rich harvest of gold, jewels, and stuffs,
brought to the shrine of the saint by pious pilgrims. Another sign of
the instability of his rule awaited him at Delhi, for he found that a
state prisoner had eluded the vigilance of the governor, and that the
governor, apprehensive of the imperial displeasure, had quitted the
city, and broken into rebellion.

Nor, even when he reached Agra, did more reassuring tidings await
him. The country about Kanauj was in a state of rebellion, and it was
clear to him that many of his nobles could not be trusted. In this
emergency he marched to Bhojpur, in the Rai Bareli district, thence
to Rai Bareli. There he learned that the rebels had crossed the
Ganges with the object of proceeding towards Kalpi. There had been
heavy {104} rains and the country was flooded, but Akbar, eager for
action, despatched his main forces to Karrah whilst he hastened with
a body of chosen troops to Manikpur, midway between Partabgarh and
Allahabad. There he crossed the river on an elephant, pushed on with
great celerity, caught the rebels at the village of Manikpur, and
completely defeated them. The principal leaders of the revolt were
killed during or after the battle. From the battle-field, Akbar
marched to Allahabad, then called by its ancient name of Pryaga.
After a visit to Benares and to Jaunpur, in the course of which he
settled the country, he returned to Agra.

Deeming his eastern territories now secure, Akbar turned his
attention to Rajputana. The most ancient of all the rulers of the
kingdoms in that large division of Western India was Udai Singh, Rana
of Mewar, a man possessing a character in which weakness was combined
with great obstinacy. His principal stronghold was the famous
fortress of Chitor, a fortress which had indeed succumbed to
Allah-ud-din Khilji in 1303, but which had regained the reputation of
being impregnable. It stands on a high oblong hill above the river
Banas, the outer wall of the fortifications adapting itself to the
shape of the hill. It was defended by an army of about seven thousand
Rajputs, good soldiers, and commanded by a true and loyal captain. It
was supplied with provisions and abundance of water, and was in all
respects able to stand a long siege.

{105} Akbar himself sat down before the fortress, whilst he sent
another body of troops to make conquests in the vicinity, for the
Rana, despairing of success, had fled to the jungles. But if he
pressed the siege vigo