1 April 1890

Madrid

Madrid, 1st April 1890

MR. JOSE RIZAL

Brussels

MY DEAR FRIEND RIZAL:

Today ends your subscription to El Dia; that is to say your aid and collaboration with us. I have been in charge of sending you the paper lately because of the absence from Madrid of Mr. Modesto Reyes who had gone to Rome and Jerusalem with Father Chanco to spend the Holy Week in those cities. What a pity, to my way of thinking, that you have not published any article in the journal. I received your last letter from that beautiful city of Brussels (as you told me) which I have not answered on time, I do not know if it is on account of the innate laziness attributed to us,[1] or to the indolent atmosphere that I breathe in this country, so peculiar and characteristic of it, or both. But in this case (as you see) it is the same. The will may overcome the unfavorable circumstances that surround a person suffering from this malady of our country. What else can be expected but inaction form the sinful indolence of bodies abandoned to their own weight and drifting towards the center of the earth. Believing then that the answer is extemporaneous, in spite of these reasons, I write this letter to request you as a good Tagalog and good patriot, as a friend and as a favor, for a little article about our country for El Clamor (formerly La Regencia). Please bear in mind in writing it that this publication has always judged Philippine questions with a conservative eye, or better said, with both eyes (characteristic of a good Castila) so that, if the article tends to favor liberal reforms, try to make it appear conservative, or better, do not attack the ideas of this party. Better address the higher authorities. You can pretend to have a letter from them, as your friend Leporel[2] generally does in La Correspondencia Militar. Well, do what seems to you best. It is a pity to let go these opportunities. I have not yet told you my reason for what I am asking you. It is nothing more, I believe, than the favorable intervention in our Philippine affairs of the goddess of destiny. A Castilla friend of mine from whom I considered it useless to ask favors, even if he has always offered his services to me, is a member of the staff and an owner; that is to say, he is one of the proprietors and writers of the journal. Taking advantage of this, I begged him to change the paper’s adverse attitude toward the Philippines, which had been its policy since the beginning, and he has asked me for an article. This is my reason. Although there are Filipinos here – some are very busy (according to themselves) and others whom I do not want to approach – I prefer your writings, especially for this kind of publication in which one must follow somewhat the old molds. I will ask you another for El Dia, but I cannot publish it until the return of Modesto Reyes form his trip, as I do not happen to know its publisher or editor. Lastly I warn you not to deal with the question of representation in the Cortes in order not to agree in it with the opinions of Romero Robledo whose organ is this paper. Enclosed with the issues of El Dia, I am sending you El Clamor so that you can see that they are the same. I stopped sending you the Philippine articles of your friend Edilberto de Leporel (Lete or Hermana, Santiago?) as I have learned that our friend Ariston was doing the same thing. My cordial congratulations on your Morga. I regret that I cannot send you Lete’s because at this hour of writing, 4:00 o’clock in the afternoon, he is still paying his customary tribute to Morpheus of whom he is [an] ardent worshipper; but I dare say that he holds the same opinion as I do. I should like to spend summer with you anywhere except here in Castille.

An embrace,

PUATU

01-516 [Family]