Page:A General Biography of Bengal Celebrities Vol 1.djvu/201

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192 LIFE OF BABU RAM GOPAL CHOSE. connecti on between that and the memorial under discussion. The Sab* lej Column is a tribute, of esteem paid to the Governor-Geoeral bf his Honorable Masters, bat what has that to do with the aflectiod, the respect, and thejjratitude of the Community — feelings which il would be paltry to attempt to express by anything less than a statue to the memory of our benefactor. Colonel Ramtay seconded the motion and it was earned. To th<s Bpeech is attributed the beautiful Equestrian Statae of * Lord Hardinge which graces the maidan of Fort William. AN ANECDOTE. It was in the year 1850, Ram Gopal and Sir Fre- derick H all iday, then Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal went to Krishnaghur to distribute prizes to the stu- dents of the local College. During the Lieutenant- Governor's stay, Mr. Browne, the Civil and Sessions Judge of Nuddea, asked both of them to a public din- ner, but Ram Gopal was not present at the dinner. Sir Frederick anxiously enquired about the reason of his not coming. Ram Gopal felt a delicacy in the matter, and said that he could not come as he had made a previous engagement with his esteemed friend, Babu Ram Tonoo Lahiry. But that was not the real reason. Mr. Browne was said to be a rough sort of hot-tem- N pered John Bull. He used to snatch away poor car- penters' tools when they worked under him, and mal- treated them* and other poor mechanics of the town. This Ram Gopal had heard from his friend, and told Sir Frederick afterwards, that his real reason was, that Mr. Browne Inal treated his poor countrymen. Babu Ram Tonoo Lahiry of Krishnaghur is our authority on the subject. FINIS.