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our people, even in moments of excitement, to obey authority. It is some evidence of their fitness to manage their own affairs.

I spoke at all the three meetings; the enthusiasm was unbounded, and I may here mention a little incident expressive of the prevailing Swadeshi feeling. It had been resolved to drape the upper floor of the Town Hall in black, as emblematic of the mournful occasion which had brought us together. An order to that effect was given to Messrs. Whiteaway, Laidlaw & Co., and it was duly carried out. Mr. Halim Ghaznavi came to me on the morning of the day fixed for the meeting, saying that if the black cloth, which was a foreign stuff, were not removed, he apprehended that there would be a disturbance. A hasty consultation was held, for there was not much time to lose; and by the hour of the meeting the whole of the drapery had been removed. Feeling was running high, and we could not ignore it. We could not afford to have a schism in our camp at the start.

The ball was now set a-rolling. The success of the first demonstra- tion inspired public confidence and stimulated the national enthu- siasm. The meeting was representative of all Bengal, more representative than any in which I have had my part and share. Never was public sentiment so outraged as by the Partition of Bengal; and Bengal, united and indivisible, thundered forth her protest through the mouths of her chosen representatives. The dele- gates who had attended the Calcutta meeting returned to their homes, fully resolved to continue the agitation against the Partition and in support of the Swadeshi cause. The two movements went hand in hand, and acted and reacted upon one other. The rising tide of the Swadeshi movement checked the import of Manchester goods, and Marwari merchants who dealt in them were alarmed. They made proposals to us with a view to facilitating the clearing off of the Manchester goods they had already in hand. We were willing to help them if they agreed not to import foreign goods beyond what they had already done. The negotiations were long and protracted, but they led to nothing.