The Sun.
London, England, 1844-03-11 00:00:00

GWALIOR.

The following description of Gwalior, which we extract from the

" Hand-book of India," will render the description of the attack
more intelligible, and explain also the almost insuperable difficul.
ties our troops had to surmount :
" On the south of Agra, distant 74 miles, stands Gwalior, the
seat of the ancient sovereignty of Sindia. The recent death of
Maharaja, and the serious disruption which has resulted there-
from, has rendered it necessary for the Governor-General of India
to march a large force to the frontier of the state; and while we
pen these pages it is quite impossible to say whether the self-ap-
pointed Regent, who has seized the reins of power, has been con-
firmed in his authority, or whe.her the British Government has
intervened, and placed the country on the footing of other states
enjoying our protection. By the latest accounts all was anarchy
and confusion. We must, therefore, in this place content our-
selves with a brief description of the town and fortress. The city
is approached by a footpath over some trifling clay and sandstone
heights, from which it is seen to advantage, lying under the wing
of the giant stronghold, which rises in a complete precipice from its
very bosom, and interspersed with trees and minarets, after the
usual fashion of native cities. The suburbs are somewhat scanty,
and there is no wall ;of defence to the town, which, however, by
moans of strong portals connecting the parallel streets, and open.
ing or closing the communication at the pleasure of the inhabi.
tants, as well as by the aid of the external gates, is 'capable of
making a brief defence against any irregular attack. These gate.
ways are singularly elegant, although a jumble of modern and
Hindoo architecture. They are built of sandstone. The gateway
itself is an architrave of stone, supported upon ornamented co.
lumns of the same. Above this rises the pointed Saracenic arch,
and above that are elegant arabesque bas-reliefs, the roof of the
structure being flat.
"'The Jumraa Musjid is a handsome building, in the style of
those at Lucknow. On turning the flank of the defences we
come upon the grandest and most imposing exhibition of mili-
tary architecture ever beheld. We doubt if the world contains
anything so magnificent as this long line of Gothic towers, scarped
by an overhanging precipice ; poised in mid-air, dignified by the
impress of the ages that have passed over their heads, yet unim.
paired in strength and beauty, and presenting, not the blind
aspect of mere holds of power, in which a garrison is pent up and
excluded from the outer world, but that of the fittest possible
residence for a mighty Sovereign, the object of all regards,
raised above the world by his grandeur, and gazing down,
from its unapproachable eminence, upon the kingdom
submitted to his rule. It is impossible to imagine this noble
mass of architecture designed for the vile purposes for which
its isolated position afterwards rendered it convenient. But
in exact proportion to our admiration of the structure is
our indignation at the tyranny, the cruelty, the barbarous
and murderous policy, for which no language has epithets
sufficiently severe, of which Gwalior was the theatre, and
continues the memorial; and as we gaze upon its lofty battle-
ments, and recal to memory the hundreds of unhappy captives con-
demned to waste away in perpetual imprisonment, or to escape this
prolongation of misery only by the slow operation of a poison, that
destroys by sapping all the fountains of life, and poisoning all the
springs of enjoyment and breaking down the firmness of a heart
that would have defied, in its health, the extremity of torture;
thus reducing the noblest to the quality of the vilest, and making
him, previous to his end, the scorn even of himself—when, we
say, we reflect how many victims to royal jealousy have here rotted
away into oblivion, there only crime that of having hung at the
same breast with their murderer, or, perchance, of having a better
claim than his to the throne, or of having excelled him in virtue,
or being beloved by their fellow-men, we turn shuddering from
the grandeur which had so greatly excited our admiration, and
mourn that infamy should have been permitted so unsuitable a
shrine. Had those towers been clad in some of the gloomy hor-
rors which their interior has witnessed, they would have been a
beacon of terror to the world. To the thoughtful they yet hold
out an humbling lesson of the vanity of outward appearance, and
the madness of any ambition that has not virtue for its aim.
It is not possible to give anything like an adequate idea of this
surpassing fortress without the aid of the pencil and colours. The
clifrupon which it stands is perfectly perpendicular, formed appa.
rently, of sandstone, and it extends round the entire circuit of the
fortified height. The defences, which, on the other sides, though
adequate to their object, are dwindled into comparative insignifi-
cance by immediate contrast with the massive hill on which they
stand, are here of the noblest dimensions and the most graceful
form, being a long series of circular towers, closely connected by
curtains of nearly similar height, and roofed in with small domes
of masonry ; the whole having, in addition to shot-holes, embra.
sures, & c., an abundance of glazed windows, betokening the dwel-
ling of rational creatures; while the masonry itself is adorned with
glazed tiles, which, whatever their effect when recent, retain at
present only those tints which become a venerable fabric, and that
fabric of the Gothic style. The entire circuit of these defences
appeared tome about three miles; their form an oblong rectangle.
The summit of the height, as is usual in the sand formation, is
nearly flat. The height of the precipice is about 200 feet, and
theheight from the foot of the precipice to the level of the town
about 200 feet more, making a total height of about 400 feet.
" In the steepest face of the cliff, at the north aspect and north-
east angle, are several caves, probably communicating by subter-
ranean galleries with the interior. One, in particular, contains a
gigantic image of Pars Nath, distinctly visible from beneath.
These caves may be convenient to the garrison during siege, but
are extremely dangerous to the safety of the place, as a single
10. inch shell would, by exploding within the cavity, in all probe-