the modern military part of the Fort, one first comes, where the Moguls
sat in state during a durbar, and painted and gilded elephants, richly
draped, took part in the obeisances. Next comes the Hall of Private
Audiences, where the Peacock Throne once stood. It has now vanished, but
in its day it was one of the wonders of the world, the tails of the two
guardian peacocks being composed of precious stones and the throne
itself being of jewelled gold. It was for this that one of Shah Jahan's
poets wrote an inscription in which we find such lines as--

By the order of the Emperor the azure of Heaven
was exhausted on its decoration....

The world had become so short of gold on account of
its use in the throne that the purse of the Earth
was empty of treasure....

On a dark night, by the lustre of its rubies and pearls
it can lend stars to a hundred skies....

That was right enough, no doubt, but when our poet went on to say,

As long as a trace remains of existence and space
Shah Jahan shall continue to sit on this throne,

we feel that he was unwise. Such pronouncements can be tested. As it
happened, Shah Jahan was destined, very shortly after the poem was
written, to be removed into captivity by his son, and the rest of his
unhappy life was spent in a prison at Agra. On each end wall of the Hall
of Private Audience is the famous couplet,--