Page:Twelve men of Bengal in the nineteenth century (1910).djvu/169

Rh which he held views far in advance of his day, and by generous gifts to Hospitals and to the District Charitable Society.

Although Keshub was only five years old when his grandfather died, his early association with him and the deep veneration in which he was held by all in any way associated with him cannot fail to have impressed him at the most impressionable period of his life. During those first five years the child and the old man had become firm friends, and so highly did his grandfather think of his early precocity that he is reported to have said, 'Keshub alone will be able to sustain the family reputation.' Keshub's father, Peary Mohan Sen was the second son of Ram Kamal whom he only survived four years, dying at the early age of thirty four. He was a young man of exemplary life and character and his early death was a great loss to Keshub. His mother, however, proved not only an adequate guardian but a source of inspiration to her son, who always gratefully acknowledged how much he owed to her early training. His youth was spent amidst the pleasantest surroundings. His grandfather, proud of the position he had won by his own exertions and ability took a delight in providing his family with every comfort and luxury. 'I was reared' said Keshub at a later date 'by a wealthy father and grandfather. Opulence and luxury surrounded my childhood, but as I grew up my mind began to show the spirit of natural poverty.'