Page:Vidyasagar, the Great Indian Educationist and Philanthropist.djvu/130

 made him Secretary to Metropolitan Institution and afterwards he had the fortune to occupy the chair of the Principal.

Towards the latter part of the year death struck down another of his dear friends Prof. Pyari Charan Sarkar, founder and soul of the Bengal Temperance Society. The sense of isolation was deepened by another calamity. On the 11th April 1876 his old father, Thakurdas, who had been residing in Benares for years, gave up his mortal life. It was a terrible shock to him and tears rolled down his worn cheeks for months together. He observed the mourning and performed the last rites of the departed strictly in accordance with Hindu custom.

It was during this year that he contributed Rs 1,000 to the Indian Association for the cultivation of Science established by Dr. Mohendra Lal Sarkar. The construction of his new house at Brindaban Mullick Lane was completed by the end of the year. The new building with the large compound