Page:A General Biography of Bengal Celebrities Vol 1.djvu/176

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HIS "MERCANTILE CAREER. 167 accounts amounting to less than Us. 5000) that you were perfectly satisfied that this was only another case of robbery to add to those you had before instanced. Shame ! Shame ! ten thousand- times repeated shame ! * * ° * Yours Sincerely, Ram Go pal Ghosb. Having thus severed his connection with the Firm of Messrs. Kelsall, Ghose & Co., Ram Gopal set up an independent Firm of his own, perhaps in the latter end of the year 1848, under the name of R. G. Ghose & Co. His old friend , Mr. Anderson, helped him a great d^aj^and his ne^hewegtablished a corresponding "hous e in England through which he carried on aJarge business as an Agency ^jous^jn^Calnittft for English merchants. He opened besides a branch Firm at "Akyab anof engaged in a profitable trade with Arracan and Burmese rice and other goods. . His enterprize was then crowned with marvellous success, but the secret of that success lay in his thorough honesty of purpose and unflinching devo- tion to work. His words were believed as Gospel truths by the Mahajuns and . other classes of people, for he would not break his promises under any circum- stance. Babu Koilash Chunder Bose cites two ins- tances only of his rectitude of purpose. No doubt, there were such innumerable instances in his commer- cial life, but the particulars of such noble examples of his valuable life are now almost forgotten. Babu Koilash says, it was in the year 1847, that a terrible commercial crisis darkened the prospects of - many Agency Houses in Calcutta, and ruined them. Ram Gopal " had drawn bills to a large extent- on Houses in England, and was doubtful whether they would be honored at maturity. If dishonoured, he would be a ruined man. His friends therefore advised him to make a benamee of his vast property," which he sternly refused to do. He said, with his character- istic love of truth and honesty, that he would rather