Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/586

Rh real motives under false disguises. There is every fear of danger from those hypocrites, who proclaim themselves true Hindus in public but act quite the contrary in their private life. These non-Hindus are a pest to Society, and the sooner they are shorn of their false guise, the better for the country. A covert foe is more dangerous than a declared enemy.

In the month of August, 1870, Vidyasagar's mother set out on pilgrimage. First of all, she went to the holy shrine of Benares to see her husband. After a short stay there, she again proceeded on her journey, and after travelling in the different shrines of India, she again came back to Benares. She requested her husband to accompany her to Birsingha. But he declined, and pressed her to live with him in Benares. The benevolent matron replied;—'Let us go home now; you have still some years to live. My poor neighbours will miss me very keenly. My first duty is to succour the distrest and feed the hungry. I must go to do that now. But know this for certain, that wherever I may remain, I will come here in time, and die before you.' The prediction of this honest, faithful woman was