ays in early September.

CHAPTER XIV

A Martyr to the Liberty of Speech.

Dr. Jose Rizal, the Most Distinguished Literary Man of the Philippines,
Writer of History, Poetry, Political Pamphlets, and Novels, Shot on the
Luneta of Manila--A Likeness of the Martyr--The Scene of His Execution,
from a Photograph--His Wife Married the Day Before His Death--Poem
Giving His Farewell Thoughts, Written in His Last Hours--The Works
That Cost Him His Life--The Vision of Friar Rodriguez.

There is history, romance and tragedy in the martyrdom of Dr. Rizal,
whose execution by shooting on the Luneta two years ago is a notable
incident of the cruelties of Spanish rule. This was on account of the
scholarship, the influence, the literary accomplishments, and the
personal distinction of the man. Dr. Rizal was easily the foremost
writer his race and country has produced. He was a poet, novelist,
political essayist, and historian, and his execution was for the
crime of loving his country, opposing the Spaniards, criticising and
lampooning the priests. He is called the Tagalo Martyr, for he was of
the tribe of Malay origin, the most numerous and rebellious in the
Philippine Islands. His fate was shocking. He was an intelligent,
learned man, an enthusiastic patriot, who had been educated in
Spain and France. For writing a book against Spanish oppression he
was exiled to the Island of Dapitan. There he met a young woman of
Irish parentage, with whom he fell in love. They were engaged to be
married, when, on some pretext, the Doctor was brought back to Manila,
sent to Madrid to be tried, and then sent back to Manila. The unhappy
girl to whom he was betrothed tells the rest of the story:

"Everyone knew that Dr. Rizal was innocent. All that could be brought
against him was the publication of his book, and the Spanish officials
who tried him had never even read it. Nevertheless, he was condemned to
death. I then asked permission to be married to him, and they granted
my request, thinking to add to the horror of his martyrdom. The
marriage was celebrated by a friar the same day on which he was
sentenced. I passed the whole night on my knees in prayer before
the prison door, which shut my husband from me. When morning dawned,
the Doctor came out, surrounded by soldiers, his hands bound behind
his back. They took him to the Luneta, the fashionable promenade of
the city, where all military executions take place. The lieutenant in
command of