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 114 LIFE OF BABU SURENDRA NATH BANERJEE. ' •city that he came to reside in Calcutta. He was a man of great liberality of heart and of strict orthodox prin- ciples, and delighted in feeding the poor and giving help to his poor friends and relations. His illustrious son, Babu Durga Churn, the father of Babu Surendra Nath, was born at Monirampur in 1819, an d was edu- cated in the Hindoo College where he highly distin- guished himself. He died in February 1870, when Babu Surendra Nath Banerjee was still in England, when the late Hon'ble Kristo Das Pal in his obituary notice, wrote as follows : 11 He was the ablest Native Allopathic practition- er, but he was something better — he was, as an Eng- lish Assistant Surgeon, himself one of the largest prac- titioners in Calcutta styled him — "Nature's Doctor." Possessed of rare intellectual gifts, he gave early proofs of his future excellence. While a pupil of the Hindoo College, a fellow-collegian tells us, he shewed his pre- eminent superiority by the wonderful facility with which he carried away the highest prizes. He would not care to attend to his College studies for the whole year round, spending his time at home by private studies, but would appear at the time of the annual examina- tion, and beat his fellow-students, who had plodded for the last twelve months. He was a voracious reader, and was strong particularly in history and philosophy. He was employed for sometime as a teacher in David Hare's School, and then became a clerk in the Fort William College. A sad case of cholera at home led him to study the mysteries of the science of medicine, but he had not the patience to complete the usual course of five years at the Medical College. He left it without taking a diploma, and his success as a medical practitioner was as remarkable as it was rapid. He made his professional reputation by saving the life of Babu Nilkumul Banne rjee, now* the Banian_of3Ies«i
 * Since dead