ETC., TO BOMBAY
(pp. 130-142).]

Many proud monuments of this grandeur still remain, notably the splendid
building of pure white marble called the Hall of Private Audience, where
in the open space surrounded by a double colonnade the Great Mogul was
wont to dispense justice and receive envoys. In the sunshine the marble
columns seem to be translucent, and light-blue shadows fall on the
marble floor. The walls and pillars are inlaid with costly stones of
various shapes: lapis-lazuli and malachite, nephrite and agate. In the
throne-room used to stand the famous "Peacock Throne" of the Great
Mogul. The whole throne was covered with thick plates of gold and
studded all over with diamonds. In the year 1749 the Persian king, Nadir
Shah, came to Delhi, defeated the Great Mogul and carried off treasures
to the value of fifty-six million pounds. Among other valuables he
seized was the famous diamond called the "Koh-i-noor," or "Mountain of
Light," now among the British crown jewels. He also carried off the
Peacock Throne, which alone was worth eleven million pounds. It is to
this day in the possession of the Shahs of Persia, but all the diamonds
have been taken out one after another by the successors of Nadir Shah
when they happened to be in difficulties. The gold plates are left,
however, and on the back still glitter the golden peacocks which give
the throne its name.

If we stroll for some hours through the narrow streets and interesting
bazaars of Delhi and push our way among bustling Hindus and Mohammedans,
we can better appreciate the vaulted arches of the Hall of Private
Audience and can also understand the Persian inscription to be read
above the entrance: "If there be an Elysium on earth, it is here."

Farther down the Jumna stands Agra, and here we make another break in
our railway journey eastwards. Agra also was for a time the capital of
the Great Mogul empire, and in the seventeenth century the emperor who
bore the name of Shah Jehan erected here an edifice which is still
regarded as one of the most beautiful in the world (Plate XIII.). It is
called the "Taj Mahal," or "royal palace," and is a mausoleum in memory
of Shah Jehan's favourite wife, Mumtaz, by whose side he himself reposes
in the crypt of the mosque. It is constructed entirely of blocks of
white marble, and took twenty-seven years to build and cost nearly two
million pounds of our money.

The garden which surrounds the sanctuary is entered through a