My Mother — Page 44
44 P. and O. mail steamer to Bombay. The same system operated in reverse. With the outbreak of war, mail began to be carried by sea all the way between London and Bombay. This involved a delay of a week in the delivery of mail at either end. When on the first occasion did not receive my weekly letter and the postman told her that the mail had been disrupted by the war, she fell down in a faint. Once the gap of a week was bridged, the regular delivery of my letters reassured her and brought her comfort. My safe arrival home at the end of the first week of November set all her fears at rest, and the pangs of separation became the memory of a nightmare. I had left London as soon as my examination was over. When I arrived in Lahore, instead of proceeding direct to Sialkot, I felt that my first obligation was to present myself to Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih at Qadian and to make oral affirmation of my pledge of allegiance, which I did. After a few days I received the result of my LL. B. examination and was agreeably surprised to dis- cover that I had stood first in First Class Honours. I was enrolled as an Advocate of the Chief Court of the Punjab and obtained my licence to practise law. I started practice at Sialkot as my father’s junior. He was then at the top of civil practice at Sialkot and main- tained a very high standard of professional values. His reputation was correspondingly high. I was fortunate in having him as my instructor and mentor. He led a life of exemplary piety, and possessed a reserved tem- perament. His own life was somewhat austere, but he urged me to look after my comfort. We had a large house and I was provided with a commodious and well-fitted comfortable apartment. He made me feel that he had complete confidence in me. Instead of