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(By The Hon. Mr. Lalubhai Samaldas Mehta, C. I. E.)
It is a singular testimony to the excellent qualities both of the head and heart of the late Mr. Lallubhai Motichand Mehta that Mr. Motilal M. Shah, the translator of a wellknown work on Vairagya, should have thought it fit to connect that young man's name with his work. As a school friend of Mr. Motichand I was interested in the growth and educational progress of his son, and it was a pleasure to see the son proving superior even to the father. When his friends chaffed the father on this, he felt more proud of the boy in accordance with the proverb, पुत्रादिच्छेत् पराजयं '. Owing chiefly to hard work, Mr. Lallubhai's health broke down and the nervous strain led to constant attacks of head-ache. It was during one of such severe attacks accompanied by fever that I was able to see the generous, altruistic nature of Mr. Lallubhai. A few students appearing for the B.A. were staying with me, and one of them was unfortunately unable to read much owing to some trouble with his eyes. Just at the examination time Lallubhai had one of his usual attacks and he was ordered by the doctors to give up the idea of appearing for his examination. The disappointment was very great and yet Lallubhai instead of feeling morose and sullen, helped his colleague by reading to him the books of his optional subject which was different from Lallubhai's. An ordinary person would have taken the loss of one year-and Lallubhai could then ill afford to lose one year-so much to heart that he would hardly have been able to do any work at the time, but to do regular work of an unselfish nature in a subject unknown to him and abstruse required a noble heroic soul, and I then saw for the first time that Lallubhai's soul was such a one.
