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xxxviii
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PREFACE
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was betrothed his initiation in school subjects, in sport, the use of arms names of teachers education in the rules of his Faith (p. 44), appointment to the Andijan Command etc., etc.
There is now no fit beginning to the book ; the present first sentence and its pendent description of Farghana should be removed to the position Babur's practice dictates of entering the description of a territory at once on obtaining it (cf. Samarkand, Kabul, Hindustan). It might come in on p. 30 at the end of the topic (partly omitted on p. 29 where no ground is given for the manifest anxiety about Babur's safety) of the disputed succession (Haidar, trs. p. 135) Babur's partisan begs having the better of Jahangir's (q.v.), and having testified obeisance, he became ruler in Farghana ; his statement of age (12 years), comes in naturally and the description of his newly acquired territory follows according to rule. This removal of text to a later position has the advantage of allowing the accession to follow and not precede Babur's father's death.
By the removal there is left to consider the historical matter of pp. 12-13. The first paragraph concerns matter of much earlier date than 'Umar's death in 1494 (p. 13); it may be part of an obituary notice, perhaps that of Yunas Khan. What follows of the advance of displeased kinsmen against 'Umar Shaikh would fall into place as part of Babur's record of his boyhood, and lead on to that of his father's death.
The above is a, bald sketch of what might be effected in the interests of the book and to facilitate its pleasant perusal.
Chapter III.
THE TURKI MSS. AND WORK CONNECTING WITH THEM.
This chapter is a literary counterpart of" Babur Padshah's Stoneheap," the roadside cairn tradition says was piled by his army, each man laying his stone when passing down from Kabul for Hindustan in the year of victory 1525 (932)."
1 p. 446, n. 6. Babur's order for the cairn would fit into the lost record of the first month of the year (p. 445).
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