BABER. 
227 
sence, was commanded to repair to that country without 
delay, and he accordingly marched at the head of 
a considerable body of troops; but before he reach- 
ed Cabul, he received despatches announcing the re- 
treat of the invader. He nevertheless continued his 
march, entered the country, with the government of 
which he was immediately invested by Hindal Mirza. 
It was held by a long line of his successors, under 
the subsequent reigns of the Moghul princes. 
Humaioon’s visit to Agra gave great offence to 
his royal parent, and produced much general dis- 
satisfaction at court. It was, nevertheless, soon for- 
gotten; and after a while he was sent to Sambhul, 
which had been conferred upon him immediately after 
the conquest of Hindostan. He repaired thither with 
some reluctance, though it was at no great distance 
from his father s capital. A few months after his 
departure, he was taken ill, and his disorder seemed 
to baffle the skill of the most eminent physicians. 
His life being despaired of, the emperor set out for 
Sambhul, which he reached just as it was supposed 
the prince was at the point of death. Whilst stand- 
ing by the bed of his son, at this time scarcely 
conscious of the imperial presence, accompanied by 
several nobles of his court, one among them, a man of 
distinguished wisdom and acknowledged piety, ob- 
served that in cases like the present, the Deity some- 
times condescended to accept a vicarious offering, and 
recommended that the monarch should present the most 
valuable thing he possessed as a ransom for the life 
of his heir. Baber assented to this, and observing 
that next to the life of Humaioon, his own was the 
