A Present to His Royal Highness - The Prince of Wales — Page 41
41 College or University, just as the Jews used to say of Jesus, “Is not this the carpenter’s son?. . . Whence then hath this man all these things?” ∗ From his very childhood he showed his love for veneration and truth, and old men who observed him as a child relate that whenever he heard a person telling a lie, or observed any one inclined to mischief or engaged in mimicking his tutor, he forthwith left his company. He was ever engaged in literary pursuits and never showed the slightest inclination for evil. When he grew up, his father desired to give him a training in worldly affairs, but he paid no attention to these and was ever engrossed in matters spiritual. He held very little intercourse with men and led a life of seclusion and contemplation. Whatever food was sent him he divided with the poor and the needy and himself partook of very little. Whenever his father asked him to take up some occupation, he was wont to reply, “I have chosen my work; have no fear for me. ” His father experienced great anxiety on his score and often expressed it to his friends saying, “I fear me, this son of mine will have to depend upon his brother for his livelihood. ” Occasionally, however, he was pleased and would say, “Real work is that which this son of mine is engaged upon. ” And it so happened in those days that owing to the taunts of his relatives, he temporarily left Quadian and went to Sialkot where, in order to earn his livelihood, he got himself employed in the District Court. ∗ Matthew xiii: 55, 56.