ler's rest-house,
or Karwan-serai, in a very ruined state.

The, furthest of this block of buildings is a curious tower called
the Hiran Minar, or Deer Tower, 72 feet in height, ornamented with
stone imitations of elephant tusks. According to tradition, it was
built by Akbar in memory of a favourite elephant, and used by him
as a shooting tower; the plain on the margin of the lake being the
haunt of antelope and other game.

The splendid stretch of water, six miles long and two in breadth,
induced many of the princes and nobles to build pavilions and
garden houses on this side of the city. This was the place for great
tournaments and festivities, and in the palmy days of Fatehpur all
the chivalry of the Mogul Court must have made a brave show here. The
Hiran Minar was connected with the zanana by a covered way, so that
the ladies might assist at these spectacles and enjoy the cool breezes
from the lake.

The Jami Masjid, or Cathedral Mosque.

The great mosque of Fatehpur is worthy of its founder's lofty ideals
and nobility of soul. It is one of the most magnificent of all Akbar's
buildings; the historic associations connected with it combine with
its architectural splendour to make it one of the most impressive of
its kind in the world. It is said to be copied from one at Mecca;
but this cannot be altogether true, because, though the plan and
general design follow Muhammadan precedent, many of the details show
Akbar's Hindu proclivities.

Within the great mosque, Akbar frequently held religious discussions
with the learned doctors of Islam; and here, also, after the chief
Mullahs had signed the famous document which declared Akbar to be Head
of the Church, the Emperor mounted the pulpit, and stood before the
congregation as the expounder of "the Divine Faith." He commenced
to read a _Khutbah_, or litany, which Faizi, Abul Fazl's brother,
had composed for the occasion--

"The Lord, who gave to us dominion,
Wisdom, and heart and strength,
Who guided us in truth and right,
And cleansed our mind from all but right,
None can describe His power or state,
Allahu Akbar--God is Great."

But before he could finish three lines of it, the sense of the
tremendous responsibility he had undertaken overpowered him. He
descended the pulpit trembling with emotion, and left the Imam of
the mosque to continue the service.

There are two entrances, approached by broad flights of steps. The one
on