Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/72

Rh household were equally kind and lovely. Jagaddurlabh Babu's younger sister, Raimani, loved the boy, Isvar Chandra, dearer than her own son. In his autobiography Vidyasagar thus describes her:—'I have never seen a woman equal to Raimani in kindness, affection, amiability, loveliness, and openness of heart. The image of this noble woman has been indelibly engraved in my mind. She was a goddess to me. I adored her as my mother. Even at this old age I cannot help shedding grateful tears at the recollection of her amiable appearance and noble qualities, whenever her name is mentioned in passing.'

In fact, without the affectionate kindness of this motherly, noble woman, it would have been very difficult for young Isvar Chandra to live in Calcutta. For a few days after his arrival at Calcutta, he was much pained at the recollection of his affectionate mother and grandmother. His father could not always remain with him. Thakurdas used to go out daily to his place of employment at nine O'clock in the morning and came back in the evening at the same hour. He was thus absent from his son continuously for twelve long hours. All this time, Raimani and the other inmates of Jagaddurlabh Babu's house, tried their best to divert his mind by kind and gentle words. They gave him food and drink whenever the boy required, and comforted him. In this way they won over Isvar Chandra's heart.