In 1891 he returned to Hongkong to practise medicine, in which
profession he had remarkable success, even coming to be looked
upon as a wizard by his simple countrymen, among whom circulated
wonderful accounts of his magical powers. He was especially skilled
in ophthalmology, and his first operation after returning from his
studies in Europe was to restore his mother's sight by removing a
cataract from one of her eyes, an achievement which no doubt formed
the basis of marvelous tales. But the misfortunes of his people were
ever the paramount consideration, so he wrote to the Captain-General
requesting permission to remove his numerous relatives to Borneo to
establish a colony there, for which purpose liberal concessions had
been offered him by the British government. The request was denied,
and further stigmatized as an "unpatriotic" attempt to lessen the
population of the Philippines, when labor was already scarce. This
was the answer he received to a reasonable petition after the homes
of his family, including his own birthplace, had been ruthlessly
destroyed by military force, while a quarrel over ownership and rents
was still pending in the courts. The Captain-General at the time was
Valeriano Weyler, the pitiless instrument of the reactionary forces
manipulated by the monastic orders, he who was later sent to Cuba to
introduce there the repressive measures which had apparently been so
efficacious in the Philippines, thus to bring on the interference
of the United States to end Spain's colonial power--all of which
induces the reflection that there may still be deluded casuists who
doubt the reality of Nemesis.

Weyler was succeeded by Eulogio Despujols, who made sincere attempts to
reform the administration, and was quite popular with the Filipinos. In
reply to repeated requests from Rizal to be permitted to return to
the Philippines unmolested a passport was finally granted to him and