RIZAL’S LIFE ABROAD 

  During Rizal’s birth her mother nearly died in delivery because of his big head. He promised to the virgin of Antipolo that if she would help her take Rizal to the sanctuary.

   Our hero’s starting point, just like on any ventures there has to be a place to start, in his travel is his hometown Calamba, a town our hero loved so much. At Calamba, taking walks in the night when there was a moon takes Rizal in great pleasure.

  The pilgrimage of Rizal in Antipolo was on June 6, 1868. With his father, he left Calamba to fulfill the vow of her mother to the virgin of the province when Jose was born. Doña Teodora couldn’t accompany them because she had given birth to Trinidad.

   It was the first trip of our hero traversing Laguna de Bay and his pilgrimage to Antipolo. They rode then a casco (a barge), which was also his first time. He did not sleep the whole night because he was amazed by the watery expanse and the silence of the night.

   After their trip at the Virgin of Antipolo, Rizal and Don Francisco pursued to Manila to visit Saturnina, who was then a boarding student at La Concordia College in Santa Ana. They went back to Calamba eventually.

   Time to time, he would take short walks to Laguna de Bay, accompanied by his pet dog, and meditate at the shore.

  The early travels of Rizal (although not far) develop his traveling side which would be evident as he grows and eventually would venture in greater horizons.

   Rizal’s departure for Spain was kept secret to avoid detection by the Spanish authorities and the friars. Even his own parents did not know because his mother would not allow him to do so. Only his older brother, his uncle, his sisters Neneng and Lucia, the Valenzuela family, Pedro Paterno, Mateo Evangelista, the Ateneo Jesuit fathers, and some intimate friends. The Jesuit priests gave him letters of recommendation to the members of their Society in Barcelona. He used the name Jose Mercado.

   Before his departure, he wrote a farewell letter for his beloved parents and another for his sweetheart Leonor Rivera.

  On May 3, 1882, Rizal departed on board the Spanish steamer Salvadora bound for Singapore. With tears in his eyes and gloom in his head, he gazed at the receding skyline of Manila. He then took his pencil and paper and sketched it as it vanished in view.

  (May 3, 1882) During the voyage, he carefully observed the people and things on board the steamer. There were sixteen passengers. He was the only Filipino, and the rest were Spaniards, British, and Indian Negroes. The captain of the ship, Donato Lecha, befriended Rizal. To kill the boredom of the voyage, Rizal played chess with his fellow passengers. He then defeated them many times, for he was a good chess player.

    On May 9, the Salvadora docked at Singapore. He then stayed at Hotel de la Paz and spent two days on a sightseeing soiree of the city. He saw the famous Botanical Garden, the beautiful Buddhist temples, the busy shopping district, and the statue of Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles, who was the founder of Singapore.

  After days of staying in Singapore, Rizal boarded the ship Djemnah, which was a French steamer and left Singapore for Europe on May 11. It was a larger and cleaner vessel which carried more passengers. French was spoken on board and Rizal attempted to converse with his fellow passengers in French, but he found out that his book French could not be understood, so he spoke a mixed Spanish Latin and with the help sketching on paper. By conversing daily with the French passengers, he then was able to improve his knowledge of the French language.

   On May 17, the Djemnah reached Point Galle, a seacoast town in southern Ceylon. Rizal was unimpressed by this town. The following day the voyage resumed towards Colombo, the capital of Ceylon. After a few hours of sailing, Rizal reached the city. Rizal was amazed by Colombo because of this scenic beauty and elegant building.

   From Colombo, the Djemnah continued the voyage crossing the Indian Ocean to the Cape coast of Africa. Rizal sighted the barren coast of Africa, for the first time, which he called an ‘inhospitable land but famous’.

   The next stopover was in Aden. He found the city, hotter than Manila and was amused to see the camels for it was also his first time seeing them.

   From Aden the ship proceeded to the city of Suez, the Red Sea terminal of Suez Canal. Upon arrival, Rizal disembarked and went sightseeing. What impressed him most was the beautiful moonlight which reminded him of Calamba and his family.

   The Djemnah took five days to traverse the Suez Canal. Rizal was thrilled because it was his first trip through this canal which was build by Ferdinand de Lasseps. At Port Said, Rizal landed in order to see the interesting sights. He was fascinated to hear multi-racial inhabitants speaking a wide variety of language.

From Port Said, the ship proceeded on its way to Europe. On June 11, Rizal reached Naples. This city pleased Rizal because of its business activity, its lively people, and its scenic beauty. He was fascinated by the Mouth of Vesuvius, the Castle of St. Telmo and other historic sights of the city.

The night of June 12, the steamer docked at the French harbor of Marseilles. Rizal bid farewell to his fellow passengers. He visited the famous Chateau d’lf, where Dantes was imprisoned. He stayed two and a half days in Marseilles.

    On the afternoon of May 15, Rizal left Marseilles to proceed to Spain via train. He crossed the Pyrenees and stopped for a day at the frontier town of Port Bou.

    After the passport inspection at Port Bou, Rizal continued his trip by rail, finally reaching Barcelona on June 16, 1882. His first impression of Barcelona was unfavorable. He thought of it as an ugly, dirty place, and its residents are inhospitable. Later, he changed his impression and liked the city. He found it to be a great city, with an atmosphere of freedom and liberalism. He also found the people were open-hearted, hospitable, and courageous. He enjoyed promenading along Las Ramblas, which was the famous street in Barcelona.

    Filipinos in Barcelona were some of his classmates in Ateneo, welcomed him. They gave him a party at the café Plaza de Cataluña café. After toasts, Rizal in turn gave them the latest news and gossip in the Philippines.

    In Barcelona, Rizal wrote a nationalistic essay entitled “Amor Patrio” which was his first written article on Spain’s soil. He then sent his article to Basilio Teodoro Moran, publisher of Diariong Tagalog. Basilio was deeply impressed by the article and congratulated Rizal and asked Rizal to publish more articles.

    While living in Barcelona, Rizal received bad news about the cholera outbreak ravaging Manila and the provinces. Many people died, and more were dying daily. Sad news was that his beloved Leonor Rivera was getting thinner because of the absence of her loved one. Also, Paciano advised Rizal to continue his medical course in Madrid. Heeding his advice, Rizal left Barcelona in the fall of 1882 and proceeded to Madrid.

   On November 3, 1882, Rizal enrolled in the Universidad Central de Madrid. He took up courses—Medicine and Philosophy, and Letters. Aside from the two major courses, he also studied painting and sculpture in the Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando; he took lessons in French, German, and English under private instructors; and assiduously practiced fencing and shooting in the Hall of Arms of Sanz y Carbonell.

    Rizal lived a simple life in Madrid and knew that he had come to Spain to study and prepare himself for the service of his fatherland. He budgets his money and time and never wastes a peseta on gambling, wine, and women. On Saturday evening, he visits the home of Don Pablo Ortiga y Rey, who lived with his son and daughter. Don Pablo has been the city mayor of Manila.

    Rizal then had a love affair with Consuelo Ortiga y Perez, the daughter of Don Pablo. Rizal, being a lonely man in a foreign country and far from his natal land, was attracted by Consuelo’s beauty and vivacity. Their love did not flourish because he was still engaged to Leonor Rivera, and a friend of Rizal was also in love with Consuelo.

    In June 1883, Rizal left Madrid to visit Paris. He stayed at the Hotel de Paris but then moved to a cheaper hotel. Like all tourists, Rizal was charmingly titillated by the attractive scenery of Paris, such as the beautiful boulevards, the Opera House, the Place de la Concorde, the Arch of Triomphe, the Bois de Boulogne, the Madelaine Church, the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Column of Vendome, the Invalides, and Versailles. Rizal closely observed the French way of life and spent many hours at the museums.

    In Spain, he became close to prominent Spanish liberal and republicans Spaniards, who were mostly Masons. Rizal was impressed by the way the Spanish Masons openly and freely criticized the government policies and lambasted the friars. In March 1883, he joined the Masonic lodge called Acacia in Madrid. His reason for joining was to secure Freemasonry’s aid in his fight against the friars in the Philippines. Later, he was transferred to Lodge Solidaridad, where he became a Master Mason on November 15, 1890. Still later, he was awarded the diploma as Master Mason by Le Grand Orient de France in Paris.

    After departure for Spain, things turned from bad to worse in Calamba. Harvests failed on account of drought and locusts. Also, the Dominican-owned hacienda increased the rentals of the lands cultivated by the Rizal family. Due to these crises, allowances of Rizal were many times late or sometimes never arrived, causing him too much suffering.

    And on November 20, 21, and 22, 1884, Rizal was involved in student demonstrations. They were fighting for Dr. Miguel Morayta, who proclaimed that “the freedom of science and the teacher”. Such a liberal view was condemned by the Catholic bishops of Spain.

   On June 21, 1884, Rizal completed his medical course in Spain. He was conferred the degree of Licentiate in Medicine by the Universidad Central de Madrid. In the next academic year, he studied and passed all subjects, leading to the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Rizal also finished his studies in Philosophy and Letters with excellent ratings.

    After completing his studies in Spain, Rizal went to Paris and Germany for his specialization in ophthalmology. He chose this course of medicine because he wanted to cure his mother’s growing eye ailment. He still hasn’t forgotten his ‘secret mission’—to observe the customs and lifestyle of the Europeans so that someday he will render service to his fatherland.

    In 1885, after completing his studies at the Central University of Madrid, he went to Paris in order to acquire more knowledge in ophthalmology. He was 24 then. He stopped over at Barcelona, on his way to Paris, to visit his friend Maximo Viola, who is also a medical student and a member of a rich family in Bulacan. And in November of that year, Rizal was living in Paris, where he sojourned for about four months. He worked as an apprentice of Dr. Louis de Weckert, who was then a leading French ophthalmologist. And with his master, his knowledge in ophthalmology improved.

   While not working at Dr. Weckert’s clinic, Rizal visited his friends, such as the family of Pardo de Taveras, Juan Luna, and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo.

   Rizal spent many happy hours in the studio of Luna. Luna discussed with Rizal various problems in art and improved his painting technique. Rizal posed for a painting of Luna. He was one of the Egyptian priests in Luna’s painting “The Death of Cleopatra”.

    Rizal left Paris on February 1, 1886, after acquiring enough experience in the clinic of Dr. Weckert. He was set to go to Germany. He visited Strasbourg and other German towns.

    On February 3, 1886, he arrived in Heidelberg, a historic city in Germany famous for its old university and romantic surroundings.  He lived in a boarding house with some German law students. The German students found out that Rizal was a good chess player and made him a member of the Chess Players’ Club. After a few days, he was transferred to a boarding house which was near the University of Heidelberg. He worked at the University Eye Hospital under the direction of Dr. Otto Becker and attended the lectures of Dr. Becker and Prof. Wilhelm Kuehne at the university.

    At weekends, he visited the scenic spots around Heidelberg, which include the Heidelberg Castle, the romantic Neckar River, the theater, and the old churches. Rizal noticed that the German Catholics and the Protestants practiced ecumenism, wherein they lived together in harmony and cordiality.

    On April 22, 1886, in spring in Heidelberg, he wrote a poem to the beautiful blooming flowers at the Neckar River. Among those was his favorite flower—the forget-me-not.

 Rizal then spent a three-month summer vacation at Wilhelmsfeld, a mountainous village close to Heidelberg. He stayed at the vicarage of a kind Protestant pastor, Dr. Karl Ullmer. He was very delighted with his stay at the Ullmers.

  On July 31, 1886, Rizal wrote his first letter in German to Professor Ferdinand Blumentritt. Rizal heard that Blumentritt was interested in the Philippine languages. Along with the letter was a book entitled Aritmetica. Delighted with Rizal, Blumentritt sent gift books to Rizal. This marked the beginning of their long and frequent correspondence.

   Rizal was fortunate to be sojourning in Heidelberg when the famous University of Heidelberg held its fifth centenary celebration on August 6 of 1886. It was three days before his departure, and he was sad because he had come to love the land and the beautiful city.

    On August 9, 1886, three days after the fifth centenary of the University of Heidelberg, Rizal left the city. He boarded a train and visited various cities of Germany until arriving in Leipzig on August 14, 1886. He attended some lectures at the University of Leipzig and befriended Professor Friedrich Ratzel, a famous German historian, and Dr. Hans Meyer, a German anthropologist.

   Rizal translated William Tell from German to Filipino so that Filipinos might know the story of that champion of Swiss independence. He also translated into Filipino Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales.

    The cost of living in Leipzig is the cheapest in Europe, so he stayed there for two and a half months. During his stay, he corrected some chapters in his second novel and also had time for exercise. He also worked as a proofreader in a publishing firm and earned some money.

    Rizal left Leipzig to set course for Dresden on October 29, 1886. At Dresden, Rizal met Dr. Adolph Meyer, the director of the Anthropological and Ethnological Museum. He stayed only two days in the city. He heard the Holy Mass in a Catholic church, which greatly impressed him, for he wrote, “Truly I have never in my life heard a Mass whose music had greater sublimity and intonation”.

  Morning of November 1, Rizal left Dresden by train, reaching Berlin in the evening.

    Rizal liked Berlin because of its atmosphere, which was very scientific, and the absence of racial prejudice. Also, here he met Dr. Feodor Jagor, author of Travels in the Philippines, a book that Rizal admired because of its keen observations in the Philippine setting. Dr. Jagor, in turn, introduced Rizal to Dr. Rudolf Virchow, a famous anthropologist, and to his son, Dr. Hans Virchow, professor of Descriptive Anatomy. Rizal worked in the clinic of Dr. Karl Ernest Schweigger, a famous German ophthalmologist.

    Rizal was the first Asian to be accorded honors for being a member of the Anthropological Society, the Ethnological Society, and the Geographical Society of Berlin. Dr. Virchow recognized Rizal’s genius, invited him to give a lecture before the Ethnographic Society of Berlin. Rizal wrote a scholarly paper entitled Taglische Verkunst (Tagalog Metrical Art), which elicited favorable comments from all scientific quarters.

   Rizal led a methodical life in Berlin. He worked as an assistant by day and attended lectures at night. He kept himself physically fit by daily exercise and speaking German, French, and Italian. Rizal took private lessons in the French language under Madame Lucie Cerdole in order to master the French language.

  He spends his leisure moments touring the countryside of Berlin and observing the culture and life of the people. He also made sketches of the things he saw. About observing culture, Rizal greatly admired the German Yuletide custom, wherein Germans would take bushes from a pine tree and decorate them with lanterns, papers, and candies. Another interesting custom in Germany is that, when a man has nobody to introduce him to the other guests, he bows his head to the guests and introduces himself to the other guests, and shakes hands with everyone in the room.

   Not all the experiences of Rizal in Germany were good; there was this one wintertime when he lived in poverty because no money arrived from Calamba, and he was flat broke. During that time, he only ate one meal a day and had to wash his clothes himself because he could not afford to pay the laundry. In Calamba, Paciano tried to raise money, but crops had failed due to locusts, and the sugar market collapsed.

    Noli Me Tangere, during Rizal’s stay in Berlin, was unable to be published. But with the help of Maximo Viola, who gave him the necessary funds to publish the novel, Noli Me Tangere was published. Viola loaned Rizal money for publishing and for Rizal’s living expenses. With that, Rizal and Viola happily celebrated the Christmas of 1886 in Berlin.

    During the printing of the Noli, the chief of police of Berlin paid a sudden visit to Rizal’s boarding house. The chief asked for Rizal’s passport, but Rizal couldn’t show any. The chief told him to secure a passport within four days, otherwise he would be deported.

   Rizal failed in obtaining his passport and presented himself at the German police office, politely apologizing for his failure. The police then told him that Rizal was suspected as a French spy because he came from Paris and knew the language of the French people so well. Rizal explained in German to the police that he was not a French spy, but a Filipino physician and scientist. With that, he was allowed to stay freely in Germany.

   On March 21, 1887, the Noli Me Tangere came off the printing press. Rizal immediately sent copies to his intimate friends, including Blumentritt, Dr. Antonio Jaena, Mariano Ponce, and Felix R. Hidalgo. As a token of his appreciation and gratitude, Rizal gave Viola the galley proofs of Noli, carefully rolled around the pen that he used in writing. It also has a dedication “To my dear friend, Maximo Viola, the first to read and appreciate my work—Jose Rizal.”

   Noli Me Tangere was solely dedicated to the Philippines. He described the Philippines as a patient with cancer that, even with the most careful touch, awakens in it the sharpest pains.

  The friends of Rizal hailed the novel, appreciated its content, and were deeply touched and awakened by its fine truth. Of all the congratulatory letters received by Rizal about Noli, that from Blumentritt was significant. “First of all,” wrote Blumentritt, “accept my cordial congratulations for your beautiful novel about customs which interests me extraordinarily. Your work, as we Germans say, has been written with the blood of the heart, and so the heart also speaks. I continue reading it with much interest…”

    After the publication of Noli, Rizal planned to visit the important places in Europe. Rizal received his money from Paciano, worth 1,000 pesos. He immediately paid Viola the sum of 300 pesos from his kind loan.

    At dawn on May 11, 1887, Rizal and Viola left Berlin by train. Spring was in the air, and Europe is blooming with flowers. Their destination was Dresden, “One of the best cities in Germany”.

    Rizal and Viola spent some time in Dresden. Their visit coincided with the regional floral exposition. Rizal studied different plants because he was interested in botany. They visited Dr. Adolph B. Meyer, who was overjoyed to see them. They also visited the Museum of Art, and Rizal was deeply impressed by the painting of “Prometheus Bound”, a Greek mythological tragedy.

     While strolling at the scene of the Floral Exposition, they met Dr. Jagor and advised them to wire Blumentritt of their coming because the old professor was of a nervous disposition and he might suffer a shock at their sudden visit.

    Their next stopover was Teschen. Rizal and Viola sent a wire to Blumentritt, as suggested by Dr. Jagor

    At 1:30 p.m. on May 13, 1887, the train with Rizal and Viola on board arrived at the railroad station of Leitmeritz, Bohemia. Professor Blumentritt waited for them at the station after he received the wire. He was carrying a pencil sketch of Rizal, which the letter had previously sent him, so that he could identify his Filipino friend. He warmly welcomed Rizal and Viola.

   For the first time, Rizal and Blumentritt met each other. They greeted each other in fluent German. Upon seeing the talented Rizal, the old professor immediately took him to heart, loving him as a son.

  Rizal had beautiful memories of his visit to Leitmeritz. He enjoyed the warm hospitality and the cooking of the professor’s wife, Rosa. Blumentritt’s children were Dolores, Conrad, and Fritz. Blumentritt showed the scenic sights and historical spots of Leitmeritz.

  One afternoon, he invited them to a beer garden where the best beer of Bohemia was served. At the beer garden, they met the burgomaster or the town mayor. Blumentritt introduced the two to the burgomaster. Rizal talked in fluent German, for which the burgomaster and his friends were amazed.

  On another afternoon, Rizal and Viola were invited to a meeting of the Tourists’ Club of Leitmeritz, of Blumentritt was secretary. The members of the society were amazed by the fluency of Rizal in German.

   Rizal painted a portrait of the kind professor and gave it to him as a commemoration of his happy hours at the professor’s home.

    Rizal also met another renowned scientist of Europe, namely, Dr. Carlos Czepelak. Rizal had a nice conversation with the Polish scholar. Blumentritt also introduced Rizal to Professor Robert Klutschak, an eminent naturalist.

  On their last night in Leitmeritz, Rizal and Viola reciprocated Blumentritt’s hospitality with a banquet. On May 16, at 9:45 A.M., Rizal and Viola left Leitmeritz by train. Blumentritt and his family were at the railroad station to see them off, and they all shed tears in parting as the train departed.  Rizal carried with him all the beautiful memories of his visit to Leitmeritz.

    After their stay at Leitmeritz, Rizal, together with Viola, visited the city of Prague. They carried recommendation letters from Blumentritt to Dr. Willkomm, a professor of natural history at the University of Prague. The kind-hearted professor, together with his wife and daughters, welcomed them and showed them the city’s historic spots.

     Rizal and Viola visited the tomb of Copernicus, the museum of natural history, the bacteriological laboratories, the famous cave where San Juan Nepomuceno was imprisoned, and the bridge from which the saint was hurled into the river.

    After their stay at the home of the Willkomms, Rizal and Viola left Prague and went to Brunn.

    On May 20, Rizal and Viola arrived in the beautiful Vienna. Famous in songs and stories, this city fascinated Rizal very much because of its beautiful buildings, religious images, and charm. Rizal and Viola presented a letter of recommendation from Blumentritt to Norendal, one of the greatest novelists in Europe at that time. The great novelist was impressed by Rizal’s genius. Later, he spoke highly of Rizal.

   Also in Vienna, Rizal received his lost diamond stickpin. It was found by a man in Hotel Krebs and was given to Blumentritt, who, in turn, forwarded it to Rizal.

   The two stayed at Hotel Metropole. They visited the city’s interesting places, such as churches, museums, art galleries, theaters, and parks.

    On May 24, Rizal and Viola left Vienna on a riverboat to see the beautiful sights of the Danube River. As they both travel by boat, Rizal observed the different sights like the barges loaded with products, the flowers and plants growing along the riverbanks, the boats with families living on them, and the quaint villages on the riversides. They also noticed that the passengers were using paper napkins during meals.

    The river voyage ended in Lintz. They traveled overland to Salzburg and from there to Munich, where they sojourned for a short time to savor the famous Munich beer, reputed to be the best in Germany.

  From Munich, they went to Nuremberg, an old city in Germany. Among the sights were the horrible torture machines used by the Inquisition, which Rizal examined carefully. Viola and Rizal were greatly impressed by the manufacture of dolls in Nuremberg.

    After Munich, they visited Ulm. The cathedral of this city was the largest and the tallest in all of Germany. Viola related that he and Rizal climbed its many hundreds of steps. Viola was getting dizzy, but Rizal was not.

   From Ulm, they went to Stuttgart, Baden, and then Rheinfall. At Rheinfall, they saw the waterfall, which was the most beautiful waterfall in Europe.

    From Rheinfall, they crossed the frontier to Schaffhausen, Switzerland. They stayed in this city from June 2 to 3, 1887. They then continued their tour to Basel, Bern, and Lausanne.

   After sightseeing in Lausanne, Rizal and Viola left on a little boat, crossing the foggy Lake Leman to Geneva.

   Rizal and Viola visited Geneva. This Swiss city is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, which is visited by tourists every year. The people of Geneva were linguists, speaking French, German, and Italian. Rizal conversed with them in these three languages.

    Rizal and Viola also went boating on the lake. Rizal showed his rowing prowess, which he acquired during his boyhood days in Calamba.

    On June 19, 1887, it was Rizal’s 26th birthday, and he treated Viola to a blow-out. Rizal and Viola spent fifteen days in Geneva. On June 23, they parted ways. Viola decided to return to Barcelona while Rizal continued his tour to Italy.

    During his tour in Europe, Rizal received sad news from his friends in Madrid of the deplorable conditions of primitive Igorots who were exhibited in these expositions, some of whom died, and whose clothing was inappropriate for the climate of Madrid, and crude weapons were objects of mockery and laughter by the Spanish people and press. Rizal, being a champion of human dignity was outrageous.

    Rizal went to Italy. He visited Turin, Milan, Venice, and Florence. On June 27, 1887, he reached Rome. He was thrilled by the sights and memories of the Eternal City—Rome.

    On June 29th, Rizal visited for the first time the Vatican, the “City of the Popes” and the capital of Christendom. He was impressed by the magnificent edifices, particularly of St. Peter’s Church, which was also his feast day during that time.

    Every night, after sightseeing the whole day, Rizal returned to his hotel, very tired. “I am tired as a dog,” he wrote to Blumentritt, “but I will sleep as a god”.

    After a week of staying in Rome, he prepared to return to the Philippines. He had already written to his father that he was coming home.

    From 1882 to 1887, Rizal was in Europe studying. There he was allured, fascinated and have all the beautiful memories throughout his sojourn. But this will not make Rizal forget his fatherland and his nationality. After 5 years of memorable adventure in Europe, he returned to the Philippines in August 1887 and practiced medicine in Calamba.

    Although his life is threatened because his Noli Me Tangere caused uproar, especially among the friars, he insists on returning home. He has his reasons for coming home; one is that he wants to operate his mother’s eyes; another is that he wants to know how his novel affected the life of the Filipino.

    Rizal left Rome by train for Marseilles, and on July 3, 1887, he boarded the steamer Djemnah, which was the same steamer he had boarded five years ago. The steamer was en route to the Orient via the Suez Canal. Rizal saw this canal for the second time.

   On July 30, he transferred to another steamer in Saigon to steamer Haiphong which was bound to Manila. On August 2, the steamer left Saigon for Manila.

    On August 5, the Haiphong arrived in Manila, and he went ashore with a happy heart, for he was once again on Filipino soil. He stayed in the city for a short time to visit some friends and observed that Manila was the same five years ago.

    On August 8, he returned to Calamba. His family welcomed him affectionately. The rejoicing returned over when his family became worried about his safety. Paciano did not leave him during the first days because he wanted to protect him from any enemy assault. Even his father would not let him go out alone.

    In Calamba, he established a medical clinic, and his first patient was his mother, who was the time was almost blind. The news of a great doctor from Germany spread far and wide. Patients from Manila and the provinces flocked to Calamba to have a consultation with Rizal. His fees were reasonable, and within a month, he was able to earn about 900 pesos.

    He also opened a gymnasium for young folks where he introduced European sports. He tried to interest his townies in gymnastics, fencing, and shooting, and discourage cockfights and gambling.

    A few weeks after his arrival, he received a letter from Governor General Emilio Terrero requesting him to come to Malacañang Palace. Rizal went to Manila and appeared before Gov. Gen. Terrero and denied the acquisitions of the Governor General. He explained that it was merely an exposition of truth, but he did not advocate rebellious ideas. The governor was pleased by his explanation and asked for a copy of Noli so that he could read it. Rizal had no copy at that time, but promised it to the governor general once he secured a copy of it.

    Rizal found a copy in the hands of a friend. He was able to give it to Governor General Terrero. The governor general knew that Rizal’s life was in jeopardy because the friars were powerful. He then assigned a young Spanish lieutenant as a bodyguard of Rizal.