Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/129

90 College, which was his first appointment, Vidyasagar displayed an independence of spirit and love of justice, which were conspicuous throughout his life. We have mentioned before, that those would-be civilians, who failed at the vernacular examinations, had to go back to England disappointed. Mr. Marshall felt a great pity for them, and, to avoid their disappointment, he requested Vidyasagar to soften the stiffness of the examinations and to take a somewhat lenient view of their answers, on which Vidyasagar openly declared in unequivocal terms, that he would rather resign his post than act dishonourably. Mr. Marshall, who was an upright man himself, and a great lover of justice, was highly pleased, rather than annoyed, at the honesty of his young subordinate. Here was only the beginning of that noble heroism, which was so conspicuous throughout his after-life. He was a poor man, bred and brought up amidst the privations and troubles of indigence. He had no one to back him. A post of fifty rupees of those days was more than a valuable property to a man of his circumstances. But still even for the sake of that, he was not prepared to sacrifice his conscience, and condescend to meanness and foul play. The reader will find many such instances in his later-life.

Shortly after his installation to this post, Vidyasagar began to learn English and Hindi simultaneously. The would-be civilians of the Fort