ment Department, which was practically headed by the British Political Department ; and Mr. Bapat's trial had certain special features of interest in as much as it was timed to be held behind the back of the Maharaja who was then on a tour in Europe, and the revelations in the trial were expected by the enemies of the Maharaja to cast a damaging slur on at least one aspect of his administration." Mr. Tilak gave Mr. Bapat the better part of one year and successfully fought out his case. To the well-known Tai Maharaj affairs he gave at least eighteen years of his busy life. In the earUer stages of the case, there were so many occasions when he could have conveniently given up his interest in the posthmus affairs of one of his dearest friends ; but he was not the man to shirk off responsibility once he had pledged his word to his friend and he fought the case out to the bitter end, ultimately triumphing over his enemies.
Chivalry of nature was responsible for many of his side-activities ; e.g. in the notorious Crawford case, Mr Tilak championed the cause of the dismissed Mamlatdars and succeeded in inducing the Government to grant them pensions when the arch-offender was given the same. In fact, chivalry was the bedrock of Mr. Tilak's character and his very entry into the public life of the country to the neglect of scholarly studies and financial prospects, is very largely due to this sense, which will not passively endure the sight of the sufferings and hardships of others.
To his comtemporaries, Mr. Tilak appealed most as a courageous man — a soldier. Other aspects of his personality, striking as they are, only recede in the 21
