Close under Birbal’s house is the main road leading down to the great lake—­now drained, the embankment of which formed the north-west boundary of the city.  It passes through the gateway called the Hathi Pol, or Elephant Gate, from the two great stone elephants, mutilated by Aurangzib, standing on either side of the outer archway.  On the left of the gateway are two buildings, the so-called Pigeon’s House, probably intended for a magazine; and the Sangin Burj, a great bastion supposed to be part of the fortifications begun by Akbar and left unfinished, owing to the objections of Shaikh Salim Chishti.  A little beyond this, on the right, are the remains of the waterworks which supplied the whole city.  Opposite to these, is the great traveller’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.