Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/601

554 and each was highly delighted at the other's conduct and manner of speech. In the meantime, arrived a quantity of the well-known delicious confectionary of Burdwan presented to Vidyasagar by one of his friends. He requested the Paramahansa to partake of the dainty sweets. The saintly visitor accepted the invitation and ate of the sweetmeats. Henceforth the two had a great fond regard and esteem for each other.

On this subject, we have to fall back to a period some years prior to the time we have now arrived at. Contemporaneously with the widow marriage movement, Vidyasagar had set on foot an agitation on another subject of social reform, namely, the prevention of the practice of polygamy among the Hindus, particularly the Kulin Brahmans of Bengal. It is said, that his attention was first drawn to the subject by the pitiful cries of a female relative of his, who had been married to a Kulin Brahman that had taken to him many other wives besides her, and consequently never had the fortune to enjoy the happiness of her husband's company for any considerable time. She knew that Vidyasagar had originated the widow marriage movement with a view to ameliorate the miseries of widows, which led her to