Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/66

 The journey, at that time, from Birsingha to Calcutta was very difficult and tedious. There was no railway or anything of the kind. In fact, there was no good road, properly so called. The communication between the two places by water also was not very easy. The new Uluberia canal was not then dug, and it was not considered safe to pass the rivers by boat. There was the fear of storms, which rose quite suddenly, over and above the dread of pirates, who were always in search of prey, and plundered and killed the passengers whenever opportunity presented itself. Boats belonging to traders and merchants journeyed on in company during day-light, and took shelter before dusk at some convenient, safe harbour. Ordinary passengers dared not travel by the rivers.

These considerations led Thakurdas to prefer the land route. So he, followed by his son, the village schoolmaster, and the servant, started for Calcutta on foot. At the end of the first day's journey, they came to the house of the maternal uncle of Isvar Chandra's mother in the village of Patul, and there lodged for that day. The next day, they travelled twenty miles, and, about sunset, arrived at the residence of a gentleman, who was nearly related to Thakurdas, and here they rested for the night. The third day, they were on the metalled road from Sheakhala to Salkea, which is a village opposite to Calcutta, divided from it only by the river Hugli.