230 
SCENES IN INDIA. 
CHAPTER XVII, 
DELHI. CUTTUB MINAR. HURDWAR. 
From Agra we proceeded to Delhi, the once mag- 
nificent capital of the Mogul empire, and even now 
splendid in its degradation and decay. On the road at 
Futtypore Sicri is a lofty minaret curiously ornamented, 
from the summit of which the Emperor Akbar used to 
enjoy elephant fights and other similar sports, of which 
he was excessively fond. We halted at Matura, an 
ancient city on the banks of the Jumna, about thirty 
miles from Agra. Near the Eastern gate is a re- 
markable gravestone, nine yards long; it covers the 
body of a Mussulman, stated to have been buried up- 
wards of eight hundred years, and whose corpse when 
inhumed is still believed to have been precisely the 
same length as the stone. In the neighbourhood of 
this city there is a number of monkeys of a very large 
size ; these animals are supported from a fund left for 
that purpose by Mahadajee Scindia. One of them 
was lame from some accident, and, in consequence of 
this resemblance to his patron, was treated with espe- 
cial respect. Upon one occasion, two European officers 
shot at these monkeys, and were immediately attacked 
so furiously by the fanatic inhabitants that, in at- 
tempting to escape by crossing the river upon an 
elephant, they were both drowned. 
