Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/121

82 highly satisfied with his proficiency, and thought it a pride to have had Isvar Chandra for his pupil. Besides the Government certificate, the learned professors of the College granted him a separate certificate of his brilliant success, countersigned by Babu Rassomay Dutta, the then Secretary to the College.

Before bringing this chapter to its conclusion, we will try to notice briefly Isvar Chandra's attempts at essay-writing.

Essay-writing is a great help to the acquisition of knowledge in a language. A piece of written composition is one of the best tests of one's command of a tongue. When Isvar Chandra was a student of the Sanskrit College, both the teachers and the authorities of the College as well as the pupils, paid great attention to original composition. To encourage the students in this respect, prizes were awarded to the best essayists. Every student essayed at good composition. The pupils, as well as their teachers, had a great earnest zeal for this. The present University system had not then been introduced. The students were not forced to pay equal attention to the different branches. Every one was free to take up a particular branch according to his own inclination. He could thus devote his whole time and attention to that branch, and make a good progress in it. The present system of cramming leaves no room for culture of a particular branch,