Page:A General Biography of Bengal Celebrities Vol 1.djvu/72

 HIS MARRIAGE AND GLIMPSE OP HIS SOCIAL LIFE. 63 born who died within .2 or 3 years after his birth. His wife also died immediately after. He therefore marrried for the second time, a lady who still survives only to lament the death of her illustrious hus- band. For want of reliable information, it is now impossible to picture him out in his domestic life. But of this much we have heard that he enjoyed very little of domestic peace in his life. Babu Kally Churn Shome, a citizen of Calcutta and now a pensioner who had worked with Hurish Chunder in the Military Auditor's Office, is our informant on the subject. His mother, it is said, was a garrulous and quarrel- some lady who, sometimes, outraged the feelings of her son and disturbed the peace of the family. But Hurish Chunder was none the less respectful and obedient to his mother. In those days, a habit of drinking sometimes for consideration of health, and sometimes for pleasure was a common vice among almost all the English educated natives of Bengal, and Hurish Chunder was no exception - to the rule. Want of domestic felicity sometimes led him into other vices which it is now painful to reflect upon. As a hard worker in the field of politics and journa- lism, he perhaps had to sustain his vigour with the help of alcohol, and sometimes in its use, he ran into . excess. Babu Modhoo Soodhun Roy, the first Proprie- tor of the Hindoo P.atnot, tells us that on everj^. Thursday night he used to come to the office of the paper, and at one sitting generally wrote all the articles, news and summary of European news, but he could not do without wine. These were the little blemishes in his character which, to be faithful, we cannot mince from our readers ; but he had so many virtues both as a public and private man as a,-, set-off against these minor defects in his character that in judging of him we should rather overlook them and imitate his good and noble examples.