Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/208

 providing with food and clothes. He managed to defray the maintenance of his Calcutta family by the 50 rupees which his brother, Dinabandhu, earned from the Fort William College. For the support of his Birsingha family, he had to borrow 50 rupees every month and remit it to his father. In this way Vidyasagar struggled with his difficulties manfully, yet he never thought fit to condescend to meanness and flattery.

He did not re-enter into any service till March 1849. The intervening period he devoted to the acquisition of English and Hindi. He acquired a greater proficiency in the two languages than before. While he was thus out of employment, he was engaged for several months, at the request of Dr. Mouat, in giving private lessons to a European gentleman, Captain Bank, in Sanskrit, Bengali and Hindi. When the captain had finished his course of instruction, he offered Vidyasagar tuitionfee at the rate of 50 rupees a month, for several months together. But the noble-minded Vidyasagar, poor as he was, generously declined the offer. He said to the Captain:—'You are a friend of Dr. Mouat's, who is also a great friend of mine. I came to give you lessons at the request of our mutual friend. I can accept no fee from you.' Such was Vidyasagar's greatness and strength of mind. He was, at that time, in great pecuniary difficulties. Three or four hundred rupees, would have gone a great way to remove his