Brother Francis; Or, Less than the Least

by Eileen Douglas

Here was a dilemma! But help was at hand. One of the ship's officers, a good man, was touched by the harshness with which the missionaries were treated, so he went to Francis and told him that he would take them on board. He conducted them down into the hold, and hid them behind some horses there. Hardly had they been deposited when an unknown friend brought an enormous basket of provisions, and, giving it to their benefactor, said—

"Take this, take great care of it, and as the need arises, distribute it to the poor brethren you have hidden."

The need soon arose. Another fearful storm beat the vessel about to such an extent that the voyage was prolonged far beyond the usual limit. Provisions were exhausted and a famine threatened the unhappy crew. Then Francis, hearing of the distress, crept out from among the horses, explained his presence, and said that he had food which he would be glad to share with them. The legend tells us that the food was miraculously made to last the voyage; the real fact was probably that the basket contained large supplies of beans, and lentils, and macaroni, and such Italian foods that swell in the cooking, and go a long way.

In Spain.

Arriving at Ancona, Francis began to preach. He had a wonderful time, and a great number of clerics and laymen joined the Order. Part of them Francis took with him to the Portiuncula, and offered them to God as the price of his failure! After watching over them for a few weeks, he left them in good hands, and turned his attention again to foreign mission work. The east had been closed to him, but that was no reason why the west should not open. The enemies of the Christians were as powerful in Spain and North Africa, as in Egypt and the Holy Land. The infidels had just been defeated in battle, and all Europe was talking about the victory gained at Las Navas Tolva. The heart of Francis mourned over these defeated ones. "Supposing they had been defeated," he argued, "their natures were still unchanged, their souls were still unsaved." He began to question if their need was not his call. He thought he heard them crying, "Pass over and help us!" He offered himself to God for this work, and, taking with him his well-beloved Bernardo di Quintavalle, set out for Spain. He had another rough experience of the sea, but this time he reached his goal without any mishap.

It was autumn when they landed in Spain, and without loss of time, they set off for the interior. At the outset of the journey, a little incident occurred which, though unpleasant at the time, God over-ruled for good. They were passing a vineyard, and Bernardo, who was very thirsty, plucked a bunch of grapes to refresh himself with. This was quite an allowable action in Italy, but Spain appeared to have a different code of morals, and one of the servants of the owner seized Bernardo, called him a rogue and a thief, and insisted upon his paying for what he had taken. Bernardo explained that he had no idea of doing wrong, and that he did not possess the smallest piece of money. The man snatched at his mantle, and said that would have to pay for it. But Francis, without discussing the matter with the servant, insisted upon seeing the owner of the vineyard. To him he explained the state of affairs; the mantle was given back, Bernardo was apologized to, and the good Spaniard did even more, he offered his services to Francis, and threw open his house, which became a sort of hostelry for the Order, and any brother was always welcome, night or day, to the best that there was.

The Will of the Lord.

Francis' intention was to go straight to the Mussulmans. He even talked of reaching Morocco. But God led him to stay in Spain longer than he had expected. People were converted everywhere, and branches of the work were established. Who took charge of these new ventures we are not told; doubtless friars from Italy were sent there.

Just as he began to see his way clear to go to the Mussulmans, he was seized with a violent fever. For some time he lay between life and death, and when at last he began to get well, it was perfectly evident that there could be no talk of his going to Morocco. Always submissive, Francis accepted this as the will of the Lord and returned to Italy. The reason why he was led back to the Portiuncula at that particular time seemed to him quite plain afterwards; for, when he got there, he found a number of learned and noble men waiting to offer themselves to him.

Exactly what Francis did after this is not quite clear. Probably he preached round about the North of Italy, and visited the various branches of the work, instructing novices, and establishing fresh centres. At the beginning of the next year we find him attending a conference in Rome, respecting the recovery of the Holy Land. While here, he met Dominic for the first time. Dominic was the founder of another kind of Friar Order. He conceived a great admiration for Francis, and tried very hard to get him to consent to amalgamate the two. This Francis never would consent to do, and the two always remained distinct.