Chapter 22Exile in Dapitan, 1892-96•Beginning of Exile in Dapitan•Wins in Manila Lottery•Rizal-Pastells Debate on Religion•Rizal Challenges a Frenchman to a Duel•Rizal and Father Sanchez•Idyllic Life in Dapitan•Rizal’s Encounter with the Friar’s Spy•As Physician in Dapitan•Water System for Dapitan•Community projects for Dapitan•Rizal as Teacher•Hymn to Talisay

•Contribution to Science•Linguistic Studies•Artistic Works in Dapitan•Rizal as Farmer•Rizal as Businessman•Rizal’s Inventive Ability •My Retreat•Rizal and Josephine Bracken•Rizal and the Katipunan•Volunteers as Military Doctor in Cuba•The song of the Traveler•Adios Dapitan

Exile in Dapitan• a remote town in Mindanao which was under the

missionary jurisdiction of the Jesuits• where Rizal practiced medicine, pursued scientific

studies, continued his artistic works and literary works, widened his knowledge of languages, established a school for boys, promoted community projects, invented a wooden machine for making bricks, and engage farming and commerce.

• Rizal kept an extensive correspondence with his family, relatives, fellow reformists, and eminent scientists and scholars of Europe.

Beginning of Exile in DapitanRizal was informed to live at the parish convent on the following conditions:

1. That Rizal publicly retract his errors concerning religion, and make statements that were clearly pro-Spanish and against revolution.

2. That he perform the church rites and make a general confession of his past life.3. That henceforth he conduct himself in an exemplary manner as a Spanish subject

and a man of religion.

Rizal didn’t agree with these condition. He lived in the house of the commandant, Captain Carnicero. The relation between Carnicero (the warden) and Rizal (the prisoner) were warm and friendly. Carnicero was charmed by Rizal’s fine qualities and personality. Carnicero permitted Rizal to have his freedom to go anywhere. Rizal, on his part, admired the kind, generous Spanish captain. As evidence of his esteem, he wrote a poem, A DON Ricardo Carnicero, on August 26, 1892, on the occasion of the captain’s birthday.

Wins in Manila Lottery

September 21, 1892 • The mail boat, Butuan was approaching the town, Captain

Carnicero was thinking that a highly official is coming. • The mail boat, Brought no Spanish officials but the Lottery

Ticket No. 9736 jointly owned by Captain Carnicero, Dr. Rizal, and Francisco Equilior won the second prize of P20,000 in the government-owned Manila Lottery.

• Rizal’s share of the winning was P6,200. Upon receiving he gave his P2,000 to his father and P200 to his friend Basa in Hong Kong, and the rest he invested well by purchasing agricultural lands. Rizal never drank hard liquor and never smoked, but he was a lottery addict.

Rizal-Pastells Debate on Religion• During his exile in Dapitan, Rizal had a long and scholarly debate with Father

Pastells on religion which revealed Rizal's anti-Catholic ideas acquired inEurope and the embitterment at his persecution by bad friars. It isunderstandable why he was bitter against the friars who committed certain abusesunder the cloak of religion. As he wrote to Blumentritt from Paris on January20, 1890: "I want to hit the friars, but only friars who utilized religion notonly as a shield, but also as a weapon, castle, fortress, armor, etc.; I wasforced to attack their false and superstitious religion in order to fight theenemy who hid himself behind it."

According to Rizal, individual judgment is a gift from God and everybodyshould use it like a lantern to show the way and that self-esteem, if moderatedby judgment, saves man from unworthy acts. He also argued that the pursuit oftruth may lie in different paths, and thus "religions may vary, but they alllead to the light."

Father Pastells tried his best to win back Rizal to the fold of Catholicism.Divine faith, he told Rizal, supersedes everything, including reason, selfesteem, and individual judgment. No matter how wise a man is, he argued, hisintelligence is limited, hence he needs the guidance of God. He refuted Rizal'sattacks on Catholic dogmas as misconceptions of rationalism and naturalism,errors of misguided souls.

This interesting debate between two brilliant polemicists endedinconclusively. Rizal could not be convinced by Pastells arguments so that helived in Dapitan beyond the pale of his Mother Church but inspite of theirreligious differences Rizal and Pastells remained good friends. Father Pastellsgave Rizal a copy of the Imitacion de Cristo (Imitation of Christ), a famousCatholic book by Father Thomas a Kempis. And Rizal in grateful reciprocationgave his Jesuit opponent in debate a bust of St. Paul which he had made.

Although Rizal did not subscribe to Pastells' religious interpretation ofCatholic dogmas, he continued to be Catholic. He hears mass at the CatholicChurch of Dapitan and celebrate Christmas and other religious fiestas in theCatholic way. His Catholicism, however was the Catholicism that inquires andenlightens, the "Catholicism of Renan and Teilhard de Chardin".

Rizal Challenges a Frenchman to a Duel

• Rizal was involved in a quarrel with a French acquaintance in Dapitan, Mr.Juan Lardet, a businessman. This man purchased many logs from the lands of Rizaland it so happened that some of the logs were of poor quality.

Lardet, in a letter written to Antonio Miranda, a Dapitan merchant and friendof Rizal, expressed his disgust with the business deal and stated that "if he(Rizal - Z.) were a truthful man, he would have told me that the lumber notincluded in the account were bad.

Miranda indiscreetly forwarded Lardet's letter to Rizal. When he read Lardet'sletter, he flared up in anger, regarding the Frenchman's unsavory comment as anaffront to his integrity. Immediately, he confronted Lardet and challenged himto a duel . When commandant Carcinero heard the incident, he told the Frenchmanto apologize rather than accept the challenge, "My Friend, you have not aChinaman's chance in a fight with Rizal on a field of honor. Rizal is an expertin martial arts particularly in fencing and pistol shooting.

Dapitan City Mayor Joseph Cerick O. Ruiz at Rizal House

Heeding the commandant's advice, Lardet wrote to Rizal in French, datedDapitan, March 30,1893 apologizing for the insulting comment. Rizal, as agentleman and a well-versed in pun donor (Hispanic Chivalric Code) accepted theapology, and good relations between him and the Frenchman were restored.

It is interesting to know that one of the hero's weaknesses is his sensitivity.

Rizal and Father Sanchez

• Father Pastells, aside from his personal efforts to persuade Rizal to discardhis "errors of religion", instructed two Jesuits in Mindanao - Father Obach,cura of Dapitan and Father Jose Vilaclara, cura of Dipolog to try their best tobring back Rizal within the Catholic fold. He assigned Fr. Francisco de PauaSanchez, Rizal's favorite teacher at the Ateneo de Manila, to Dapitan. He wasthe only Spanish priest to defend Rizal's Noli Me Tangere in public.

Upon his arrival, Fr. Sanchez lost no time in meeting his former favoritestudent. Of all the Jesuits, he was the most beloved and esteemed by Rizal. Theyargued theologically in a friendly manner but all the efforts of Sanchez were invain.

Despite his failures to persuade Rizal to discard his unorthodox views on theCatholic religion, Fr. Sanchez enjoyed the latter's company and he even assistedRizal in beautifying the town plaza. On his birthday, Rizal gave him a preciousbirthday gift - a manuscript entitled Estudios sobre la lengua tagala (Studieson the Tagalog Language).

Idyllic Life in Dapitan

• Since August 1893, members of his family took turns in visiting him in orderto assuage his loneliness in the isolated outpost of the Spanish power in theMoroland. Among them were his mother, sisters Trinidad, Maria, Narcisa; andnephews Teodosio, Estanislao, Mauricio, and Prudencio. He built his house by theseashore of Talisay, surrounded by fruit trees and another house for his schoolboys and a hospital for his patients.

Describing his life in Dapitan, Rizal wrote to Blumentritt on Dec. 19, 1893:

I shall tell you how we live here. I have three houses; one square, anotherhexagonal, and a third octagonal, all of bamboo, wood and nipa. In the squarehouse we live, my mother, sister Trinidad, a nephew and I; in the octagonal livemy boys or some good youngsters whom I teach arithmetic, Spanish and English;and in the hexagonal live my chickens. From my house I hear the murmur of acrystal clear brook which comes from the high rocks; I see the seashore, the seawhere I have small boats, two canoes or barotos, as they say here. I have manyfruit trees, mangoes, lanzones, guayabanos, baluno, nangka, etc. I have rabbits,dogs, cats,etc. I rise early - at five - visit my plants, feed the chickens,awaken my people and put them in movement. At half-past seven we breakfast withtea, pastries, cheese, sweetmeats, etc. Later I treat my poor patients who cometo my land; I dress, I go to the town in my baroto, treat the people there, andreturn at 12 when my luncheon awaits me. Then I teach the boys until 4 P.M. anddevote the afternoon to agriculture. I spend the night reading and studying.

Rizal’s Encounter with the Friar’s Spy

• During the early days of November 1893 Rizal was living peacefully and happilyat his house in Talisay when suddenly jolted by a strange incident involving aspy of the friars. The spy with the assumed name of "Pablo Mercado" and posingas a relative, secretly visited Rizal at his house on the night of November 3,1893. He introduced himself as a friend and a relative, showing a photo of Rizaland a pair of buttons with the initials "P.M." (Pablo Mercado) as evidence ofhis kinship with the Rizal family.

In the course of their conversation the strange visitor offered his servicesas a confidential courier of Rizal's letter and writings for the patriots inManila. Rizal, being a man of prudence and keen perception became suspicious.Irked by the mpostor's lies, he wanted to throw him out of the house, butmindful of his duty as a host and considering the late hour of the night and theheavy rainfall, he hospitably invited the unwanted visitor to stay at his housefor the night. And early the next day, he sent him away.

Later, he learned that the rascal was still in Dapitan, telling people that hewas a beloved relative of Dr. Rizal. Losing his cool, he went to the comandanciaand denounced the impostor to Captain Juan Sitges (who succeeded CaptainCarnacio on May 4, 1893 as commandant of Dapitan). Without much ado, Sitgesordered the arrest of "Pablo Mercado" and instructed Anasticio Adriatico, toinvestigate him immediately.

The truth came out during this investigation and the real name of "PabloMercado" was Florencio Namanan. He was a native of Cagayan de Misamis, singleand about 30 years old. He was hired by the Recollect friars to a secret missionin Dapitan to filch the letters and writings of Rizal which might incriminatehim in the revolutionary movement. Commandant Sitges quashed the investigationand released the spy. He promptly forwarded the transcripts of the investigationtogether with his official report to Governor General Blanco who kept thedocuments highly confidential. Rizal requested for a copy of the proceedings ofthe investigation but Sitges denied his request. As now declassified andpreserved at the Biblioteca Nacional in Madrid, these documents contain certainmysterious deletions.

These documents have been quoted by three Rizalist biographers - Retana(1907), Palma (1949), and Jose Baron Fernandez (1982). But none of thesebiographers quoted the text of another document which is more reliable andvaluable in clarifying the whole incident. It is Rizal's letter to hisbrother-in-law, Manuel T. Hidalgo written in Dapitan, December 20, 1893, asfollows:

My Dear Brother-in-Law Maneng,

I was unable to write you by the previous mail for lack of time, for the boatleft unexpectedly.

With regards to Pablo Mercado, I tell you that he came here presenting himselfas a courteous friend in order to get from me my letters, writings, etc; but Ifound him out soon, and if I did not throw him out of the house brusquely, itwas because I always want to be nice and polite to everyone. Nevertheless, as itwas raining, I let him sleep here, sending him away very early the next day. Iwas going to let him alone in contempt but the rascal went around sayingsecretly that he was my cousin or brother-in-law, reported him to the commandantwho had him arrested. It was revealed in his declaration that he was sent by theRecollects who gave him P72 and promised him more if he succeeded in wrestlingfrom me my letter for certain persons in Manila. The rascal told me that he wasthe cousin of Mr. Litonjua, son of Luis Chiquita, according to him andbrother-in-law of Marcia no Ramirez. He wanted me to write these gentlemen. Hebrought along besides a picture of mine, saying that it was given to him by oneMr. Legaspi of Tondo or San Nicolas. I don't remember him exactly. It seems thathe belongs to a good family of Cagayan de Misamis. Be careful of him, he is atall boy, somewhat thickset, slightly squint-eyed, dark, slender, broadshoulders, and of impudent manners. He smokes much, spits more and has thinlips.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Your brother-in-Law who loves you,

(Signed) Jose Rizal

Based upon all these available documentary sources the incident of the secretmission of "Pablo Mercado" in Dapitan was not an "Assassination Attempt onRizal". It was merely an espionage plot concocted by the friars.

As Physician in Dapitan• Rizal practiced medicine in Dapitan. He had many patients but most of them were

poor so that he even gave them free medicine. To his friend in Hong Kong, Dr.Marquez, he wrote: "Here the people are so poor that I even have to givemedicine gratis." He had, however, some rich patients who paid him handsomelyfor his surgical skill.

In August 1893 his mother and sister (Maria) arrived in Dapitan and lived withhim for one year and a half. He operated on his mother's right eye. Theoperation was successful but Dona Teodora ignored her son's instructions byremoving the bandages from her eyes, thereby causing the wound to be infected.Thus Rizal told Hidalgo his brother-in-law; "Now I understand very well why aphysician should not treat the members of his family. Fortunately, the infectionwas arrested and Dona Teodora's sight was restored.

Rizals fame as a physician particularly as an eye specialist pave way topatients from different parts of the Philippines from Luzon, Bohol, Cebu, Panay,Negros, and Mindanao and even from Hong Kong. Because of his ophthalmic skill hewas paid P3000 by Don Ignacio Tumarongin for the restoration of his sight, P500from an Englishman and a cargo of sugar given as payment by a rich hacendero inAklan, Don Florencio Azacarraga who was cured of eye ailment.

Rizal became interested in local medicine and the use of medicinal plants. Hestudied their curative values for the poor patients who could not afford to buyimported medicine, he prescribed the local medicinal plants.

Water System for Dapitan

• Rizal held the title of expert surveyor (perito agrimensor), which he obtainedfrom Ateneo. He supplemented his training as a surveyor by reading engineeringbooks. In Dapitan, he applied his knowledge in engineering by constructing asystem of waterworks in order to furnish clean water to the townspeople.

Without any aid from the government, he succeeded in giving good water systemto Dapitan.

An American engineer, Mr. H. F. Cameron, praised Rizal's engineering feat inthe following words:Another famous and well-known water supply is that of Dapitan, Mindanao,designed and constructed by Dr. Rizal during his banishment in that municipalityby the Spanish authorities... this supply comes from a little mountain streamacross the river from Dapitan and follows the contour of the country for thewhole distance. When one considers that Doctor Rizal had no explosives withwhich to block the hard rocks and no resources save his own ingenuity, onecannot help but honor a man, who against adverse conditions, had the courage andtenacity to construct the aqueduct which had for its bottom the fluted tilesfrom the house roofs, and was covered with concrete made from limed burned fromthe sea coral. The length of this aqueduct is several kilometers, and it windsin and out among the rocks and is carried across gullies in bamboo pipes upheldby rocks or brick piers to the distribution reservoir.

Community projects for Dapitan• When Rizal arrived in Dapitan, he decided to improve it, to the best of his

God-given talents, and to awaken the civic consciousness of its people. He wroteto Fr. Pastells: "I want to do all I can do for this town."

Aside from constructing the town's first water system, he spent many months indraining the marshes in order to get rid of malaria that infested Dapitan.

The P500 which an English patient paid him was used by him to equip the townwith its lighting system which consist of coconut oil lamps placed in darkstreets of Dapitan. Electric lighting was unknown then in the Philippines notuntil 1894 when Manila saw the first electric lights.

The beautification and remodeling of the town plaza with the help of FatherSanchez enhances the beauty as jokingly remarked that it could "rival the bestin Europe". In front of the church, Rizal and Fr. Sanchez made a huge relief mapof Mindanao out of earth, stones, and grass. This map still adorns the townplaza of Dapitan.

Rizal as Teacher

• Since boyhood Rizal knew the value of good education. His exile in Dapitan gavehim the opportunity to put into practice his educational ideas. In 1893, heestablished a school which existed until the end of his exile in July 1896. Itbegan with three pupils and in the course of time the enrollment increased to 16and later 21. In his letter to Blumentritt on March 13, Rizal said that he had16 pupils in his school and these pupils did not pay any tuition. Instead ofcharging them, he made them work in his garden, fields and construction projectsin the community.

Rizal taugh this boys reading, writing, languages (Spanish and English),geography, history, mathematics arithmetic and geometry), industrial work,nature study, morals and gymnastics. He trained them how to collect specimens ofplants and animals, to love work, and to "behave like men".

Formal classes were conducted between 2:00 to 4:00 P.M. In Ateneo, the bestpupil was called an "emperor" and he sat at the head of the bench whereas thepoorest pupil occupies the end of the bench.

During recess the pupils built fires in the garden to drive away the insects,pruned the fruit trees, and manured the soil.

Outside the class hours, Rizal encouraged them to play games in order tostrengthen their bodies. They had gymnastics, boxing, wrestling, stone-throwing,swimming, arnis (native fencing), and boating.

Hymn to Talisay

• HYMN TO TALISAY

At Dapitan, the sandy shoreAnd rocks aloft on mountain crestForm thy throne, O refuge blest,That we from childhood days have known.In your vales that flowers adornAnd your fruitful leafy shade,Our thinking power are being made,And soul with body being grown.

We are youth not long on earthBut our souls are free from sorrow;Calm, strong men we'll be tomorrow,Who can guard our families' right.Lads are we whom naught can frighten,Whether thunder, waves, or rainSwift of arm, serene of mienIn peril, shall we wage our fights.

With our games we churn the sand,Through the caves and crags we roam,On the rocks we make our home,Everywhere our arms can reach.Neither dark nor night obscureCause us fear, nor fierce tormentThat even Satan can inventLife or death? We must face each!

"Talisayans", people call us!Mighty souls in bodies smallO'er Dapitan's district all

No Talisay like this towers.None can march our reservoir.Our diving pool the sea profound!No rowing boat the world aroundFor the moment can pass ours.

We study science exact;The history of our motherland;Three languages or four command;Bring faith and reason in accord.Our hands can manage at one timeThe sail and working spade and pen,The mason's maul - for virile menCompanions - and the gun and sword.

Live, live, O leafy green Talisay!Our voices sing thy praise in chorusClear star, precious treasure for us.Our childhood's wisdom and its balm.In fights that wait for every man,In sorrow and adversity,Thy memory a charm will be,And in the tomb, thy name, thy calm.

CHORUSHail, O Talisay!Firm and untiringEver aspiring,Stately thy gait.Things, everywhereIn sea, land and airShalt thou dominate.

Contribution to Science

• Rizal found Mindanao a rich virgin field for collecting specimens. With hisbaroto (sailboat) and accompanied by his pupils, he explored the jungles andcoasts, seeking specimens of insects, birds, snakes, lizards, frogs, shells, andplants. He sent these specimens to the museum of Europe especially the DresdenMuseum. In payment for these valuable specimens, the European Scientist sent himscientific books and surgical instruments.

During his four year exile in Dapitan, Rizal built up a rich collection ofconcology which consisted of 346 shells representing 203 species.

Rare specimens were discovered and named after him: Among these were DracoRizali (a flying dragon), Apogonia rizali (a small beetle),and Rhacophorusrizali (a rare frog).

Rizal also conducted anthropological, ethnographical, archeological,geological, and geographical studies as revealed by scientist friend in Europe.There was no limit to his scientific versatility.

Linguistic Studies

• A born linguist, Rizal continued his studies of languages. In Dapitan helearned the Bisayan, Subanon, and Malay languages.

On April 5, 1896, his last year of exile in Dapitan, he wrote to Blumentritt:"Iknow already Bisayan and I speak it quite well. by this time, Rizal could rankwith the worlds great linguists. He knew 22 languages, as follows: Tagalog,Ilokano, Bisayan, Subanon, Spanish, Latin, Greek, English, French, German,Arabic, Malay, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Dutch, Catalan, Italian, Chinese, Japanese,Portuguese, Swedish, and Russian.

Artistic Works in Dapitan• As an artist he contributed his painting skills to the Sisters of Charity who

were preparing the sanctuary of the Holy Virgin in their private chapel. For thesake of economy, the head of the image was "procured from abroad". The vestmentsconcealing all the rest of the figure except the feet, which rested upon a globeencircled by a snake in whose mouth is an apple, were made by the sisters. Rizalmodeled the right foot of the image, the apple and the serpent head. He alsodesigned the exquisite curtain, which was painted in oil by an artist Sisterunder his direction.

In 1894 he modeled a statuette representing the mother-dog killing thecrocodile by way of avenging her lost puppy and called it "The Mother'sRevenge".

Other sculptural works of Rizal in Dapitan were a bust of Father Guerrico (oneof his Ateneo professors), a statue of a girl called "The Dapitan Girl", awoodcarving of Josephine Bracken (his wife), and a bust of St. Paul which hegave to Father Pastells.

Rizal as Farmer

• In Dapitan, Rizal bought 16 hectares of land in Talisay, where he built hishome, school, and hospital and planted cacao, coffee, sugarcane, coconuts andfruit trees. "My land," he wrote to his Sister Trinidad, "is half an hour fromthe sea. It is very poetic and very picturesque. If you and our parents come Iwill build a big house we can all live in".

Later, the total land holdings reached 70 hectares containing 6,000 hempplants, 1,000 coconut trees, and numerous fruit trees, sugarcane, corn, coffeeand cacao.

He introduced modern agricultural methods to Dapitan farmers and importedagricultural machinery from the United States.

Rizal as Businessman• Rizal engaged in business in partnership with Ramon Carreon on May 14, 1893, a

Dapitan Merchant which has a profitable business ventures in fishing, copra, andhemp industries. He invited his relative Saturnia and Hidalgo to come toMindanao for some business opportunities.

In a letter to Hidalgo, dated January 19, 1893, he expressed his plan toimprove the fishing industry in Dapitan and instructed Hidalgo to help him buy abig net for trawl fishing (pukutan) and send him two good Calamba fisherman whocould teach the Dapitan folks better methods of fishing.

One of his profitable business venture was the hemp industry. To break theChinese Monopoly on business in Dapitan Rizal organized on January 1, 1895 theCooperative Association of Dapitan Farmers and according to its constitution,its purpose were "to improve the farm products, obtain better outlets for them,collect funds for their purchases and workers by establishing a store where inthey can buy prime commodities at moderate prices.

Rizal’s Inventive Ability

• Rizal was also an inventor and to remember that in 1887 while practicingmedicine in Calamba, he invented a cigarette lighter which he sent toBlumentritt and called it "sulpukan" made of wood and its mechanism is based onthe principle of compressed air.

In Dapitan, he i nvented a wooden machine for making bricks. This machine couldmanufacture about 6,000 bricks daily.

My Retreat•

In February, Doña Teodora returned to Manila. During her long stay in Dapitanshe saw how busy his talented son was and regretted that he had neglected theMuses. She requested him to write poetry again, a poem about his serene life asan exile in Dapitan and on October 22, 1895 he wrote "Mi Retiro" (My Retreat)which is acclaimed by literary critics as one of the best ever penned by Rizal.It is as follows;

MY RETREAT(The original version is in Spanish.)

By spreading beach where the sands are soft and fineAt the foot of the mouth in its mantle of greenI have built my hut in the pleasant grove's confine;From the forest seeking peace and a calmness divine,Rest for the weary brain and silence to my sorrow's keen.

Its roof of the frail palm-leaf and its floor the cane.Its beams and posts of the unhewn wood;Little there is of value in this hut so plain,And better by far in the lap of the mount to have lain,By the song and the murmur of the high seas flood.

A purling brook from the woodland gladeDrops down o'er the stones and around it sweeps,Whence a fresh stream is drawn by the rough cane's aid;That in the still night its murmur has made,And in the day's heat a crystal fountain leaps.

When the sky is serene how gently it flows,And its zither unseen ceaselessly plays;But when the rains fall a torrent it goesBoiling and foaming through the rocky close,Roaring unchecked to the sea's wide ways.

The howl of the dog and the song of the bird,And only the kalao,s hoarse call resound;Nor is the voice of vain man to be heard;My mind to harass or my steps to begird;The woodlands alone and the sea wrap me round.

The sea, ah, the sea! for me it is all,And it massively sweeps from the world's apart;Its smile in the morn to my soul is a call,And when in the evening my faith seems to pall,It breathes with its sadness on echo to my heart.

By night an arcanum; when translucent it glows,All spangled over with its millions of lights,And the bright sky above resplendent shows;While the waves with their sighs tell of their woes -Tales that are lost as they roll to the heights.

They tell of the world when the first dawn broke,And the sunlight over their surface played;When thousands of beings from the nothingness woke,To people the depths and the heights to cloak,Wherever its life-giving kiss was laid.

But when in the night the wild winds awake,And the waves in their fury begin to leap,Through the air rush the cries that my mind shake;Voices that pray, songs and moans that partakeOf laments from the souls sunk down in the deep.

Then from their heights the mountains groan,And the trees shiver tremulous from great unto least;The groves rustle plaintive and the herds utter moan,For they say that the ghost of the folk that are goneAre calling them down to their death's merry feast.

In terror and confusion whispers the night,While blue and green flames fit over the deep;But calm reigns with the morning's light,And soon the bold fisherman comes into sight,And his bark rushes on and the waves sink to sleep.

So onward glide the days in my lonely abode;Driven forth from the world where once I was known,I muse o'er the fate upon me bestowed;A fragrant forgotten that the moss will corrode,To hide from mankind the world in me shown.

I live in thought of the loved ones left,And of their names to my mind are borne;Some have forsaken me and some by death are reft;But now 'tis all one, as through the past I drift,That past which from one never be torn.

For it is the friend that is with me always,That ever in sorrow keeps the faith in my soul;While through the still night it watches and prays,As here in my exile in my one hut it staysTo strengthen my faith when doubts o'er me roll.

That faith I keep and I hope to see shineThe day when the Idea prevails over might;When after the fray and death's show decline.Some other voice sounds, far happier than mine,To raise the glad of the triumph of right.

I see the sky glow, refulgent and clear,As when it forced on me my first dear illusion;I feel the same wind kiss my forehead sore,And the fire is the same that is burning hereTo stir up youth's blood in boiling confusion.

I breathe here the winds that perchance have pass'sO'er the fields and the rivers of my own natal shore;And mayhap they will bring on the returning blastThe sighs that loved being upon them has cast -Messages sweet from the love I first bore.

To see the same moon, all silver's as of yore.I feel the sad thoughts within me arise;The fond recollections of the troth we swore.Of the field and the bower and the wide seashore,The blushes of joy, with the silence and sighs.

A butterfly seeking the flowers and the light,Of other lands dreaming of vaster extent;Scarce a youth, from home and love I took flight,To wander unheeding, free from doubt of affright -So in foreign lands were my brightest days spent.

And when like a languishing bird I was fainTo the home of my fathers and my love to return,Of a sudden the fierce tempest roar'd amain;So I saw my wings shattered and no home remain,My trust sold to others and wrecks round me burn.

Hurl'd out into exile from the land I adore,My future all dark and no refuge to seek;My roseate dreams hover, round me once more,Sole treasure of all that life to me bore;The faiths of youth that with sincerity speak.

But not as of old, full of life and of grace,Do you hold out hopes of undying rewardSadder I find you; on your lov'd face,Though still sincere, the pale lines traceThe marks of the faith it is yours to guard.

You offer now, dreams, my gloom to appease,And the years of my youth again to disclose;So I thank you, O storm, and the heaven-born breeze,That you knew of the hour my wild flight to ease,To cast me back to the soil whence I rose.

By the spreading beach where the sands are soft and fine,At the foot of the mount in its mantle of green;I have found a home in the [leasant grove's confine,In the shady woods, that peace and calmness divine,Rest for the weary brain and silence to my sorrow keen.

Dapitan City Mayor Joseph Cerick O. Ruizat RETIRO ROCK

Rizal and Josephine Bracken• In the silent house of the night after the days hard work, Rizal was often

sad. He missed his family and relatives, his good friends in foreign lands, theexhilarating life in the cities of Europe and his happy days in Calamba. Thedeath of Leonora Rivera on August 28, 1893 left a poignant void in his heart. Heneeded somebody to cheer him up in his lonely exile.

In God's own time, Josephine Bracken an Irish girl of sweet eighteen,"slender, a chestnut blond, with blue eyes, dressed with elegant simplicity,with an atmosphere of light gayety", born in Hong Kong on October 3,1876 ofIrish parents James Bracken, a corporal in the British garrison, and ElizabethJane MacBride which died during her childbirth and so Josephine was an adopteddaughter by Mr. George Taufer who later became blind.

No ophthalmic specialist in Hong Kong could cure Mr. Taufer's blindness and soMr. Taufer and Josephine seek the services of the famous ophthalmic surgeon, Dr.Rizal.

They presented to Rizal a card of introduction by Julio Llorente, his friendand schoolmate.

Rizal and Josephine fell in love with each other at first sight. After awhirlwind romance of one month, they agree to marry but for Fr. Obach, priest ofDapitan, refused to marry them without the permission of the Bishop of Cebu.

When Mr. Taufer heard of their projected marriage, he flared up in violentrage trying to commit suicide but Rizal prevented him from killing himself. Toavoid tragedy, Josephine went away with Taufer to Manila. The blind man wentaway uncured because his ailment was venereal in nature, hence, incurable.

Mr. Taufer returned alone in Hong Kong and Josephine stayed in Manila withRizal's family. Later she returned to Dapitan and since no priest would marrythem, they held hands together and married themselves before the eyes of God.They lived as man and wife.

Rizal and Josephine lived happily in Dapitan and for him Dapitan was a heavenof bliss.

Rizal wrote a poem for Josephine which runs as follows:

Josephine, JosephineWho to these shore have comeLooking for a nest, a home,Like a wandering swallow;

If your fate is taking youTo Japan, China or Shanghai,Don't forget on these shoresA heart for you beats high.

In the early part of 1896 Rizal and Josephine was expecting a baby butunfortunately she prematurely gave birth to an eight month old baby boy wholived only for three hours. The lost son was named "Francisco" in honor of DonFraancisco (the hero's father) and was buried in Dapitan.

Rizal and the Katipunan

• While Rizal was mourning in the loss of his son, ominous clouds of revolutiondarkened the Philippine skies. Andres Bonifacio, the "Great Plebeian," wasshowing the seeds of an armed uprising. The secret revolutionary society calledKatipunan which he founded on July 7, 1892 was gaining more and more adherents.

Dr. Pio Valenzuela was the emissary to Dapitan to inform Rizal of the plan ofthe Katipunan to launch a revolution for freedom's sake. On June 15, Dr.Valenzuela together with a blind man Raymundo Mata (to solicit Rizal's expertmedical advice) left Manila on Board the Steamer Venus.

Dr. Valenzuela arrived in Dapitan on June 21, 1896 and he told Rizal of theKatipunan plan but Rizal objected to Bonifacio's project to plunge the countryin bloody revolution for two reasons: (1) the people are not ready for therevolution (2) arms and funds must be collected before raising the cry of therevolution.

Volunteers as Military Doctor in Cuba

• Rizal offered his services as a military doctor in Cuba due to the throes of arevolution and the ranging yellow fever epidemic knowing from Blumentritt thatthere was a shortage of physicians to minister the needs of the Spanish troopsand the Cuban people.

Rizal wrote to Gov. General Ramon Blanco on Dec. 17, 1895 offering hisservices as a military doctor in Cuba. Months passed and a letter from Gov.Blanco arrived in Dapitan dated July 1, 1896 notifying him of the acceptance ofhis offer and at the same time to give Rizal a pass so that he could come toManila where he would be given a safe-conduct to Spain and his medicaloperations in Cuba.

Great was Rizal's joy in receiving the news from Malacanang that at last, hewas free! once more to travel to Europe and then to Cuba. From this he wrote aheart-warming poem "El Canto del Viajero" (The Song of the Traveler) which runsas follows:

The song of the Traveler

• THE SONG OF THE TRAVELER

Like to a leaf that is fallen and withered,Tossed from the tempest from pole unto pole;Thus roams the pilgrims abroad without purpose,Roams without love, without country or soul.

Following anxiously treacherous fortune;Fortune which e'en as he grasps at it flees,Vain though the hopes that his yearning is seekingYet does the pilgrim embark on the seas.Ever impelled by the invisible power,Destined to roam from the East to the West;Oft he remembers the faces of loved ones,Dreams of the day when he, too, was at rest.

Chance may assign him tomb on the desert,Grant him a final asylum of peace;Soon by the world and his country forgotten,God rest his soul when his wandering cease!

Often the sorrowing pilgrim is envied,Circling the globe like a sea-gull above;Little, ah, little they know what a voidSaddens his soul by the absence of love.

Home may the pilgrim return in the future,back to his loved ones his footsteps he bends;Naught will he find out snow and the ruins,Ashes of love and the tomb of his friends.

Pilgrim, bygone! Nor return more hereafter,Dry are the tears that a while for thee ran;Pilgrim, bygone! And forget thane afflictionLoud laughs the world at the sorrows of man.

Adios Dapitan• On July 31, 1896, Rizal's four-year exile in Dapitan came to an end. At

midnight of that date, he embarked on board the steamer España.

He was accompanied by Josephine, Narcisa, Angelica (Narcisa's daughter), histhree nephews, and six pupils. Almost all Dapitan folks, young and old, were atthe shore to bid him goodbye. Many wept especially the other pupils who werepoor to accompany their beloved teacher to Manila. As farewell music, the townbrass band strangely played the dolorous Funeral March of Chapin.

As the steamer pushed out into the sea, Rizal gazed for the last time onDapitan waving in farewell salute to its kind and hospitable folks and with acrying heart filled with tears of nostalgic memories. When he could no longersee the dim shoreline, he sadly went to his cabin and wrote in his diary: "Ihave been in that district four years, thirteen days, and a few hours".

"I have always loved my poor country, and I am sure that I shall love heruntil death, if by chance men are unjust to me; and I shall enjoy the happylife, contented in the thought that all I have suffered, my past, my present andmy future, my life, my loves, my pleasures, I have sacrificed all of these forlove of her. Happen what may, I shall die blessing her and desiring the dawn ofher redemption."