The grim red sandstone walls of Agra Fort hide a great secret. Their formidable plainness gives little hint of the glorious arabesques and golden minarets, of the white marble Muhammedan architecture which rises like an ethereal vision to greet the visitor who penetrates it.
There is no mosque in all the world like the Pearl Mosque. Domes, cloisters, courtyards, and corridors, are all of stainless white, as fresh today as when gay King Charles was on the throne of England. The Saracenic arches have the most exquisite proportions. But it is when we wander through the Royal Palace--a dream of shining marble and golden domes--that even a cold Westerner must forget himself and lay excited emotions of wonder as ready tribute upon the altar of worship.
-- Notebooks Category 15: The Orient > Chapter 2 : India Part 1 > # 42
