Page:Heroes of the hour- Mahatma Gandhi, Tilak Maharaj, Sir Subramanya Iyer.djvu/157

 of the property. With the generous heart that Mr. Tilak possesses to satisfy the demands of personal friendship as well as to safe-guard the interests of those dear and near, he took upon himself the task of guiding the affairs of the Maharaja's family. The air that surrounds aristocratic families in general and Indian aristocratic families in particular, is, as is well-known, not very congenial for strictness and goodness to thrive. When the situation is complicated by the appearance of a young widow as the heir to the property, the position becomes certainly much worse. Mr. Tilak with the zeal of the puritan began cutting away the stinking rubbish that had accumulated. He decided to pay off the debts of the family and with that view shortened the allowance of the widow. He recommended the adoption of a boy as the most advisable step for the future well-being of the family's affairs. All this must have meant to the hangers on of the widow a death-blow. So they worked on the young susceptibilities of Tai Maharaj and gradually set her up against Mr. Tilak. The work of the evil-doers might have begun at the very beginning but it did not manifest itself till too late. Tai Maharaj went