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the present day, had it not been for the ravages of 
the despoiler, and the chance of war ; for, after the 
capture of the city by the emperor Aurungzebe, at 
the close of the seventeenth century, the whole of 
this superb quadrangle was appropriated to the pur- 
poses of the invader’s troops ; the imperial halls were 
converted into barracks, and the Madressa itself was 
used as a powder-magazine. Alas ! that it should 
have been so ! As an evil destiny would have it, some 
powder was ignited, by an exasperated soldier, who, 
for the purpose of avenging himself upon a comrade 
with whom he was quarrelling, cast the burning 
gools * from his chillaum into a powder-cell. In a 
moment the whole magazine exploded, destroying 
the greater part of the beautiful building, and spread- 
ing destruction on all sides. Other accounts state 
the manner of the occurrence very differently. The 
traveller Thevenot, for instance, relates a tale which 
makes the explosion take place before the city had 
surrendered to Aurungzebe. He tells us that, when 
invested by that invader, it was governed by a 
veteran officer, a noble of tried fidelity and great 
courage, who indignantly rejected all the efforts of 
the Delhi emperor to corrupt him, and successfully 
kept him at bay for many days. A practicable 
breach was, however, at length made in the wall, 
and the signal was already given for the assault, 
when suddenly — as some affirm, by the fall of a 
* Fire-balls used in tlie hookka to keep the tobacco burning. 
