14.—THE KAISER[1] BAGH PALACE.
Wajid Ali Shah, the last King of Oudh, bears the (Whole opprobrium for the erection of the Kaiser Bagh, the largest, and most debased of all the Lucknow palaces. It was commenced in 1848, and finished in 1850, at a cost, including furniture and decorations, of Rs. 80 lacs (£ 800,000). Entering by the north-east gateway, which faces the open space in front of the Observatory, or Tarawallie Kothie, the visitor passed through a court to a gate known as the Jilaukhana, (since demolished) whence the royal procession used to start, and through which the captives, mentioned in para. 86, were conducted to their prison. Turning to the right, through a screened gateway, he arrived at the Chini Bagh, so called from the China vessels which formerly decorated the gardens. A portal, flanked by green mermaids in the worst European taste of the last century, led next to the Hasrat Bagh. On the right hand lie the Chandiwali Baradari (once paved with silver) and the Khas Mukam, as well as the Badshah Manzil, the special residence of the King, erected by Sadat Ali Khan, but included by Wajid Ali in the plan of his new palace. His Vazier (Minister), Nawab Ali Naki Khan, used to reside above the mermaid gateway in order that he might be close at hand to attend any summons from the King. On the left stands a large confused pile of buildings, called the Chaulakhi, built by Azim-ul-lah Khan,the King’s barber, and sold by him to the King for four lacs of rupees, hence its name. It formed the residence of the Queen and the chief concubines. In this building the robel Begum (see foot note at page 65) held her court while the British prisoners lay, for weeks, in one of the adjacent stables. The roadway proceeds past a large mulberry tree (since felled), which was paved round the roots with marble. Under its shade the King, Wajid Ali, used to sit, dressed in the yellow robes of a Fakir[2], on the occasion of a great fair, called the Jogia Mela, held in August within the Kaiser Bagh square, to which all wearing the garb of a Fakir were admitted. The eastern Lakhi gate, so called from its having cost a lac of rupees, gives access to a magnificent open square, known pre-eminently as the Kaiser Bagh, the buildings surrounding which provided quarters for the Begums.
Proceeding past the Stone Baradari[3] (which is situated in the centre of the quadrangle, and is now the property of the Maharani of Balrampur) and under the western Lakhi
