Rizal's Life, Works and Writings Chapter 6

On January 28, 1890, Rizal left Paris for Brussels, capital of Belgium. Two reasons impelled Rizal to leave Paris, namely; (1) the cost of living in Paris was very high because of the Universal Exposition and (2) the gay social life of the city hampered his literary works, especially the writing of his second novel El Filibusterismo. His friends, including M.H. del Pilar and Valentin Ventura, were of the belief that he left because he was running away from the girl just as he left London. When he told them that the reason for his leaving Paris was economic because his money was dwindling, Ventura generously invited him in Paris without paying rent. He could not accept Ventura’s invitation, for he had a high sense of dignity and would not accept charity from any man.

Rizal was accompanied by Jose Albert when he moved to Brussels. They lived in a modest boarding house on 38 Rue Philippe Champagne. Later Albert left the city, and was replaced by Jose Alejandro, an engineering student. Rizal was busy writing his second novel which was a continuation of the Noli. Aside from writing its chapters, he wrote articles for La Solidaridad and letters to his family and friends.

Life in Brussels
Articles Published in La Solidaridad., During his sojourn in Brussels, Rizal wrote this articles in defense of his oppressed people and to point out the evils of Spanish rule in the Philippines.

New Orthography of Tagalog Language
In spite of his European education and his knowledge of foreign languages, Rizal loved his own native language. He was the first to advocate the Filipinization of its orthography. For instance, the Tagalog letters k and w should be used instead of the spanish c and o. Thus the Hispanized Tagalog word salacot should be written salakot and the Hispanized Tagalog term arao be changed into araw.
As early as in September 1886, when he was in Leipzig, Rizal adopted the Filipinized Tagalog orthography in his tagalog translations of Schiller’s Wilhelm Tell and Andersen’s Fairy Tales and again he used in his first novel Noli Me Tangere ( Berlin, 1887).

Rizal Criticizes Madrid Filipinos for Gambling.
Rizal received news from Juan Luna and Valentin Ventura that the Filipinos in Spain were destroying the good name of their nation by gambling too much.

Bad news from House. Letters from home which Rizal received in Brussels worried him. The Calamba Agrarian trouble was getting worse. The Dominican order filed a suit in court to disposes the Rizal family of their lands in Calamba.

Presentiment of Death. In his moment of despair Rizal had bad dreams during the nights in Brussels when he was restless because he was always thinking of his unhappy family in Calamba.

Preparation to Go Home.
In the face of the sufferings which afflicted his family, Rizal planned to go home. All his friends, including Blumenritt, Jose Ma. Basa, and Ponce, were horified by Rizal’s plan to return to the Philippines. They warned him of the danger that waited him at home.
In another letter to Ponce, written at Brussels, July 29, 1890, Rizal announced that he was leaving Brussels at the beginning of the following month and would arrive in Madrid about the 3rd or 4th (August).

“To My Muse” (1890). It was against a background of mental anguish on Brussels, during those sad days when he was worried by family disasters, that he wrote his pathetic poem, “ A Mi…” ( To My Muse). This Poem lacks the exquisites of “ To the Flowers of Heidelberg” and less polished than “ To the Filipino Youth.

Romance with Petite Jacoby.
Two things brought some measure of cheer to the despondent Rizal, as he was preparing for his trip to Madrid. Like other women, Segunda Katigbak, Orang Valenzuela and others. Suzanne fell in love with Rizal. She cried when he left toward the end of July, 1890 for Madrid, stopping for a few days in Paris.

Misfortunes in Madrid
Early in August, 1890, Rizal arrived in Madrid. He tried all legal means to seek justice for his family and the Calamba tenants, but to no avail.He almost fought two duels one with Antonio Luna and the other with Wenceslao E. Retana. On top of his misfortunes, Leonor Rivera married a British engineer. The infidelity of the girl with whom he was engaged for eleven years, broke his heart.

Failure to Get Justice for Family. Upon arrival to Madrid, Rizal immediately sought the help of the Filipino colony, the Asociacion Hispano-Filipina, and the Liberal Spanish newspapers in securing the justice for the oppressed Calamba tenants, including his family, together with M>H. del Pilar and Dr. Dominador Gomez.

Rizal’s Eulogy to Panganiban.
Barely had Rizal settled down in Madrid, when he experienced another disappointment. This was the doleful news that his friend, Jose Ma. Panganiban, his talented co-worker in the propaganda movement, died in Barcelona on August 19, 1890, after a lingering illness. He deeply mourned the passing of this Bicol hero.

Aborted Duel With Antonio Luna.
Towards the end of August, 1890, Rizal attended a social reunion of the Filipinos in Madrid. As a customary in these weekly reunions of the paisanos, wine was served. Luna became drunk. At that time, Luna was bitter because of his frustrated romance with Nellie Boustead.Rizal heared him. His high sense of chivalry could not tolerant any slur against the honor of any women because of that Rizal challenged him. The Filipinos were shocked by the incident. After the duel when Luna realized that he had fool of himself he apologized Rizal. And Rizal accept it.

Infidelity of Leonor Rivera.
In the autumn of 1890 Rizal was feeling bitter at so many disappointments he encountered in Madrid. One night he and some friends attended a play at Teatro Apolo, and there he lost his watch chain with a locket containing the picture of Leonor Rivera, his beloved sweetheart.
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Rizal-Del Pilar Rivalry.
Toward the closing days of 1890 there arose an unfortunate rivalry between Rizal and M.H. del Pilar for supremacy. Rizal, the most talented Filipino of his time, was until then the undisputed leader of the Filipinos in Europe. On the other hand, Del Pilar, the fearless lawyer-journalist, was gaining prestige in Madrid for his vigorous editorials in La Solidaridad, which he came to own.

Rizal Abdicates His leadership.
The election took place during the first week of February, 1891. The Filipinos were divided into two hostile camps- the Rizalistas and the Pilaristas. Rizal won but the votes cast for him did not reached the required two-thirds.

Adios, Madrid.
Rizal wrote a brief note thinking his compatriots for electing him as Responsible. Sadly he packed up his bags, paid his bills and boarded a train leaving for Biarritz. As his train pulled out of the railway station, he gazed through its window at the city of Madrid, where he was happy during his first sojourn(1882-85) but unhappy on his second visit (1890-91). It was the last time he saw Madrid. His agonizing heart bade goodbye to the metropolis, of which he had written years ago.