Morning journal and courier., 1884-05-21

l Farewell to Aern-DeIhf-SOme of the Sfghts-The -FOrt-A S+orgeOus Throne ! The Royal Baths-RIohamme WOr- l shIp-An Impressive Sesne-SaeKed Rsl- | ies-An Ancient FIlIar-Interestfng Ru- 1 1ns.
 DELHI, India, April TO-
 To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
 As left Agra in the edge of beautiful
 evening the gathering darkness of nature | was assisted by the lowering overhead of | thousands and thousands of tailless kites, which their owners were flying from the
 house-tops. according to native custom.
 Stealing last long lingering look at the Tai,
 as our train pulled across the immense Jum-
 na bridge, I bade adieu to the most interest ing Indian city have yet visited. 1 Less than an hours ride brought us to
 Toondla junction, where train on the main l line of the East India railroad was in waiting
 to convey Agra passengers to Delhi. On the 1 way fell asleep, and when I awoke expert enced some surprise to find the train deserted | and on side track at Toondla. Immediate | ly calling a coolie I managed to get my l things hustled aboard the north-bound train, which was about to start; but paid for my slothfulness by having to occupy an uncom- | fortabIe upper berth. Early the next morn | ing our train rolled into the Union depot of
 this storied city, where I have now been stay | ing for three days.
 The sights of Delhi are the Fort, which duplicates some of the wonders of the Agra Fort. the Jumna Musjid, and the Kootub
 Minar The Fort is quite as often called the Palace or Citadel, for the reason that it con- | sists of only three walls, with the fourth side l open to the river. Entering at the Lahore ! gate in company with my guide, we passed 1 along a vaulted aisle like that of Gothic I cathedral, and found ourselves ia the court yard. The interior of this citadel proved much simpler than that of the Agra Fort, | and not in such good repair. There are the | barracks of the English troops, and only such Natives are admitted to the enclosure have some business there. The famous De- | waniam is there, but is now used, I blush to ! say, for 8 carousal or tilting yard by the sol- diers. It seems indeed dissertation for such scenes to be enacted in the farsfamed spot ! where occurred annually on the occasion of the emperor'B birthday the ceremony of ! weighing him, and distributing free to the people twelve times the sovereign's weight in gold, silver, precious stones and perfumes The king was actually put into one pan of the gigantic scales used fer this purpose. As l "Oome on, Jack have drink, old boy" | The bar has been improvised right at one l side of the kings throne, an elevated marble canopy, supported by four white marble pill l lars, and adorned with remnants of once- | gorgeous mosaics. The Dewaniam is open I on three sides and supported by red sand stone columns
 In 8 smaller building adjoining we inspect ed the still more famous Dewanikhas, or hall of private audience. This proved to be a square pavilion of marble, resting on massive l square pillars and moresque arches of the I same material, all highly polished. The or namentatlon Is simple rather than elaborate. | The apartment is small and oblong opening | into 8 court on one side, to the river Jumna on another, to the palace gardens on 8 third, | and to the apartments of the Zenana on the l fourth. The outside pillars are connected f by superb marble balustrades carved with graceful higree work. At each corner of the roof is @ marble kiosk with small gilt dome The ceiling of this Dewanikhas was once en- l tirely composed of gold and silver screen | work, wrought by the famous Delhi gold smiths. Here stood the famous Peacock | Throne, unparalleled in rare beauty and cost ! Illness by any other royal court in the world | I suppose. Tavernier. Rkillful Branch jaw l eler, saw it, and made computation ss to its 1 intrinsic value. He calmly estimated that its nominal worth, aside from it's claims in artistic way, was six millions of pounds ster- | | ey. Think of that, ye envious poteatates of
 the present generation! This magnificent
 throne was but six feet long and four feet | broad, but it was composed of solid gold in | laid with rare oriental gems. It received its | name from the jeweled images of peacocks
 which adorned it's canopy. This canopy was
 also of gold, supported on twelve gold pill 1 lars, and hung all around with fringe of ! pearls. On each side of the throne stood l two chuttahs or umbrellas, symbolical of ! royalty. They were made of crimson vel | vet embroidered with gold thread and pearls
 and were equipped with solid gold handles eight feet long, studded with diamondsl This ! throne was constructed by Austin de Bor- l deaux at the order of the Emperor Shah Je- 1 han, the same enterprising monarch who had l constructed the Tai, the Pearl Mosque of l Agra, and the other most remarkable monu- ments of architecture in these parts The 1 Peacock Throne was carried away by the | Persian Nadir Shah, while the jeweled ceiling | was melted down by the Mahrattas at the l time of their invasion in 1759. This ceiling | was valued at about $85O, 1000 in American ] money. This is what suppose is meant by the expression, "Oriental magnifcence" From the Dewanikhas I proceeded to what
 remains of the Ssraglio, and thence through | that to the Hamams or royal baths. These were series of apartments of white marble ! the walls and ceilings of which are richly decorated with arabesques in gold. Many of ! l from time to time, and others are still loose. ! In one or two places the government has | tried to restore the mosaics, but the success was painfully small There seemed to be no one there to guard against further vandalism, l and had it not been for my high sense of | honor suppose I might have appropriated l several 1ai-Ions worth of stuff Such glori- ous baths of marble-yum, yum as the wa | termeIon s'small boy" would say. Special | places were provided for various portions of l the body, and all were about as swell" as we more advanced people of to-day know how to build, but are hindered from building by reason of our limited resources.
 Thence we strolIed over into the Mott Mus id, which was somewhat similar to that in the Agra Fort, though smaller in size and less perfectly preserved. It was surmounted by three exquisite marble domes, as are most of the mosques. Those that crown the fa- nous Agra mosque of the same name re- minded me, in distant views, of three great white bubbles, resting airily on the top of
 the fort walls, and ready to be swept away
 by the first passing breeze. As was enter
 taining this thought I opened Bayard Fay
 lor's volume, and discovered therein record
 of exactly the same impression, put almost
 iu the same words. Wonder if all great
 men are struck in the same way?
 Near the fountain ii she center of the
 chaste little musjid was a reclining chair en-
 tirely of marble, called "praise chair,"
 upon which the worshippers were eager to
 lie Returning by way of the Dewanikhas,
 I noticed some inlsid inscriptions over the
 Saraeenic arches, which I carelessly request
 ed my guide to translate for me. Judge of
 my exalted surprise when he quoted Moore's |
 line verbatim, s'If there be an eIysium on |
 earth, it is this, 1t is thisi"
 'sBe sure and see the Jumna Musjid on a |
 Friday" was the parting caution of Cawn- |
 pore friends. Accordingly on Friday noon | defied the weather (and also the smallpox l
 which was raging in town) by walking | through the most densely populated streets | to where the two towering minars and three 1 great domes directed my steps. Imagine | great court 450 feet square paved with red | stone in blocks of uniform size, each one de-
 signed for a vorshipper. There are walls of | red sandstone on three sides, with open l arches so as to constitute continuous coI- | onnade, while on the fourth side Is the l mosque proper. with it's demes, minars and | numerous apartments. At each corner of | the great structure are octagonal marble pa-
 vilions. The blue sky is the only roof On | the three sides alluded to are handsome | gaeeways, which are approached by magnif- | cent flights of stone steps-the finest ever 1 saw, I should say. In the center of the | 0onPk ia a marble reservoir 100 faak anuarA |