Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-27

| and maharajaS to present the jewel-in-
| crusted hits Of their swords in token Of
| their allegiance to the viceregal representa-
| tives of British sovereignty.
A 100000 Jewel Mantle.
One dazzling personality will be the
| Maharaja Galkwar Of Baroda, who will
wear his state mantle of woven pearls with
its arabesque border OF diamonds, rubies,
| emeralds and sapphires, whose value, esti-
mated by famous London jeweler Is $5,-
100000.
| A deeper significance. however, will at
| tach to the moment when the viceroy and
vicereine enter the palace Of the moguls
| to hold the chapter the Knights of the
Star OF India, the leyee and the ball, as
part Of the festivities. Then. in sentiment
at least, they viii represent the mighty
power once swayed by the great moguls,
| Akbar Jehangir, Shah Jahan and Aurang
| zeb. but now in the holding Of King Ed
ward VII. ,v9H Z
| AS Lord and Lady HCurzon pass under
| the great gate Of thehpalace a reflection
! can scarcely fail tochover In their minds
Of the wondrous stenes those walls have
witnessed-scenes tef sblendor unparalleled
| In the worlds hissory;Fof gruesome fratri
| cidal crimes: Of love- stories beautiful and
| tragic and Of merciless butcheries, for the
| jewel-incrusted steps SfA the mogul's pea
| in blood - 'i'al 81 >"''Hs .'s--
In the great hail. IL the Diwan-i-am,
where Anglo-Saxoh dfeetoare to trip merrily
to the strains Of -hngltH sasa Yor music, Shah
was wont to give 4ub1c audience daily.
Here gathered all the generals and mobiles
of the empire then I'm Delhi, while with
out in the vast COURT thousands Of peo-
roll Of drums and clash Of cymbals, Shah
| Jahan appeared, SURROUNDED byihis guards,
in a small balcony set high up In the
further wall of the immense scathedral-Iike
chamber. Thereupon the whole concourse
bowed with hands crossed upon their
breasts, crying:
IF 1t is day. and the emperor says 1t is
| night, we behold the moon and stars"
| Then the gorgeously caparisoned state,
elephants and horses were led into his
presence, and trained to kneel before the
| man regarded as deity from one end Of
Asia to the other.
|, The Wonderful Peacock Throne.
| The public audience over. Shah Jahan re-
tired to another hall of smaller dimensions,
| where, seated on the peacock throne, he re-
cefved the ministers and ambassadors
Both the platform and steps by which the
throne itself was approached were incrust-
ed with jewels. From the four corners of
the platform rose pillars so thickly set with
pearls that, 1t Is said, one could not insert
the point of q needle between them. These
supported a jewel-emb roidered canopy, sur
mounted by lfe-size peacock with wings
dilu tiil OulSpreetu, glllteTlffS mass or
gems. The actual throne was ablaze with
diamonds, rubies ana emeralds, the whole
being valued at So. O00,0 900. Partly shorn of
its glory and worth now mere 81 800 0OO
the throne may still be seen in the palace
Of the Shah of Persia
A Gruesome Love Story.
One Of the mosts4curious ceremonies
monarch ever underwent was the yearly
weighing Of the mogul emperor in gigantic
gold scales, first against gold. then silver
spices, clothes. rice. etc. The various pro-
ceeds were subsequently given to the
priests. This ceremony took place in gar
den pavilion in which occurred one of the
most gruesome love stories of history And
in this place dainty refreshments will be
served to Lord and Lady Curzon's guests
Apart from the Incidental fact that Shah
cubines, dancing girls and SO forth, he pos
sessed four sons and two daughters by his
wife, the beautiful Mumtaz Mahal who lies
entombed in the superb mausoleum OF the
Ia1 at Agra. While these children seemed
to have Inherited to the full the personal at
Effectiveness Of their mother, they also In
herated all the cruelty and viciousness of
their oarpanc ancestors. Sons and daugh-
tiers so plotted one against another, and all
against the father, that they were Justly
called nest Of scorpions
According to tradition, the Lady Begun
Sahip, or queen Of princesses. was little
not bring himself to believe there was a
prince In all the world worthy to marry
her. But the princess thought differently.
IN some way sheJ hadf seen and fallen in
love with young noble Of the court, q
very high but dangerous honor for the OBJ
ject Of her affections.
Presumably by bFfbing the eunuchs the
lovers met in the pavilion. There they
passed delightful hours in each others So
ciety before the affair unfortunately reach
the ears OF Lady Rauchenara. Begun Sa-
hib's sister. Rauchenara was jealous Of Be-
gum Sahib's beauty. her greater influence
with her father and the young man, as
she herself had fallen in love with him.
So Shah Jahan was told by the apparently
much shocked Rauchenara how his dearly
beloved Begun Sahib was conducting q
clandestine love affair under his very nose
IN the garden pavilion Of the seraglio
The Emperor Surprises the Lovers.
Shah Jahan was too exalted being to
admit even the possibility OF such a dis
graceful affair in his family. A daughter
Of the moguls in love with common no
| BILE? Never. But Shah Jahan did regard
It as possible that the young noble might
have ventured to make overtures to Begun
Sahib. So he decided to sweep the lover
and his family out, OF existence, az one
might handful Of pestiferous insects. and
| In manner that would leave an impress
sion on the mind OF Begun Sahib.
At their next clandestine meeting tho
lovers were surprised by the sudden ap-
proach OF the emperor. All avenues Of es-
cape had been cut of by guards posted at
entered Begun Sahib had time to conceal
the young noble In q large metal caldron.
This caldron stood In an adjoining alcove
ana was used Tor heating water for baths.
his daughters forced composure. and.
Giancing around, he shrewdly guessed that