Contents.

  1. Chapter Page
  2. I.—[The House on the Pasig] 1
  3. II.—[Crisóstomo Ibarra] 7
  4. III.—[The Dinner] 9
  5. IV.—[Heretic and Filibuster] 12
  6. V.—[A Star in the Dark Night] 15
  7. VI.—[Captain Tiago and Maria] 17
  8. VII.—[Idylle] 20
  9. VIII.—[Reminiscences] 23
  10. IX.—[Affairs of the Country] 25
  11. X.—[The Pueblo] 30
  12. XI.—[The Sovereigns] 32
  13. XII.—[All Saints’ Day] 35
  14. XIII.—[The Little Sacristans] 40
  15. XIV.—[Sisa] 44
  16. XV.—[Basilio] 47
  17. XVI.—[At the Manse] 50
  18. XVII.—[Story of a Schoolmaster] 53
  19. XVIII.—[The Story of a Mother] 57
  20. XIX.—[The Fishing Party] 63
  21. XX.—[In the Woods] 71
  22. XXI.—[With the Philosopher] 79
  23. XXII.—[The Meeting at the Town Hall] 87
  24. XXIII.—[The Eve of the Féte] 94
  25. XXIV.—[In the Church] 102
  26. XXV.—[The Sermon] 105
  27. XXVI.—[The Crane] 109
  28. XXVII.—[Free Thought] 116
  29. XXVIII.—[The Banquet] 119
  30. XXIX.—[Opinions] 126
  31. XXX.—[The First Cloud] 130
  32. XXXI.—[His Excellency] 134
  33. XXXII.—[The Procession] 142
  34. XXXIII.—[Doña Consolacion] 145
  35. XXXIV.—[Right and Might] 150
  36. XXXV.—[Husband and Wife] 156
  37. XXXVI.—[Projects] 163
  38. XXXVII.—[Scrutiny and Conscience] 165
  39. XXXVIII.—[The Two Women] 170
  40. XXXIX.—[The Outlawed] 176
  41. XL.—[The Enigma] 181
  42. XLI.—[The Voice of the Persecuted] 183
  43. XLII.—[The Family of Elias] 187
  44. XLIII.—[Il Buon di si Conosce da Mattina] 193
  45. XLIV.—[La Gallera] 196
  46. XLV.—[A Call] 201
  47. XLVI.—[A Conspiracy] 204
  48. XLVII.—[The Catastrophe] 208
  49. XLVIII.—[Gossip] 212
  50. XLIX.—[Væ Victis] 217
  51. L.—[Accurst] 221
  52. LI.—[Patriotism and Interest] 224
  53. LII.—[Marie Clara Marries] 232
  54. LIII.—[The Chase on the Lake] 242
  55. LIV.—[Father Dámaso Explains Himself] 247
  56. LV.—[The Nochebuena] 251

Introduction

José Rizal

In that horrible drama, the Philippine revolution, one man of the purest and noblest character stands out pre-eminently—José Rizal—poet, artist, philologue, novelist, above all, patriot; his influence might have changed the whole course of events in the islands, had not a blind and stupid policy brought about the crime of his death.

This man, of almost pure Tagalo race, was born in 1861, at Calamba, in the island of Luzon, on the southern shore of the Laguna de Bay, where he grew up in his father’s home, under the tutorage of a wise and learned native priest, Leontio.

The child’s fine nature, expanding in the troublous latter days of a long race bondage, was touched early with the fire of genuine patriotism. He was eleven when the tragic consequences of the Cavité insurrection destroyed any lingering illusions of his people, and stirred in them a spirit that has not yet been allayed.

The rising at Cavité, like many others in the islands, was a protest against the holding of benefices by friars—a thing forbidden by a decree of the Council of Trent, but authorized in the Philippines, by papal bulls, until such time as there should be a sufficiency of native priests. This time never came. As the friars held the best agricultural lands, and had a voice—and that the most authoritative—in civil affairs, there developed in the rural districts a veritable feudal system, bringing in its train the arrogance and tyranny that like conditions develop. It became impossible for the civil authorities to carry out measures in opposition to the friars. “The Government is an arm, the head is the convent,” says the old philosopher of Rizal’s story.