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 CHAPTER XXXI.

PLEASANT DAYS IN AGRA.

The Fort—The Mosque of Pearl—The Jāhangeereengeeree?] Mahul—Mher-ul-Nissa—Selīm Ghar—The Palace in the Fort—The Dewanī Khas—Noor-jahān Burj—Zenāna Masjid—The Shīsha-Mahal—Hall of Audience—The Vault of Secret Murder—The Black Marble Slab—The Throne of Akbar—The Steam Baths—The Worship of the Rising Sun—View from the Bridge of Boats on the Jumna.

1835, Feb. 3rd.—I visited the Fort: one I particularly admire; it is perfectly native. An engineer will perhaps say it wants the strength of an European fortification. An admirer of the picturesque, it pleases me better than one more regularly and scientifically built. There are two gateways; the principal one is called the Delhi Gate, and to the second, named after the Rajah Umrāo Sing, is attached a tradition. Akbar demolished the old Fort of Agra, and replaced it in four years by one of red freestone. It contains innumerable buildings of high interest, among which, its brightest ornament, is the

MOOTEE MASJID, THE MOSQUE OF PEARL.

From the gate of entrance you do not expect to see much, the mosque being completely hidden by a high screen of stone. Having passed the gate, you find yourself in a court of marble one hundred and fifty feet square. On the opposite side is the mosque itself; its seven arches of Gothic mould are surmounted by three domes, of oval form, and nine cupolas; the interior is formed of arches, three in depth. The mosque fills up one side of the court; on the right and left are ranges of arcades and