the words "Allah Akbar" (God is great). But the mortal remains of the Great Akbar lie not beneath this tomb, but in a vault beneath the ground floor.

The first apartment of the building is the Sonehri Mahal, or chamber of gold. The sides and ceiling of the vaulted room are in compartments, which bear traces of having been ornamented with flowers, raised in gold, in silver, and enamel. And an inscription in gold raised upon a blue ground runs around it. From the Golden Room a long narrow passage leads to a plain gloomy chamber, and beneath a simple marble tomb lies the Great Akbar. Finch states that the coffin was made of gold.

The Emperor who puts questions of sceptical philosophy to Muslim moulvies, Hindu sages, Christian missionaries, who conversed familiarly with men of letters, and who was a wise and strong ruler, is one of the most striking figures in history. At the time when in England the fires of Smithfield were alight, and men suffered torture and death for their religion, Akbar established entire toleration throughout his dominions. A Muhammadan historian writes:

"Learned men of various kinds and from every country, and professors of many different religions and creeds, assembled at his Court, and were admitted to converse with him. Night and day people did nothing but inquire and investigate. Profound points of science, the subtleties of revelation, the curiosities of history, the wonders of nature, of which large volumes could only give a summary abstract, were ever spoken of. His Majesty collected the opinions of every one, especially of such as were not Mohammedans, retaining whatever he approved of, and rejecting everything which was against his disposition and ran counter to his wishes. From his earliest childhood to his manhood, and from his manhood to old age, his Majesty has passed through the most diverse phases, and through all sorts of religious practices and sectarian beliefs, and has collected everything which people can find in books, with a talent of selection peculiar to him, and a spirit of inquiry opposed to every (Islamitic) principle. Thus a faith based on some elementary principles traced itself

on the mirror of his heart, and as the result of all the influences which were brought to bear on his Majesty, there grew, gradually as the outline on a stone, the conviction in his heart that there were sensible men in all religions, and abstemious thinkers and men endowed with miraculous powers, among all nations.” The historian adds:

"In A. H. 986 the missionaries of Europe, who are called Padris, and whose chief Pontiff, called Pápà (Pope), promulgates his interpretations for the use of the people, and who issues mandates that even kings dare not disobey, brought their Gospel to the King's notice, advanced proofs of the Trinity, and affirmed the truth and spread abroad the knowledge of the religion of Jesus. The King ordered Prince Murad to learn a few lessons from the Gospel, and to treat it with all due respect, and Shaikh Abu-l-Fazl was directed to translate it. Instead of the inceptive 'Bismullah,' the following ejaculation was enjoined In nomine Jesu Christe,' that is, 'Oh! thou whose name is merciful and bountiful.' Shaikh Faizi added to this, Praise be to God! there is no one like Thee-Thou art He!"

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Akbar not only took an interest in the different sects of the Hindus, but also in their classical language. learned, but bigoted, Abdul-Kadur states:

The

"On a third night the King sent for me, and desired me to translate the 'Mahabharat' in conjunction with Nakeb Khan. The consequence was that in three or four months I translated two out of eighteen sections, at the puerile absurdities of which the eighteen thousand creations may well be amazed. Such injunctions as one never heard of. What not to eat, and a prohibition against turnips! But such is my fate, to be employed in such works. Nevertheless, I console myself with the reflection that what is predestined must come to pass."

However, the other great Indian epic pleased him better, for he writes:

In this year the King commanded me to make a translation of the Ramayana, a composition superior to the Mahabharat."

The translations from the Sanskrit, which were made by command of Akbar, appear to have been executed under

the superintendence of the poet Feizi (most excellent), the brother of the Minister Ab-ul-Fazl (the father of excel lence). The two brothers were the Emperor's dearest friends, and to them he poured out all the doubts and aspirations of his soul. It was Ab-ul-Fazl who persuaded his sovereign "that the seal and asylum of prophecy was no more to be thought of than as an Arab of singular eloquence, and that the sacred inspiration recorded in the Koran were nothing else but fabrications invented by the everblessed Mahomed." To Ab-ul-Fazl we owe the Ain-iAkbari, or code of regulations drawn up under the direct supervision of his master. It contains the best record of Akbar's policy and of the conditions of the country under his rule. The brutal murder of his Minister caused the Emperor profound grief, and he survived his faithful servant and friend only three years. In September 1605 after a reign of forty-nine years, almost equal in extent as it was in brilliancy to that of his great contemporary, Elizabeth, Akbar was stricken with a mortal illness. He seemed anxious to die reconciled to the Muslim faith, and a Muslim priest was summoned, who came and read the Muhammadan confession of faith. When finished, Akbar threw his arms. round his son's neck and spoke to him parting words of advice. 'My servants and dependants,-When I am gone, do not forget the afflicted in the hour of need. Ponder word for word on all I have said, and again forget me not." Then the life of the great Akbar-philosopher, warrior, and statesman-ebbed quietly away. His son has left us the following delineation of his intellectual character:

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"My father used to hold discourse with learned men of all persuasions, particularly with the Pandits, and was illiterate, yet from constantly conversing with learned and clever persons, his language was so polished, that no one could discover from his conversation that he was entirely uneducated. He understood even the elegancies of poetry and prose so well that it is impossible to conceive any one more proficient."

The son has also drawn the following graphic portrait of the Emperor :

"He was of middling stature, but with a tendency to be tall, wheat-colour complexion, rather inclining to dark than fair, black eyes and eyebrows, stout body, open forehead and chest, long arms and hands. There was a fleshy wart, about the size of a small pea, on the left side of his nose, which appeared exceedingly beautiful, and which was considered very auspicious by physiognomists, who said it was the sign of immense riches and increasing prosperity. He had a very loud voice, and a very elegant and pleasant way of speech. His manners and habits. were quite different from those of other persons, and his visage was full of godly dignity."

Leaving the tomb of Akbar, we drove to another mausoleum beyond the Jumna. It is situated in a walled garden, to which there are four gateways of red granite, ornamented with black and white marble. On a raised platform stands the mausoleum—a square building with an octagonal tower, somewhat squat in proportion, at each corner. The beauty of the building is due to its being entirely built of white marble, and being covered throughout with a mosaic in pietra dura. It was early in the seventeenth century that Italian artists, principally from Florence, taught the Indians the art of inlaying this marble with precious stones, and the tomb of Itimad-ud-Daula is probably one of the first, and certainly one of the most splendid examples of that class of ornamentation in India. It is impossible to agree with the criticism of Fergusson, that, "as one of the first, the tomb of Itimad-ud-Daula was certainly one of the least successful specimens of its class. The patterns do not quite fit the places where they are put, and the spaces are not always those best suited for this style of decoration." The mosaic at this mausoleum is more Oriental, more bold, and more true to nature than the decoration of the screen at the Taj, where Italian influence has debased the art to the