Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/506

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BETHUNE SCHOOL.
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now consisted of a small quantity of boiled rice with fish-broth in the morning, and a little barley-bread in the evening. Latterly he could not digest even such light diet. He was often heard to regret, that in his early years want prevented him from taking milk, and again in later years illness restricted that delicious drink, and that his courage, energy, perseverance, exertion, mental and moral strength, everything began to lose its force since this accident. From this time he had to seek change of climate at Chandernagore, Burdwan, Cawnpore and other healthy places of the time. But still, in spite of his decayed health, he had to work hard for the good of the country, like a true patriotic hero, as he was.

Miss Carpenter raised a movement for the establishment of a Female Normal School, in connection with the Bethune School, for training up School-mistresses and Lady Teachers for the Zenana. Sir William Grey, the then Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, and some other influential European officials of Government, and Keshub Chunder Sen, M. M. Ghose, Dvijendra Nath Tagore and some other Indians of position and education, were in favour of the movement, but Vidyasagar was against this innovation. A committee was formed to consider the propriety of the measure; Vidyasagar was in this committee. In the meantime, Keshub Chunder Sen and some of his followers convened a meeting in the Brahmo