ABSTRACT
The boy that so early and by the savage tuition came to be initiated into his people's sorrows was then chiefly remarkable for a gentle, tractable disposition and a liking for books and study. Jose Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonzo Realonda was his full name, made up in the Spanish fashion from both sides of his house, paternal as far as the connecting "y," and maternal the rest of the road. By all accounts lie must have been a singularly attractive child, even in a country where handsome children are common. His color was the fine tint of his people, a light, clean, even brown; his face a delicate oval, but the chin firm and rather long; the forehead nobly shaped, the nose almost classical, the lips full but nothing sensual. For such studies his surroundings could hardly have been better; this is a race that upon any manifestation of artistic promise looks with a kind of solemn joy.
