Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/578

Rh lieving the sufferings of the diseased poor. It is needless to say, that the tender-hearted Vidyasagar was heartily grieved at the loss of such a sincere, intimate friend and co-operator. The two were so intimately connected, that as Durga Charan helped Vidyasagar in many of his works of love and benevolence, so the latter aided him with all his heart and soul in all his difficulties. Some time before his death, his eldest son, the Hon'ble Surendra Nath Banarji, the greatest Indian orator of the day, had passed the Competitive Civil Service Examination in England in the year 1869, but the Medical Board had disqualified him as having gone beyond the restriction of the limit of age. Surendra Nath wired to his father of the difficulty, and Durga Charan implored Vidyasagar's assistance in the matter. The latter, in his turn, consulted his friend, Dwarka Nath Mitter, and sent Surendra Nath's horoscope to England, which settled the question of age. Surendra Nath was declared an Indian Civil servant, but his father had not the good luck to hear the glad tidings, as it reached India shortly after his death. Vidyasagar was often seen to shed tears at the mention of Durga Charan's name. Subsequently when Surendra Nath was dismissed the Civil Service, Vidyasagar made him a professor of his own College.

Durga Charan's family were indebted to Vidyasagar on many accounts. After his death,