The King of Oude wished to surpass the Mogul Emperors by
the magnificence of his buildings, but he wished, too, to do it on
the cheap. So in Lucknow stucco, with very debased details,
replaces the stately red sandstone and marble of the older cities.
In 1890 after a long day's sight-seeing in Lucknow, in the course
of which we ascended the long exterior flight of steps of the
great Imambarah on an elephant (who proved himself as nimble as a
German waiter in going upstairs), Lady Lansdowne and I were taken
to the Husainabad just as the short-lived Indian twilight was
falling. On passing through its great gateway I thought that I had
never in my life seen anything so beautiful. At the end of a long
white marble-paved court, a stately black-and-white marble tomb
with a gilded dome rose from a flight of steps. Down the centre of
the court ran a long pool of clear water, surrounded by a gilded
railing. On either side of the court stood great clumps of
flowering shrubs, also enclosed in gilded railings. At the far
end, a group of palms were outlined in jet black against that
vivid lemon-coloured afterglow only seen in hot countries;
peacocks, perched on the walls of the court, stood out duskily
purple against the glowing expanse of saffron sky, and the
sleeping waters of the long pool reflected the golden glory of the
flaming vault above them.
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