Francisco Ferrer; his life, work and martyrdom, with message written ...

His Life and Work. 6i
"who set the rumor afloat"
I will try to tell you about my case. From my letter
of August IO-I2 you are aware that I had not the slightest
knowledge of the project for a general strike on July
26 to signify the protest against the Moroccan campaign.
And I do not know how the rumor could have gotten
about that I was the promoter of the strike. Who set
the rumor afloat Was it the Lerrouxist Republicans,
because the movement, according to L'Humanite, had its
roots in the Workmen's Federation The Lerrouxists
are eager to make it appear that I am their enemy, since,
according to them, I protected the Workmen's Federation,
which was fighting them.
Was it the clericals, who saw in the strike a fine occasion
for calling me over the coals again I think both
sides were interested in hurting me. However that may
be, I did not take any care in the matter, as I knew I
had had no share in the movement and thought I should
be let alone. But a member of my family came home
one day thoroughly frightened. She had been at Alella
and had heard a girl say I had been at Premia engaged
in burning a convent at the head of a band of incendiaries.
The girl did not give this information secondhand.
Not at all. She said it was with her own eyes
she had seen me setting fire to the convent. Who is
that girl Is she the servant at a school conducted by
monks in Alella (my native village, very near Mongat),
or is she the servant of one of the numerous clergy at
Alella This gave me food for thought. You will remember
that no convent at Premia was burned, and that
at the time I was not in Premia.
the arrest.
For this reason I prepared to leave my home the next
day to go to friends for several days and let the excitement
blow over. Several days later I wanted to appear
before a Judge who had summoned me, but the friends
with whom I was dissuaded me. They told me to wait
awhile, since the Judge gave me twenty days' time. But
on August 29 I read in the paper that Ugarte, the Attorney-General,
who had been at Barcelona to conduct an
investigation and had returned to Madrid, had said on