Still he did learn one thing, and a good thing, too.
The day he was four years and four days old he was taught, as all little
Mohammedans are taught, to understand _what_ he was, _what_ the world
about him was, and to recognise that neither he himself, nor the world
he lived in were the Beginning and the End of all things. It was a
stately ceremonial, not beautiful, and lavish, and expensive like the
Festival of the Mystic Palace, but one which left its mark for always on
the mind of the child.
Despite his dislike to books as the only way of learning to be wise, he
never forgot the day in the Great Mosque, when, before all his
relations, he had to stand up dressed in his simple every day clothes
and take the Holy Book from the hands of the high priest. And he never
forgot the high priest's words:
"Read in the Name of Him who hath made all things in Heaven and earth,
and Who hath given men power to be wise."
"_Bismillah!_--_Irruhman-nirruheem!_" he had answered as in duty bound,
which means, "Thanks be to Him who is merciful in this world and
merciful in the next world."
In this way young Prince Akbar learned that every man has power to be
wise, and that the great mystery of birth and death is a merciful
mystery.
Thus the summer passed and in early autumn King Humayon, who had now
wasted nearly a whole year in amusement, found it necessary to quell
rebellion in a neighbouring province.
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