The city of Agra has not been in repute above 50 years,[259] having only been a village till the reign of Akbar, who removed his residence to this place from Futtipoor, as already mentioned, for want of good water.  It is now a large city, and populous beyond measure, so that it is very difficult to pass through the streets, which are mostly narrow and dirty, save only the great Bazar and a few others, which are large and handsome.  The city is somewhat in the form of a crescent, on the convexity of a bend of the Jumna, being about five coss in length on the land side, and as much along the banks of the river, on which are many goodly houses of the nobles, overlooking the Jumna, which runs with a swift current from N.W. to S.E. to join the Ganges.  On the banks of the river stands the castle, one of the fairest and most admirable buildings in all the East, some three or four miles in circuit, inclosed by a fine and strong wall of squared stones, around which is a fair ditch with draw-bridges.  The walls are built with bulwarks or towers somewhat defensible, having a counterscarp without, some fifteen yards broad.  Within are two other strong walls with gates.

[Footnote 259:  This of course is to be understood as referring back from 1611, when Finch was there.  We have here omitted a long uninteresting and confused account of many parts of India, which could only have swelled our pages, without conveying any useful information.—­E.]

There are four gales to the castle.  One to the north, leading to a rampart having many large cannon.  Another westwards, leading to the Bazar, called the Cichery gate, within which is the judgment-seat of the casi, or chief judge in all matters of law; and beside this gate are two or three murderers, or very large pieces of brass cannon, one of which is fifteen feet long and three feet diameter in the bore.  Over against the judgment-seat of the casi, is the Cichery, or court of rolls, where the grand vizier sits about three hours every morning, through whose hands pass all matters respecting rents, grants, lands, firmans, debts, &c.  Beyond these two gates, you pass a third leading into a fair street, with houses and munition along both sides; and at the end of this street, being a quarter of a mile long, you come to the third gate, which leads to the king’s durbar.  This gate is always chained, all men alighting here except the king and his children.  This gate is called Akbar drowage; close within which many hundred dancing girls and singers attend day and night, to be ever ready when the king or any of his women please to send for them, to sing and dance in the moholls, all of them having stipends from the king according to their respective unworthy worth.