Page:Ramtanu Lahiri, Brahman and Reformer - A History of the Renaissance in Bengal.djvu/87

 meal. Men working in Calcutta then never brought with them their families; but lived in the houses of their wealthy relations, if they could find any, or in common messes. It was a custom then, that if anyone from the Mufasal secured a good position in the city, the men of his village, or of the Mauza to which he belonged, flocked to his lodging in search of employment, and there attached themselves to him entirely as long as they could not find work, and partially when better luck attended them. Not to entertain such guests brought upon one great censure. But the new-comers were often asked to cook if the master of the house they came to could not afford to keep professional cooks; and greatly amusing the scene was when they tried each to shift from his shoulders the cares of cookery. Seniority in age was most made of on an occasion like this, and the youngest had to bear the burden. The moral depravity of these men was as great as their indolence. The use of wine was not then prevalent; but there were many that indulged in hemp-smoking and bhang.

How great then was the danger of boys living in lodgings full of such men. Their juvenile tastes, conversation, and amusements, were tainted by wicked examples. They grew very precocious, and frequented the streets like so many dandies, in thin black-bordered dhutis and English shoes, with teeth dyed black and hair parted. Their predilection for intoxicating drugs sometimes grew strong, and in other respects their conduct was immoral.

In Gaur Vidyalankar’s lodging Ramtanu was subject to such evil influences. Besides that, he was made to cook for the host of idlers there, a circumstance that interfered greatly with his studies. Kesava, on learning this, removed his brother to the house of Ram Kanta Khan, a cousin of his father. This was at Shampukur, where