It was a
beautiful building with three domes, in keeping with the Taj. But the
builder found that it gave a one-sided appearance to the view; and he
erected the one on the east end, to balance the other and restore the
proportions. Either of them is equal to the finest mosque in Cairo or
Constantinople."
"That was an expensive method of making things regular," added the
commander. "Some one spoke in Delhi of a durbar in connection with Agra. I
think it was Mr. Meerza."
General Noury laughed at this title; for it sounded funny to him, applied
to an Oriental, and the captain had forgotten the rest of the name.
"Abbas-Meerza, we call him, without any 'mister,'" he added.
"I will try to remember it," replied the commander. "But what is a durbar?
Is it something good to eat?"
"They do not eat it here, and probably it would be indigestible if they
could do so," continued Sir Modava. "A durbar is a very important event in
India, but is not eatable. It is an occasion at which the native princes
acknowledge the sovereignty of the Queen of England. In 1866 the most noted
one took place at Agra, a full description of which would require a long
time. For the first time after the establishment of the Empire of India,
the governor-general, representing the empress, received the homage of
twenty-six sovereign princes.
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