Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/254

Rh kind-hearted man. Duty sometimes compelled him to take to severity, but no sooner was the cause of his displeasure removed, than his gentle heart melted with his usual kindness. His face would then be illumined with an expression of heavenly beauty and lustre."

Vidyasagar was quite averse to infliction of corporal punishment. One day, he saw that the boys of one of the classes had been made by the professor to stand up. He called the teacher aside, and said to him humorously:—'You intend opening a dancing opera-party, eh? You are training up dancers, are you? Seems, you yourself will represent the chief actress.' The teacher, of course, was greatly abashed.

On another occasion, he saw a rod, upon the table of the same professor, and asked him what the cane was for. The teacher replied, that it was used in pointing out places in maps. Vidyasagar at once retorted very humorously:—'I see, you kill two birds with one stone. The rod serves both purposes. It is as convenient to use it in map-pointing as to lay it on the backs of the pupils.'

Vidyasagar was very witty. He never let go an opportunity, whenever one presented itself, of giving expression to merry droll remarks, without availing himself of it. Though in the performance of his duties, he was most serious and austere, yet, in social talk, he was most affable, courteous, merry and jocular. The combination of these two