AN ANCIENT CITY OF INDIA.

Western Star, Issue 1969, 8 December 1894, Page 2 (Supplement)

AN ANCIENT CITY OF INDIA.

JA VISIT TO DELHI AND ITS WONDERS. • ( ‘9 l r l ’llE ,j ourn ey from ’Calcutta to Delhi* a correspondent hi the Poronid .Empire 'Ttvas Try railway ibhe provinces of Bengal and OtrdK The distance traversed ‘.'by that route is a trifle over 1,200 miles. ’Travellers from itihe new ■world are not) long an India until they weaken and succumb to ■the soil and alluring charms of the spirit of the Orient. Them usual energetic activity gives way to an attitude of graceful and becoming repose. Literally, “a change conies o’er the spirit of their dreams. Cherished ideals in the western mind melt «,way and are supplanted by a rosy set peculiar to the eastern world. The steamship which had brought us along from China and scarcely come to anchor in the Hoogly River at Calcutta before we felt symptoms of a fresh attack of the mildly bewitching influence that seems to lurk in all oriental surroundings. A few days in the modern capital, with a taste of its luxuriant accessories sufficed to complete the spell. But while thus drifting into the realms of romance and delight glimpses of the strange ' scenes in the native quarters of Calcutta aroused curiosity. The antecedents, as well as the faces and habits of the types and distinct races of dusky people encountered •were worth looking into. As our ad vance into the interior of the country progressed ■we became still more imbued with the desire to pry into the history of the STRANGE AND ENTICING LAND. Until within recent years there was but little intercommunication other than bloody wars and savage invasions by which one community was enabled to plunder another. Hence, the old walled cities with shattered gates and battlements and the stupendous citadels arid fortifications all through the interior. Crumbling palaces, and tombs, and mosques l of marvellous architecture and finish, loom up in every quarter, and testify to the magnitude of thewealthand splendourof by-gone days. , Wrecks of scores of petty kingdoms throughout the land still maintain their sprigs of decaying royalty, and these feeble remnants of departed glory flaunt their gaudy.plumage among the toiling masses in almost every city. Two hundred and fifty millions of natives submissive to a foreign rule, while almost every acre of their soil hears some kind of a monument to the warlike spirit and military prowess of their ancestors. Mechanical aids are just beginning to find foothold in this land of dreariis. Railways now penetrate some of the old tiger-haunted jungles of Bengal, and cross sun-scorched plains, awakening dreamy cities to some kind of commercial activity. But the awakening ‘is slow. The people are reluctant to discard 1 a gold lace and silver tinsel bedecked exist- ' ence, and don the blue jeans of practical ‘life. To acquire anything like a comprehensive idea of the history of the fallen -empire is no small task, but the wanderer ■is apt to tackle the work with an energy 1 that would, perhaps, surprise his friends at ‘home. The European residents, although ‘exceedingly polite and hospitable, are too ‘good-naturedlyindolenbtoteli us much,while the natives, speaking but little English, can ..tell us nothing. The traveller must delve rinbo the past on his own hook. The railway loaches are constructed with double roofs, Jand the sides of the car are fitted with revolving “tatties,” which can be frequently 'drenched with water. Many of the cars have a complete shower-bath fitted up in one .end of the compartment, and the prespiring I passengers take turns about in using it during the heat of the day. Notwithstanding these and other appliances for keeping cool, 'we were sun-burnt and tanned almost as (black as the oldest inhabitant when the train (finally landed us at the station in

- DEI/HI, the imperial city of the Mogul dynasty. (The romantic old place still occupies the ('same spot in that favoured region near the (eastern border of the section of India called 'the Punjab. Considering what may be 'termed its war record, which covers a period 1 of 250 years of repeated invasions, sieges, 'and terrific hostilities of all kinds, the old ( city is holding itself together in an admir■able manner. It is somewhat “ defaced by ,'time,” sure enough, but it cannot be said to ■be “tottering in decay,” as Oliver Goldsmith remarked about Rome. Its old streets ( are all here, and its buildings and gardens, (as well as its inhabitants, are all in fairly 'presentable shape. A commodious hotel, with ‘good bathing, sleeping, lounging, and (refreshment accompaniments, soon restored 'the tired travellers to theirnormal condition, 'and they once mbre felt glad they were • alive. Later on, from a shady balcony of .the hotel and fanned by waving “punkhas” Suspended from the ceiling, we gazed out upon the streets of one of the most charac(teristic cities of all India. The River Jumna still flows gently by on its way to the sacred Ganges, like the crowds of Hindoos, perhaps, ;ito be purified. The Himalaya mountains Extend along in the northern background. ; Their peaks of snow, miles in height, modify .the atmosphere in the vicinity of the city. The famous valley of Cashmere is a •couple of hundred miles off in the northwest, and the delicious fragrance of its .unrivalled roses blows’’ into Delhi on a (favouri* g wind. Nine hundred miles south from Delhi, across the Rajputana country, . through the central provinces and down on (the vyest coastM India, is the city of Bom'‘bay, the sweltering denizens of which cool (themselves in the evening breeze, off (the Arabian sea. Delhi has indeed a /history. The suburbs of the city com/prise forty-five square miles of ruins. /Ruins of city after city which had /been built and destroyed, rebuilt and ■destroyed again, time after time throughout the ages, since the original /“Dilli,” (according to the Hindoo chroniclers) was founded B.C. 1400. During the ;651 years between A.D. 1206 and A.D. 1867 '(the year of the final capture of the city by the British) no less than FIFTY-TWO SOVEREIGNS sat on the throne of Delhi. Surely, uneasy must have been the head that wore that crown, for fifteen out of the fifty-two met with violent deaths, eleven having been murdered. , The, present city was built by the .great Mogul Emperor, Shah Jehan, about A.D. 1638. With the exception of three Christian churches and some handsome municipal buildings, including a fine clock tower, erected by the British, the external appearance of the city to-day is exactly the same as when finished by the Great Mogul. The circuit of the walls of the city is five and a half miles. There are ten gates. One of them, the Calcutta gate, was partly demolished to make way for the railway to enter the city, and another, the Cashmere gate, was partly destroyed bv the British in 1857. The principal thoroughfare of the city is still known by the ‘old name “ Chandni Chowk,” and a walk through it towards evening is an experience not easily* forgotten. The buildings are mostly of stone, and, like all Asiatic cities, there is a profusion of alcoves, /balconies and awnings. The bazaars of the shawl a.nd- silk merchants • are fairly ablaze with gay colours. Jewellers’ (shops display gold and silver ornaments, (including fashionable nose rings andanklets, j of strange but excellent workmanship. (There are displays of merchandise from 'Persia, Arabia, Cashmere, China, Europe, with a sprinkling from America, and an abundance of products from all parts of ‘lndia. The throng of citizens are dressed in the costumes of their varied nationalities. The dusky women, although barefooted and bareheaded, are happy enough in itheir odd-looking garments ornamented .with scarfs of red or yellow. The belles ‘are exceedingly lively and beautiful to r look at. Stately-looking carriages of the

European residents arid the smart traps of the army officers brush up among the oddlooking bullock carts of the natives. The street is sprinkled by men who carry on their shoulders leather bags filled with water, and they sprinkle as they run. Within the city, on the river side, is a mighty fortress. The walls of this stronghold are of red sandstone, and have a circuit of a mile and a half. Its walls, towers, and outworks present a most formidable appearance, and the whole is a fine example of old military construction. It has two gates, one of which leads through a Gothic arch of grand proportions. Within the enclosure is the royal palace, built about A.I). 1638, by Shah Jehan, at a cost equal to 10,000,000 dollars in gold. This palace was the home of Tom Moore’s heroine.

LALLA ROOKH. This princess was the daughter of the Emperor Aurungzib, who ascended the throne A.D. 1658. Aurungzib was the youngest son of the Emperor Shah Jehan, and it is altogether likely that the beautiful Lalla was not aware that, in order to put himself on the throne, her enterprising parent had killed off his three elder brothers and forcibly deposed his old father. Entering the palace through the Gothic archway, w© spent the best part of a day in wandering among the apartments of the group of magnificent buildings. The music gallery, the hall of public audience, the hall for the reception of the nobility, the Bmpei’or’s baths, the baths of.the ladies of the royal harem, the marble columns and floors—-all the wondrous structures, beautiful beyond the dreams of Western fancy—are standing to-day as they were when the gentle Lalla filled them with the light of her presence. The walls were then covered with exquisite inlaid work, and mosaics of flowers and birds and poetic scenes, such as Orpheus charming the beasts with his music, but much of the beautiful ornamentation has been destroyed by brutal invaders. The ceiling of one of the grand pavilions was covered with silver filagree work,bub in 1759 the Mahrattas captured the place, tore away the ceiling and melted the silver into money to the amount of upwards of a million dollars. In the hall for the reception of the nobility stood the celebrated peacock throne, which Shah Jehan had constructed at a cost of 20,000,000 dollars. Aurungzib afterwards kept adorning it with diamonds, etc., and there is no doubt but what Lalla often sab in it in her childish glee. Her glorious eyes must have gazed in wonder at the life-size figure of a parrot carved out of a single emerald, which added its lustre to the throne. The peacock throne was, in 1739, stolen by the Persians, and

THE FAMOUS MOGUL DIAMOND, in the possession of the Shah of Persia to-day, was taken at the same time. On the occasion of that invasion under the Persian conqueror, Nadir Shah, a hundred thousand people were massacred in the streets of Delhi. Near the hall of audience is the pearl mosque, which was used by the imperial family, and, like the rest of the buildings,is finished regardless of cost. In the marble cornice at each end of the main interior hallway of the palace is sculptured, in gold letters, in the Persian language, “If there is a paradise upon earth it is this, it is this.” While her father was away leading his armies in battle, Lalla, growing weary of listening tothesplashingfountainsin theroyal gardens, could go over to the city of Agra, and visit the 200,000,000 dole, tomb, the Taj Mahal, which her grandfather, Shah Jehan, erected in honour of his favourite queen, Mumtaz Mahal. It stands to-day, and is pronounced by experts to be the grandest structure the world has ever seen. The home of Lalla Rookh was all that wealth and delicate refinement could make it. But all its magnificence failed to keep thoughts of love out of her tender heart. According to Thomas Moore, “ The day of Lalla Rookh’s departure from Delhi was as splendid as sunshine and pageantry could make it.” That'event occurred in 1669. Escorted by an elaborate calvaeade, she proceeded on the way to Cashmere to meet the young King of Bokhara, her future husband. With her wen t also the glory of the Mogul dynasty. The Royal palace at Delhi is now used as quarters by officers of the British garrison. W ITCHCRAFT.

In 1846 in England, and in 1845 in Scotland, cases' of witchcraft attracted much attention. The following case of witchcraft occurred in England about 50 years ago, and the son of the subject, now one of the most highly-respected and well-informed clergymen west of the Alleghany Mountains, noted for his devotion to the physical sciences, writes me concerning it: “My father, like many others, fully believed in witchcraft. In a little ancient cottage, about a mile from my father’s, lived an old woman who had the reputation of being a witch. One spring, as my father was planting potatoes in his field, the old lady came to hkn to beg a piece for a garden. This he said he could not grant, as lie needed all for himself. She left the field muttering something, which I suppose my father understood to mean mischief. That evening, when still in the field, he was seized with a strange nervous sensation, and an utter inability to speak. This state of things continued for some years. Mother always sent one of the boys with him to render help or report his condition. Another phase of the witchcraft superstition was a belief in white wizards, or those who could neutralise or destroy the work and influence of witches. My father heard of one living many miles away, and at once went to see him. I shall ever remember the interest with which we listened to his story. He said the white wizard told him he had been bewitched, as he supposed, by the old woman, but that her influence could be entirely destroyed. He then gave my father a little piece of paper, upon which was written a charm which would in all future time protect him from all influence of witches. This paper must be worn over the breast, suspended by a piece of tape from the neck. It must never be opened, never touch wood, stone, or iron, nor be handled by anyone but himself. Said my father, in concluding his story, ‘ The white wizard told me to always wear this over my breast, and that inside of three days I shall have one fit more, but after that I will never have another symptom of the kind.’ The following evening, when at supper, he had another severe attack of his old trouble, but sure enough it was the last. He lived more than twenty years after that, but never had another symptom of fits or nervous difficulty of any kind. He was absolutely cured, as I know.” In March, 1831, the case of an old woman in Edinburgh came before the Court on account of her being attacked. In 18*27 a man was burned as a wizard in South-western Russia ; and in 1815 a person in northern Russia was sentenced by a legal tribunal to undergo thirty-five blows of the knout, as well as a public church penance, for witchcraft. AN AMICABLE SET L’LEMENT., The day before a great law-suit for a large sum of money once, the plaintiff' and defendant, who had been old friends, happening to meet, agreed to dine together, and over a glass of wine settled the whole case in an amicable manner quite satisfactory to both parties. Next day they appeared at the trial sitting together, and the contending lawyers spoke with prodigious energy and talent, till at length, the cause having gone against the defendant, his counsel advanced to tell him, with expressions of the deepest regret, that the case had gone against him. “Oh, no matter,” replied the defendant. “ We arranged it all between ourselves yesterday ; but we both thought that as we must pay for your speeches, at any rate, we should like to hear them spoken. It is not by his faults, but by his excelonces, that we must measure a "reat man,