CHAPTER IX THE EBB OF THE TIDE HUMAYUN 1530-1556 A.D. IT was no easy throne that Babar left to his eldest son in December, 1530, nor was Humayun man enough to fill it. Though only twenty-three years of age, he was not without experience; he had commanded under his father in the Indian war, and had governed the outlying province of Badakhshan beyond the Hindu Kush. Babar had lavished good advice upon the son whom he loved above all things. " His presence," he once wrote, " opened our hearts like rosebuds and made our eyes shine like torches. His conversation had an ineffable charm, and he realized absolutely the ideal of perfect manhood." The young prince was indeed a gal- lant and lovable fellow, courteous, witty, and accom- plished as his father, warm-hearted and emotional, al- most quixotic in his notions of honour and magnanimity, personally brave as indeed were all the princes of his house and capable of great energy on occasions. But he lacked character and resolution. He was incapable of sustained effort, and after a moment of triumph 224
