CHAPTER XXIX
THE WONDERFUL CITY OF DELHI
The Mohammedans of Bombay whose acquaintance General Noury had made werewealthy and influential men; they had notified their friends in othercities of the coming of the distinguished Moroccan, and he had severalinvitations to make his home in Delhi with them. Lord Tremlyn and SirModava were even more abundantly tendered accommodations from British andHindu persons of distinction.
Captain Ringgold had no friends, and received no invitations, though theentire company of tourists were included in those of both the general andthe distinguished gentlemen who had insisted upon being the hosts of theparty. But the commander was a wealthy man himself, and a very independentone. To throw a company of a dozen and a half upon the generous hospitalityof private individuals, or even public officials, seemed like an impositionto 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 hadnot only given the invitations but had pressed them upon the travellers.The others did not like this plan; and, after some consideration, it wasdecided to go to a hotel; at least it was suggested as the remedy by thecommander, who again insisted upon paying the bill. But there was nosuitable hotel in the place. The dak-bungalow was the only resort, though ahotel was soon to be opened. Those who were consulted in the party were allfor the bungalow, and the problem was finally settled in this manner.
A couple of small omnibuses were taken, and the party proceeded to thedak-bungalow, which was in the centre of the city. Their apartments werenot elegant, but they were comfortable; and no one found any fault at theabsence of the splendors with which they had been surrounded in the palaceof 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 theirchambers the company were assembled in the coffee-room.
"Delhi is a city which figures largely in the history of India," said LordTremlyn, seated very informally in an arm-chair. "It existed fifteen ortwenty centuries before the time of Christ, and was the capital of thegreat Aryan empire. It was founded by the invaders of India. The chronologyof India is not reliable, but it is claimed that this event dates back to3101 B.C. Its name was Indrapechta, which it holds to the present timeamong the learned Hindus, so that the city appears to have existed whileEgypt was still in its infancy.
"It became the great Mussulman capital; but one and another of its princeschanged its location, till its ancient sites extend for thirty miles alongthe river, and its ruins, more extensive than even those of Rome, coverthis range of territory. But I shall not go into the details of thosemigratory periods, but speak only of the city as we find it.
"Delhi is on the Jumna River, which you saw in the early morning. Thisstream has its entire course in Hindustan, and is the principal tributaryof the Ganges. Both of these rivers are sacred with the natives. The Jumnarises in the Himalayas, at a height of nearly eleven thousand feet, and ofcourse it is a mountain torrent at its upper waters. After a run of eighthundred and sixty miles, it falls into the Ganges about three miles belowAllahabad. On each side of it is an important canal, both built beforerailways were in use here.
"Delhi is nine hundred and fifty-four miles northwest of Calcutta. Itstands on high ground, is walled on three sides, and has ten gates. Aseries of buildings formerly composing the grand palace of Shah Jehan havebecome the fort, overlooking the river, with a fine view of the surroundingcountry, covered with woods and agricultural grounds. You will see thepalaces, mosques, and temples, and I will not describe them. Delhi is theseventh city in population, which is a hundred and ninety-three thousand."
After luncheon half a dozen landaus were at the door of the bungalow, inwhich the party seated themselves according to their own choice; and thefirst stop was made at the Jummah Musjid Mosque, which the Mussulmans ofIndia venerate and admire more than any other. It is built on an immenseesplanade, which is mounted by three flights of stairs, each in the form ofthe 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 andanother person alighted. The Moroccan had accepted the invitation of aDelhi Mussulman to be his guest, and this gentleman had begun to show himthe sights of the city. The general presented him to the members of theparty as Abbas-Meerza. Evidently in honor of his host the Moroccan had puton his Oriental dress, which was certainly a very picturesque costume,though it called up unpleasant memories in the minds of the commander andthe Woolridges.
Abbas-Meerza was evidently a Persian, or the son of one; for he was clothedin the full costume of that country. He wore a rich robe, reaching to hisankles, with a broad silk belt around his waist. His cap, of equally costlymaterial, 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 awhole.
The wall of the esplanade was a continued series of pointed arches, with ahandsome frieze above it. On the elevated platform was a colonnade of thesame arches on each side, with a pillared tower at each corner, interruptedonly at the grand entrances. It looked as though one might walk entirelyaround the vast structure in the shade of this colonnade.
Within the enclosure could be seen three domes, the one in the centreovertopping the other two, two lofty minarets, with small domes at thesummit, supported by several columns, and an immense pointed arch leadinginto the great mosque. The whole edifice is built of red sandstone. Thevisitors mounted one of the staircases, and entered a court paved withmarble tiles. They walked around the esplanade under the arches of thecolonnade, or cloisters as some call them, and finally entered the mosqueitself. The interior was very simple in its style, but very beautiful. Theroof, pavement, pillars, and walls were of white marble, ornamented withcarvings in the stone. Slabs of black marble presented sentences to thepraise of God, and in memory of Shah Jehan, who was the founder of themosque.
"Formerly no person not a Mussulman was permitted to enter this mosque,"said Sir Modava, while the general and his host were engaged in theirdevotions; "but for more than thirty years it has been open to all. Fromthe top of one of the minarets a very fine view of the surrounding countrycan be obtained; but the ascent is by a very narrow flight of circularstairs, two hundred in number. He advised Dr. Hawkes and Uncle Moses not toattempt it."
A venerable mollah was found, who put half a dozen of the party in the wayof going up; and they reported the view as worth the labor and fatigue. Theaged priest then proposed to show them the relics of the mosque; and a feewas 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 thetop of the receptacle, and took from it a single hair, about six incheslong, red and stiff, and fixed in a silver tube.
"The beard of the holy Prophet!" he announced, with a reverent inclinationof his head; and the two Mussulmans of the party followed his example.
"According to the tradition, this hair really came from the beard ofMohammed," said Sir Modava. "I believe it, because I have inquired into itshistory. It is the glory of this mosque and of Delhi, for only three othersexist in the world. You need not believe it is genuine if you prefer not todo 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 ancientmanuscripts were exhibited, copies of the Koran, one in fine characters,said to have been dictated by Mohammed himself. The party returned to thecarriages, filled with admiration of the magnificent structure they hadvisited, and were driven to the palace of the emperors, now turned into thefort.
They left the landaus at a point selected by Abbas-Meerza, from which anexcellent view of the ancient structures could be obtain
ed. It was amagnificent building, whose dimensions the Americans could hardly take in.The most prominent features from the point of observation were a couple ofoctagonal towers, very richly ornamented, with several small domes at thesummit, supported on handsome columns.
The party entered at the principal gate, and came to the guard-house, whichwas filled with British soldiers wearing straw helmets and short whitecoats. 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 ofaudiences, from which they passed to the Dewani-Khas, the throne-room, bothof 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 thepalace, the bath, and numerous apartments. But in transforming thismagnificent palace of the emperors into barracks, much of the originalbeauty had been spoiled; the lapse of years had made great rents in thewalls, and the visitor was compelled to exercise his imagination to someextent in filling up what it had been centuries before.
Abbas-Meerza was a very companionable person, and made the acquaintance ofevery one in the company. He then invited them all to dine with him thatday, as he had evidently intended to do in the morning, for the dinner wasall ready when they arrived at his palace. He was a magnate of the firstorder, and his apartments were quite as sumptuous as those of the Guicowarof Baroda. The dinner was somewhat Oriental, but it was as elegant as itwas substantial.
The noble host apparently wished to show the Americans what the Mussulmansof India could do, and he crowned his magnificent hospitality by invitingthe entire company to install themselves in his mansion, which was largeenough for a palace; but for the reasons already set forth, the invitationwas gratefully declined. The next morning the travellers visited the Mosqueof Pearls, where the ancient emperors came to perform their devotions. Theinterior is of carved ivory.
From this little gem of a church the company were driven to the ChandiChowk, which is a boulevard, planted with trees and lined with elegantbuildings. The stores of the principal merchants of Delhi were here, andmost of them were on the plan of an Oriental bazaar. The little squareshops challenged the attention of the party, and most of them alighted toexamine the rich goods displayed.
In the course of the ride they passed the Black Mosque, the only buildingin the city dating farther back than the reign of Shah Jehan. They foundthe bungalow surrounded and partly filled, on their return, by venders ofrelics, curiosities, and other wares, anxious to find customers for theirgoods. But they were not very fortunate in the enterprise, and finally theywere all driven away by an officer.
In the afternoon they drove out on the plains of Delhi, among the ruins ofpalaces, tombs, and temples. They stopped at another black mosque, nearwhich was a handsome pavilion, which had been the library of the emperors.
"One of these emperors was Houmayoun, who recovered the throne after a longbanishment. He lost his life in consequence of a fall from the top of aladder he had mounted to obtain a book," said Sir Modava. "He was the realfounder of the Great Mogul dynasty. His mausoleum, to which we will gonext, is one of the noblest monuments on this plain;" and the carriagesproceeded to it.
It is a mass of white marble and red sandstone. It has a fine dome, aroundwhich cluster several smaller structures, such as we should call cupolas inAmerica or England. Under the great dome in the building is a plaintombstone, beneath which are the remains of the first of the Mogulemperors. The mausoleum is placed on an esplanade, like the great mosque inthe city. The sides present a vast display of pointed arches, and its shapeon the ground is quite irregular. The party were driven to the tower ofKoutub, a Mussulman conqueror, who commemorated his victory by buildingthis triumphal column, which is two hundred and twenty-seven feet high. Itconsists of five stories, becoming smaller as they ascend. The remains ofhis mosque were visited, the columns of which look like enlarged jewellery,elaborately worked into fantastic forms. By its side is an iron column withcontradictory stories about its origin. The tourists visited other mosquesand tombs, which reminded them of the tombs of the Mamelukes.
For two days longer they looked about Delhi; and Lord Tremlyn pointed outto them the scenes of the massacre, which he had described on board of theGuardian-Mother. On the train by which they had come they proceeded toAgra.