h Him of Nazareth? He is
seeking for thee.'

"You will hardly believe that I did not understand him at first, so
unfamiliar in my giddy youth were the simplest facts of the Gospel.
But the words sank as if by miraculous force into my heart, and
from that hour I knew no rest till I found Him, or He found me."

"Was Francis long alone?"

"No. Brother after brother joined him. First Bernard, then Peter,
then Giles; they went singing sweet carols along the road, which
Francis had composed out of his ready mind. They were the first
hymns in the vernacular, and the people stopped to hear about God's
dear Son. Then, collecting a crowd, they preached in the
marketplace. Such preaching! Francis' first sermon in his native
town set every one crying. They said the Passion of Jesus had never
been so wept over in the memory of man.

"The brotherhood increased rapidly, and they went on pilgrimage to
Rome, to gain the approbation of the Pope. They went on foot,
carrying neither purses nor food, but He who careth for the ravens
cared for them, and soon they reached the Holy City. The Pope,
Innocent the Third, was walking in the Lateran, when up came a poor
man in a gray shepherd's smock, and addressed him. The Pope,
indignant at being disturbed in his meditations by this intrusion,
bade the intruder leave the palace, and turned away. But the same
night he had two dreams: he thought a palm tree grew out of the
ground by his side, and rose till it filled the sky.

"'Lo,' said a voice, 'the poor man whom thou hast driven away.'

"Then he thought he saw the church falling, and a figure in a gray
robe rushed forth and propped it up--

"'Lo, the poor man whom thou hast driven away.'

"He sent for the stranger, and Francis opened his heart to the
mighty Pontiff.

"'Go,' said the Pope, 'in the name of the Lord, and preach
repentance to all; and when God has multiplied you in numbers and
grace, I will give you yet greater privileges.'

"Then he commanded that they should receive the tonsure, and,
although not ordained, be considered clerks.

"Imagine their joy! They visited the tombs of the Holy Apostles;
and, bare footed, penniless as they came, went home, singing and
preaching all the way. And thus they sang:"

Love sets my heart on fire,
Love of my Bridegroom new,
The Slain: the Crucified!
To Him my heart He drew
When hanging on the Tree,
From whence He said to me
I am the Shepherd true;
Love sets my heart on fire.

I