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The change was far from agreeable; flies and mosquitoes swarmed around us, the ditch outside the walls was filled with pools of stagnant water, and a horrible stench impregnated the air, increasing the sickness among the already enfeebled soldiers, and still further reducing our scanty number. September 23. The next day I started with D , of my regiment, to view the Jama Masjid, or Great Mosque.
September 20 to May, 1858 Lack of appreciation by Government A contrast Delay in issue of prize money and medals Unceremonious presentation of the latter Complete desertion of the city by the enemy A stroll through the city Looting Discovery of hiding inhabitants They are ordered to leave the city Disgraceful desertion of pets State of the streets Hodson captures the King of Delhi The King's appearance described His trial and sentence Hodson captures the King's sons and grandson Their deaths Diminished strength of the 61st Regiment It moves to the Ajmir Gate The Jama Masjid and view from it Its garrison A movable column dispatched towards Cawnpore Soldiers and others forbidden to enter or leave the city The Mooltani horse Indulgence to Goorkhas Their appreciation An exodus Strict regulations State of feeling of the army Work of the Provost Marshal Two reputed sons of the King executed The suburbs An amusing incident Visiting the old positions Cholera still rife 2,000 sick and wounded in the Selimgarh We move to the magazine I am recommended for sick leave I leave Delhi for Umballah I am robbed en route Report matters to Commissioner and receive compensation Leave for Ferozepore and home
On the 27th, being in the latitude of 2 degrees 10 minutes south, and in the longitude of 146 degrees 57 minutes, we fancied that we had a sight of the island of Moa, but it proved to be that of Jama, which lies a little to the east of Moa. We found here great plenty of cocoa-nuts and other refreshments.
In spite of the late lesson on the subject of sepoys, we found the gates of the fort held entirely by native guards, and a very small body of Europeans located within the walls. After rambling through the place, and discovering that its only beauty lay at present in its exterior, we went to the Jama Musjid, a fine mosque of red granite, inlaid in parts with white marble.
Meanwhile, a force of cavalry under Hodson moved round outside the city walls, and found a large camp of the enemy near the Delhi Gate. This was deserted, save by some sick and wounded sepoys, who were put to the sword; and the horsemen, riding through the gate, made their way into the heart of the city and took possession of the Jama Masjid without striking a blow.
They afterwards sold at a good price, and I possessed myself of some twenty of the most beautiful, comprising portraits of Zeenat Mahal, the favourite wife of the King, other ladies of the zenana, and pictures of the Taj and Jama Masjid, besides other mosques throughout India.
For Delhi has so much; it has, first and foremost, the Fort; it has the Jama Masjid, that immense mosque where on Fridays at one o'clock may be seen Mohammedans of every age wearing every hue, thousands worshipping as one; it has the ancient capitals scattered about the country around it; it has signs and memories of the Mutiny; it has delectable English residences; and it has the Chadni Chauk, the long main street with all its curious buildings and crowds and countless tributary alleys, every one of which is the East crystallised, every one of which has its white walls, its decorative doorways, its loiterers, its beggars, its artificers, and its defiance of the bogey, Progress.
From the Jama Masjid we wandered through narrow lanes and back-slums the former resort of the worst characters in the city to the Delhi and Turkoman Gates, the streets, as in other parts, being strewed with property from the wrecked houses, and wellnigh impassable.
Here the first Darwesh addresses himself directly to the other three, who were his patient listeners. The jama is an Asiatic dress, something like a modern female gown, only much more full in the skirts. It is made of white cloth or muslin.
Whatever may be the faults of British rule in India, no impartial critic can say that the people are not in better hands than they have ever been before. One of the most interesting objects in the city is the Jama Mesjid, the largest mosque in India, and the second-largest in all Islam, ranking next to St. Sophia at Constantinople.
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