Page:Vidyasagar, the Great Indian Educationist and Philanthropist.djvu/75

 municated from society. His intimates realised his difficulties and hit upon a device for lightening the burden. A Bengali play Bidhava-Bibaha Natak (i.e., widow-marriage drama) was composed and staged for the first time early in 1859. Babu Keshab Chandra Sen, a prominent leader of the Brahmo Somaj, was the stage manager and his friends Babus Narendra Nath Sen, Protap Chandra Mozumdar, Krishna Vihari Sen along with others played the different parts. Vidyasagar, though he regarded the theatre with no friendly eye, was present on more than one occasion. By the charitable performance, however, he made no substantial gain.

He had yet another virtue, or rather failing as the unfeeling wiseacres would term it. He paid off the debts of other people. Whenever any person deep in debt appealed to him for relief he lent his aid. Thus he befriended the distressed to the extent of several thousand rupees, often getting into debt for it.