prayer, and remain in the presence of his
Heavenly Father till the joy of salvation has been restored to him,
otherwise, his sadness will increase and engender a rust in the soul."

[Sidenote: _The Duty of Cheerfulness._]

This duty of cheerfulness Francis impressed upon all with whom he had
to do.

"My brother," he said to a friar, of doleful countenance, one day, "if
thou hast some fault to mourn, do it in secret, groan and weep before
God, but here, with thy brethren, be as they are in tone and
countenance."

His conviction of this duty was so strong that, during one large
gathering of the friars, he had this advice written in large letters
and posted up.

"Let the brethren avoid ever appearing sombre, sad and clouded, like
the hypocrites, but let them always be found joyful in the Lord, gay,
amiable, gracious--as is fitting."

Amiability and graciousness he also considered amongst the
virtues--courtesy, he called it. And courtesy he always said was akin
to charity, her younger sister, who was to go with the elder one and
help to open all hearts to her! An historian writes thus of Francis:
"He was very courteous and gracious in all things, and possessed a
peace and serenity that nothing could disturb. This sympathy and
benevolence was expressed on his countenance; his face had in it
something angelic."

His songs and hymns were the outcome of his perpetual joy in the Lord.
In those days there were no popular religious hymns or songs. People
praised God in Latin, with psalms and chants. Francis never found that
these gave vent to his feelings, and so, with the help of one of the
brothers--Pacificus, a trained musician--he began to write his own;
and soon, wherever the friars passed, they left a train of simple
melody in their wake. It was Francis, and his brethren, who first
turned the Italian language into poetry, and gave it that impetus
which has since rendered it the typical language for song.

CHAPTER VIII.

FRANCIS--AS A LEADER OF MEN.

"Thou whose bright faith makes feeble hearts grow stronger,
And sends fresh warriors to the great campaign,
Bids the lone convert feel estranged no longer,
And wins the sundered to be one again."

Little did Francis think, as he piled up stone after stone upon the
walls of St. Damian, that the day was not far distant when he should
begin the building of a spiritual temple, built up of "lively stones,"
with Christ Himself as the "chi