The brief period of supreme magnificence came
to an end with the last of the "Great" Moguls--Aurungzeb, died in
1707--having only blazed in fullest glory for some century and a half, but
leaving behind it some of the noblest works of man.
It seemed somehow very curious, as we drove up through the stately
entrance of the Hathi Paon, or Elephant Gate of the fort, to be saluted
with a "present arms" by British Tommies clad in unobtrusive khaki, and to
reflect that we are the inheritors of the fallen grandeur of the Mogul
Emperors; that we in our turn, on many a hard-fought field, asserted our
power to conquer; and that since then we have (I trust) so far followed
the sound principles of Akbar as to keep by justice and wise rule the
broad lands with their teeming millions in a state of peace and security
unknown before in India.
Opposite the entrance rise the walls of the Palace of Akbar, curiously
decorated with brilliant blue mosaics of animals and arabesques.
We visited the armoury--a remarkably fine collection of weapons--not the
least interesting being those taken from the Sikhs and French in the
earlier part of the last century. Opposite the armoury, and across a small
beautifully-paved court, were the private apartments of Shah Jehan. They
reminded me very much of the Alhambra, only, instead of the honeycomb
vaulted ceilings, and arches decorated in stucco by the Moors, the Eastern
architect inlaid his ceilings with an extraordinary incrustation of glass,
usually silvered on the back, but also frequently coloured, and giving a
strange effect of mother-o'-pearl inlay, bordering on tawdriness when
examined in detail.
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