Nathu could have told him that
he also had a book, which he and some fourscore millions more thought
as good as his or better; but he was afraid to descant upon the
merits of his 'shastras', and the miracles of Kishan Ji [Krishna],
among such fierce, cut-throat-looking people; he looked, however, as
if he could have eaten the porter, Koran and all, when I came to
their rescue. The only volumes which Muhammadans designate by the
name of the book are the Old and New Testaments, and the Koran.
I visited also the palace, which was built by the same Emperor. It
stands on the right bank of the Jumna, and occupies a quadrangle
surrounded by a high wall built of red sandstone, about one mile in
circumference; one side looks down into the clear stream of the
Jumna, while the others are surrounded by the streets of the
city.[20] The entrance is by a noble gateway to the west;[21] and
facing this gateway on the inside, a hundred and twenty yards
distant, is the Diwan-i-Amm, or the common hall of audience. This is
a large hall, the roof of which is supported upon four colonnades of
pillars of red sandstone, now white-washed, but once covered with
stucco work and gilded.
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