"You need not thank me!" replied the latter. "I owed your father for many favors he did me. The only thing I could ever do for him was to accompany his body to the grave. I had come to the town without knowing anybody, without any recommendations, without a reputation, without money, just as I am now. Your father protected me, procured a house for me, helped secure whatever was needed to advance education; he used to come to the school and distribute pennies among the poor and diligent pupils; he provided them with books and papers. But that, like all good things, did not last long." Ibarra took off his hat and seemed to pray for a short time. Then he turned to his companion and said: "Did you tell me that my father used to help the poor children? How is it now?" "Oh, now they do the best they can." "And don't they come to school regularly?" "No, for their shirts are ragged and they are ashamed." Ibarra kept silent for a few moments. "How many pupils have you now?" he asked, with a certain interest. "There are more than two hundred on the register, but only twenty-five in the class." "How does that happen?" The school teacher sadly smiled. "It is a long and tedious story," said he. "Don't think that I am asking out of vain curiosity," replied Ibarra, looking seriously at the distant horizon. "I have been meditating a great deal on the matter, and I believe that it is far better to try to carry out the ideas of my father than to try to avenge him. His tomb is sacred Nature; and his enemies were the people and the priest. I can forgive the people for their ignorance, and as to the priest, I will pardon his character because I wish to respect the religion which he represents. I wish to be inspired with the spirit of the one who gave me life, and, that I may lend my help, I wish to know what are the obstacles here in the way of education." "The country will bless your memory, Señor, if you can carry out the beautiful and noble ideas of your dead father," said the school teacher. "You wish to know what the obstacles are? Very well. We are now in such circumstances that unless something powerful intervenes, there will never be any education here. First, because there is no incentive or stimulus to the children, and, secondly, even when there is an incentive, lack of means and many prejudices kill it. They say that the son of a German peasant studies eight years in the town school. Who would want to spend half of that time in our schools, when the benefits to be derived are so small? Here the children read, and commit to memory verses and at times entire books in Spanish, but all without understanding a single word. What good can the sons of our farmers get out of the school so long as this is the case?" "And you see the evil; have you not thought out a remedy?"