"Farewell, Monsieur Choulette. Bring me a medal of Saint Clara. I like
Saint Clara a great deal."

"You are right, Madame; she was a woman of strength and prudence. When
Saint Francis, ill and almost blind, came to spend a few days at Saint
Damien, near his friend, she built with her own hands a hut for him in
the garden. Pain, languor, and burning eyelids deprived him of sleep.
Enormous rats came to attack him at night. Then he composed a joyous
canticle in praise of our splendid brother the Sun, and our sister the
Water, chaste, useful, and pure. My most beautiful verses have less charm
and splendor. And it is just that it should be thus, for Saint Francis's
soul was more beautiful than his mind. I am better than all my
contemporaries whom I have known, yet I am worth nothing. When Saint
Francis had composed his Song of the Sun he rejoiced. He thought: 'We
shall go, my brothers and I, into the cities, and stand in the public
squares, with a lute, on the market-day. Good people will come near us,
and we shall say to them: "We are the jugglers of God, and we shall sing
a lay to you. If you are pleased, you will reward us." They will promise,
and when we shall have sung, we shall recall their promise to them. We
shall say to them: "You owe a reward to us. And the one that we ask of
you is that you love one another." Doubtless, to keep their word and not
injure God's poor jugglers, they will avoid doing ill to others.'"

Madame Martin thought St. Francis was the most amiable of the saints.

"His work," replied Choulette, "was destroyed while he lived. Yet he died
happy, because in him was joy with humility. He was, in fact, God's sweet
singer. And it is right that another poor poet should take his task and
teach the world true religion and true joy. I shall be that poet, Madame,
if I can despoil myself of reason and of conceit. For all moral beauty is
achieved in this world through the inconceivable wisdom that comes from
God and resembles folly."

"I shall not discourage you, Monsieur Choulette. But I am anxious about
the fate which you reserve for the poor women in your new society. You
will imprison them all in convents."

"I confess," replied Choulette, "that they embarrass me a great deal in
my project of reform. The violence with which one loves them is harsh and
injurious. The pleasure they give is not peaceful, and does not lead to
joy. I have committed for them, in my life, two or three abominable
crimes of w