Page:Twelve men of Bengal in the nineteenth century (1910).djvu/174

150 with the same spirit and the fame of the 'Goodwill Fraternity' gatherings rapidly grew. Among the many attracted by the reports of Keshub's eloquence and spirituality one of the most distinguished was Devendra Nath Tagore, and it was at one of the meetings of the 'Fraternity' that they first met. Between them was destined to grow up a firm and lasting friendship that not even religious difference in later days was able to destroy. Devendra Nath Tagore, belonging to one of the wealthiest and most prominent families in Calcutta, was then the leader of the Brahmo Samaj, founded by Ram Mohan Roy thirty years before, and it was doubtless very largely owing to his influence that Keshub definitely joined that body in 1857. This decided step at once involved him in difficulties with his family and relatives, since he refused in consequence to undergo the ceremony of initiation at the hands of the family guru, which would at that time in the ordinary course have taken place. Every effort was made to induce him to give way but in the face of persuasion, threats, and entreaties he stood firm, believing that he had at last found in the new faith that he had adopted the way of life which he had so long sought.

The starting of the Brahmo school in 1859 was one of Keshub's first activities in the Brahmo Samaj. It was a development of the 'Goodwill Fraternity' and the Coltolla Evening School, and was destined to play an important part in the