The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1886-04-17
THE TOMB OF AKBAR., ,
The Dust of Alsbar tho hreanif,oon,

The Dust of Akbar tho hagnifloont.
The fret duty was to visit tho Tat,
and the next was to see the tomb where
the dust CT Akbar the Magnificent lies.
The site Of tho emperor's burial Is called
Sikundra, and Is distant about five miles
from the fort gate. ,Itis approached by
asuperb q gateway of red sandstone, mas,
slye and majestic, crowned with great
scrolls Of Arabic being the ssChapter Of
the Kingdom" from the Koran. Tho
white ma rble minarets on either side are
broken, and broken Is the patterned
pavement by which you pass through a
large but pelanc choly garden To the
mattsoleufn of the emperor, This Is
vast mosque.like structure OF red sand.
stone, diversified with marbles Of many
'colors, having an imposing central en-
trance, and on each side Of this main
arch five smaller archways. Large
flowers and bold 9arabesques run. along
the architraves, ,2inlaid in brilliant. hues.
The. entrance chamber has been vaultcd,
with diapers of blue and gold, the splen-
did effect Of which may be judged by
small portion which has been recently
renovated. BY this grand approach you
are led to the highest of four platforms,
where. In the centre Of grand upper
pavilion, surrounded by lattice-work Of
wonderful pierced marble, the cenotaph
of the emperor stands On one side Of
this monument are written in Arabic
the words with which he used to be
saluted Allahu Akbar ('God is greatly,
and on the other those with which he
was wont to reply to his obsequious
courtiers, Julia ,iallalahu ('sMay His
glory be glorifed''). A yard or SO from
the monument rises a marble pillar,
which was formerly coated with gold
plates, and provided with receptacle
in which the Koh-i-Noor was, kept.
Around this central shrine, at the base
OF tho editice' are many LITTLE ehagappee!!a elhaape!7
s%ll s%leses ssinoilar A>4t'~|~-'tS5adTT ;aT memori.Js
exist to othef'i. cabers Of the imperial
line, among them daughter Aurung,
zebe. But to see where Akbar's dust
really reposes you must come down
from the proud and lofty pavilion, and
the beautiful white corridors lighted OF
old with the great diamond, and with the
sunshine tiltering upon it through those
pierced pannels; you must descend
gloomy subterranean slope paved with
iDqacs sflagstones, steep and rugged,
:aillI ftIaspidlya retreating from the glad
s,,,, C.
side into chilly Shadows This brings
you to a.,dismal vaulted chamber of
conical form, huge ,sepulchral cellar,
which has no touch of. ,defunct royalty
about it, except some faint vestiges Of
gold and blue upon the roof, dimly
il.um mated by one square aperture. In
the middle Of the floor Is dimly preceived
a white tombstone, the high polish of
which catches what little light fickers
about the place. This white tombstone
bears no inscription whatever only Oh
tue top Of it is seen the Kalan,dan carved
upon u mans grave-slab by the Moguls
And under this simple stone lie the
bones of Akbar the Magnificent, In a
darkness which daylight was wont to
penetrate only once year in the old i'm
perial days. Now the place Is always
open to visitors; but the. Khadim In
charge had reverently Set tumbler of
flowers on the Mecca side Of the grave,
and spoke in whisper, as If the mighty
Akbar might still hear and resent any
want Of obeisance.