Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1853-07-06
The Great,Mogul.

travelling correspondent, Bayard Taylor
descriptive of Delhi, the imperial city o
India. Here the Mogul 'conquerors, ono
the Lords of all India, .dwelt in The pleni
tude of their power and glory, and her
their degenerate successors still keep VI
1 the farce of Court, by permission OF th
British East India Company. The domln
ions Of Akbar H. the present Emperor, tb'
lineal descendant Of the house Of Tanner
lane and his illustrious successors, are EN-
bfaced within the walls of his palace, anc
comprise rather less than square half mile
The Government allows fourteen lacs of ru.
nees. (S7OO, ,O0O) annually for the mainte.
nance of himself, his family and the prin.
ces attached to his court-a large and hun.
gry retinue, many of whom cannot venture
outside of the walls without ranning the
risk of being seized for his debts. They
are all in debt from the Emperor to his low.
est menials, and the Government sfewance
/ is always conveyed, to the palace under
strong guard, to prevent its being forcibly
carried off by the creditors. This pitful
farce Of Royalty is all that remains of the
Mogul Empire-onEs dhe most II powerful :, u
t7a and a en1ighteEed s67Tt7efsnt, u sia.-
Tom Moore in his Diary, tells of an Eng
lish Nabob who alleged as an excuse for his
bad shooting, that he had "spoilt his hand
by shooting peacocks ,rith The Grand IMogu'."
The American traveller does not appear TO
have been fortunate enough to attain this
degree of familiarity with the "Conqueror
Of the World and the Protector of Princes"
He did not even lay eyes on the great En-.
peror, but he visited his palace and de-
scribes it as follows:
1t only remains for me to describe my
visit to the Emperor's Palace. Mr.. Place
having previously sent messenger to an
nounce the visit, we found two chobdars
with silver maces waiting for US outside OF
the great gate. We were allowed to drive
through, the sentinels presenting, arms, into
small court, through second Fashioned
gateway, and down stately vaulted pas
sage to large open quadrangle, where we
dismounted and proceeded on'foot. The
vaulted gallery must have once been an I'M
posing prelude to the splendors OF the pal.
ace, but it is now dirty and dilapidated, and
the quadrangle into which it ushers, resem..
bles great barn yard, filled with tattered
grooms, lean horses and NANCY elephants.
The buildings surrounding it were heavy
masses of brick and sand stone, and were
rapidly falling into ruin. But there was
another gate before US, and FASTENED thro'
it, hoping to find something which would
repay the promise Of the magnificent exte-
rior. There was, indeed, the palace of
Shah Jehan, but in what condition !
Porticos of marble, spoilt by dust and white
wash, exquisite mosaic with all the precious
stones gouged out, gilded domes gltterlIns
over courts heaped with filth, and popula-
ted with a retinue Of beggarly menlalss -
This was all that was left oc the Empire OF
Tamerlane and Akbar miserable llfe-in-
death. which was far more melancholy than
complete ruin;
ed to see were the diwan, the throne; nall
and the mosque-all of which bear gen.
eral resemblance to the palace of Akbar, as
Agra, but are more wontonly despolledd..-
The diwan is an elegant arcade, formed by
three rows of arches, with pavilion OF the
purest marble, inlaid with gold and precious
stones in the center. Over this pavilion Is
the inscription in Persian, which Moore has
introduced in his Light of the Harem-
"If there be an elyslum on Earth, 1t is mere
it is here" What an .Elysium at pres
emit! Shah Jehan is the "Selimp OF the
noem that having been his original name.
= The throne-hall is square canopy ;est-
mo on SQUARE pillars. 1t is constructed en-
tirely of white marble, very highly polish
ed, the pillars being inlaid with cornelian
and bloodstone, and the ceiling richly gild'
ed, In the center of this once stood the
famous peacock throne, which has recently
been removed, and we were unable to gel
sight of it, By perseverlng, however, we
succeeded in seeing the crystal throne ol
the great Mosul, which is four ieet IN ol,
ameter by two in height, and the Iargesl &c,
niece of rock crystal known to exist. The
bases Of the pillars in this splendid hall were
painted with roses and tulips, the colors Of
which were very we'll preserved. The
mosoue-an imitation of that in the palace
at Agra-did not appear to have heard
PRAYER for years. =, r.,
Akbar ii. has relgned in this little 90,
minion since 1905, and is now upwards o,
eighty wears of age. He was the last ol
the line, but having four sons, the success
SION will be continued. He devoted MS
time to literature, amusements ana seasa'
alitv. The Mussulmen speak highly OF MS
literary requirement, and bis poems m the
Persian language are said by those who nave
read them 10 possess considerable. merit IT,,
There is a Court newspaper, entitled Inc
| Lamp of News. published within the palace
but it's columns are entirely devoted to the
gossip of the city, and private scandal
Until recently the law administered wllh,l i
the palace bore resemblance to the Diooay
rule of former davs. Persons who had IN
CURED the royal displeasurs had their hands
esrs ~ roses cut off, and then thrust out o.
the gates. Finally the English Resident a
the Gnnrt b,nted to his Majesty that these
things were very discredilable and oush'
to cease. "Whatr' said the descendant o.
Tametlane. sam not King in my own
nalaee >, "Undoubtedly," blandly replied
tLe Resident; your Highness Is the con
oueror of the world, and protector OF Prln'
ces but such course is not pleasing TO the
Governor General, and it would be a great
evil ,o the world if the friendship OF two
srtcb mighty and illustrious Sovereigns were
to be interrupted" The forms OF respect
to The phantom of the old authority beng
tbus preserved, the Emperor instituted
milder regimen. -
We snished our visit by walk in the
gardens. Here, the old trees, rankly over.
run with parasitic plants, with an under.
growth of wild and unpruned rose bushes
ooGordod nIeosant relief to The decay Of