cathedral-like entrance hall, the audience hall, and several lesser pavilions, covering in all an area of one thousand six hundred feet by three thousand two hundred feet, exclusive of gateways. The beautiful inlaid work and carving of these buildings are the admiration of the world, and is worthy of its famous inscription: “If there is a heaven on earth, it is this—it is this!”
In the heart of the city stands the Jama Masjid (“great mosque”), one of the largest and finest structures of the kind in India, which also owes its origin to Shah Jehan. Among the notable monuments in the neighborhood are the imperial tombs, including that of Hamayun, second of the Mogul dynasty; the old Kala Masjid, or black mosque; and the thirteenth century Kutab Minar, ten miles to the south, which is two hundred and thirty-eight feet high, and tapers gracefully from a diameter of forty-seven feet at the base to nine feet at the summit.
Modern Delhi is noted for its broad main streets, the chief being the Chandni Chauk, or Silver Street, with its high clock tower, and the institute and museum.
Delhi has a large trade in wheat and other produce, and its bazaars are noted for gold and silver work, precious stones, shawls, and costly fabrics.
Simla, since 1864 the summer headquarters of the British government in India, stands on the slopes (seven thousand feet) of the Himalayas, in a beautiful situation, one hundred and seventy miles north of Delhi. Its first house was built in 1819, and it was first visited officially by the Indian government in 1827. There are two vice-regal residences, handsome government buildings, and a fine town hall. Population sixteen thousand in winter, and considerably more in summer.
Calcutta, on the left bank of the Hughly, the largest and westernmost branch of the Ganges delta, is about eighty miles from the sea. The government buildings, Bishop’s College (now an engineering school), High Court, town hall, bank, museum, university, St. Paul’s cathedral, and many other English buildings have earned for it the name “City of Palaces.” The native quarters, though improved, are still squalid, the houses of mud or bamboo. An esplanade, numerous quays, an excellent water-supply, gas, and tramway services, add to the amenities. There are extensive dockyards, warehouses, ironworks, timber yards, and jute mills. Extensive railway and steamboat communications make it the chief emporium of commerce in Asia.
Bombay stands on an island, connected with the coast by a causeway, and has a magnificent harbor and noble docks. It is rapidly surpassing Calcutta in trade, and is one of the greatest of seaports; its position promises to make it the most important commercial center in the East, as it already is in the cotton trade of the world. It swarms with people of every clime, and its merchandise is mainly in the hands of the Parsees, the descendants of the ancient fire worshippers. It is the most English town in India. It came to England from Portugal as dowry with Catherine of Braganza, wife of Charles II., who leased it to the East India Company for fifty dollars a year. Its prosperity began when the Civil war in the United States afforded it an opening for its cotton.
Benares, the most sacred city of the Hindus, and an important town in the Northwest Provinces, is on the Ganges, four hundred and twenty miles by rail northwest of Calcutta. It presents the amazing array of one thousand seven hundred temples and mosques with towers and domes and minarets innumerable. The bank of the river is laid with continuous flights of steps whence the pilgrims bathe; but the city itself is narrow, crooked, crowded, and dirty. Many thousands of pilgrims visit it annually. It is a seat of Hindu learning; there is also a government college. The river is spanned here by a magnificent railway bridge. There is a large trade in country produce, English goods, jewelry, and gems; while its brass work “Benares ware,” is famous.
Agra, a city in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, is on the Jumna, one hundred and thirty-nine miles southeast of Delhi by rail, and eight hundred and forty-one miles northwest of Calcutta. The ancient walls embrace an area of eleven square miles, of which about one-half is now occupied. The houses are mostly built of red sandstone, and, on the whole, Agra is the handsomest city in upper India.