Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/441

398 ill afford to pay off this enormously heavy debt of his protege. Some time after this, when the extravagant debtor saw no means of rescue from this "Deep" of debts, he once more appealed to his former "protector" in most pitiful terms. Vidyasagar also once more tried to save his protege, but failed to raise any more loans on Madhusudana's account. At last he addressed the underquoted letter to Michael:—

,

I have tried my best and am sadly convinced that your case is an utterly hopeless one. No exertion of mine or that of anybody else who is not a moneyed man, however strenuous it may be, can save you. It is too late to mend matters by patch-works. I am very unwell and am therefore unable to write more. "Yours sincerely

"30th Sept. 72 (Sd.) "Isvar Chandra Sarma"

Babu Bihari Lal Sarkar, who has written a very good biography of Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar in Bengali, says:—'It must not be thought that Michael did not wilfully repay Vidyasagar's debts out of any evil motive. In fact, he was quite unable to pay. The main cause of this inability was his extravagance. Over and above that, he never cared for his practice and earning.’ It is said that Vidyasagar forced him to attend the Bar against his will. Otherwise, why should he have to end his days like a pauper in the