kwork, would have been better
left undone.

The lower story is 320 feet square. Above this are three others,
diminishing in size up to the highest, which is just half these
dimensions. The roof of the topmost is surrounded by cloisters,
the outer arches of which are filled with very fine marble tracery
(Plate X.). In the centre, on a raised platform, is a solid block of
pure white marble, delicately carved with flowers and sacred texts,
representing the real tomb in the vault beneath. At the head is
the inscription, "Allah-o-Akbar" (God is Great), and at the foot,
"Jalli Jalalohu" (Magnificent is His Glory). These sentences were
the formula of Akbar's new religion, which he called "The Divine
Faith." On the sides the ninety-nine attributes of God are carved in
the Arabic character. The carved marble pedestal at the end of the
tomb was a stand for a golden censer.

THE KANCH MAHAL.--Outside the enclosure of Akbar's tomb, a little
to the east of the principal entrance, is a rare and remarkably fine
example of Mogul domestic architecture. This is a two-storied building,
known as the Kanch Mahal, and supposed to have been built by Jahangir
as a country seat. In its extremely elaborate ornamentation, inlaid
stone and enamelled tiles have been most effectively combined with the
carving. The repairs lately carried out under Lord Curzon's orders have
been very carefully done, though it is easy to see the inferiority of
the new work where the old carving had to be reproduced. Our fatuous
policy of adopting European styles in all public buildings in India
is bound to cause a deterioration in the native art handicrafts, for
it closes the principal source from which they have sprung. Unless
this policy is reversed, nothing will prevent the ultimate extinction
of Indian art.

SURAJ-BHAN-KA BAGH.--This is another two-storied building of about
the same period, but not quite so fine in style, facing the Agra road,
at a little distance from the Kanch Mahal.

MARIAM ZAMANI'S TOMB.--A short distance further on, in the direction
of Muttra, is the building supposed to have been originally the garden
house of Sikandar Lodi, in which Mariam Zamani, one of Akbar's wives,
is said to have been buried. It has been used for many years as a
printing establishment for a Mission Orphanage.

Other Buildings and Tombs at or near Agra

The tomb of Feroz Khan, opposite to the third milestone on the Gwalior
road, is an interesting building of