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body. He was then past sixty; and though growing years had deprived him of the alertness of youth, yet in the keenness of his interest, and in the vigour and outspokenness of his utterances, he exhibited the ardour of the youngest recruit to our ranks. Never was there a man more uncompromising in what he believed to be the truth, and hardly was there such amiability combined with such strength and firmness.

It is this type of character that I am afraid is fast disappearing from our midst. The suavity and old-world manners of our people are becoming rare, while the militant aggressiveness of the West is usurping its place. Dr. Banerjee threw himself heart and soul into the movement, and his association with it and that of the Rev. Dr. Macdonald gave it a non-sectarian and cosmopolitan character. The cry of political movements being seditious had not then been raised; but it was a distinct source of strength and inspiration to us that we had with us these two highly-honoured representatives of the Christian community of Calcutta in what was the first great political demonstration of the middle class community in Bengal.

The Town Hall was secured, and the day of the public meeting was fixed. Here an incident occurred that is worth recording. On the day fixed for the public meeting, information was received in Calcutta that, in view of the possibility of the outbreak of War with Russia, Disraeli, who was then Prime Minister, had directed the despatch of six thousand Indian troops to Malta. As a matter of fact, war did not break out, but this was one of those political fireworks in which the imaginative genius of the semi-Oriental Premier delighted to indulge. The announcement made a great impression in Calcutta. It was the talk of the town and of the Calcutta Bar Library. It was seriously suggested to Mr. Ananda Mohan Bose by his lawyer friends of the Bar Library that the Town Hall mecting should be postponed. A hint was given to him that serious consequences might follow, and a suggestion of a criminal prosecution was made, if we persisted in holding the meeting, in spite of the uncertain situation in Europe. Mr. Ananda Mohan Bose hurried to my house. It was then three in the afternoon; the meeting was to be held at five o’clock. We discussed the matter. I said that it was one of the first great demonstrations of the Indian Association and of the middle class party in Bengal, and that, if it were to be postponed, it would never again be held. The people would lose faith in us, and it would mean the beginning of the end. I added that our constituents were the people. As for the