Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/214

Rh published by Vidyasagar. The original manuscript of the book was procured from the Nuddea Raj. The authorities of the Fort William College purchased 100 copies of it, and paid 600 rupees, with which the loan was paid off. By and by, the Press became a profitable business.

Vidyasagar was a great admirer of Bharat Chandra's works. He cherished respectful feelings for the great poet, who, he said, was in no way inferior to Kalidas, the only difference between the two poets was, that the one versified in Sanskrit, and the other in Bengali. He believed, that the refined Bengali of "Annadamangal", one of the works of Bharat Chandra, was the best model for the Bengali authors. In his opinion, Bharat Chandra was an unalloyed Bengali poet. After this great poet, he gave the next place to Dasarathi Ray, Isvar Chandra Gupta, and Rasik Chandra Ray, all of whom he considered to be purely Bengali poets. He thought the poems of Isvar Chandra Gupta very good. The two were great friends, although their opinions differed on some points, especially on widow marriage. Vidyasagar had also a great fondness for Rasik Chandra Ray, who may be said to have been the last of the unalloyed Bengali poets. It was at the instance of Vidyasagar, that some of the works of Rasik Chandra were selected as text-books for the vernacular schools of Bengal. It was only Vidyasagar who backed and encouraged this artless bard.