W. H. Allen & Co., 13 Waterloo Place.
Publishers to the India Office.
1879.
[iv]
Introductory Life of Akbar.
The object of the Romance which is now presented toEnglish readers, in a translated form, is to convey a generallyaccurate idea of the court of Akbar, the greatest and best native rulerthat ever held sway over Hindustan. The author, Dr. VanLimburg-Brouwer, was an oriental scholar, who strove, by this means, toimpart to others the knowledge he had himself acquired, through thestudy of contemporary writers, of the thoughts and habits of the greatEmperor, and of the manners and civilization of those who surroundedhim.
If he has attained any measure of success in this attempt, hislabours will certainly have been useful, and his work deservestranslation. For on [vi]Englishmen, more than on anyother people, is a knowledge of so important a period of Indian historyincumbent. This romance of Akbar is, it is true, but a sketch, and isonly intended to excite interest in the subject. But if it has thateffect, and leads to further inquiry and research, it will secure theobject with which it was written, and will have done usefulservice.
“Akbar, an Eastern Romance,” (“Akbar, een Oostersche Roman,”) was first published inDutch, at the Hague, in 1872, the year before the author’sdeath.1 A German translation appeared at Leipzig in1877.2 A native of Holland might not unnaturally undertakesuch a work, for the best European contemporary account of the reign ofAkbar was written by a Dutchman, Pieter Van den Broeck.3
Students of Indian history are looking forward [vii]to the publication of the Life of Akbar byPrince Frederick of Schleswig Holst