and the floors covered with rich silken carpets. Half the court outside was occupied by a magnificent tent and the arcade galleries surrounding it were decked with brocades and covered with costly carpets. The marble Diwan i Khass with its lovely pillars decorated with gold and precious stones is surely the most splendid withdrawing room that a monarch ever possessed. There is nothing in the Moorish palace at Granada which can for a moment be compared with these two halls. For a description of them and of the other buildings in the Fort the reader must refer to Mr Fanshawe's book. In the Viceroyalty of Lord Curzon and since much has been done to restore their surroundings to some semblance of their former state. But the heavy British barracks occupied by the little garrison are very incongruous with the remains of Moghal grandeur. Leaving the Fort by the Southern or Delhi Gate and turning to the right one is faced by the Jama Masjid, another monument of the taste of Shahjahan. The gateway and the lofty ascent into this House of God are very fine. The mosque in the regular beauty and grandeur of its lines, appealing to the sublimity rather than to the mystery of religion, is a fitting symbol of the faith for whose service it was raised. South of the Jama Masjid in a part of the city once included in Firozabad stands the Kalan or Kala Masjid with low cupolas and heavy square black pillars, a striking example of the sombre architecture of the Tughlak period. A narrow street called the Dariba leads from the Jama Masjid to the wide Chandni (Silver) Chauk. The Dariba was formerly closed by the Khuni Darwaza or Gate of Blood, so called because here occurred that terrible massacre of the citizens of Delhi which Nadir Shah witnessed from the neighbouring Golden Mosque. Besides its width there is nothing remarkable about the Chandni Chauk. But the visitor in quest of silver work, jewellery, or embroidery will find there many shopkeepers ready to cater for his wants. It was while passing down the Chandni Chauk in an elephant procession on 23rd December, 1912, that Lord Hardinge was wounded by a bomb thrown from one of the houses. From the Chauk one may pass through the Queen's Gardens and Road to the opening in the wall where the Kabul Gate once stood and so leave the City. A tablet in the vicinity marks the spot where John Nicholson fell. [Illustration: Fig. 144. Kashmir Gate.] [Illustration: Fig. 145. Map of Delhi City.]