Senkovski brought it over from his archetype; Mr. Salemann sent it to me in its original Turki form. (JRAS. 1900, p. 474). Senkovski's own colophon is as follows :
"fat acheve cette copie le 4 Mai, 1824, a St. Petersburg; elle a ite faite d'apres un exemplaire appurtenant a Nazar Bai Turkistani, nigociant Boukhari, qui etait venu cette annee a St. Petersburg. J. Senkovski."
The colophon Senkovski copied from his archetype is to the following purport:
"Known and entitled Waqi'nama-i-padshahi (Record of Royal Acts), [this] autograph and composition (bayad u navisht) of Mulla ' Abdu'l-wdhhab the Teacher, of Ghaj-davan in Bukhara God pardon his mistakes and the weakness of his endeavour ! was finished on Monday, Rajab S, 1121 (Aug. 31st, 1709). Thank God!"
It will be observed that the title Waqi'nama-i-padshahi suits the plan of dual histories (of Babur and Humayun) better than does the " Babur-nama" of Timur-pulad's note, that the colophon does not claim for the Mulla to have copied the elder book (1494-1530) but to have written down and composed one under a differing title suiting its varied contents ; that the Mulla's deprecation and thanks tone better with perplexing work, such as his was, than with the steadfast patience of a good scribe ; and that it exonerates the Mulla from suspicion of having caused hisrjompilation to be accepted as Babur's authentic text. Taken with its circumstanding matters, it may be the d^noument of the play.
Chapter IV.
THE LEYDEN AND ERSKINE MEMOIRS OF BABER.
The fame, and long literary services of the Memoirs of Babcr compel me to explain why these volumes of mine contain a verbally new English translation of the Babur-nama instead of a second edition of the Memoirs. My explanation is the simple one of textual values, of the advantage a primary source has over its derivative.
