Page:Ramtanu Lahiri, Brahman and Reformer - A History of the Renaissance in Bengal.djvu/73

 was highly applauded by his friends, and Ramtanu was one of them.

Mr Lahiri always loved what was beautiful. Even at the time of which we are speaking he took a pleasure in visiting scenes rich with the charms of nature. There were many attractive gardens within which he spent much of his time, the best being Sriban. It belonged to the Rajas, and in it Raja Iswara had had a beautiful house built. Alas! Sriban is no more an object of attraction; the house is now in a ruined state. But the scenery around it is yet enchanting. The river Anjuna, on which the house stood, has still many of its early charms. On each side of it there is a row of trees for about a mile. One passing in a boat, at any hour of the day or of the night, is sure to enjoy the refreshing influence of the excursion. A few years ago, the great poet, Michael Madhusudan, visited the scene and gave vent to his rapture thus — “O! Anjuna, great is my delight in seeing thee. I will never forgot thee, or refrain from speaking of thy charms.”

We can, from the recollection of our experiences of childhood, appreciate the spirit in which the boy Ramtanu and his associates viewed such natural beauties. Then we fully enjoyed the charms that Nature spread around us, but alas! we no longer retain that acute capacity for enjoyment, though the things that once pleased us are still in existence. With our age, we have ceased appreciating those little beauties which charmed us then. The cause of this change is in ourselves. Time has hardened our hearts, and therefore we no longer taste the sweets that Nature holds before us. The world is full of the beautiful and the sublime, and the hearts of those alone are touched with them who are devoutly disposed. The writer of the “Memoir of Khitish Chandra and his Family”