Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/95

58 found favour with the fashionable of the West, and were exported to a large extent, thereby greatly enriching the country. But, alas! those days are gone, and the sons of the former weavers have parted with the looms of their forefathers, and taken to agriculture or other means of livelihood. Thakurdas's limited means would not permit him to give his sons fine dress. He could not afford to pay for any luxury. He was content to be able to provide them with coarse clothing. Isvar Chandra wore a coarse Dhuti and a Chadar of similar texture. He never grumbled at this. He was always averse to luxury. Even in later years, when he became a great and rich man, he never indulged in luxuries. A coarse Dhuti and Chadar and a pair of slippers constituted his complete dress. The simplicity of his dress and manners was derived from the habits, he had formed in his early years under poverty. With such a noble example before us, we cannot but admit that poverty does not necessarily generate meanness, as some people are apt to think, but, on the contrary, in not a few cases, it has been known to be the generator of many noble qualities. The victims of poverty are electrified, as it were, by their hardships, and are incited to work with zeal and