The New York herald., 1869-05-24
INDIA.

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Past and Present-Prosress Of Time-The
Ruins Of Delhi-lndian Legends-Moham-
medau Tombs, Canals, Tempies-Modern
Delhi-Appearanco Of the Peopie-Eastern
Aaasements-The Nautch Girls and Their
DsLHI, March 9. 1869.
Delhi is the terminus Of the East Indian Railway, |
l017x miles from Calcutta. The city OF the Great
Mogul the terminus Of an English railway Where
are your Tartar hordes now, o Tameriane' tne
conquer0rl Where your treasures now Aurangzeoe'
the magnificent and where your marble palaces now'
Akbar, prince Of architects In o space OF ten
miles square, the river Jumna, the ruined cities
Of 'he Mogul kings lie scattered in wrecks OF palaces
forts, mosques, tombs, kiosks and minarets. A
dozen cities have arisen in their magni1cence on the
banks OF the Jumna, and dozen times the desolaion
OF war has leveled them to the ground. The gran
deur OF the Great Mogul has passed away. The
British lion rears rampant the peacock throne.
The hosts OF Tamerane made into mortar
for the building Of an English railway station.
The crescent fades away before the cross, and
the cradle OF the human race is attended by robust
nurse from the West, infusng life and vigor into
the puny children OF Asia greater power than
Tamerlane ever dreamed Of has come. Its main
column reaches from the to the Himaayas,
thousand miles long. Its wings rest upon the two
seas with bases OF supplies at Bombay and Calcutta
Its sentnels never sleep ana the thunder OF Its
march will soon awaken the echoes Of the Vale OF
Cashmere And this power Is steam. Another great
power is gathering in the north its base OF supplies
is Moscow and its destination the Pacific Ocean
China If it can India If it must. 1t cannot be many
years before the master OF the land and the mistress
OF the seas viii meet in the valley OF Cashmere to con-
tend for the mastery OF Asia, and then the shock
will shake the Himalayas. Botn these great Powers
are coquetting with the petty princes who stand
between them. The Maharajah OF Cashmere would
fam secure the independence OF his petty State by
subservency to either and OF the two brothers who
claim to rule in Afghanistan England has taken
by the hand; the other Is refugee IN dominionS
recently acquired by Russia, and may perchance
come back with Russian auxiliary at his back
Amid the ruins OF Old Delhi single shaft OF red
sandstone preserves the edicts OF an emperor who
regned B. q. $40. All around the ruins OF ages.
The whole covered with ruins has been estniat
ed at fifty square miles, In order To obtain a good
view OF the ruins OF Delhi aud the surrounding coun-
try you may ascend the Kootub Minar, about eleven
miles from the modern city. IL Is said to be the
| lotiest column In the world Its form tapers from
stories by balconies at each OF which you can stop
| and measure your distance from the ground. The
projecting galleries whicn separate the stories are
| supported by heavy stone brackets. The whole
height Is 240 feet but tradition some Sixty feet
Of the top had to be removed on account OF stroke
| OF lightning having shattered the summit. The
| tower Is supposed to be 200 years old and was
erected by rajah at the request OF favorte daugh
bic in order that her prayers might be heard. There
! are many other legends. but this is probably as
a. S any ana peasen e ncns in ansiar a
| and hfy feet high.
The Hlndoo legend about the pillar is that one OF
the raahs dreading the fall OF his dynasty consulted
the Brahmlns as to what means could be adopted
| to insure It's perpetuity. He was told that II he
the head Of the snake god, who supported the
| world his kingdom would endure forever. The
| column was accordingly constructed and sunk into
the earth the depth Of twenty-six feet The King
was not satisfied that the iron had pierced the ser
priests, had the SHAFT raised. To the CONSERVATION
OF the King and the surprise OF The priests, the end
| had been committed by the Hindoo KING and the
| blood Of the snake god was upon his head. lie
ordered the pillar TO he again inserted IN the ground
| but the snake god this time made his escape and
the uries of the serpent worship AGAINST the
King. The King soon lost mis- life and Kingdom, and
| since then no HindOO king has reigned In Deinl
! The Mohammedan tombs in the best state OF
| preservation. as a common sentiment OF mankind
| mausoleums IL indescribable One Of them is built
IN the midst OF an artificial lake, connected with the
adjoining fortress by causeway 900 feet long, sup
ported on twenty seven arches. The height Of the
! dome Is seventy feet. This tomb was built by one
OF the most cruel and wicked OF the Moeul sove-
reigns and contains most curious and unique mau-
uscript. His successor, who had witnessed his
crimes, makes the following record:-
have taken pains discover the surviving relations OF all
who suffered from the wrath Of late lord and
.oosss snd hayng Vt and
forgiveness that prince In the Of the holy and
are snnea 70 ese the whole Of Which, as
Rs@ S
| Is entombed.
| There in the tomb the evidences OF his pardon and
forgiveness await the opening OF the Court OF Hea-
| ven, when the seals shall be broken.
The tomb OF Jebanara Begun, the eldest daughter
OF Shah Jehan, bears very touching inscription.
| IL Is plain square marble structure, surmounted
by screen OF that exquisite marble trellis-work
which Is so beautiful feature In Mussulman archi-
lecture. II is not covered by slab At the head Is
| q stone with inscription dictated by herself,
which runs as follows:-
Iatno rial ia IN ,aa
covering 70, the poor in spirit the humble n, the ,ra1sOEy
| ter Of the Emperor Shah Jehan.
Perhaps messenger from Jerusalem had pene-
trated to Delhi.
cannot linger longer under their cooling domes but
must return TO the living city-modern Delhi. The
transformation or the city OF the Great Mogu into
modern city, with wide streets spacious squares
and beautiful fountains, reminds one Iorctby OF the
magical operations OF Baron Haussnann in Paris.
The fort aud palace are now occupied by British OH.
| cials and troops. presenting very different scene
from That described IN tae ne times r Of the glory
hall of the great Mogu was of white
marble, inaid with vines, flames, beasts and
! birds In precious stones, and the roof was ngree
work OF silver ana gold. The peacock throne was
composed OF solid gold, inlad with precious stones,
the peacock's feathers being Initiated by Jewels lt
! wa, surmounted by ~ gold canopy supported by
twelve gold pillars fringe OF pearls hung around
| the canopy. Umbrellas OF crimson velvet en-
! broidered with pearls and studded with diamonds
/ rested upon golden handles on each side OF the
throne sym6oizng @ roya Ihe o peacock X, throne
| now. The Moscms never neglected the bath, neither
do the Iiindoos. they have that one virtue In COM
| mon. The canal from the Jumna was brought into
the city OF Delhi 500 years ago by Feroze shah,
the emperor who desired the water Tor his baths.
Tue water yet serves TO refresh the atmosphere, TO
mosten the trees planted along the streets aud 10
irrigate the gardens and nelds adjoining the
city. The Junna MusJid ia Delni is con-
sidered the finest Mohammedan temple In India.
The vast extent OF this building affords space for
4,CO0 OF 5000 woTshippers. ON the roof there
| fifteen marble domes with their spires tipped with
gold, and above these again six marble mlnarets,
with open arched chambers at the top and git PIN
nacles rising gracefully against the sky. This sane
tuary OF the Prophet has the keeping OF copy OF the
Koran SAID to be 200 years old.
When we tired OF sightseeing and returned 70 our
hotel we found quite number of natives awaiting
--lugglers, who could perform the most wonder
ful tricks, and pedlers who had the rarest stufs