Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/104

Rh he dismissed the messenger, who delivered the message faithfully. The antiparty were touched at their enemy's generosity, and at once repaired to his house, and earnestly prayed for his forgiveness. Haldar said:—'Bhattacharya, I did all this simply to put your prowess to test. It has been proved beyond doubt, that you possess not only strength, but also manliness. Your valour is equal to your forethought. I crave your forgiveness. Will you not forgive me?' Bhattacharya replied:—'You need not talk in this fashion. But none of you shall leave my house, without partaking of my poor meal. I invite you to-day to dinner.' The other party gladly accepted the invitation. The reconciliation was perfect.

On another occasion, as he was sitting, one day, with some of his co-villagers in a grocer's shop, a dealer appeared with a sack of pulse, weighing four maunds, for sale. His compatriots said:—'Bhattacharya, if you can carry the sack of pulse home, it is yours; we make you a present of it'. Satrughna replied:—'No doubt, I can carry it, but not walking erect; to carry the sack, I must walk on all fours, like a beast of burden; you will only place a quilt on my back, and then lay the sack upon it.' The heavy sack was laid on his back as directed, and Satrughna, to the utter astonishment of all present, walked on all fours, with the sack of pulse on his back, to his home, a distance of more than a mile. Some two or three hundred