The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-12-13

thian dynasties. Forged by a Hindu
 Rajah, it was driven into the ground
 so deep that 1t rested upon the head of
 the monstrous serpent which supports
 the world. The Rajah was assured by
 his priests that, while the pillar remain
 ed fixed, the authority of his house would
 be unshaken. Out of curiosity. one of
 his successors had the pillar taken up,
 and the tradition Is that the blood and
 some sof the flesh of the world-support-
 ing serpent could be seen adbering about
 the base. It EsS replaced, but the ehanrn
 was broken. and the dynasty fell. But
 the most magnificent monuments to be
 seen In Delhi<and its neighborhood' are
 those left by the first Mohamm edsn con
 Querors of India; men who designed like
 giants. as Bishop Heber said. and finish
 ed like jewellers. The ruins of the un-
 finished Mosque of the Pole Star of
 Islam." the Kutub Tower. the building
 of which was begun about 1900 A. D..
 and other relics of the Psthan sultans.
 are among the finest examples of Moham-
 medan architecture: for. with all its ef-
 fsminate beauty. even the Tat at Agra.
 is lacking. as Ferguson says. in the high
 qualities which ennoble the master build
 Ar's art in the hands of a manlier and
 less luxurious race than the successors
 of Akbar. The Kutub Minar stands 24O
 feet above the ground the only tMoham-
 medan building known to be taller being
 the miRaret of Hassan's mosque at
 Cairo. Among the Arabic inscriptions
 on 1t is the following: "The Prophet on
 whom be, the mercy and peace of God,
 on earth shall receive six such dwellings
 in paradise The pillar was the build ing of the King of Religion, now in peace
 and pardon; beN his tomb protected and
 his place assigned in heaven"
 The ceremonies of the Coronation Dur bar may not"le the visitor much leis- ure for miscellaneous sightseeing. but trips to the Kutub and the older Moham-
 medan ruins fin the vicinity must on no account be omitted from his program. It is curious to read contemporary accounts of the day in which the sovereigns of the Pathan dynasties have celebrated events of state. Thus the poet-historiaR, Amir Khusru,- tells us that when the Khilji Sultan FiroZe Shah succeeded to the thrones he sent his orders to the cor ners of the world whereupon unruly and turbulent folk every where rubbed their faces on the ground in token of ebedi- ence. When the sacopd anniversary of the same Sultans accession was cele- brated, there was royal progress, and brides who witnessed the cortege from their housstqps and gazed on the Kings countenance tore up their marriage set dement's in depair. It Is to be hoped that such domestic tragedies will be averted when Lord Curzon passes in state down Silver Stret on his way to the encampment. A later historian re- cords a further inconvenience which marred the populace enjoyment of royal festivities. When another King, he writes, celebrated the anniversary If his accession he received. according to the practice of olden times. entertainment from every shopkeeper, and appropriate presents from the nobles; and even I, adds the unfortunate man of letters, this powerless atom. had to present my | forty rupees which had the honor of | being accepted. I do not like my posi- | tion and would be glad of any other This however, refers to a subsequent | epoch, when the power of the Pathans 1 had been swept away by Tamblane and his descendants. Perhaps the most elab- ,rate account we have of a public cere- nony in the golden prime of the earlier 5ultans is that given by writer known IS "The Moon of Religion" of the re- ,sception. in the year 1345. If an invcsti- ure from the Caliph of Bagdad. The iecoI ations at Delhi are described in ,ome detail Triumphal arches were ,rected and hung with gold brOcades like b"de. There was spacious/pavilion, with poets reciung their verses, and horisters like Venus in the balcony.
 Apart from the proclamation on January the most splendid displays to be wit lessed in Delhi this winter will take ,iace in the Palace of the Great Moghul, l. jhSh Jehan. Oh January 8 there will be m investiturS of Indian Orders of <nigkthood in the spacious Hall of Pub ic Audience, the Diwan-i Am. This Is he largest hall in An edlfic- which, ir Bishop Heber's opinion. far surpasses he magnificence of the Kremlin. When ieber was at Dehi, eighty years ago, l. he Diwan-i Am was Mil of~lumber. 'roken palanquins and empty boxes. the hrone-or the platform on which the hrone had stood-co covcred with pigeons liter There has been no special at- emDt. it is said. on ths present occasion