New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1853-06-21
RAyARD TAYLoR's LETTERS.

has since remained except during the reign "a - -
After the death of Aunngzebe the pawer OF ,ns EiP
,os gradually declined the Mahrattas and RsJPoots
laid waste and seized upon their terri'ollp o.
the English who found that the shortest "ay VI eo.ns
their lject peace-makers vas 10 pecO'pe o IT,
took what fragments remained OF ,"S hHP' "a -
sovereignty, however. is still ackuo"'eusou a -
will The same outward ceremonsls OF respect ana SUD
mission as when the Company owned nothing vI leo
tory in Bengal and the Mogul vas Iou ~ az 10
The dominons Of Akbar H., the present Emperor, 'ne
lineal descendant OF the House oil aleiAS nu m,'
Ins,r;os ecsssors are embraced within the walls oi
his n,ace and cornprise rather less than square ha
mile The Government allows fourteen iacs VI rHPgeo
(s7OOOOO annually for the maintenance Oi hlnse'' us
family and the princes atacne" 70 us c'ulta iaso
.nd tnnoyv retnue many Of whom cannot venture OUT
80 ~ IIs without running the risk OF beng seized
"a, his Sebts They are ali in debt, from the Emperor
10 bs lowest nenias and the Government allowance Is
swsvs conveyed the Palace under strong guard 10
preycpf ia being forcby carried Oh by the credtofs
fIis nif farce Of Royalty il all that remains OF the
MooU Empre-oDee the most pow erfu and enlightened
sovereignty 10 ASA ~. r -,
name and having been founded by Shah Jehan is still
ssiIsd nv the natives Shahehanabad There were sey-
oral Debis one Of the Oldest OF which is the city built
Nv Tooukh and called TOgukhabad, the ruins Of which
lie about fifteen miles to the south OF this. Another
eity now called Old Delhi, built during OF the sue
eeedn0 reiQns is about miles distant IL ia still
surrounded by lofty walls with circular stone bastOns,
and has several thousand inhabitants But all the conn
try south of the Jumns for extent Of more than ten
miles in every direction, is strewed with the ruins OF
palaces mosques and tOmbs. Whenever the city was
tsken and desolated in the early wars instead Of
building IT, the inhabitants founded in the vi
ciDiy; and afterRard whenever the caprice Of an En-
peror prOmpted him to erect palace the mobiles aud
after them the common people, gradually SHIFTED their
residences until the location Of the city was quite
changed aud thus for ceuu les Delhi continued "a be
migratory Capital For the last two centuries has
been stationary and will now probably remain so But
the ruins Of the former Delhs cover much greater
space than that occupied by the ruins Of Thebes and
bad they all belonged to city it would have been the
greatest ia the world
On the day after my arrival Mr. Place drove me in his
carriage 10 the Rhuttub Mnar the pride and boast of
Delhi as the Tai is of Agra 1t is eleven miles distant
in sOuth-westerly direction. This again was day to
be remembered We left at early hour, and without
entering the city, drove aonG its walls past the Cash
mere and Lahore Gates. IL was q bilmy morning. with
n pure crystalline atmosphere, such as had MT seen
for weeks. The air seemed 20 be more dry aud bracg
than at Agra for though the temperature was lower
felt the cold much less keenly At short distance
from the city we upon the ruins of magnificent
observatory The most prominent object was colo~
sal qnomon built Of stone and rising 20 The hight OF near
forty feet Around this was circular plane, precisely
parallel that Of the ecptc and nearly hundred tet
In diameter There were also two circular buildings
with double row OF narrow sits, embrasures around
them and the remains Of stone tables in The inside, the
circumference of which were divided into degrees
These buildings doubt intended for observing
the rising and setting OF stars, measuring their distances
from each other and other similar processes The oh
seryatory could only have been used for astronomical
observations Of a very simple character.
Beyond this all was ruin. The country was uneven
and covered in oil directions far az the eye could
reach, with masses Of stone and brch the remains OF
walls and arches aud the tombs of princes saints and
scholars who aOuriFhed during the MOgui dynasty The
tomhs we're large square buildings, surmOunted with
domts Some were merely of brick and mortar, but
others Of sandstone and white marble aud adorned with
very elegant pateWays Grass and bushes growing
out of the riffs of the domes aud the seeds of the peepul
tree taking root in the mortar had in many places split
asnnder the strongest masses of masonry During many
miles o journey, there scarcely change IN the
panOrema. Ruin succeeded ruin, aud be-
tween ard beyond them there but perspecges Of
ruin In the distance. The habta!ions Of man were few
and scattered. aud hut little Of the soil showed any ap
pearanee OF cultivation The wild vulture lowered SUI
iepy over tbe waste and The fox and ackal Sneaked
about the erumbing walls. That beautiful fragment OF
Persian poetry recitCd by Mshomet the COnquerOr
he entered COnstantnOplc, came into my mind: The
spider hath his web in the imperial palaces and
the owl hath sung her wechsong on the towers of AZ
"raisab."
About six miles from Delhi we came upon the spleen
did tomb of Sufdur Jung, prince who was connected
Mi the roval house Of Dude Il resembles the l in de-
sign but smaller, aud built Of mixture of sandstone
and marble which, nevertheless, IS very beautiful
effect The present King of Dude has appointed
or its repair and preservation, butthore m signs in
the general air of neglect which peryades the place. OF
INV money having been thus applied l was quite
charmed with the beauty Of the architectural details in
this edifce; the arched windows the yaued ceilings OF
the chambers and the designs at the mSrbe balconies
are among the finest things ofthe kind which hayeeTer
seen
From the tor of the tomb FIRST saw the Khuttub
Ainar and after Eve more miles oi ruin drew up in The
courtyard of carsyansera near It's base The unusual
form of the khutub detracts from It's hight, when seen
from a distance but greatly increases Il ON nearer
view by exaggemting the perspective Hence unlike
some towers, which seem 10 shrink US You approach
them the Khuttub which az few miles distance re-
sembes an ordinary factory chimney, swes TO sublime
attitude when you are 10 ts vicinity Il IS round PHI
lar Of olO feet in hight the diameter az the base being
RI feet hut gradually diminishing TO less than ~ lee at
the ton Ii is divided into five stories tae relative hgh
gf which decreases la the same ratio as the diameter OF
the shaft Each story has heavy oorulcc OF the richest
sculntpre snrmouuted by low stone balustrade. The
lower stories are entirely OF red sandstone tnted
or rather roeded with alternate convex and angular hys-
ions ard beted az short Intervals bN bands OF Arabic
inscr;pijons scupiured in relief i of colossal size.
The two highest stories are mostly Of white mar1ie,
without inscriptions aud devlate slightly from the dimn,
ishng sope Of the pillar whence IL Is generally supposed
that fhey were added at later period Some English
Official thinking 70 improve The work, crowned II with
orotesaue cnpoa which was ridiculous eXcreScnce on
the shaft until Lord Hardinge ordered i. TO be taken
down.
sueh are the dimensions and style Of the renowned
Khuttub. but they are very far from expressing tne
majesty of It's appearance, or tie rdh AMI gorgeous
sculpture with which il is adorned As stood short
distsnee from the base my gaze travelling Slowly fcm
hctfom 10 tom aud from top 10 bottom, NJ Place ie
car,a il TO be- t, finest single tower IN tse word and
asked me whether did net think 50. said Ne. for
;nst he had Gottos F0reutine Ccmp4aiic and the
Glralda of Seville in my mind and could not venture 10