Page:History of Bengali Language and Literature.djvu/987

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VII. ] BENGALI LANGUAGE & LITERATURE. 941 field.”* Many English writers wrote verses on his death, and those by Miss Dale, Miss Acland, Mrs. Thomas Woodforde, the Rev. W. J. Fox, and Dr. Carpenter, quoted in ‘The Last Days of the Raja Rama Mohana Roy’ by Mary Carpenter, are not only exquisite as pieces of poetic composition, but also breathe those sentiments of profound love and respect, which his great personality raised in the minds of all who came in contact with him. The tender care with which he was attended by the ladies at Stapleton Grove during his last illness, and their tears at his death, lend deep pathos to the description of the scene of his death at Bristol; and our heart goes forth in gratitude to those kind friends of a foreign clime who not only appreciated the noble qualities of the great Indian but felt for him a veneration which annulled all distinctions of birth and associations. In his controversies with the Criramapore Mis- sionaries, some of whom went the length of calling him a heathen, his mild answers bearing the im- press of superior reasoning power, showed that he was a far better Christian in spirit than his adver- saries ; and the impression they made on the mind of the distinguished William Roscoe, who poured over the Raja’s Precepts of Jesus with admiring delight, amply testifies to the great appreciation of his writings throughout the whole of Christendom. Mr. Recorder Hill writes about his encounter with the celebrated Robert Owent :—“ one of the guests was Robert Owen who evinced a strong desire to

  • Last days of Rama Mohana Roy, Page 17.

a do. do. ae: A011: Robert Owen’s defeat.