Page:Sketches of some distinguished Indian women.djvu/146

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
134
SOME DISTINGUISHED INDIAN WOMEN.

1888, the selected scholar succumbed to sea-sicknees on his way to England and returned home from Aden, her hopes revived, for she felt confident of passing the ordeal by water. But again her application was refused, and it became evident that if she was to go to England at all, she must depend on her own exertions and on such help as she could obtain from the friends of women's education.

She had saved about £60 out of her salary, and had borrowed about as much from friends in India. This was enough, at any rate, to pay her passage to England and back; and, having received a warm invitation from Miss Manning, the Hon. Secretary of the National Indian Association, and a promise of help from friends in England, she resigned her post in the Gujerat College and set out on her journey of faith and hope.

Miss Sorabji was not allowed to leave Ahmedabad without many tokens of the appreciation in which her work was held by all. Her pupils presented her with a farewell address, accompanied by a present of Cutch silverwork, and the Principal of the College gave her a very handsome testimonial. It ran as follows:—

"Miss Cornelia Sorabji having passed the examination for the degree of B.A. in the First Class, was appointed a Dakshina Fellow in the Guzerat College, for the year 1888. As a teacher in the college, she did her work with remarkable ability and tact, in a