Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/576

Rh with rage. He spoke not a word, but began incessant inhaling and exhaling of tobacco smoke. This was an indication of his serious displeasure. He had some peculiar modes of signifying his inward rage. His unusual reserve with gravity of countenance, and respectful addresses applied to his inferiors, signified that he had found cause of displeasure. After a long silence, he asked Gopinath Sinha whether he knew anything of the affair. Gopinath swore by his feet that he was quite ignorant of it. At length, Vidyasagar said,—’I gave word to those gentlemen, but I have failed to keep my word. I therefore quit Birsingha once for all. I shall never more come here.' The truthful Vidyasagar, though the father of the widow marriage movement, was so grieved at the breach of his promise, that he deserted his fatherland for good, never more to return to it. Although he kept his word and never more visited Birsingha personally, he could not efface it wholly from his mind. The very recollection of his early scenes often drew tears from his eyes. The monthly stipends, that he had settled upon his relations and other poor families of the village, and the expenses of the charitable institutions, that he had established there, he paid regularly up to the end of his life. It is said, that some 20 years after this sad incident, one day he received by post a pamphlet in Bengali, styled "Birsingha Jananir Patra" (i. e. a letter from mother Birsingha). The