Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/265

222 the death of his sincere friend and well-wisher, Mr. J. E. D. Bethune, who had been a member of the Legislative Council and President of the Education Council, and who, in 1849, had established a girl-school in Calcutta for the propagation of female education in this country. In this matter, Vidyasagar had been a great help to Bethune, who had, therefore, made him Honorary Secretary of his newly established girl-school. Bethune was a great friend of the natives of the soil.

But it should be noticed here, in passing, that the establishment of the girl-school by Bethune for female education was not the first move in the direction. A girl-school, known by the name of "Juvenile Pathsala" had been started in 1820 through the exertions of the School Book Society. From the educational report for that year, it is seen, that nearly 40 girls of poor families obtained prizes for their proficiency. Raja Radha Kanta Dev Bahadur, in his report, said:—"Several native girls educated by the Female Society were also examined, whose proficiency in reading and spelling, gave great pleasure." In 1842, there were fifty female schools in the different parts of Calcutta with nearly 800 pupils on their rolls. A detailed account of these schools is to be found in Raja Radha Kanta Dev's "Stri Siksha Vidhayaka," a manuscript paper in Bengali, which he offered to the Female Society. In this essay, he attempted to show, that female education had been customary