THE WONDERFUL CITY OF DELHI
The Mohammedans of Bombay whose acquaintance General Noury had made were
wealthy and influential men; they had notified their friends in other
cities of the coming of the distinguished Moroccan, and he had several
invitations to make his home in Delhi with them. Lord Tremlyn and Sir
Modava were even more abundantly tendered accommodations from British and
Hindu persons of distinction.
Captain Ringgold had no friends, and received no invitations, though the
entire company of tourists were included in those of both the general and
the distinguished gentlemen who had insisted upon being the hosts of the
party. But the commander was a wealthy man himself, and a very independent
one. To throw a company of a dozen and a half upon the generous hospitality
of private individuals, or even public officials, seemed like an imposition
to him.
The viscount and his Hindu companion were equally sensitive on this point;
and it was proposed by Sir Modava to divide the guests among those who had
not only given the invitations but had pressed them upon the travellers.
The others did not like this plan; and, after some consideration, it was
decided to go to a hotel; at least it was suggested as the remedy by the
commander, who again insisted upon paying the bill. But there was no
suitable hotel in the place. The dak-bungalow was the only resort, though a
hotel was soon to be opened. Those who were consulted in the party were all
for the bungalow, and the problem was finally settled in this manner.
A couple of small omnibuses were taken, and the party proceeded to the
dak-bungalow, which was in the centre of the city. Their apartments were
not elegant, but they were comfortable; and no one found any fault at the
absence of the splendors with which they had been surrounded in the palace
of the Guicowar, or even those of Bombay. A good breakfast was obtained,
and the forenoon was given up to rest; but after a couple of hours in their
chambers the company were assembled in the coffee-room.
"Delhi is a city which figures largely in the history of India," said Lord
Tremlyn, seated very informally in an arm-chair. "It existed fifteen or
twenty centuries before the time of Christ, and was the capital of the
great Aryan empire. It was founded by the invaders of India. The chronology
of India is not reliable, but it is claimed that this event dates back to
3101 B.C. Its name was Indrapechta, which it holds to the present time
among the learned Hindus, so that the city appears to have existed while
Egypt was still in its infancy.
"It became the great Mussulman capital; but one and another of its princes
changed its location, till its ancient sites extend for thirty miles along
the river, and its ruins, more extensive than even those of Rome, cover
this range of territory. But I shall not go into the details of those
migratory periods, but speak only of the city as we find it.
"Delhi is on the Jumna River, which you saw in the early morning. This
stream has its entire course in Hindustan, and is the principal tributary
of the Ganges. Both of these rivers are sacred with the natives. The Jumna
rises in the Himalayas, at a height of nearly eleven thousand feet, and of
course it is a mountain torrent at its upper waters. After a run of eight
hundred and sixty miles, it falls into the Ganges about three miles below
Allahabad. On each side of it is an important canal, both built before
railways were in use here.
"Delhi is nine hundred and fifty-four miles northwest of Calcutta. It
stands on high ground, is walled on three sides, and has ten gates. A
series of buildings formerly composing the grand palace of Shah Jehan have
become the fort, overlooking the river, with a fine view of the surrounding
country, covered with woods and agricultural grounds. You will see the
palaces, mosques, and temples, and I will not describe them. Delhi is the
seventh city in population, which is a hundred and ninety-three thousand."
After luncheon half a dozen landaus were at the door of the bungalow, in
which the party seated themselves according to their own choice; and the
first stop was made at the Jummah Musjid Mosque, which the Mussulmans of
India venerate and admire more than any other. It is built on an immense
esplanade, which is mounted by three flights of stairs, each in the form of
the three sides of a pyramid, and each leading to an immense pointed arch,
the entrances to the buildings.
Before the party entered a carriage arrived, from which General Noury and
another person alighted. The Moroccan had accepted the invitation of a
Delhi Mussulman to be his guest, and this gentleman had begun to show him
the sights of the city. The general presented him to the members of the
party as Abbas-Meerza. Evidently in honor of his host the Moroccan had put
on his Oriental dress, which was certainly a very picturesque costume,
though it called up unpleasant memories in the minds of the commander and
the Woolridges.
Abbas-Meerza was evidently a Persian, or the son of one; for he was clothed
in the full costume of that country. He wore a rich robe, reaching to his
ankles, with a broad silk belt around his waist. His cap, of equally costly
material, was a tall cylinder, with the top slanting down to the left side,
as though it had been cut off. He spoke English as fluently as the general.
He invited the party to step to a certain point, and view the mosque as a
whole.
The wall of the esplanade was a continued series of pointed arches, with a
handsome frieze above it. On the elevated platform was a colonnade of the
same arches on each side, with a pillared tower at each corner, interrupted
only at the grand entrances. It looked as though one might walk entirely
around the vast structure in the shade of this colonnade.
Within the enclosure could be seen three domes, the one in the centre
overtopping the other two, two lofty minarets, with small domes at the
summit, supported by several columns, and an immense pointed arch leading
into the great mosque. The whole edifice is built of red sandstone. The
visitors mounted one of the staircases, and entered a court paved with
marble tiles. They walked around the esplanade under the arches of the
colonnade, or cloisters as some call them, and finally entered the mosque
itself. The interior was very simple in its style, but very beautiful. The
roof, pavement, pillars, and walls were of white marble, ornamented with
carvings in the stone. Slabs of black marble presented sentences to the
praise of God, and in memory of Shah Jehan, who was the founder of the
mosque.
"Formerly no person not a Mussulman was permitted to enter this mosque,"
said Sir Modava, while the general and his host were engaged in their
devotions; "but for more than thirty years it has been open to all. From
the top of one of the minarets a very fine view of the surrounding country
can be obtained; but the ascent is by a very narrow flight of circular
stairs, two hundred in number. He advised Dr. Hawkes and Uncle Moses not to
attempt it."
A venerable mollah was found, who put half a dozen of the party in the way
of going up; and they reported the view as worth the labor and fatigue. The
aged priest then proposed to show them the relics of the mosque; and a fee
was paid to him, and to the man who unlocked a door for their admission.
The mollah produced a small golden box, from which he took a silver case.
Muttering the name of Allah very solemnly all the time, he unscrewed the
top of the receptacle, and took from it a single hair, about six inches
long, red and stiff, and fixed in a silver tube.
"The beard of the holy Prophet!" he announced, with a reverent inclination
of his head; and the two Mussulmans of the party followed his example.
"According to the tradition, this hair really came from the beard of
Mohammed," said Sir Modava. "I believe it, because I have inquired into its
history. It is the glory of this mosque and of Delhi, for only three others
exist in the world. You need not believe it is genuine if you prefer not to
do so."
They were also permitted to gaze at one of Mohammed's old shoes, a belt,
and some of the clothing of the Prophet. A number of dusty ancient
manuscripts were exhibited, copies of the Koran, one in fine characters,
said to have been dictated by Mohammed himself. The party returned to the
carriages, filled with admiration of the magnificent structure they had
visited, and were driven to the palace of the emperors, now turned into the
fort.
They left the landaus at a point selected by Abbas-Meerza, from which an
excellent view of the ancient structures could be obtained. It was a
magnificent building, whose dimensions the Americans could hardly take in.
The most prominent features from the point of observation were a couple of
octagonal towers, very richly ornamented, with several small domes at the
summit, supported on handsome columns.
The party entered at the principal gate, and came to the guard-house, which
was filled with British soldiers wearing straw helmets and short white
coats. A soldier offered his services as a guide, and they were accepted.
He gave the Hindu names of the apartments. The Dewani-Am was the hall of
audiences, from which they passed to the Dewani-Khas, the throne-room, both
of which recalled the Alhambra, which they had visited a few months before.
The pillars, arches, and ornaments were similar, though not the same.
The tourists wandered through the pavilion, the emperor's rooms in the
palace, the bath, and numerous apartments. But in transforming this
magnificent palace of the emperors into barracks, much of the original
beauty had been spoiled; the lapse of years had made great rents in the
walls, and the visitor was compelled to exercise his imagination to some
extent in filling up what it had been centuries before.
Abbas-Meerza was a very companionable person, and made the acquaintance of
every one in the company. He then invited them all to dine with him that
day, as he had evidently intended to do in the morning, for the dinner was
all ready when they arrived at his palace. He was a magnate of the first
order, and his apartments were quite as sumptuous as those of the Guicowar
of Baroda. The dinner was somewhat Oriental, but it was as elegant as it
was substantial.
The noble host apparently wished to show the Americans what the Mussulmans
of India could do, and he crowned his magnificent hospitality by inviting
the entire company to install themselves in his mansion, which was large
enough for a palace; but for the reasons already set forth, the invitation
was gratefully declined. The next morning the travellers visited the Mosque
of Pearls, where the ancient emperors came to perform their devotions. The
interior is of carved ivory.
From this little gem of a church the company were driven to the Chandi
Chowk, which is a boulevard, planted with trees and lined with elegant
buildings. The stores of the principal merchants of Delhi were here, and
most of them were on the plan of an Oriental bazaar. The little square
shops challenged the attention of the party, and most of them alighted to
examine the rich goods displayed.
In the course of the ride they passed the Black Mosque, the only building
in the city dating farther back than the reign of Shah Jehan. They found
the bungalow surrounded and partly filled, on their return, by venders of
relics, curiosities, and other wares, anxious to find customers for their
goods. But they were not very fortunate in the enterprise, and finally they
were all driven away by an officer.
In the afternoon they drove out on the plains of Delhi, among the ruins of
palaces, tombs, and temples. They stopped at another black mosque, near
which was a handsome pavilion, which had been the library of the emperors.
"One of these emperors was Houmayoun, who recovered the throne after a long
banishment. He lost his life in consequence of a fall from the top of a
ladder he had mounted to obtain a book," said Sir Modava. "He was the real
founder of the Great Mogul dynasty. His mausoleum, to which we will go
next, is one of the noblest monuments on this plain;" and the carriages
proceeded to it.
It is a mass of white marble and red sandstone. It has a fine dome, around
which cluster several smaller structures, such as we should call cupolas in
America or England. Under the great dome in the building is a plain
tombstone, beneath which are the remains of the first of the Mogul
emperors. The mausoleum is placed on an esplanade, like the great mosque in
the city. The sides present a vast display of pointed arches, and its shape
on the ground is quite irregular. The party were driven to the tower of
Koutub, a Mussulman conqueror, who commemorated his victory by building
this triumphal column, which is two hundred and twenty-seven feet high. It
consists of five stories, becoming smaller as they ascend. The remains of
his mosque were visited, the columns of which look like enlarged jewellery,
elaborately worked into fantastic forms. By its side is an iron column with
contradictory stories about its origin. The tourists visited other mosques
and tombs, which reminded them of the tombs of the Mamelukes.
For two days longer they looked about Delhi; and Lord Tremlyn pointed out
to them the scenes of the massacre, which he had described on board of the
Guardian-Mother. On the train by which they had come they proceeded to
Agra.