Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/581

534 others, had not yet given any member of his own family in such marriage—had not yet shown to the world that "example is better than precept." But every candid man, who knew Vidyasagar personally, must admit that he had no duplicity, in him. It is true that his opinions and convictions in many cases, particularly in matters of social reform, were wrongly formed, but there can be no doubt that he always acted up to those ideas and beliefs with sincerity. That he had not so long given any member of his family in widow marriage was because he had not had an opportunity for it. What could he do? He and his brothers had already been married; he could not make either himself or any of his brothers lose his wife. He could neither make his married daughter a widow, in order to be able to give her in remarriage—to set an example to the public. No sooner had he this opportunity than he availed of it with most eager promptness. He gave his only son in widow marriage.

On Thursday, the 11th of August, 1870, Narayan Chandra was married to Bhava Sundari Devi, a widowed daughter of Sambhu Chandra Mukhopadhyay of Khanakul Krishnanagar. The bride's age at that time was 16 years. Some time after the death of her first husband, her mother took her away to Birsingha, and there requested Vidyasagar's third brother, Sambhu Chandra, to give her widowed daughter in re-marriage.