Page:The Life of Lokamanya Tilak.djvu/340

 would not last long but must give place to the ' politica gladiator/ literary giant or subtle philospher and meta- physician. He glided into these moods almost imper- ceptibly and it was some time before his hearers were conscious of the deep waters they were taken into.

His heart was as great as head. He was a great giver ' and his pity gave ere charity began '. If there was any place where his astuteness did not work, it was this ; and naturally this ' weakness ' — if a weakness it really is — was availed of by many. He gave not for name but because he must ; nor was money the only thing he gave. For one full generation, he gave free legal advice to all who sought it. Rich men and poor, the high and the low, learned men and the illiterate—all have been benefitted by his legal knowledge and he wrote and even arranged to send the petitions of many of his poor countrymen. Another man in his place would have made a fortune upon his knowledge of law, but with his characteristic contempt for money, Mr. Tilak not only never demanded fees but actually re- fused them when gratefully offered ; and all this not- withstanding money difiiculties, which, owing to the Tai Maharaj case, haunted him till the last.

It was a privilege to have Mr. Tilak as your friend ; for then you could sleep over your difficulties in the secure knowledge that your affairs would be taken care of. A host of instances will illustrate this point ; we will refer to only two. (The late) Rao Saheb Bapat, Settlement officer of Baroda was charged with corrup- tion and was tried in 1894 by a Special Commission. " The case arose out of a conspiracy against the Settle-