work, spoiling my career. And what good
would it do--education? On the contrary, everybody would take up the
priest's side of the matter; they would criticise me, they would call
me vain, proud, arrogant, a poor Christian, poorly educated, and when
not this, they would call me an anti-Spaniard and an agitator. The
school teacher should have no authority. He should only be lazy,
humble, and resigned to his low position. May God pardon me if I do not
speak conscientiously and truthfully, but I was born in this country,
I have to live, I have a mother to support and I have to be resigned
to my lot."

"And have you continued to be discouraged on account of this
trouble? Have you attempted nothing since?"

"Would to God that it had ended there!" he replied. "Would to God that
that had been the end of my misfortunes. The truth is that from that
day I began to take a dislike to my profession. Every day the school
brought to my mind my disgrace and made every hour a bitter one for
me. But what could I do? I could not disappoint my mother. I had to
tell her that the three years of sacrifices which she had made for me
in order that I might learn the profession now made me happy. I had
to make her believe that the profession was a most honorable one, that
the work was most pleasant, that the road was strewn with flowers and
that the fulfillment of my duty produced nothing but friendships. If
I had told her the contrary, I myself would still be as unhappy and
would only make another unhappy, which was not only useless but a
sin. So, I kept at my work and tried not to be discouraged. I tried
to fight it down."

The school teacher made a short pause and then began again.

"You know that the books in most of the schools are in Spanish,
excepting the Tagalog catechism, which varies according to the
corporation which appoints the priest of the parish. The books
generally used in the school are novenaries, the 'Doxology' and
Father Astete's catechism, which are no more edifying than the
books of heretics. On account of the fact that it was impossible to
teach the children Spanish, as I wanted to do, and owing to the fact
that I could not translate so many books into the native language,
I decided to try to substitute for them gradually, short verses,
extracts from the best Tagalog books, such as the 'Treatise on
Urbanity' by Hortensio y Feliza, and some of the little pamphlets on
agriculture. Sometimes I myself translated small work