Trial by Fire!
"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 was heavy and sore in soul because he felt his mission to be a failure.
Victory.
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 Franciscans are spread out all over the Holy Land. They have schools and churches and orphanages in every part of the country.