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PREFACE
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X3XI
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of noble Chaghatai family, 'Ali-^her Titr.uj i who. in classic Turki verse was the master Babur was to become in its prose. That the standard of effort was high in Herat is clear from Babur's dictum (p. 2.33) that whatever work a man took up, he aspired to bring it to perfection. Elphinstone varies the same theme to the tune of equality of excellence apart from social status, writing to Erskine (August, 1826), that "it gives a high notion of the time to find " (in Babur's account of Ilusain's Court) "artists, musicians and others, described along with the learned and great of the Age ".
My meagre summary of Babur's exemplars would be noticeably incomplete if it omitted mention of two of his life-long helpers in the gentler Arts, his love of Nature and his admiration for great architectural creations. The tirst manes joyous accompaniment throughout his book ; the second is specially called forth by Timur's ennoblement of Samarkand. Timur had built magnificently and laid out stately gardens ; Babur made many a fruitful pleasaunce and gladdened many an arid halting-place ; he built a little, but had small chance-to test his capacity for building greatly; never rich, he was poor in Kabul and several times destitute in his home-lands. But his sword won what gave wealth to his Indian Dynasty, and he passed on to it the builder's unused dower, so that Samarkand was surpassed in Hindustan and the spiritual conception Timur's creations embodied took perfect form at Sikandra where Akbai lies entombed.
Chapter II.
PROBLEMS OK THE MUTILATED BABUR-NAMA.
Losses from the text of Babur's book are the more disastrous because it truly embodies his career. For it has the rare distinction of being contemporary with the events it describes, is boyish in his boyhood, grows with his growth, matures as he matured. Undulled by retrospect, it is a fresh and spontaneous recital of things just seen, heard or done. It has the further rare distinction of shewing a boy who, setting a future task before him in his case the revival of Tirnurid power, began to chronicle his adventure in the book which
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