Page:Vidyasagar, the Great Indian Educationist and Philanthropist.djvu/13

were to them the unmistakable sign of a gentleman. Some audacious spirits even paraded the streets with beef in their hands inviting the orthodox to partake of it. They were mostly the pupils and admirers of Mr. Henry Vivian Derozio, fourth teacher of the College, who had in a short time acquired such an ascendancy over their minds that even in their private concerns they took counsel with him. The first glamour of new ideas, ideas other than those sanctioned by ancient tradition, was so irresistible that these misguided youths fancied that the Europeans were the only cultured nations on the surface of the earth and that their motherland would be regarded "civilised" if they imitated the rulers of the country. It never occurred to them that nations do not rise to supremacy by slavishly treading in the footprints of others. To imbibe virtues is an arduous task. In their hurried efforts to pass for cultured men, the young enthusiasts, instead of finding out the intrinsic and essential worth of a great nation, readily