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Brother Francis

<h2>CHAPTER XV.</h2> <h3>Francis' Visit to the Sultan. Discouragements.</h3> <div class="poem01"><div class="stanza"> "I must not fail Nor be discouraged. In the work of God No man may turn or falter." </div> </div> Francis and his companion Illuminato set out for Egypt with the intention of making straight for the Sultan. They travelled with one of the Crusading parties, which, by a curious coincidence, was commanded by John of Brienne, brother to that Walter of Brienne whom Francis would have enlisted under, only God sent him back to his native town! That Francis made a good impression upon the Crusaders we know, for one of their number writes of him:— "We saw Brother Francis, Founder of the Order of Minors, arrive; he is a simple man, but very lovable, and dear to God as well as to men, and is much respected by all." The impression the Crusaders made upon Francis was not so favorable! There was a great deal of discord among them. The Knights looked down on the men-at-arms, and the men-at-arms called the Knights treacherous. Francis had grave doubts as to the result of their expedition from the beginning. Immediately upon landing, the Crusaders had planned to do battle with the Saracens. This line of action was totally opposed to Francis' ideas of Christianity. "I know, by a revelation of the Lord," he said to Illuminato, "that they will be defeated in this attempt. If I tell them so, they will treat me as a madman; and, on the other hand, if I do not tell them my conscience will condemn me. What do you think I ought to do?"[Pg 96] "My brother," said Illumiuato, who was a man of virtue and intelligence, "what does the world's judgment matter to you? If they say you are mad, it will not be the first time they have said so! Do not burden your conscience; fear God rather than man!" So Francis was true to his conscience, and warned the Crusaders, but they laughed him to scorn! They rushed into a battle, and were utterly defeated. Six thousand Christians were killed or taken prisoners. During the battle Francis was very anxious and unhappy, and often he wept bitterly for those whom he had tried to save! Now that force had failed, Francis felt that his time had come. He would go to the Sultan. The Crusaders, what were left of them, in their turn, tried to dissuade him. They told him that he could not get from one camp to another without being killed, and that the Sultan had offered a golden reward to anyone who would bring the head of a Christian. He replied that he did not fear death, and would make the attempt. First though, before he set out, he went to one of the Cardinals who were with the Crusaders, and told him what he proposed doing. A contemporary writer preserves for us this interview. He writes, probably in a letter to some friend— <div class="sidenote">Two Clerks.</div> "Now I must tell you that two Clerks (Francis and Illuminato) were in the Army, and they came to the Cardinal. They said that they would go to the Sultan to preach, and they wished to go with his leave. The Cardinal said they should not go with his leave, for he knew well if they went they would not escape. Still they said, would he suffer them to go, and much they prayed him. Then, when he heard that they had so great a mind to go, he said thus: 'I do not know your thoughts at all, but beware if you go that your thoughts are always to God.' They said they only wished to go for great good, if they could accomplish it. Then the Cardinal said they could go if they wished, and they departed from the Christian host into the host of the Saracens." Francis was full of confidence. As he travelled he sang, "Though I walk in the midst of shadows of death,[Pg 97] I fear no evil." On his way he met two little sheep. This sight gave him much cheer. "Be of good comfort," he said to Illuminato, "it is the accomplishment of the words of the Gospel, 'Behold I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves.'" <div class="sidenote">The Saracens.</div> And the wolves were not very far behind. They appeared in the shape of some Saracen soldiers, who taking them at first for refugees or envoys let them go quietly on, but when they found out that the brethren had no message and that they not only refused to give up the Christian religion, but had come to preach it, they abused them and loaded them with chains. Francis never lost his presence of mind. He knew one word of Arabic, and that was "Soldan"—Sultan. As the soldiers beat him he cried lustily "Soldan, Soldan," and they understood that he wanted to be taken to their Chief. The Sultan was called by the Arabs, Malek-Camel, or the "Perfect Prince." He was very far from being a perfect character, but for a Mussulman, he was not ferocious. When Francis and Illuminato came before him they saluted him. Malek-Camel saluted them, and asked if they wished to become Saracens, or had they come with a message. "Saracens we will never be," they said, "but we have come with a message from God that will save your life. For we say that if you die under this law you are lost, and for that we have come to you, and if you will listen to us we will show you that you are lost!" The Sultan said meekly that he had very good Archbishops and Bishops of his own. "Of this we are glad," the missionaries replied, "send and fetch them." So the Sultan actually sent and fetched eight. He told them what they were wanted for, and repeated to them his conversation with Francis. But there was no mercy in this quarter. "Sire," they said, "thou art expert in the law and art bound to maintain and guard it; we command thee by Mahomet, who gave it to us, that their heads be cut off.[Pg 98] We will hear nothing that they say, we command thee to have their heads cut off." With that final decision they filed solemnly away, leaving Francis, Illuminato and the Sultan alone. "Seigneurs," the Sultan said, "they have commanded me by Mahomet and the law to have your heads cut off. This the law commands. But I will go against the law, for else I should render thee a very poor reward for having risked death to save my soul." In a second interview he had with them he promised them possessions and lands if they would only stay with him! "Yes," said Francis, "if you will be converted, with your people I will gladly remain." Then, a bright idea striking him, he went on— <div class="sidenote">Trial by Fire!</div> "Your priests will not talk with me, perhaps they would be more ready to act. Have a great fire lighted, I will go into the fire with them, and you will see by the result which faith is the surest and holiest." When Francis had begun this speech there were a number of priests standing round about, but before he had finished they had quietly taken themselves off! The idea filled them with horror! The Sultan perceiving their absence, remarked sarcastically— "I do not think that any of my priests are inclined to face flames and torture for the defence of their faith." Francis couldn't understand how anybody with a real faith could refuse to have it tested! He offered to go into the fire alone, and if he were burnt it was to be considered due to his sins, but if God protected him, the Sultan was to own Him as Supreme. But the Sultan would not hear of any such trial. He was amazed and astonished at the absolute faith and trust of the man before him. With this refusal Francis retired. He was followed by rich presents from the Sultan, all of which were promptly returned. The Sultan begged of him to take them for his Churches and Order, but Francis persisted in his refusal, and seeing that there was no germ of real religion in the Sultan's heart, he returned to the Crusaders' Camp. He[Pg 99] was heavy and sore in soul because he felt his mission to be a failure. <div class="sidenote">Victory.</div> But if he had failure in one direction, he had victory in another. The news of his visit to the Sultan spread, and wherever he was, people flocked to see and hear him, and recruits such as he had never expected, began to gather round him. The following fragment of a letter written by one of the Crusaders to a friend, shows us how they regarded his work. "Master Regnier, Prior of St. Michael's, has entered the Order of Friars Minor. This Order is making rapid progress in the world, because it exactly reproduces the form of the Primitive Church, and closely imitates the life of the Apostles. The Superior of these brethren is Brother Francis, a man of such goodness that we all hold him in veneration. After he came among us, so great was his zeal that he did not fear to go into the Army of our enemies, and preach, during several days, the Word of God to the Saracens. He had not much success, but on his departure, the Sultan King of Egypt asked him secretly to pray for him that he might be guided by an inspiration from above, and attach himself to the religion most approved by God. Colin, the Englishman, one clerk, and two other of our companions, to wit, Michel and Master Mathieu, to whom I have entrusted the care of my Church, have also entered the Order of Minors, and I can hardly keep back the Cantor and several others! As to myself, with my body weakened, and my heart oppressed by all these separations, I aspire to end my life in peace and quiet." Thus when Francis failed, God caused even that failure to be productive of good. The whole question of failure is a very subtle one, and it is a matter of grave doubt as to whether God's errands ever do really fail—what we call failure according to our preconceived ideas, may simply be God's way of working. True, the Sultan was not converted (though there is a legend to the effect that when he was on his death-bed he sent for a Franciscan friar, and professed conversion), but to-day, at time of writing, the[Pg 100] Franciscans are spread out all over the Holy Land. They have schools and churches and orphanages in every part of the country. Seventeen years later, John of Brienne, the Commander of the Crusade, after fighting many battles, and rising to great earthly glory, became converted and entered a branch of the Franciscan brotherhood then established in the Holy Land. This was no doubt due to the influence of Francis, who by the power of God alone, subdued the enemies of Christ. <div class="sidenote">A Trial.</div> Upon returning to Italy, a sad trial awaited Francis. He had determined to visit Bologna on his way back. The long sea-voyage and hot climate of Egypt had weakened him very much, so much so that it nearly happened that he passed on without paying the promised visit. Several of the brethren round about had met Francis on his way, as naturally he halted at any monastery on the route. The conversation that he heard among these brethren troubled him not a little. He heard that there had been important additions made to the humble house the lawyer had given to Bernardo when he came first to Bologna. What put the finishing touch to his sadness was when an inhabitant of the city alluded to the building as "the Friars' house," then he knew they had departed from their first principles, for there was no "me" or "mine" in the Order of the Friars Minor. It was a heavy blow to him, sick and smarting under a sense of failure as he was, and he declared that he would not shelter under its roof, but would go elsewhere and beg for hospitality. He sent a message to the monastery to command every one of them to turn out at once! This was done instantly, and even those who were ill were carried into the street! A historian, who was a friar at the time, writes, "he who writes this history was one of the number; he was taken out of his bed and laid in the street like the others." This summary proceeding naturally caused a tremendous stir in the city, and what the outcome of it would have been we cannot say if Ugolino, who seems to have had a knack[Pg 101] of turning up at every crisis, had not appeared just then. He went to Francis, and with great difficulty succeeded in quieting him. He would never have done this had he not been able to assure him that the house was his and in no way belonged to the friars. When Francis saw that the brethren were in no danger of becoming proprietors, he allowed them to go back and consented to preach in the city. History tells us that that preaching was one of the most glorious on record. It was through it that Professor Pepoli joined the Friars Minor. But Francis felt keenly that the government of a multitude is difficult and that increase of followers does not invariably mean increase of joy. For several years after this he rather discouraged than encouraged people to enter the First Order. <div class="sidenote">Orphans.</div> But the whole Bologna affair made a deep impression upon Francis. For the first time in his career his brave spirit suffered defeat, the first declension in principle, together with his own failing strength was too much for him. At the next Chapter he presided over, which was soon after his return from Egypt, he publicly resigned from the position of Minister General. No one seems to have been prepared for this action beforehand. "From this moment," he said, "I am dead to you, but here is our brother, Peter Cantani; he it is whom both you and I will henceforth obey." The brethren were broken-hearted. "What!" they said through their tears, "are we to lose our father and become orphans?" Then Francis stood up and prayed— "Oh my Lord, I commend to Thee this day, this family which Thou hast entrusted to me. My infirmities, Thou knowest, make it impossible for me to take care of it. I put it into the hands of Ministers. If it come to pass through their negligence, their scandals, or their too great severity, one of the brethren perish, they will give account to Thee at the Day of Judgment." No entreaty or argument could get Francis to alter this decision. He was a man in the prime of life, and, humanly speaking, he ought to have had long years of[Pg 102] service before him. Perhaps he felt that already his days were numbered, and that it was only a question of a few years at most. As long as he lived his successors were known as Vicar-Generals. He would only consent to preserve the title and rights of Minister General. This arrangement had no serious results as far as Peter Cantani's government went. He was a good man, and carried out Francis' idea exactly, so that Francis could leave all to him, and with a clear conscience, devote himself to visiting the centres and preaching. But, unfortunately, Peter Cantani's reign was a brief one; he died a very short time after his promotion to the Vicar Generalship. <div class="sidenote">Storm Clouds.</div> From the death of Peter Cantani till his own death, the storm-clouds of internal struggle gathered round Francis' path. His life was not to be all one long, if hard worked for, success. No! life is not lived thus; there is the dark as well as the bright in its mosaic, but it is sad, we say in our humanity, when the dark work is done at the end. But God, Who is the chief Workman, knows best how He wants His work ordered; He has His eyes on the beautiful end, while we fix ours tearfully at the unfinished, and, therefore, inexplicable pattern. There was yet, however, one unalloyed joy in store for Francis before he entered upon his last dark years of service, one of the greatest social reforms the world has ever known—the establishment of the Third or Tertiary Order of Brothers Minor.[Pg 103] <hr /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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