intemperate in food and drink. His premature death was supposed by the public to be the consequence of immoderate drinking. He was an agreeable companion, a hearty friend, and a zealous supporter of what was manly. Of him The Hindu Patriot of the 11th August 1873 said, “One thing, however, must be said of him—that whatever his faults he injured only himself and nobody else. As an accomplished writer, a fearless advocate of his country’s interests, and a zealous worker, he has left a void which, we fear, cannot be easily filled up.” He died on the 6th of August 1873. A biographer thus shows the contrast between Keshori Chand and Peari Chand—“Both were reformers. But while the elder brother inculcated enlightened precepts by gentle means, the younger shocked the feelings of the majority of the people by doing violence to their time-honoured customs. While the one reads and respects our Shastras, the other did not think it worth his while to go through them, simply from a feeling of supreme contempt. The one is a thorough spiritualist, the other was to all intents and purposes a sturdy materialist, probably an honest Epicurean.”
33. RAJA PRATAP CHANDRA SINGH
Pratap Chandra was the great-grandson of Ganga Govinda Singh of Paikpara by adoption. Ganga Govinda was the Dewan of the East India Company in the time of Warren Hastings, Pratap and his brother Ishwar, both adopted by Dewan Srinarain Sing, actively participated in every public movement. Bengali dramatic literature and performances on the stage owed their introduction to the two brothers. The Government rewarded both of them with the title of Raja for their donations to the Medical College Hospital and other charitable institutions. They paid 25,000 rupees to the widow remarriage fund; and established a higher class English School at Kandi, near Murshidabad, the original seat of the family. Pratap was made a C.S.I. He died in 1868, leaving a son, who survived him only nine years. Ishwar had died in 1863. His son, Indranarain, lived till a few years ago, as the head of the Paikpara family.
