V8 डीीवन bब्रेिऊ । He was an admirer of Bharat Chandra the poet; but prided himself on being by far his superior as a poet He was open and frank enough to admit his own fallings, and hıs Sins, committed ın youth, Money which he said he had never cared to make, meant to him but as an effective means of enjoying life, than which he thought, there was no other use of it He was a dutiful follower of Charbaka and Epicurus He never believed that as a lawyer and counsel he had been unsuccessful The claims of poetry, he thought, were higher, and that it was not in his grain to gnaw the dry bones of law, of Weekly Reporters and such like Of his conversational powers one single instance is typical Of an evening, a Mr Alexander Allerdyce-then Sub-Editor of the Serampur Friend of India-paid him a visit. From 6 o'clock in the evening to half past nine Mr. Datta was engaged 1n desCribing to him his travels in Europe For the time being, I leally forgot that I was listening to a Bengal gentleman speaking the "Queen's English undefiled.' The vivid and life-like pictures, too, of the scenes and places he had seen that he gave Mr. Allel - dyce, seemed to me truly grand and sublime. He was conscious and proud of his merits as a poet and a dramatist and had an ardent love of belles letters. He was an admirer of the Hamiltonian system of teaching languages. French which was the vehicle of conversation with his wife and children, he may be said to have completely mastered To the best of my recollection, he spoke French far more fluently than English. Moliere, Racine, Fenelon, Lamartine, and Victor Hugo were his tavour te French authors. He was intensely fond of music One afternoon Mr D. wanted to have a little music His wife played on the piano, and his daughter Sarmi (so he fondly called her) sang an English song based on Dickens's Dombey and Son The mother who had a clear, sonorous, melodious voice, Jonedner Mr. Datta who had been hitherto lean ng against the plano, fell to dancing, till, at last, he got so enraptured that big drops fell in torrents down his cheeks, and he hugged his darling Sarm, and kissed her Music over, I asked him, in wonder, how English songs which to the run of natives of India sounded like articulate, rhythmic howls, captivated him so mightly 'I am Europeanised," he replied, 'as regards music; but, of course, I like Bengal songs, if not so well, at least well enough to bear to hear them sung for hours at a stretch.' I once proposed to him to place himself and his lady under the treatment of the late lamented Kaviraj Romanath Sen. "I beg your pardon,' he said, "I consider it derogatory to submit to native treatment : that will be lowering myself in the eyes of the community I belong to ' At one time during his last illness, he was so utterly in want
