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The name Hephzibah or, as it might be written, Hafzbah conveys a very distinct idea to any one who has lived in the East, and calls up a string of familiar words all containing the same root hafz, which signifies "guarding" or "taking care of," such as hafiz, a protector, muhafiz, a custodian, as in the word muhafiz daftar, a head record-keeper; or again, hifazat, custody, as bahifazat polis, in custody of the police; or again, daim-ul-hafz, imprisonment for life, and other similar expressions.
THE DAFTAR KHANA. Passing through the great quadrangle of the Dîwan-i-âm, the visitor arrives at the Daftar Khana, or Record Chamber, now adapted for a travellers' rest-house. This was Akbar's office, and is immediately opposite to his own sanctum, the Kwâbgâh, and the principal buildings of the Imperial Palace.
During my stay with Sharmarkay I made many inquiries about historical works, and the Kazi; Mohammed Khatib, a Harar man of the Hawiyah tribe, was at last persuaded to send his Daftar, or office papers, for my inspection. They formed a kind of parish register of births, deaths, marriages, divorces, and manumissions.
A door in the west wall leads into the cloisters, which formerly connected Akbar's apartments with the Daftar Khana and with Jodh Bai's palace. THE KWÂBGÂH, or sleeping apartment, is a small pavilion on the roof. Originally the walls were entirely covered by fresco paintings, but only a few fragments now remain.
A staircase in the south-east room leads to the roof, from which a fine view of the city and surrounding country can be obtained. The principal buildings can be easily identified by help of the plan. THE PALACE. A door in the side of the quadrangle, opposite to the Daftar Khana, leads into Akbar's palace, the Mahal-i-Khas.
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