The Social Cancer, by José Rizal - Home
The Social Cancer, by José Rizal - Home
The Social Cancer, by José Rizal - Home
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CHAPTER XXVIII 139<br />
gobernadorcillo, who rubbed his hands and informed us that it was a pity that they had not made the princess<br />
join in combat with the giant who had stolen her away, which in his opinion would have been more<br />
marvelous, especially if the giant had been represented as vulnerable only in the navel, like a certain Ferragus<br />
of whom the stories of the Paladins tell. <strong>The</strong> Very Reverend Fray Damaso, in his customary goodness of<br />
heart, concurred in this opinion, and added that in such case the princess should be made to discover the<br />
giant's weak spot and give him the coup de grace.<br />
"Needless to tell you that during the show the affability of the Filipino Rothschild allowed nothing to be<br />
lacking: ice-cream, lemonade, wines, and refreshments of all kinds circulated profusely among us. A matter of<br />
reasonable and special note was the absence of the well-known and cultured youth, Don Juan Crisostomo<br />
Ibarra, who, as you know, will tomorrow preside at the laying of the corner-stone for the great edifice which<br />
he is so philanthropically erecting. This worthy descendant of the Pelayos and Elcanos (for I have learned that<br />
one of his paternal ancestors was from our heroic and noble northern provinces, perhaps one of the<br />
companions of Magellan or Legazpi) did not show himself during the entire day, owing to a slight<br />
indisposition. His name runs from mouth to mouth, being uttered with praises that can only reflect glory upon<br />
Spain and true Spaniards like ourselves, who never deny our blood, however mixed it may be.<br />
"Today, at eleven o'clock in the morning, we attended a deeply-moving spectacle. Today, as is generally<br />
known, is the fiesta of the Virgin of Peace and is being observed <strong>by</strong> the Brethren of the Holy Rosary.<br />
Tomorrow will occur the fiesta of the patron, San Diego, and it will be observed principally <strong>by</strong> the Venerable<br />
Tertiary Order. Between these two societies there exists a pious rivalry in serving God, which piety has<br />
reached the extreme of holy quarrels among them, as has just happened in the dispute over the preacher of<br />
acknowledged fame, the oft-mentioned Very Reverend Fray Damaso, who tomorrow will occupy the pulpit of<br />
the Holy Ghost with a sermon, which, according to general expectation, will be a literary and religious event.<br />
"So, as we were saying, we attended a highly edifying and moving spectacle. Six pious youths, three to recite<br />
the mass and three for acolytes, marched out of the sacristy and prostrated themselves before the altar, while<br />
the officiating priest, the Very Reverend Fray Hernando Si<strong>by</strong>la, chanted the Surge Domine--the signal for<br />
commencing the procession around the church--with the magnificent voice and religious unction that all<br />
recognize and that make him so worthy of general admiration. When the Surge Domine was concluded, the<br />
gobernadorcillo, in a frock coat, carrying the standard and followed <strong>by</strong> four acolytes with incense-burners,<br />
headed the procession. Behind them came the tall silver candelabra, the municipal corporation, the precious<br />
images dressed in satin and gold, representing St. Dominic and the Virgin of Peace in a magnificent blue robe<br />
trimmed with gilded silver, the gift of the pious ex-gobernadorcillo, the so-worthy-of-being-imitated and<br />
never-sufficiently-praised Don Santiago de los Santos. All these images were borne on silver cars. Behind the<br />
Mother of God came the Spaniards and the rest of the clergy, while the officiating priest was protected <strong>by</strong> a<br />
canopy carried <strong>by</strong> the cabezas de barangay, and the procession was closed <strong>by</strong> a squad of the worthy Civil<br />
Guard. I believe it unnecessary to state that a multitude of Indians, carrying lighted candles with great<br />
devotion, formed the two lines of the procession. <strong>The</strong> musicians played religious marches, while bombs and<br />
pinwheels furnished repeated salutes. It causes admiration to see the modesty and the fervor which these<br />
ceremonies inspire in the hearts of the true believers, the grand, pure faith professed for the Virgin of Peace,<br />
the solemnity and fervent devotion with which such ceremonies are performed <strong>by</strong> those of us who have had<br />
the good fortune to be born under the sacrosanct and immaculate banner of Spain.<br />
"<strong>The</strong> procession concluded, there began the mass rendered <strong>by</strong> the orchestra and the theatrical artists. After the<br />
reading of the Gospel, the Very Reverend Fray Manuel Martin, an Augustinian from the province of<br />
Batangas, ascended the pulpit and kept the whole audience enraptured and hanging on his words, especially<br />
the Spaniards, during the exordium in Castilian, as he spoke with vigor and in such flowing and well-rounded<br />
periods that our hearts were filled with fervor and enthusiasm. This indeed is the term that should be used for<br />
what is felt, or what we feel, when the Virgin of our beloved Spain is considered, and above all when there<br />
can be intercalated in the text, if the subject permits, the ideas of a prince of the Church, the Señor Monescillo,<br />
[83] which are surely those of all Spaniards.