ish national life who
were men of state affairs and much more sedate, men with broader views
and more settled opinions than the irresponsible class with whom his
school companions were accustomed to associate. A distinction must
be made between the Masonry of this time and the much more popular
institution in which Filipinos later figured so largely when Professor
Miguel Morayta became head of the Grand Lodge which for a time was
a rival of that to which the "Acacia" owed allegiance, and finally
triumphed over it.

In 1884 Rizal had begun his studies in English; he had been studying
French during and since his voyage to Spain; Italian was acquired
apparently at a time when the exposition of Genoa had attracted Spanish
interest toward Italy, and largely through the reading of Italian
translations of works which he knew in other languages. German, too,
he had started to study, but had not advanced far with it. Thus Rizal
was preparing himself for the travels through Europe which he had
intended to make from the time when he first left his home, for he
well knew that it was only by knowing the language of a country that
it would be possible for him to study the people, see in what way
they differed from his own, and find out which of their customs and
what lessons from their history might be of advantage to the Filipinos.

A feature in Rizal's social life was a weekly visit to the home of
Don Pablo Ortigas y Reyes, a liberal Spaniard who had been Civil
Governor of Manila in General de La Torre's time. Here Filipino
students gathered, and were entertained by the charming daughter of
the home, Consuelo, who was the person to whom were dedicated the
verses of Rizal usually entitled "a la Senorita C. O. y R."

In Rizal's later days he found a regular relaxation in playing chess,
in which he was skilled, with the venerable ex-president of the
short-lived Spanish republic, Pi y Margal. This statesman was accused
of German tendencies because of his inclination toward Anglo-Saxon
safeguards for liberty, and was a champion of general education as
a preparation for a freer Spain.

Rizal usually was present on public occasions in Filipino circles
and took a leading part in them, as, for example, when he delivered
the principal address at the banquet given by the Madrid Filipino
colony in honor of their artist countrymen, after Luna and Hidalgo
had won prizes in the Madrid National exposition. He was also at the
New Year's banque