Page:The Life of Lokamanya Tilak.djvu/342

 back-ground when compared wirh his courage. Mis- fortunes never disheartened him. His immense optimism, his readiness to sacrifice, his coolness and resourceful- ness of mind, were but different manifestations of his courage. More than once, he has cheerfully left the sick-bed of his sons at the call of the country. The premature death of his eldest son gave him a shock. But only the nearest and most observant persons could mark its effect. In his last illness, after recovering consciousness which he had lost for over 20 hours, almost the first assurance he gave was " away with anxiety ! certainly, I am not going to die. Now I will still live." When arrested in 1897, he was found sleep- ing soundly within an hour of his arrest. In 1908, soon after the sentence of six years' transportation was pro- nounced, he could command courage and mental peace enough to get good sleep. In 1903 when his very honesty of purpose was at stake, he had serenity of mind not only to follow his usual avocations, but also to complete his Arctic Home in the Vedas.

In his dealings with his opponents, he appeared rather hard and unrelenting ; who will forget the almost perpetual fights in which he was engaged with Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, the friend of his youth ? Who will forget the hard hits given by Agarkar, hits returned with interest ? But when Agarkar was on his death-bed, Mr. Tilak ran to his side and the last and pathetic reconciliation was brought about in a torrent of tears. Even till the last, Mr. Tilak feelingly referred to Mr. Agarkar, and many have seen him weep over the past memories. Next to Agarkar he loved Ranade and next to him Mr. Gokhale. Jealousy was foreign to Mr. Tilak's