Evening star., 1904-03-17

The rest of the building is marble The
throne of the mogul stood upon a high plat
form in an alcoye of white marble. richly
decorated, and above 1t are balconies pre-
tected by grilles or screens, behind which
the sultanas used to watch the proceedings.
Back of the audience room is a great
square planted with trees, flowers and
vines. White marble walks radiate from
marble platform and fountain basin in the
center. and divide the garden into beds.
which. We are told, were filed with soil
brought from Cashmere because of it's rich
ness. And even today gardeners say that
1t is more productive than found in this part
of the country.
The Harem
Around this court were the apartments of
the zenana, or harem, occupied by the
mother, sisters and wives of the sultan, who
were more or less prisoners but had
considerable area to wander about in. and
could sit in the jasamine tower, one of the
most exquisite pieces of marble work you
can imagine. and on the fiat roofs of the
palaces, which were protected by high
screens. and enjoy views over the sur
rounding country and up and down the
Jumna river. From this lofty eyrie they
couid witness reviews of the troops and
eaten ghmpses OF the gay cavalcades that
came in and out of the fortress, and in a
small courtyard was a bazaar where GER
tam favored merchants from the city
"Nao e3ioWeu W come ana exhibit goods TO
the ladies' of the court But these were the
only glimpses female royalty ever had of
the outer world.
No man was ever admitted to the zenana
except the emperor. All domestic work was
done by women, who were watched on the
OUTSIDE by eunuchs and then by soldiers
they had their own mosque, the Gem
Mosque they called it, beautiful little
structure erected by Shah Jehan and after
ward used as his prison
Inc DdtnS of the most SIln1DtIIOuS
character. The walls are decorated with
raised foliage work in colors silver and
golc, upon ground of mirrors, and the
ceiling Is finished with pounded mica which
has the effect of silver. Fronting the en-
trance or the bath rooms are rows of lights
over winch the water poured in broad sheets
INTO nasln, then running over a little
marble causeway fell ever second cluster
OF lights into another basin and then an
other and another, five in succession so that
many LADIES were able to battle in these
fascinating fountains st the same time
BELOW the baths we We're shown some dark
and dreary vaults. In the center of the
most gloomy of them there is a pit-a well
which, the guide tells u.s. has it's outlet
III the bottom of the river, ,three-quarters of
mile away. Over this pit hangs a heavy
beam of wood very highly carved and in
the center is a groove from which bangles a
silken rope. Here, according to tradition
iran and unfaithful inmates Of the harem
were hanged, and when life was extinct the
cord was cut and the body fell into the pit
striking the keen edge of knives at frequent
intervals, SO that 1t finally reached the
river IN small fragments, which were de-
voured by fishes or crocodiles or If they es-
capped them, foated down to the sea- After
each execution flood of water was turned
from the fountains into the pit to wash
away the stains.
The Jasmine Tower.
But let us turn from this terrible place to
tne Jasmine tower, the apartments of the
chief sultana, which overhangs the walls of
the fort and is surprisingly beautiful
series OF rooms entirely of marbe-roof
walls and floor are surrounded by a broad
marble veranda supported by noble arches
Sprlng1ng from graceful slender pillars ar
ranged IN pairs and protected by balus-
trade OF perforated marble. One could
scarcely imagine anything more dainty
than these lacelike screens of stone, ex-
tremely simple in design and exquisite in
execution The interior walls are incrusted
with mosaic work of jasper, ,cornelian n la pis-
iazun, agate, turquoise, bloodstone mala-
chlte and other precious materials in the
form or foliage, flowers, ornamental scrolls
sentences from the Koran in Arabic letters
ana geometrfcal patterns The decoration
is as beautiful and rich as the Tai Ma
hal so FAR as 1t goes, and was done by the
same artists
There Is broad field for the imagination
10 range about in and picture this palace
when 1t was paradise of luxury and splen-
dor, hlled with gorgeous and costly hang
fngs, draperies rugs, couches and cushions
me writers of the time tell us that the
sultanus had $500 women around them,
who were divided into companies First
were the three chief wives next in rank
were 800 concubines and the remainder
were dancing girls, musicians. artists en-
orolderers, seamstresses, hair dressers,
cooks and other servants. The mother of
the mogul was always the head of the
household. The three empresses were sub
loot fn Inr -it
oriental custom, and while they might
stand first in the affections of the mogul
they were subordinate to his mother who
conducted affairs about the harem. we are
told with the same regularity and strict
ness that was found in the executive de-
partments of the state. Each of the wives
received an allowance according to her
rank. If she had a child, especially son,
she was Immediately promoted to the high
est rank, given larger and better quarters
provided with many more servants and fur
nished with a much larger allowance in
money.
The apartments of the emperor are quite
plain when compared with the adjoining
suite of the favorite sultana, but are mas
sive, dignified and appropriate for sover-
eign of his wealth and power. and every
thing is finished with that peculiar ele-
gance which Is only found in the east In
all the great cluster of buildings there is
nothing mean or commonplace Every
apartment, every corridor, every arch and
every column Is perfect and a wonder of
architectural design, construction and deco
ration.
From the emperor's apartments you pass
through stately pavilion to large mar
BILE courtyard. Upon one side of 1t, next to
the wall that overhangs the river is a
slab of black marble known as THE Black
Marble Throne" And upon this khe en-
peror used to sit when hearing appeals for
justice from his subjects or other business
of supreme Importance. Upon the opposite
side of the court is white marble slab
upon which the grand vizier used to sit and
to the east is platform where seats were
provided for the judges. the mobiles and the
grandees of the court. In this pavilion
have occurred some of the most exciting
scenes in Indian history.
ASSOCIATION MEETS.