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    328 RAJAH RAMMOHUN ROY .

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    made his sincerity questioned . Buir where he was best and fully known , the simplicity , candour , explicitness , and openness of his mind , were striking and acknowledged ; and from these , together with his profound acquirements , his extensive information , his quick discrimination of character , his ( Jelicacy and honourable sentiments , his benevolent hopes and purposes for human welfare , his

    beiv 5 nlmF ^ con ~ c ^ nrTor the comforr ~ aTi ^^ happmess ' ^ of- ~ all-around him , his afectionateness and humility of disposition , his gentleness and quick sensibility , there was a charm in his presence and conversation which made one feel love for him as well as "high respect . It was impossible to be much with him in the narrow circle of private life without entertaining attachment to him , or without feelings approaching to reverence for the greatness of his endowments and the way in which he had devoted them to the

    welfare of his fellow-men , for the high excellences of his character , for the purity and refinement of his sentiments , and for the earnest and elevated piety of his spirit . Those who had the best opportunities of knowing him , say that the perusal of the scriptureswas his constant practice ; and that his devotion was habitual —• manifested by stated prayer , and by a frequent absorbedness of soul , the external expression of which left no room for doubt as to the direction and object of it . " , . '¦ ¦

    ' His political priiiaiples were of the most liberal cast j but , partly from policy , that they might not interfere with his more important views of utility as a religious reformer , and partly from the nature of the government , his political writings in India were very few .- His able tracts against widow-burning were indeed exceedingly valuable before the abolition , to which he mainly contributed , of that inhuman practice . Besides these , a tract on the Hindu law of inheritance , and some memorials in favour of a free press in India , which excited much

    attention , he privately submitted many papers to the government abroad for the improvement of its internal administration . ' On this subject , by far the most valuable work he has left behind him is his ' Remarks on the Judicial and Revenue Systems of India , ' in the form of . queries and replies , contained atiipijg the Minutes af Evidence laid before Parliament on the India question . He prepared besidesV-while in England , various able papers or essays on ; the working of the Supreme Court of Calcutta , against the salt monopoly in India , &c .,

    which have not been published . The great defe . ct Of his political writings , and indeed of his character , was a want of firmness to say that which would be unpleasant to individuals or bodies of men . How far this may-have arisen from early-habit ^ an ^ AuAaiipnj ' prJjjem timidity of character from the effect of living under a despotic government , or from too great a regard to popularity , a wish to please all parties , or from a mixture of all , these , cannot now be determined . But he was an ardent lover of liberty , and a fervent well-wisher to the political improvement of ' mankind . ' * His residence in London was , after the first few weeks , in Bed-* Athenooum .

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 1, 1833, page 328, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2625/page/8/