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TWELVE MEN OF BENGAL

of success of his life's labours. Beloved and respected by all, his last years were full of happiness, his wonderful strength and vitality remaining with him almost till the end. He died on the 18th of July 1893 in Calcutta at the age of sixty five.

Many were the tributes paid to his memory immediately after his death. Every newspaper in India bore testimony to the great work that he had done, while many of the English papers were scarcely less appreciative. The Times of September the 4th 1893 published a short memoir that shows how strongly the splendid achievements of Abdul Latif had impressed the British public. The tribute herein paid him may well be quoted as typical of the many that appeared.

"The skill, the firmness of resolve, and the unwearied tact and moderation with which he carried out his self-appointed task during 40 chequered years," it ran, "would form a noble theme for a biographer. Here we can only lament the loss which many who are trying to do good work for India have sustained by his death. It was, however, characteristic of the man to effect his purposes by means of gradual corporate effort, rather than by his individual will; and he leaves behind him a body of followers both able and determined to carry on his labours. The association which he formed exactly 30 years ago, under the modest name of the Muhammadan Literary Society, has grown into a power in the land, and the