hows, in a manner not to be mistaken, the
unselfishness and affection of Babar. It is thus related in the
supplemental chapter to the _Memoirs_.[6]

[Footnote 6: This chapter was added by the translators. The same
circumstance is related also by Mr. Erskine in his _Babar and
Humayun_.]

{46} 'When all hopes from medicine were over, and whilst several men
of skill were talking to the Emperor of the melancholy situation of
his son, Abul Baka, a personage highly venerated for his knowledge
and piety, remarked to Babar that in such a case the Almighty had
sometimes vouchsafed to receive the most valuable thing possessed by
one friend, as an offering in exchange for the life of another. Babar
exclaimed that, of all things, his life was dearest to Humayun, as
Humayun's was to him; that his life, therefore, he most cheerfully
devoted as a sacrifice for that of his son; and prayed the Most High
to vouchsafe to accept it.' Vainly did his courtiers remonstrate. He
persisted, we are told, in his resolution; walked thrice round the
dying prince, a solemnity similar to that used by the Muhammadans in
sacrifices, and, retiring, prayed earnestly. After a time he was
heard to exclaim: 'I have borne it away! I have borne it away!' The
Musalman historians relate that almost from that moment Humayun began
to recover and the strength of Babar began proportionately to decay.
He lingered on to the end of the year 1530. On the 26th December he
restored his soul to his Maker, in his palace of the Charbagh, near
Agra, in the forty-ninth year of his age. His remains were, in
accordance with his dying request, conveyed to Kabul, where they were
interred in a lovely spot, about a mile from the city.

Amongst the famous conquerors of the world Babar will always occupy a
very high place. His character {47} created his career. Inheriting
but the shadow of a small kingdom in Central Asia, he died master of
the territories lying between the Karamnasa and the Oxus, and those
between the Narbada and the Himalayas. His nature was a joyous
nature. Generous, confiding, always hopeful, he managed to attract
the affection of all with whom he came in contact. He was keenly
sensitive to all that was beautiful in nature; had cultivated his own
remarkable talents to a degree quite unusual in the age in which he
lived; and was gifted with strong affections and a very vivid
imagination. He loved war and glory, but he did not neglect the arts
of peace. He made i