ng
arranged.

"For the rest," he said with a shrug of his shoulders, "it's not
altogether bad, it's not a bad idea, and now that you can't know
Latin at least you may know Castilian. Here you have another instance,
namesake, of how we are going backwards. In our times we learned Latin
because our books were in Latin; now you study Latin a little but
have no Latin books. On the other hand, your books are in Castilian
and that language is not taught--_aetas parentum pejor avis tulit
nos nequiores!_ as Horace said." With this quotation he moved away
majestically, like a Roman emperor.

The youths smiled at each other. "These men of the past," remarked
Isagani, "find obstacles for everything. Propose a thing to them and
instead of seeing its advantages they only fix their attention on
the difficulties. They want everything to come smooth and round as
a billiard ball."

"He's right at home with your uncle," observed Basilio.

"They talk of past times. But listen--speaking of uncles, what does
yours say about Paulita?"

Isagani blushed. "He preached me a sermon about the choosing of
a wife. I answered him that there wasn't in Manila another like
her--beautiful, well-bred, an orphan--"

"Very wealthy, elegant, charming, with no defect other than a
ridiculous aunt," added Basilio, at which both smiled.

"In regard to the aunt, do you know that she has charged me to look
for her husband?"

"Dona Victorina? And you've promised, in order to keep your
sweetheart."

"Naturally! But the fact is that her husband is actually hidden--in
my uncle's house!"

Both burst into a laugh at this, while Isagani continued: "That's
why my uncle, being a conscientious man, won't go on the upper deck,
fearful that Dona Victorina will ask him about Don Tiburcio. Just
imagine, when Dona Victorina learned that I was a steerage passenger
she gazed at me with a disdain that--"

At that moment Simoun came down and, catching sight of the two young
men, greeted Basilio in a patronizing tone: "Hello, Don Basilio,
you're off for the vacation? Is the gentleman a townsman of yours?"

Basilio introduced Isagani with the remark that he was not a townsman,
but that their homes were not very far apart. Isagani lived on the
seashore of the opposite coast. Simoun examined him with such marked
attention that he was annoyed, turned squarely around, and faced the
jeweler with a provoking stare.

"Well, what is the province like?" the latter asked, tur