Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/537

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ISVAR CHANDRA VIDYASAGAR.

Paush. Consequently, about 60 feeble and helpless persons had to be fed for a few days more.'

CHAPTER XXV.

Disasters and troubles.

About the time, of which we are speaking, Vidyasagar had to encounter disasters and troubles of different kinds. He had to mourn over the loss of many of his sincere friends and coadjutors.

The Hon'ble Sambhu Nath Pandit, the first native Judge of the Calcutta High Court, breathed his last on 6th January 1867. He was a friend fellow-worker of Vidyasagar in many of his acts. He was an advocate of widow-marriage and female education. At the prize distribution of the Bethune School in 1865, when Vidyasagar presented a gold neck-lace, Sambhu Nath also gave a valuable prize of a pair of gold bracelets. Vidyasagar was deeply afflicted at the death of such a worthy friend.

In its train, followed the demise of Raja Radha Kanta Dev Bahadur, which sad catastrophe befell on the 13th April of the same year. The reader is aware that the Raja was an advocate of female education. Though he was against the remarriage of Hindu widows and had petitioned the Government opposing the legislation, yet he cherished a fond regard for Vidyasagar on account of his attainments and spiritedness. Vidyasagar