Hazrat Ahmad — Page 57
HADHRAT AHMAD 57 indisposed. Nevertheless a start was made. When the party reached. Batala, the railway station for Qadian, it was discovered that on account of some troubles on the frontier there was a shortage of railway coaches and it had not, therefore, been possible to secure reserved accommodations for the party. The party had therefore to wait at Batala for two or three days. The Promised Messiah suggested to my mother that in view of the revelation foreboding calamity and the impediments which God had thrown in their way, it would seem desirable that they should stay at Batala for a few days. This would suffice to give her a change of air and for treatment a lady doctor could be sent for. My mother, however, wished to be taken to Lahore. . No sooner had he arrived than there was a commotion all over the city and as usual the Maulvis all combined in opposition to him. A series of lectures was started by his opponents in an open space close to the house in which the Promised Messiah had taken up residence. The lectures began every day in the afternoon and continued up to nine or ten o'clock at night. In these lectures the most scurrilous abuse was hurled at him and as the only road leading to his residence passed by the open space, the experience was most painful for his followers. The Promised Messiah, however, admonished them that as the abuse did not cause any tangible harm, they should pass by quietly and take no notice of it. . Since he had intended to prolong his stay in the city for sometime, members of the community began to arrive from every quarter and thus there was always a great concourse in the house. In addition, there were other visitors coming to see him. . An Address to the Wealthy. Since the well-to-do classes in India and for that matter, all over the world are comparatively averse to religion, it was arranged that one of them who was not an Ahmadi, but a great admirer of the Promised Messiah, should invite the leading men of the city to a dinner and that before dinner the Promised Messiah should address them. The address became somewhat lengthy. When one hour had elapsed, one of the guests made a gesture of impatience. . On this several other guests said that they were used to having dinner every day but that they had never had a spiritual course spread before them before and that, therefore, the Promised. Messiah should continue his discourse. Accordingly he continued