to the epic of Meghnadvadha.

My third brother was very keen on imparting to us a variety of
knowledge. So at home we had to go through much more than what was
required by the school course. We had to get up before dawn and, clad in
loin-cloths, begin with a bout or two with a blind wrestler. Without a
pause we donned our tunics on our dusty bodies, and started on our
courses of literature, mathematics, geography and history. On our return
from school our drawing and gymnastic masters would be ready for us. In
the evening Aghore Babu came for our English lessons. It was only after
nine that we were free.

On Sunday morning we had singing lessons with Vishnu. Then, almost every
Sunday, came Sitanath Dutta to give us demonstrations in physical
science. The last were of great interest to me. I remember distinctly
the feeling of wonder which filled me when he put some water, with
sawdust in it, on the fire in a glass vessel, and showed us how the
lightened hot water came up, and the cold water went down and how
finally the water began to boil. I also felt a great elation the day I
learnt that water is a separable part of milk, and that milk thickens
when boiled because the water frees itself as vapour from the connexion.
Sunday did not feel Sunday-like unless Sitanath Babu turned up.

There was also an hour when we would be told all about human bones by a
pupil of the Campbell Medical School, for which purpose a skeleton, with
the bones fastened together by wires was hung up in our schoolroom. And
finally, time was also found for Pandit Heramba Tatwaratna to come and
get us to learn by rote rules of Sanscrit grammar. I am not sure which
of them, the names of the bones or the _sutras_ of the grammarian, were
the more jaw-breaking. I think the latter took the palm.

We began to learn English after we had made considerable progress in
learning through the medium of Bengali. Aghore Babu, our English tutor,
was attending the Medical College, so he came to teach us in the
evening.

Books tell us that the discovery of fire was one of the biggest
discoveries of man. I do not wish to dispute this. But I cannot help
feeling how fortunate the little birds are that their parents cannot
light lamps of an evening. They have their language lessons early in the
morning and you must have noticed how gleefully they learn them. Of
course we must not forget that they do not have to learn the English
language!

The health of this medical