at one is hardly prepared for the beauty, purity, and the unaffected
expression of an exalted religious feeling which characterize the
interior. It is rare to find an Indian building in which the effect
is produced with hardly any ornament, but solely by the perfection
of proportions, beauty of material, and harmony of constructive
design. The courtyard, in front of the mosque, with its arcades
and gateways, is a noble setting to the Pearl, as the mosque is
appropriately called. There is a subtle rhythm in the placing of the
three domes over the seven arches of the mosque, which saves the whole
design from monotony, while the marvellous grace of the contours,
which is so characteristic of the finest of Shah Jahan's buildings,
makes each dome grow up from the roof like a flower-bud on the point of
unfolding. The octagonal pavilions at the four corners of the mosque,
and the dainty little kiosques placed as decoration over the arches
and over the gateways of the courtyard, echo the harmonies of the
larger constructive details, and give completeness to the composition.

The interior of the mosque owes its dignity to the same greatness of
style and perfection of the proportions. The three aisles are formed
by massive piers of single blocks of marble. With all its simplicity,
there is consummate art both in the placing of the ornament and in
the beautiful springing of the arches from the supporting piers. The
fine workmanship is worthy of the art.

On either side of the mosque there is a small chamber for the ladies
of the zanana, with a window filled with a carved marble _grille_
looking on to the interior. They could thus attend to the services of
the mosque without being seen. The staircases on the right and left
of the courtyard give private access to the apartments of the palace.

The Persian inscription inlaid in black marble under the wide,
projecting cornice of the mosque is a poetic tribute to the beauty of
the building and a panegyric of its founder. From it we learn that
it was built by Shah Jahan, it took seven years to build, and cost
three lakhs of rupees.

The dimensions of the courtyard, given by Fergusson, are 154 feet
by 158 feet; and of the Mosque: length, 159 feet; depth, 56 feet,
internally.

The Dersane Darwaza.

Nearly opposite to the Muti Masjid, you pass on the left an
inclined passage which leads to an old gateway, a part of Akbar's
buildings. Very little remains of the original buildings w