El Filibusterismo by Jose Rizal

Author:Jose Rizal
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2011-04-19T22:00:00+00:00

20

THE ARBITRATOR

What Father Irene had said was correct: Though the question of the Academy of Castilian Language had been presented a good time back, it was coming to a head. Don Custodio—that energetic Don Custodio, the most energetic proponent of anybody in the world, according to Ben Zayb—took up the question and spent his days reading the bill. He would doze off without making a decision. Then the following day he would get up, do the same, doze off again, and so on and so on. How hard the poor man was working, this most energetic of proponents in the world! He wanted to get through it all and still give everyone a bit of what they wanted: the friars, the chief of staff, the countess, Father Irene and his liberal principles. He had consulted with Señor Pasta, and Señor Pasta had left him dazed and confused after having suggested a million contradictory and impossible things. He consulted with Pepay the dancer, and Pepay the dancer, who had no idea what it was about, did a pirouette and asked him for twenty-five pesos to bury an aunt who had suddenly just died for the fifth time or was it for a fifth aunt who died in unknown circumstances but not without stating that a cousin of hers should learn to read, write, and play the violin, to better herself, but these things were far from inspiring Don Custodio with a solution that would save the day.

Two days after the events of the Kiapo fair, Don Custodio was working again as usual, studying the bill without finding a happy solution. But as he yawns, coughs, smokes, and thinks about the pirouettes and legs of Pepay, we are going to say something about such an elevated personage so you understand why Father Sibyla would propose him to figure a way out of such a thorny question, and why the others were willing to accept him.

Don Custodio de Salazar y Sanchez de Monteredondo was also known as Good Authority. He belonged to that class of Manila society that cannot take a step without having the newspapers hang such labels in front or behind their names as indefatigable, distinguished, zealous, energetic, profound, intelligent , well informed, well connected, and so on, as if they feared he might be confused with some lazy, ignorant owner of the same name. Besides, no harm resulted from it, and it didn’t upset the all-seeing censor. The appellation Good Authority came from his friendship with Ben Zayb, who carried on for weeks and months in the columns of the newspapers two of his most clamorous arguments: which was proper to wear, a high hat, a derby, or a salakot, and whether the plural of carácter should be carácteres or caractéres. In order to strengthen his argument he always claimed, “We have this on good authority,” or, “We learned this from good authority.” Later he would let it be known, for in Manila everything eventually becomes known, that this Good Authority was no other than Don Custodio de Salazar y Sanchez de Monteredondo.

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