r of his days; when, deluded by the accounts
of his countrymen who came from beyond the seas, he embarked for the
Philippines--then the vision of a housekeeper gave way to an image
of an arrogant mestiza, a beautiful native with large black eyes,
draped in silks and transparent garments, loaded with diamonds and
gold, offering him her love and her carriages.

He arrived in the Philippines and believed that he was about to
realize his dream, for the young women who, in silver-plated carriages,
frequented the Luneta and the Malecon, Manila's popular and fashionable
drives, looked at him with a certain curiosity. Later, when this
curiosity on their part had ceased, the mestiza disappeared from his
dreams, and with great labor he formed in his mind a picture of a
widow, but an agreeable widow. So it was that when he saw only part
of his dream taking on real form, he became sad. But he was somewhat
of a philosopher and said to himself: "That was a dream, but in the
world one does not live in dreams." Thus he settled all his doubts;
she wasted a lot of rice powder on her cheeks. Pshaw! When they were
once married he would make her stop that easily enough; she had many
wrinkles in her face, but his coat had more bare spots and patches;
she was old, pretentious, and imperious, but hunger was more imperious,
and still more pretentious; and then, too, he had a sweet disposition,
and, who could tell?--love modifies character; she spoke Spanish very
badly, but he himself did not speak it well; at least, the head of
the Customs department had so notified him in his discharge from his
position, and besides, what did it matter? What if she was old and
ridiculous? He was lame, toothless and bald. When some friend jested
with him, he would respond: "Give me bread and call me a fool."

Don Tiburcio was what is vulgarly called a man who would not harm a
fly. He was modest and incapable of conceiving an evil thought. He
would have made a good missionary had he lived in olden times. His
stay in the country had not given him that conviction of his
own superiority, of his own worth, and of his high importance,
which the larger part of his countrymen acquire in a few weeks
in the Philippines. His heart had never been able to conceive
hatred for anybody or anything. He had not yet been able to find a
revolutionist. He only looked upon the people as unhappy beings whom
it was fitting for him to deprive of a little of their wealth in order
to p