Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/93

56 On one occasion, it so happened that when Isvar Chandra was eating his supper in company with his father and brothers, but upon different seats on the floor, as is the custom with the Hindus of Bengal, he discovered a dead cock-roach in one of his prepared dishes. Most probably, the insect had flown into the dish, while it was in the process of being cooked, and died there. What was Isvar Chandra to do now? He foresaw, that if his father and brothers should see the loathsome insect, or hear of its existence in the dish, they would certainly give up eating, and throw their meals away. Clever Isvar Chandra, therefore, very carefully and dexterously took the insect out, and, at great risk, devoured it whole, along with a mouthful of rice. His father and brothers, quite unconscious of the matter, ate their meals as usual. After the meal was over, Isvar Chandra related the story, and every body, who heard it, was amazed at the little boy's wonderful forbearance and presence of mind.

The manner of Isvar Chandra's sleeping was not less difficult. The room in Jagaddurlabh Babu's house, where Thakurdas lodged with his sons, had a veranda attached to it, three feet in length by two feet in breadth. Isvar Chandra used to sleep in this veranda upon a mat of the same size, procured by him for the purpose. Later on, when his third brother, Sambhu Chandra, came to Calcutta to prosecute his studies, Isvar Chandra obtained permission to sleep in one of the lowest-floor