INDIAN ARCIIITECTUDE.
In regard to the practice of architecture in India, we must refer to the Historical Part for particulars respect ing the cities of Oude, Canouge, Delhi, and Lahore; and shall here only make an addition to the description of Agra.
It was built in the form of a crescent along the banks of the Jumna ; its walls were constructed with stones of great size, hard, and of a reddish colour resembling jas per. It was four miles in extent, and consisted of three courts, with many stately porticos, galleries, and till nets, all richly painted and gilt, and some overlaid with plates of gold. The first court was built round with arches which afforded shade ; the second was for the great Omrahs and ministers of state, who had here their apart ments for transacting public business ; and the third court, within which was the seraglio, consisted entirely of state apartments of the emperor, hung round with the richest silks of Persia. Behind these were the royal gardens. In front of the palace, towards the river, a large area was left for the exercise of the royal elephants, and for battles of the wild beasts; and in a square Which se parated the palace from the city, a numerous army lay constantly encamped. Mandesto, who visited Agra in 1638, then in the zenith of its glory, says, it was sur rounded by a wall of freestone and a broad ditch, with a draw-bridge at each of its gates. He states, that at the further end of the third court, under a piazza, were a row of silver pillars; that beyond this was the presence chamber, with golden pillars ; that within a balustrade was the royal throne of massy gold, almost incrusted with diamonds, pearls, and other precious stones; that above this throne was a gallery, where the Mogul appear ed every day at a certain hour, to hear and redress the complaints of his subjects ; and that no person but the king's sons were admitted behind these golden pillars. He mentions also an apartment remarkable for its tower, which was covered with massy gold, and for the treasure it contained, having eight large vaults filled with gold, silver, and precious stones. Tavernier, who visited Agra
near the end of the 17th century, and in the absence of the court had permission to examine the inside, describes a gallery, the ceiling of which was decorated with branched-work of gold and azure, and the walls hung with rich tapestry. The gallery which fronted the river, the monarch had proposed to cover over with a sort of lattice-work of emeralds and rubies, to represent grapes with their leaves, when they are green, and when they begin to grow red ; but this design then remained im perfect, there being only three stocks of a vine in gold, with their leaves, enamelled with emeralds and rubies, representing grapes ; being a specimen of what was in tended for the whole.
We have been thus minute in the description of the palace of Agra, because, having been built by one of the most enlightened princes of the East, it affords a perfect specimen of the scale upon which the monarchs of those extensive and rich countries acted. And it will be al lowed, that the establishments of Akbar and his great Rajahs, occupying four miles along the banks of the Jom na, and connected with a handsome and prosperous city, must have produced a picture sufficiently splendid, and emblematic of the wealth and power of the prince who erected it.
At CUTTER, or Cuttack, the capital of Orissa, there is a fine palace. It consists of nine distinct buildings :— 1. For elephants, camels, horses. 2. For artillery, mili tary stores, and quarters for the guards. 3. For porters and watchmen. 4. For artificers. 5. For kitchens. 6. For the Rajah's public apartments. 7. For the transac tion of private business. 8. Where the women reside. 9. The Rajah's sleeping apartments.
The specimens here selected being the most noted, will, we trust, convey au idea of the nature of the Indian cities and palaces ; and we shall therefore proceed to consider, 1. Their sacred edifices. We have already stated, that these were of five different sorts ; that is, 1. Pyramids ; 2. Excavations; 3. Square or oblong courts ; 4. In the form of a cross; and, 5. Perfectly circular.