Of the numerous mosques of New Delhi, I visited only two, the Mosque Roshun-ad-dawla, and the Jumna Mosque.  The former stands in the principal street, and its pinnacles and domes are splendidly gilt.  It is made famous through its connection with an act of cruelty on the part of Sheikh Nadir.  This remarkable, but fearfully cruel monarch, on conquering Delhi in the year 1739, had 100,000 of the inhabitants cut to pieces, and is said to have sat upon a tower of this mosque to watch the scene.  The town was then set fire to and plundered.

The Jumna Mosque, built by the Sheikh Djihan, is also considered a masterpiece of Mahomedan architecture; it stands upon an enormous platform, to which forty steps lead up, and rises in a truly majestic manner above the surrounding mass of houses.  Its symmetry is astonishing.  The three domes, and the small cupolas on the minarets, are of white marble; all the other parts, even the large slates with which the fine court-yard is paved, are of red sandstone.  The inlaid ornamental work and stripes on the mosque, are also of white marble.

There are great numbers of caravansaries, frequently with very handsome portals.  The baths are unimportant.

We devoted two days to making an excursion to the more distant monuments of Delhi.  We first stopped at the still well-preserved “Purana Kale.”  All the handsome mosques resemble each other much.  This one, however, is distinguished by its decoration, the richness and correctness of its sculptures, its beautiful inlaid work, and its size.  Three lightly arched and lofty cupolas cover the principal building, small towers adorn the corners, and two high minarets stand at the sides.  The entrance and the interior of the domes are inlaid with glazed tiles and painted, the colours are remarkably brilliant.  The interior of every mosque is empty; a small tribune for speakers, and a few glass lustres and lamps, constitute the whole decoration.

The mausoleum of the Emperor Humaione, very much in the same style as the mosque, was commenced by this monarch himself.  But as he died before it was completed, his son Akbar carried out his intentions.  The high-arched temple, in the centre of which stands the sarcophagus, is inlaid with mosaic work of rare stones.  Instead of window-panes, the openings are furnished with artistically worked stone lattices.  In adjoining halls, under plain sarcophagi, rest the remains of several wives and children of the Emperor Humaione.

Not far from this is the monument of Nizam-ul-din, a very sacred and greatly venerated Mahomedan.  It stands in a small court, the floor of which is paved with marble.  A square screen of marble, with four small doors, surrounds the sarcophagus.  This screen is still more delicate and finely worked than that in the Taj-Mehal; it is scarcely conceivable how it was possible to execute such work in stone.  The doors, pillars, and elegant arches are covered with the most chaste reliefs, as fine and perfect as any that I have seen in the most artistic towns of Italy.  The marble used for them is of remarkable whiteness and purity, worthy, indeed, of these great works of art.