Ve a ee ee a 
ee ee eT ee ee eee ee 
Vol. VI1, No. 4.] Description of Delhi. 107 
[V.S.] 
of earth through the midst of which the Sarsuti was flowing. ! 
These instances notwithstanding, the theory advanced by my 
friends cannot, in the light of the Ain, be encouraged. Other 
texts should be brought forward. We have none. Future 
excavations may show that the Ain is wrong; meanwhile, we 
must be satisfied that it is correct. 
Aqueducts terminate in tanks or wells, or connect rivers. 
We have no allusions to the Delhi tunnels having had such 
exits. Had they been aqueducts, the explanations of the Ain 
could not have been entertained, as the matter was easy to 
verify, at atime when the passages were in a much better state 
of preservation than they are now. They were certainly not 
used as aqueducts in Abd-l Fazl’s time, i.e. before 1596-1597, 
when the Aim was completed, nor in Monserrate’s time (1581), 
nor in the lifetime of Akbar (1542—1605), or else, Akbar’s 
favourite historian should have known. From Firoz Shéh’s 
death (1388) to Akbar’s birth, only 154 years had intervened. 
written records, daily read and daily consulted by Akbar’s 
secretaries and historians. At Akbar’s death, the inventory of 
his treasures shows that his library contained 24,000 volumes, 
most of them ancient works, the whole being valued at 
Rs. 6,463,731.” 
Is it too much to hope that, before the arrival of the King- 
Emperor, something will be done to restore, or at least to 
explore, these tunnels? However great the difficulties may 
have been to construct them,—-and I am told that the nature 
of the ground near Delhi must have made the work one 
of exceptional difficulty—Firoz Shah overcame them. What 
difficulty could there be to examine what purpose the tunnels 
served? We are told that they exist, and where they are. 
What more can we wish ? 
While these notes were going through the press, I received 
some further correspondence, which, though not affecting our 
main argument, it will be useful to record. 
1 Cf. Térikh-i Mubdrak-Shdahi in Evutor’s Hist. of India, IV, p. 1}. 
2 MANRIQUE, Itinerario Oriental, Roma, 1653, p. 417. 
MANDELSLOE, Voyages and Travels into the East Indies, 2nd Ed., 
London, 1669, p. 37. 
Twist: Generale Beschryvinghe van Indien in Tweede Deel van. 
het begin ende woortgangh der Vereenighde Nederl. Geoctr. Oost. Indische 
ompagnie, 1646. 
De Laer, De Imperio Magni Mogolis, Lugd.-Batav., 1631, p. 139. 
