"I have the certainty of becoming a great prince," he answered.
Yes, truly, he was to be a prince among men! Could he have seen then the rough road that God was preparing for him, would he have drawn back? Happily for us, we live a day at a time, and further than that our eyes are holden.
With a great deal of pomp and display, at the appointed time Francis mounted his horse and set off. But his journey was a short one. About thirty miles from Assisi he was taken ill with an attack of his life-long enemy—the fever—and forced to lie by. He chafed a good deal at this, and wondered and pondered over the mysterious actions of a Providence which had so manifestly sanctioned his expedition.
The Master or the Servant?
One evening he was lying half unconscious when he thought he heard the same voice that spoke to him before he started.
"Francis," it asked, "what could benefit thee most, the Master or the servant, the rich man or the poor?"
"The Master and the rich man," answered Francis in wonderment.
"Why, then," went on the voice, "dost thou leave God, Who is the Master and rich, for man, who is the servant and poor?"
"Then, Lord, what wilt Thou that I do?" queried Francis.
"Return to thy native town, and it shall be shown thee there what thou shalt do," said the voice.