Page:The Autobiography of Maharshi Devendranath Tagore.djvu/56

 8 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF

opposition from his orthodox relatives and friends, and created a permanent breach in the family. This was a serious loss, but the gain was a great deal more in comparison. My father writes : "My friends and relatives forsook me, but my God took me up with His blessings. My conscience was satisfied at the triumph of the Right. What more could I want?"My grandfather, Dwarkanath Tagore, died deeply involved in debt. At the time of his death it was found that his liabilities amounted to about a crore of rupees (over 666,000) while his assets were only 43 lakhs (less than 300,000). To maintain his princely state, Dwarkanath Tagore had apparently contracted heavy debts in the name of his firm, taking care at the same time to secure a portion of his property, in the shape of a trust, for the benefit of his family. The manager of the firm, Mr. D. M. Gordon, convened a meeting of the creditors, and informed them that the proprietors of the firm were prepared to make over to them all their property, excepting only the trust property which no one could touch. The creditors themselves, when the proposal was made, seemed inclined to accept it; but it did not commend itself to my father s sense of justice. He held a brief consultation with his brother, and astonished every one by declaring that they would not avail them selves of the protection afforded by the trust, but would place everything unreservedly in the hands