Evening star., 1904-03-24

or the emblems Of royalty. They were
formed of crimson velvet richly embroid-
cred and fringed with pearls. The handles
studded with diamonds"
. Inns throne. ACCORDING to medical gem
.ieman named Ber--=er, the writer whose
description have quoted, was planned and
executed under the direction OF Austin de
Bordeaux. 1t was carried away bv Nadir
Snah to Teheran in 1739, and what Is left
or 1t is still used by the Shah of Persia
On ceremonial occasions The canopy. the
umbrellas, the emerald parrot and the
peacocks have long ago disapneared
Inc same splendor. in more or less de-
gree was maintained throughout the entire
palaee during the reign of the Moguls. The
apartments of the emperor and tbosa of
his wives, the harem the baths the nnbI;c
ohces, the quarters for hi- ministers score
tarles and attendants were all bult of
similar materials and decorated in the
same style of magnificence Soma ne tho
buildings are allowed to remain ernnty for
the pleasures of tourists; others are occu
pled FOR military purposes, and the Rung
Mahai' one OF the most beautiful. formerly
the residence of the moguTs fayorite wife
Is now used for mess room bv fbe off,cars
OF the garrison. A writer of the seventh
century who visited the place says: 1T was
more beautiful than anything n the east
that we know off,
At one end of the group of the buildings
IS ene Moti MaJid, or ri Mosque. which
answered to the private chapel OF the mo-
gus. and has been declared to be the
daint1est building in all India" In eraca
simplicity and perfect proportfo-- II csn'
not De surpa. 5ed. 1t is built of the purest
marble richly traced with carvi: J;
The Great Durbar.
1t Is within the walls If this fort ona
among these exquisite pal s that the
great Durbar was held on the Ist of Janu-
airy. 1903. to proclaim formally the corona
ton of King Edward VII, Emperor of T. ia
ana Lord Curzon with remarkable uccess
carried out his plan to make the occasion
one OF eXtraoro4-.1ry splendor IT brought
together for the first time all of the na
i've princes OF India. who. in the presence
loyalty and offered their homage tho
tnrohe. NO spectacle of greater pomp and
spiendor has ever been witnessed in F,nrnns
or or ASIA Or any other part of the world since
the days of the moguls The pea cock tbrnne
could not be r red the oooasio'
but Lord and Lady Curzon sat unon ,ha
platform where 1t formerly stood and tbere
received the ruling chiefs, noL,es and
princes from all the states and nroyirnas
of India. provinces
LORD Gurzon has been criticised severe,y
IN certain quarters for the "barbaric snlen,
oSr and naroarlc extravaganza oe this cell
sDration, but people familiar with tbe no
itlcal situation in India and the temner ~
the native princes have not doubted FOR :.
moment the wisdom which inspired II and
eaiSC VI ICS consequences
oriental mind is impressed more hv snIare e
oor tnan by any other influence, and has
pro1ound respect for ceremonials Tha
emperor or India. by the durbar. recog-
only gratified them, but made himself !.
real personality to the native chiefs In
stead OF an abstract proposition. It has
gewar gser heo tme 6ratisn power position that it
les and brought together ruling nrincas
VINO VINO had never seen each other before 1t
proke down what Lord Curzon calls "the
dia-" oA AZ
Each province" he says, each native
state. Is more or less shut of by solid
bulkheads from its neighbors The snread
of railways and the relaxation of social ra-
strictions are tending to break them down.
but they are still very strong Princes who
i've i've IN the south have rarely ever in their
lives seen or visited the states of the
north. Perhaps among the latter are chiefs
who have rarely ever left their homes n
cannot but be good thing that they should
meet and get to know each other and ex-
change ideas. To the east there Is nothing
strange, but something familiar and even
sacred" continued Lord Curzon, .in the
with their people in ceremonies of solem-
nifty. Every sovereign in India did 1t In
the old days; every chief in India does II
now: and the community Of interest be-
tween the sovereign and his people to
which such a function testifies and which
1t serves to keep alive Is most vital and
most important"
And the great durbar in India demon
strated the wisdom OF those who planned
it.
Large Expenditure.
The expense was quite large The total
disbursements by the government were
about $4,000, and 1t Is probable that an
equal amount was expended by the princes
and other people who participated. That
has been the subject Of severe criticism
also, because the people were only slowly
recovering from the effect Of an awful
famine. which I have recently described.