part in any religious ceremony. She remained ever the same. The
five or six generations that knew her always saw her young, fresh,
sprightly, and pure.
For many years now no one has seen her on Makiling. Her vapor figure
no longer wanders through the deep valleys. It no longer hovers over
the waterfall on the serene moonlight nights. The melancholy tone
of her mysterious harp is no longer heard. Now lovers are married
without getting from her either jewels or presents. Mariang Makiling
has disappeared.
Some blame the people of a certain town who not only refused to give
her the customary white pullet but even failed to return the jewels
and clothing borrowed. Others say that Mariang Makiling is offended
because some landlords are trying to take half of the mountain.
A CHRONOLOGY OF THE LIFE OF JOSÉ RIZAL
1848, June 28.--Rizal's parents married in Kalamba, La Laguna:
Francisco Rizal-Mercado y Alejandra (born in Biñan, April 18,1818)
and Teodora Morales Alonso-Realonda y Quintos (born in Sta. Cruz,
Manila, Nov. 14, 1827).
1861, June 19.--Rizal born, their seventh child.
June 22.--Christened as José Protasio Rizal-Mercado y Alonso-Realonda.
1870, Age 9.--In school at Biñan under Master Justiniano Aquin Cruz.
1871, Age 10.--In Kalamba public school under Master Lucas Padua.
1872, June 10. Age 11.--Examined in San Juan de Letran college, Manila,
which, during the Spanish time, as part of Sto. Tomás University,
controlled entrance to all higher institutions.
June 26.--Entered the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, then a public school,
as a day scholar.
1875, June 14. Age 14.--Became a boarder in the Ateneo.
1876, March 23. Age 15.--Received the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree,
with highest honors, from Ateneo de Manila.
June.--Entered Sto. Tomás University in Philosophy course.
1877, June. Age 16.--Matriculated in medical course. Won Liceo
Artístico-Literario prize, in poetical competition for "Indians and
Mestizos", with poem "To Philippine Youth."
Nov. 29.--Awarded diploma of honorable mention and merit by Royal
Economic Society of Friends of the Country, Amigos del País, for
prize poem.
1880, April 23. Age 19.--Received Liceo Artístico-Literario diploma
of honorable mention for allegory "The Council of the Gods," in
competition open to "Spaniards, mestizos and Indians." Unjustly
deprived of first prize.
Dec. 8.--Operetta "On the Banks of the Pasig" produced.
1881. Age 20.--Submitted winning wax model design for commemorative
medal for Royal Economic Society of Friends of the Country centennial.
Wounded in the back for not saluting a Guardia Civil lieutenant whom
he had not seen. His complaint was ignored by the authorities.
1882, May 3. Age 21.--Secretly left Manila, with passport of a cousin,
taking at Singapore a French mail steamer for Marseilles and entering
Spain at Port Bou by railroad. Money furnished. by his brother,
Paciano Mercado.
June.--Absence noted at Sto. Tomás University, which owned Kalamba
estate. Rizal's father was compelled to prove that he had had no
knowledge of his son's plan in order to hold the land on which he
was the University's tenant.
July-Nov.--A student in Barcelona.
Nov. 3.--Began studies in Madrid.
1885, June 19. Age 24--Received degree of Licentiate in Medicine with
honors from Central University of Madrid.
1886, June. Age 25--Received degree of Licentiate in Philosophy,
with honors and special mention in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, from
Central University of Madrid.
Clinical assistant to Dr. L. de Weckert, a Paris oculist.
Visited Universities of Heidelberg, Leipzig, and Berlin.
1887, Feb. 21. Age 26--Finished novel Noli Me Tangere in Berlin.
Travelled in Austria, Switzerland and Italy.
July 3.--Sailed from Marseilles.
Aug. 5.--Arrived in Manila. Travelled in nearby provinces with a
Spanish lieutenant, detailed by the Governor-General, as escort.
1888, Feb.--Sailed for Japan via Hongkong.
Feb. 28.-Apr. 13. Age 27--A guest at Spanish Legation, Tokyo, and
travelling in Japan.
April-May.--Travelling in the United States.
May 24.--In London, studying in the British Museum to edit Morga's
1609 Philippine History.
1889, March. Age 28.--In Paris, publishing Morga's History. Published
"The Philippines A Century Hence" in La Solidaridad, a Filipino
fortnightly review, first of Barcelona and later of Madrid.
1890, Feb.-July. Age 29.--In Belgium and Holland, finishing El
Filibusterismo (The Reign of Greed), which is the sequel to Noli
Me Tangere.
Published "The Indolence of the Filipino" in La Solidaridad.
Aug. 4.--Returned to Madrid to confer with countrymen on the Philippine
situation, then constantly growing worse.
1891, Jan. 27.--Left Madrid for France.
Nov. Age 30.--Arranging for a Filipino agricultural colony in British
North Borneo.
Practiced medicine in Hongkong.
1892, June 26. Age 31--Returned to Manila under Governor-General
Despujol's safe conduct.
Organized mutual aid economic society Liga Filipina.
July 6.--Ordered deported to Dapitan, but the decree and charges were
kept secret from him.
Taught school and conducted a hospital during exile, patients coming
from China coast ports for treatment. Fees thus earned were used to
beautify the town. Arranged a water system and had the plaza lighted.
1896, Aug. 1. Age 35--Left Dapitan en route to Spain as a volunteer
surgeon for the Cuban yellow fever hospitals. Carried letters of
recommendation from Governor-General Blanco.
Aug. 7.-Sept. 3.--On Spanish cruiser Castilla in Manila Bay.
Sailed for Spain on Spanish mail steamer and just after leaving
Port Said was confined to cabin as a prisoner on cabled order from
Manila. (Governor-General Blanco's promotion had been purchased by
Rizal's enemies to secure appointment of a governor-general subservient
to them, the servile Polavieja.)
Oct. 5.--Placed in Montjuich Castle dungeon on arrival in Barcelona
and the same day re-embarked for Manila. Friends and countrymen in
London by cable made an unsuccessful effort for a Habeas Corpus writ
at Singapore. On arrival in Manila was placed in Fort Santiago dungeon.
Dec. 3.--Charged with treason, sedition and forming illegal societies,
the prosecution arguing that he was responsible for the deeds of
those who read his writings.
Dec. 12.--Wrote poem "My Last Farewell" and concealed it in an alcohol
cooking lamp, after appearing in a courtroom where the judges made
no effort to check those who cried out for his death.
Dec. 15.--Wrote an address to insurgent Filipinos to lay down their
arms because their insurrection was at that time hopeless. Address
not made public but added to the charges against him.
Dec. 26.--Formally condemned to death by Spanish court martial.
Pi y Margall, who had been president of the Spanish Republic, pleaded
with the Prime Minister for Rizal's life, but the Queen Regent could
not forgive his having referred in one of his writings to the murder
by, and suicide of, her relative, Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria.
Dec. 30.--Married in Fort Santiago death cell to Josephine Bracken,
Irish, the adopted daughter of a blind American who came to Dapitan
for treatment.
Age 35 years, 6 months, 11 days. Shot on the Luneta, Manila, at 7:30
a. m., and buried in a secret grave in Paco Cemetery. (Entry of death
made on back flyleaf of Paco Church Register, among suicides.)
1897, Jan.--Commemorated by Spanish Freemasons who dedicated a tablet
to his memory, in their Grand Lodge hall in Madrid, as a martyr
to Liberty.
1898, Aug.--Grave sought, immediately after the American capture of
Manila, by Filipinos who placed over it, in Paco cemetery, a cross
inscribed simply "December 30, 1896." Since his death his name had
never been spoken by his countrymen, but all references had been to
"The Dead" (El Difunto).
Dec. 30.--Memorial services held by Filipinos, and American soldiers
on duty carried their arms reversed.
1911, June 19.--Birth semi-centennial observed in all public schools
by act of Philippine Legislature.
1912, Dec. 30.--Ashes transferred to the Rizal Mausoleum on the Luneta
with impressive public ceremonies.
REFERENCES
A READING LIST
RIZAL, JOSÉ.--The Monkey and the Tortoise. A Tagalog tale told in
English and illustrated by Rizal. Manila, 1912.
--Elias and Salome. An unpublished chapter from the original Noli Me
Tangere manuscript.
--The Whole Truth. (La Verdad para Todos.) A defense of the Filipinos.
--By Telephone (Por Teléfono). A satire.
--The Philippines A Century Hence (Filipinas Dentro de Cien Años). A
forecast of the future.
--The Indolence of the Filipino (La Indolencia de los Filipinos). An
answer to criticism.
--My Last Thought and other Poems. Translations by Charles Derbyshire
and A. P. Fergusson.
--Mariang Makiling. A folk tale.
(These titles are in the Noli Me Tangere Quarter-Centennial Series,
edited by Austin Craig. Translations are by Charles Derbyshire.)
Manila, 1912.
--An Eagle Flight: A Filipino Novel. Adapted from Noli Me Tangere, with
a short sketch of Rizal's life. Anonymous translator. New York, 1900.
--Friars and Filipinos. An abridged translation of Noli Me Tangere
by F.E. Gannett. New York, 1900.
--The Social Cancer. Charles Derbyshire's translation of Noli Me
Tangere. Manila and New York, 1912.
--The Reign of Greed. Charles Derbyshire's translation of El
Filibusterismo. Manila and New York, 1912.
BLUMENTRITT, F.--Life of José Rizal. Translated from the German by
H.W. Bray. Singapore, 1898.
--Views of Doctor Rizal, the Filipino Scholar, upon Race
Differences. Translated from the German by R.L. Packard. Popular
Science Monthly, Vol. 61 (July, 1902), pages 222-229.
HALSTEAD, MURAT.--The Story of the Philippines. Pages 190-201 give
a translation of Rizal's "The Vision of Friar Rodriguez" (La Visión
de Fray Rodriguez) by F.M. de Rivas. Chicago, 1898.
CLIFFORD, Sir HUGH.--The Story of José Rizal, the Filipino. In
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 172 (Nov., 1902), pages 620-638.
CRAIG, AUSTIN.--Readings from Rizal. A series of selections from
Rizal's novels, in volume 1 of "The Philippine Teacher." Manila, 1905.
--The Rizal Story in Pictures. A series of twenty-one post cards with
authentic illustrations and explanations. Manila, 1908.
--The Story of José Rizal, the Greatest Man of the Brown Race. Manila,
1909.
--Lineage, Life and Labors of José Rizal. Manila and Yonkers-on-Hudson,
1912.
--Particulars of the Philippines' Pre-Spanish Past. Dr. Rizal's "Ibn
Batutu's Tawalisi the Northern Part of the Philippines" appears on
pages 20-22. Manila, 1916.
CRAIG-FEE.--Rizal, the Martyr-Hero of the Philippines. An imaginative
account, expanding the known facts, for youthful readers. In
"Philippine Education." Manila, 1913.
BLAIR-ROBERTSON.--The Philippine Islands 1493-1898. Rizal's annotations
to Morga's 1609 History of the Philippines appear among the notes in
Vols. XV and XVI. Cleveland, Ohio, 1904.
Brief sketches of Rizal's life and work may be found in every
encyclopedia published since 1898, the modern histories of the
Philippines have extended references to him and the numerous recent
works on the Philippines all attempt estimates of his influence upon
his countrymen.
DIPLOMA OF MERIT WON BY JOSÉ RIZAL
In a literary competition in honor of Spain's greatest writer,
Cervantes, held in Manila in 1880, the Liceo Artistico-Literario
offered a gold ring as first prize and the Economic Society of the
Friends of the Country gave the winner a diploma of merit. Rizal's
allegory, "The Council of the Gods" was preferred by the judges,
all Spaniards. But when the envelopes containing the contestants'
names were opened, there was objection to giving first prize to a
Filipino when prominent Spaniards had taken part in the contest. Rizal
says that he was hissed off the stage when he appeared in answer to
the reading of his name. Manila newspapers of that period dared not
speak of the incident openly but there were several veiled allusions
to it. One writer sarcastically said that medical students should be
forbidden to write poetry.
THE COUNCIL OF THE GODS
"We gods and goddesses, met on Mount Olympus, find that the greatest
three authors in the world's history are of equal merit. So in justice
equal respect must be paid them. To Homer we award fame's trumpet,
to Vergil the lyre of glory, and to Cervantes the laurel wreath of
immortal honor."
TO THE PHILIPPINE YOUTH
"Hold high the brow serene,
O youth, where now you stand;
Let the bright sheen,
Of your grace be seen,
Fair hope of my Fatherland!"
First verse of the winning poem, won by Rizal at the age of 17 in
a public competition open to "Indians and Mestizos". By these two
names, the Spaniard called, and divided, the Filipinos.
MY LAST THOUGHT
"Farewell, beloved Fatherland, thou sunny clime of ours,
Pearl of the Orient Ocean, our lost Paradise!
For thee my life I give, nor mourn its saddened hours;
And were't more bright, strewn less with thorns and more with flowers,
For thee I still would give it, a welcome sacrifice."
RIZAL'S "HYMN TO LABOR"
Words by José Rizal
(Arranged from Chas. Derbyshire's translation; lines in different
order.)
Tune of "The Wearing of the Green"
RIZAL'S "MARIA CLARA'S LULLABY"
Words by José Rizal
(Chas. Derbyshire's translation)
Music by Juan Hernandez
PHILIPPINE NATIONAL HYMN
Written in Spanish by José Palma
Music by I. Felipe
(The versifier of the English translation prefers not to have his
name appear.)
HAIL, PHILIPPINES!
Words by L. H. Theobald
Music arranged from the Toreador's song in the opera "CARMEN"
End of Project Gutenberg's Rizal's own story of his life, by Jose Rizal