General Otis's letter of September 8th to Aguinaldo is apparently intended to convince him that he ought to consider everything the Americans had done up to date as exactly the correct thing, according to the standards of up-to-date, philanthropic, liberty-loving nations which pity double-dealing as mediaeval; and that he should cheer up, and feel grateful and happy, instead of sulking, Achilles-like, in his tents; and furthermore--which was the crux--that he must move said tents. General Otis does not forget "that the revolutionary forces under your command have made many sacrifices in the interest of civil liberty (observe, he does not call it independence) and for the welfare of your people"; admits that they have "endured great hardships, and have rendered aid"; and avers, as a reason for Aguinaldo's evacuating that part of the environs of Manila occupied by his troops: "It [the war with Spain] was undertaken by the United States for humanity's sake * * * not for * * * aggrandizement or for any national profit." After stating, as above indicated, that he does not yet know what the policy of the United States is to be "in regard to its legitimate holdings here," General Otis proceeds to declare that in any event he will not be a party to any joint occupation of any part of the city, bay, and harbor of Manila--the territory covered by the Peace Protocol of August 13th--and that Aguinaldo must effect the evacuation demanded in the letter of General Merritt "before Tuesday the 15th" (of September), i.e., within a week. Aguinaldo finally withdrew his troops, after much useless parleying and much waste of ink. There was some of the parleying and ink, however, that was not wholly wasted. But to properly appreciate it as illustrative of the fortitude and tact which the early Filipino leaders seem to have combined in a remarkable degree, some prefatory data are essential.