Page:Wanderings of a Pilgrim Vol 1.djvu/460

 CHAPTER XXXII.

REMARKABLE BUILDINGS AROUND AGRA.

The House of the Wuzeer—The Jāmma Masjid—Tomb of Jahānārā Begam—The Tripolia—The Mahookma Masjid—The Madrissa—Etmad-od-Doulah Cheen-ke-Masjid—Rām Bagh—Syud Bagh—Secundra—The Chamber of Gold—Miriam Zemānee—Kos Minārs.

1835, Feb.—The residence of the Wuzeer close upon the Jumna, and without the walls of the Tāj, is a house now in ruins, with a large garden containing the tombs of the Wuzeer of Shāhjahān and of his family.

An Eastern writer says, "He rendered the field flourishing and fruitful: he passed through life with reputation and lustre; and when he sank into the grave, a cloud of sorrow obscured the face of the empire."

THE JĀMMA MASJID,

Or great mosque, was built by Jahānārā, the favourite daughter of Shāhjahān and Arzamund Banoo. The princess Jahānārā (the Ornament of the World) was an unmarried lady, and devoted to religion. She is described as fourteen years of age when her father mounted the throne; sensible, lively, generous, elegant in person, and accomplished in mind. Her influence over her father was unbounded.

The Masjid is a fine mass of building of red carved granite; the court and fountains handsome. The three domes, with their peculiar adornments, are beautifully formed; they are inlaid with red granite and white marble. This immense masjid is very handsome: over the doors are Arabic characters in black