For what is purely Indian in this romance, Sanscrit literature, with its many legends, dramas, and romances, has been made use of. For the philosophical ideas of Akbar the best authority is his principal opponent, Abdul Kadir. The Vedas, from which the Emperor borrowed many of his ideas, have also been consulted.

One source of information merits special mention, as it is but little known. That is, the reports on the country and people made by merchants of our East India Company, who, shortly after Akbar’s reign, were established at Surat and Agra. Their letters are still preserved in our colonial archives.

How accurate soever one may strive to be, yet in an attempt of this kind there must always be the possibility of errors, especially in the descriptions of places. If here and there mistakes have crept into the text, the writer asks pardon in anticipation, and will be grateful for any corrections.

The Hague,
October, 1872.

Contents.

Page
[Introductory Life of Akbar]v
[Biographical Notice of the Author]xxxix
[The Author’s Preface]xliii
CHAPTER I.—[TheHermit]1
CHAPTER II.—[Iravati]22
CHAPTER III.—[Agra]45
CHAPTER IV.—[Akbar]70
CHAPTER V.—[ANew and an Old Acquaintance]95
CHAPTER VI.—[Salim]116
CHAPTER VII.—[Secret Meetings]139
CHAPTER VIII.—[ATempter]161
CHAPTER IX.—[TheWeighing of the Emperor]187
CHAPTER X.—[Surprises]209
CHAPTER XI.—“[Tauhid-i-Ilahi]”230
CHAPTER XII.—[Assassination] 250
CHAPTER XIII.—[Parting]265
CHAPTER XIV.—[The Discovery]286
CHAPTER XV.—[Amendment]305
CHAPTER XVI.—[Faizi’s Curse]322
CHAPTER XVII.—[The Tomb]337

Akbar.