ht he saw a tiny
palm tree spring up at his feet, which immediately grew and grew till
it became a splendid tree. When he awoke, the conviction was strong in
his mind that the poor man he had turned away the day before was none
other than this little tree. And as he was thinking over his dream,
Cardinal John came in, and said--

"I have found a man whom I look upon as very perfect. He is resolved
to follow literally the teachings of Christ, and I have no doubt that
God intends to make use of him to reanimate faith on the earth."

The Pope was struck with what he said, for he was convinced in his own
mind that this was none other than the man he had driven away. He
concealed his feelings from the Cardinal, and merely said he should
like to see him. The Cardinal sent for Francis and his twelve, who
speedily appeared, and the Pope saw at once they were the beggars of
yesterday. He welcomed Francis warmly, and went into the rule he had
drawn up for his life, and that of his brotherhood. This rule has not
come down to us, but from various sources we learn that it was merely
a string of Bible verses, Christ's directions to His apostles,
including those that had been Francis' own commission. The Pope
listened to all that Francis had to say, then he said--

[Sidenote: _Hesitation._]

"My children, the life to which you aspire seems hard and difficult.
Doubtless your fervor is great, and we have no anxiety on your
account, but it is our duty to consider those who will come after you.
We must not impose upon them a burden they cannot bear. All this
requires serious reflection." Then he dismissed them, saying he would
lay the matter before the Cardinals.

Well, the question was put to the Cardinals, and they talked and
talked and talked. One said one thing, another said another, and most
of them had some objection to raise. They said he went beyond due
limits, that human nature could not long endure such a life, and
altogether they showed by their conversation, how very, very far they,
the leaders of a Church who claimed to follow the steps of the lowly
Nazarene, had departed from the initial simplicity of the Gospel.
Probably some idea of this sort was in Cardinal John's mind when he
rose to address the Assembly. He did not say very much, but what he
said went straight to the point.

"If we refuse the petition of this poor man on the plea that his rule
is difficult, let us beware lest we reject the Gospel itself, for the