,illustration3 ,,by ,,candle-,,light4 ,frontispiece4 ,,stories ,,of ,,the ,,saints ,,by ,,candle-,,light ,,by ,,vera ,c4 ,,barclay #aibb ,,the ,,faith ,,press1 ,,ltd4 ,,london3 ,,the ,,faith ,,house1 #bb1 ,,buckingham ,,st41 ,,charing ,,cross1 ,w4,c4 #b ,,to ,,the ,,memory ,,of ,,sixer ,,frank ,,sparks ,,and ,,second ,,bob ,,smith ,,two ,,faithful ,,cubs ,,of ,,the ,,cardinal',s ,,own ,,pack ,,this ,,book ,,is ,,dedicated ,,by ,,their ,,old ,,wolf4 ,r4,i4,p4 ,,contents ,,nine ,,days ,,in ,,camp1 ,,and ,,nine ,,stories ,,by ,,candle-,,light ,,about ,,this ,,book #a ,,the ,,first ,,day3 ,,getting ,,there4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,st4 ,,benedict #b ,,the ,,second ,,day3 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,st4 ,,guthlac #ag ,,the ,,third ,,day3 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,st4 ,,martin #bg ,,the ,,fourth ,,day3 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,st4 ,,edmund1 ,,king ,,and ,,martyr #db ,,the ,,fifth ,,day 7,,sunday73 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,st4 ,,francis 7,i47 #ef ,,the ,,sixth ,,day3 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,st4 ,,francis 7,,ii47 #fg ,,the ,,seventh ,,day3 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,st4 ,,antony #hc ,,the ,,eighth ,,day3 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,st4 ,,patrick #if ,,the ,,ninth ,,day3 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,st4 ,,george #ajg ,,good-,,bye #aah ,,stories ,,of ,,the ,,saints ,,by ,,candle-,,light ,,nine ,,days ,,in ,,camp1 ,,and ,,nine ,,stories ,,by ,,candle-,,light ,,about ,,this ,,book ,once upon a time there were fifteen ,cubs who spent nine wonderful days in camp4 ,they were ,london ,cubs1 and the camp was on a beautiful little green island whose rocky shore ran down in green1 tree-covered points into the bluest sea you ever saw4 ,these nine days were the most splendid days in those ,cubs' lives4 ,and so they often think of them1 and dream about them1 and live them over again in memory4 ,so that they may more easily go over those days their ,old ,wolf has written down all about them in this book4 ,perhaps other ,cubs will like to come away1 in imagination1 to that fair1 green island1 and so have a share in the nine days4 ,now1 one of the very special things about those days in camp were the candle-light stories which the ,cubs listened to every night1 seated in a big1 happy pile1 pyjama-clad1 on their palliasses4 ,all day they used to look forward to those stories1 and sometimes1 in the middle of a shrimping expedition1 or a paddling party1 one or another would remark1 ,story to-night1 boys6 and turn his thumbs up to show he was pleased at the thought4 ,and so you will find the candle-light stories1 too1 in this book2 and remember that all the stories in this book are true--both those about the ,cubs and those about the ,saints4 ,,the ,,first ,,day ,the train steamed slowly out of ,victoria ,station4 ,now we're off6 shouted a ,cub1 and he and all the others began to jump for joy1 which was not easy in a railway compartment packed like a sardine-tin4 ,then someone began to sing the ,pack chorus1 and everyone joined in with all their strength3 ,let the great big world keep turning1 ,now ,i've joined a ,wolf ,cub ,pack2 ,and ,i only know ,that ,i want to go ,to camp--to camp--to ,,camp6 ,oh1 ,i long to set off marching ,with my kit-bag on my back4 ,let the great big world keep on turning round1 ,now ,i've joined a ,wolf ,cub ,pack6 ,then someone yelled ,are we down-hearted8 and the ,cubs yelled ,no6 so loudly that ,akela thought she would be deafened for life4 ,presently the train ran out into the country1 and plodded along between woods and fields4 ,and the early morning sun shone brightly1 and the sky was very blue4 ,the country1 the country6 ,and1 very soon1 the sea6 ,there were some of them who had never been to the country1 and ,spongey1 the youngest of the party1 had never even been in a real train4 ,talk about hot6 said someone1 panting1 when the train had thundered on for about an hour4 ,and1 my word1 it was hot6 ,besides1 there were blacks and dust1 and everyone began to get very grimy--specially the people who were eating bread-and-jam and sticky fruit1 and the people who had to crawl under the seat to pick up things that had got lost4 ,never mind1 said ,akela1 we shall be in the sea this evening1 and then we shall be cool4 ,that started everyone jumping for joy again1 of course4 ,presently the train passed ,arundel ,castle--its white towers and turrets and battlements rising up amidst the dark green woods like an enchanted castle in the days of knights and fairies--and the ,cubs learnt that there are castles in real life as well as in story-books4 ,after that they began looking out of the window to see who would be the first one to catch sight of the sea4 ,bunny was the first to1 and his friend ,bert1 the ,senior ,sixer1 came a close second4 ,at last the train got to ,portsmouth ,harbour1 and1 shouldering their kit-bags1 the ,cubs ran down on to the steamer4 ,the harbour was thrilling3 battleships1 cruisers1 torpedo-boats1 the ,royal yacht1 the ,admiralty yacht1 and1 most interesting of all1 ,nelson's ship1 the ,victory4 ,as if the steamer knew that a crowd of eager ,cubs were longing to see all round the ,victory1 it went out of its way to steam right round it1 slowly and quite near1 and the ,cubs had a splendid view4 ,the boys all wanted to be the first to touch the sea1 but ,bunny1 who had seen it first1 forestalled them again1 by letting down a ball of string over the edge of the boat and pulling it up all wet4 ,at last the ship reached the ,isle of ,wight1 and the ,cubs and their great mountain of camp luggage went down the long pier4 ,i forgot to tell you that besides ,akela there was the ,senior ,sixer's father and mother1 who were coming to help look after the camp--they became the ,father and ,mother of ,camp2 and there was also a lady who was a very kind camp ,godmother4 ,the grown-ups and the luggage were soon packed into a large motor-car1 and then1 relieved of their kit-bags1 the ,cubs set out to walk the two miles along the sea-front to the village called ,sea ,view4 ,the way lay along a thing called a sea-wall--a high stone wall about six feet broad running along above the shore1 with the sea lapping up against it at high tide4 ,along this the ,cubs walked 7or rather ran and jumped71 their eyes big with wonder at the great stretch of blue1 blue sea1 with here and there a distant sailing-boat1 and1 above1 the sky even bluer than the sea4 ,i didn't know the sky could be so blue6 said a ,cub2 and that was just how they all felt4 ,it was very hot walking in the midday sun4 ,there was no hurry--nine days to do just as they liked in--so halfway along the sea-wall the ,cubs and ,akela scrambled down some steep stone steps on to a tiny stretch of sand not yet covered by the incoming tide4 ,boots and stockings were soon off1 sleeves and shorts tucked up1 and everybody paddling deep in the cool green water4 ,when they had all got thoroughly cool they went on their way1 and at last arrived at the ,stable4 ,this was where they were to sleep4 ,it consisted of a courtyard1 a couple of stalls1 a coach-house1 a shed1 and two tiny rooms4 ,akela occupied one of these1 and the ,cubs were divided into two groups4 ,the ,stable was in charge of ,bert1 the ,senior ,sixer1 and in his stall he had ,bunny 7a ,second71 ,dick 7a big ,cub very nearly ready to go up to the ,scouts71 and ,patsy1 a small but lively ,irishman4 ,sam1 another ,sixer1 had in his stall four young terrors--,terry1 ,wooler1 ,jack1 and ,spongey ,ward4 ,then there was the coach-house4 ,this was in charge of ,bill1 the last ,senior ,sixer1 now a ,cub ,instructor4 ,the other occupants were ,jim1 a ,sixer 7,bill's young brother71 ,mac1 a ,second1 two brothers1 ,big ,andy and ,little ,andy1 and a rather new ,cub called ,bob4 ,it took a good while to stuff the palliasses with straw and unpack4 ,but when this was finished everyone had a good wash and changed into cool old clothes--shorts and cotton shirts4 ,tea followed1 in a jolly old garden behind the bake-house4 ,there was a seesaw in it1 and the grass was long and soft1 and the shade of the apple-trees very cool4 ,then the party ran up the hill to the camp field4 ,here there was a lot to do3 the bell tent to be pitched1 the fireplace made1 wood to be chopped1 water fetched1 all the pots and pans unpacked1 a swing and a couple of hammocks to be put up1 the two great sacks of loaves to be fetched1 and1 oh6 a hundred other things4 ,but all the ,cubs set to and did their best1 and at last all was ready4 ,now for the shore6 said ,akela1 and everyone cheered and ran for their towels and bathing-drawers4 ,it was only a few minutes' walk down to the most lovely shore you can imagine--stretches and stretches of golden sand and little1 lapping waves4 ,on one side you could see rocky points running down into the greeny-blue sea1 with trees growing right down to the shore4 ,an old1 brown-sailed coal barge moved slowly past on the gentle wind1 the many browns of its patched sails forming a rich splash of colour in the evening sun4 ,the ,cubs soon turned into water babies4 ,boots and stockings had been left behind at the ,stable1 and now they got rid of clothes as well4 ,how cool the sea was6 ,that first bathe seemed to wash away all the heat and smoke and grubbiness of dear old ,london4 ,after the bathe came a splendid paddle among brown1 sea-weedy rocks1 and the ,cubs caught their first baby crabs and found their first shells1 and got just as wet as they liked4 ,but the sun was sinking down behind the grey line of sea1 and the clock there is inside every ,cub was telling supper-time4 ,so1 with hands full of sea-weed and shells1 they made their way back to camp4 ,the camp-fire was burning merrily4 ,godmother1 in a large blue overall1 was stirring a steaming dixie of cocoa1 and ,mother and ,father were cutting up bread and cheese4 ,after supper there was time for a little play in the field4 ,then1 as it began to get dusk1 a whistle-blast called the ,cubs in for night prayers4 ,it was still quite light enough to read1 so each ,cub had a little homemade book of ,morning and ,night ,camp ,prayers4 ,kneeling in a quiet corner of the field1 with just the evening sky overhead1 with a pale star or two beginning to appear1 it was easy to feel ,god near and to pray4 ,the camp prayers started with ,a prayer that we may pray well4 ,it was a very old prayer1 really1 but it seemed just to fit the ,cubs1 and help them to do their best in their prayers as in all other things4 ,the prayer was this3 ,open ,thou1 ,o ,lord1 my mouth to bless ,thy ,holy ,name2 cleanse also my heart from wandering thoughts1 so that ,i may worthily1 devoutly1 and attentively recite these prayers1 and deserve to be heard in the sight of ,thy ,divine ,majesty4 ,through ,christ ,our ,lord4 ,amen4 ,then followed the ,our ,father and some short prayers4 ,and after that the ,cubs said altogether3 ,i confess to ,almighty ,god that ,i have sinned against ,him in thought1 word1 and deed4 ,then ,akela read out very slowly the following questions1 and each ,cub answered them in his heart--not out loud1 but silently1 for ,god only to hear3 ,have ,i done my best to pray well when saying my private prayers and at camp prayers8 ,have ,i really meant to please ,god to-day8 ,have ,i done my best in my orderly duties1 and in other things ,i have had to do8 ,have ,i given in to other people quickly and cheerfully when given an order8 ,have ,i spoken as ,i should not8 ,have ,i been disobedient8 ,have ,i been unkind to another boy--selfish8 quarrelsome8 unfair8 ,have ,i told a lie8 ,have ,i done anything else ,i am sorry for8 ,then1 after a pause1 ,akela said3 ,tell ,god you are truly sorry1 on your honour as a ,cub1 that you have grieved ,him by the sins of to-day4 ,then there was perfect silence for a moment1 and after that1 the ,cubs said1 all together3 ,may ,almighty ,god have mercy upon us1 and forgive us our sins1 and bring us to life everlasting4 ,then they said a short psalm1 and the following beautiful little hymn3 ,now with the fast departing light1 ,maker of all1 we ask of ,thee1 ,of ,thy great mercy1 through the night ,our guardian and defence to be4 ,far off let idle visions fly1 ,and dreams that might disturb our sleep2 ,naught shall we fear if ,thou art nigh1 ,our souls and bodies safe to keep4 ,father of mercies1 hear our cry2 ,hear us1 ,o sole-begotten ,son6 ,who with the ,holy ,ghost most high ,reignest while endless ages run4 ,amen4 ,then came ,a prayer that we may be forgiven any wandering thoughts we have had while reciting these prayers1 and1 to end up with1 ,our ,father once again1 because it is the prayer that ,christ ,our ,lord specially told ,his friends to use4 ,the nine o'clock gun booms out across the ,solent as the ,cubs and ,akela1 having bidden good-night to ,father and ,mother and ,godmother1 walk down the hill to the ,stable4 ,the sea looks like a great piece of shimmering grey silk4 ,look at the little twinkle lights6 says a ,cub4 ,it is the street lamps over on the mainland1 but they look like so many winking diamonds4 ,there is quite a cluster of them on the grey ghost of a battleship1 and the old1 round fort has a light which looks like the red end of a cigar4 ,please1 please let us go down to the front and look at the little twinkling lights1 beg the ,cubs4 ,so1 on condition they get undressed in five minutes1 ,akela says ,yes4 ,a few minutes later the ,stable and the ,coach-house are having an undressing race4 ,one of the two tiny rooms has been made into a little chapel4 ,in less than two minutes the first ,cub ready whisks once round the yard in his night-shirt1 like a white moth in the dusk1 and into the chapel to say his prayers4 ,the door stands open4 ,in the red light of the tiny lamp you can see the little white form kneeling on the floor1 very quiet and devout4 ,presently he is silently joined by another--there is only room for two1 it is such a wee chapel4 ,several impatient people in pyjamas think it would be fun to start jazzing in the courtyard1 till ,akela warns them1 ,no story if you start ragging4 ,soon all prayers are said1 and the people in the ,coach-house are in bed1 and ready to invite the ,stable4 ,the ,stable having been duly invited1 its eight occupants come in1 and each finds a place on a palliasse4 ,it is a warm1 still night4 ,the great doors of the ,coach-house stand wide open4 ,the stars are out thick by this time4 ,little black bats flit and swoop about in the darkness4 ,if you keep very still you can just hear the gentle hshshsh1 hshshsh of the sea4 ,the candle flickers as the night gives a little sigh4 ,a few ,cubs are rolling about on their straw beds4 ,shut up1 all6 commands an imperious ,sixer4 ,now1 miss1 go ahead4 ,akela is sitting on a palliasse already occupied by two people4 ,silence reigns1 for these ,cubs belong to a story-telling ,pack1 and it is almost the only time they are ever quite quiet4 ,well1 begins ,akela1 many hundreds of years ago there lived a boy---- ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,st4 ,,benedict4 ,many hundreds of years ago there lived a boy called ,benedict4 ,he lived in ,italy4 ,his father and mother were rich people1 and lived in a beautiful house on a beautiful estate4 ,st4 ,benedict and his twin sister must have been very happy playing among the olive-trees and vines of sunny ,italy1 where the sky is nearly always blue1 and where there are all sorts of lovely wild-flowers and fruits we don't get in ,england1 and lizards and butterflies and all sorts of things4 ,st4 ,benedict was brought up a good ,christian1 though lots of the people round were still pagans in those days4 ,there were terrible wars and troubles going on in ,italy and in all the countries round1 like there have been in our days4 ,but the boy ,benedict in his happy home knew little of these4 ,little did he know that the beautiful fields of ,italy were being left to be overgrown with weeds and over-run with wild beasts2 that the children had never heard of ,god2 that the poor were dying of starvation4 ,to him the world was a happy place1 where one played and had a good time1 and where people loved ,christ and obeyed ,his words4 ,but some day he was to learn the truth4 ,for ,god was going to use the boy ,benedict to do more than any one man has ever done to civilize the world4 ,this story ,i'm telling you is the story of how ,st4 ,benedict discovered all ,god's great plan for him1 and worked it out1 bit by bit4 ,when ,st4 ,benedict had learnt all that his tutors could teach him at home his father sent him to the great city of ,rome to learn there from the scholars and learned men1 and attend lectures and classes4 ,st4 ,benedict was a very clever boy1 and he must have got on very quickly and pleased his masters very much4 ,he could probably have carried off all sorts of prizes and won great fame and praise for himself1 but there was something which stopped him caring for things like that4 ,in the great city of ,rome he saw two things--one of them was all sorts of wicked1 selfish1 horrible1 and ungodly pleasures in which men wasted their lives and altogether forgot ,god2 and the other was the beautiful1 holy lives of the ,christians1 many of whom could tell wonderful stories of the martyrs who had been killed in ,rome not so very long before1 and whose bodies lay in the ,catacombs4 ,there were some beautiful churches in the city1 and ,st4 ,benedict loved to go to the solemn services4 ,as he knelt there in the holy stillness1 or listened to the chanting1 he began to think4 ,and more and more he felt that all the glamour and selfish pleasures and greediness of the people was stupid and wrong1 and that what was really worth having was a good conscience1 and peace1 and the friendship of ,god4 ,and as he thought1 he began to care less and less for his learning and his chances of glory1 and he began to feel as if he wanted to get right away from people and have the chance of thinking about ,god4 ,when ,st4 ,benedict had these feelings he knew they came from ,god1 and so1 instead of not listening and just letting himself get keen on his study and his amusements1 he made up his mind that he would always do his best to follow ,god's will1 and would keep his heart always listening1 so that if ,god did want to call him away to some special kind of life he would be ready to hear and to obey4 ,well1 when anybody does this ,god does not fail to tell him what to do1 and so1 when ,st4 ,benedict had been seven years in ,rome1 and was still only a boy1 ,god made known to him that he must leave ,rome1 and his friends and his masters1 and go right away into the mountains4 ,his old nurse1 ,cyrilla1 had always stayed with him1 faithfully2 and now she decided to go with him wherever it was that ,god was leading him4 ,so1 one day1 ,st4 ,benedict and ,cyrilla set out secretly1 and made their way by hidden paths towards the mountains4 ,at last they reached a certain village1 and ,st4 ,benedict went into the church to pray ,god to make known ,his will4 ,when he came out the peasants who lived near the church pressed him to stay with them4 ,st4 ,benedict took their kindness as a sign that it was ,god's will1 so he and his old nurse settled down in the village4 ,it was while the boy was living here that 7so the old books tell us7 a miracle happened which made people feel sure that ,god was specially pleased with him4 ,one day1 as ,st4 ,benedict returned home from the church where he had been praying1 he found his old nurse very unhappy2 in fact1 she was crying4 ,this distressed him very much1 because he hated to see other people miserable4 ,at first he wondered why ,cyrilla was crying1 and then he saw the cause4 ,she had accidentally broken an earthenware bowl that one of the good villagers had lent her4 ,full of pity for his old friend1 ,st4 ,benedict took up the two pieces and went outside the house with them1 and knelt down4 ,then he prayed very hard that the bowl might be mended4 ,and1 as he opened his eyes and looked at it1 sure enough1 it was whole6 ,very pleased1 and thinking how good ,god is to those who really trust ,him1 he ran into the house and gave it to ,cyrilla4 ,st4 ,benedict had not thought of himself1 but only of ,god's wonderful power and kindness4 ,but ,cyrilla and the village people to whom she told the miracle all began to talk a lot about ,st4 ,benedict1 and say he was a young saint1 since he could do miracles4 ,people even came in from the places round to stare at him4 ,do you think this pleased him8 ,no2 he wasn't that sort of boy4 ,if he had been1 ,god would never have done anything for him4 ,he was very distressed at the way people went on2 and more and more he felt that ,god was calling him away1 and had something very important to say to him4 ,and one day it came to him that he must leave even his faithful old nurse and go away4 ,you can imagine how terribly sad he must have been at that thought1 not only because he loved her and had always had her near him since he could remember1 but because he knew how very1 very much she loved him1 and that if he left her she would be sad and lonely1 with no one to comfort her4 ,but you remember what ,i told you about how ,st4 ,benedict had made up his mind to do his best always to carry out ,god's will1 and not give in to himself and pretend he had not heard2 so1 because he knew that it is more important to be faithful to ,god than to any person on earth1 he made up his mind to go away4 ,he did not tell his old nurse1 but one day he set out1 alone4 ,he must have felt very strongly that it was ,god's will1 otherwise he would not have dared go out all alone and unarmed into the mountains1 and with no money or food4 ,don't you think it was very brave of him8 ,perhaps you think it was foolish8 ,well1 people have often been thought fools for doing ,god's will faithfully1 but in the end ,god proves that really they were quite right4 ,anyway1 something very soon happened to ,st4 ,benedict to show that ,god was with him4 ,as he tramped on1 along the mountain-sides1 between the flower-covered banks and thickets full of birds' songs1 he prayed to ,god to guide him in the right way4 ,and so when1 after some hours of solitary tramping1 he saw a man coming towards him out of a lonely mountain pass1 he felt sure this was someone sent by ,god to help him4 ,the man's clothes showed that he was a monk4 ,as he drew near he looked curiously at ,st4 ,benedict1 wondering who this noble-looking boy could be walking all alone among the wild mountains4 ,he1 himself1 had come out there to meditate and be alone with ,god and his thoughts4 ,stopping ,st4 ,benedict1 he asked him kindly who he was and where he was going4 ,st4 ,benedict quite simply told him the truth3 that he had come out to seek ,god's will1 and didn't know where he was going1 except that he was seeking some place where he could live hidden from the whole world4 ,at first the monk ,romanus tried to argue with him and show him that it was foolish to come out like that alone4 ,but ,st4 ,benedict spoke so wonderfully about ,god's call that ,romanus saw he was right1 and made up his mind to help him find somewhere where he could live alone for a while4 ,so he led him up a steep winding path1 and showed him a cave opening into the rugged mountain-side4 ,the cave was about seven feet deep and four feet broad1 and there was just room on the rocky ledge outside to make a little garden4 ,st4 ,benedict stepped into the cave with his heart full of joy1 feeling sure that at last he had found the place he was seeking4 ,before going away1 ,romanus gave him a long garment made of sheep-skin1 which was what the monks of those days used to wear4 ,he also promised to supply him with food4 ,his monastery was far up1 on the top of the great rock in which the cave was4 ,he said that every day he would let down a basket with bread in it for ,st4 ,benedict1 and he promised faithfully to keep his secret4 ,then he went away4 ,what happened in the time that followed no one knows--it is a secret between ,god and ,st4 ,benedict4 ,but we can guess that ,god made known many wonderful things to ,his faithful young servant--things that later he was to teach to thousands of men2 and that ,he filled him with grace and strength to do what he would have to do1 to make the world a better place4 ,also1 we can be sure that he was very1 very happy1 in spite of the loneliness1 and the dark1 cold nights1 and the hard ground he had for his bed4 ,three years ,st4 ,benedict lived like this1 and then one sunny ,easter morning ,god made known ,st4 ,benedict's secret to a certain holy man who lived in those parts1 and told him to go to the cave and take ,st4 ,benedict some of his ,easter fare4 ,st4 ,benedict was very pleased to see him1 but surprised to hear it was ,easter1 for he had lost all count of time4 ,so the priest laid out the good things he had brought1 and they said grace1 and then they had a meal together1 and then a talk4 ,after the priest had gone some shepherds and country-folk climbed up the steep little path to see where he had been1 and they found ,st4 ,benedict4 ,he welcomed them1 and spoke so wonderfully to them that they saw he was a man specially taught by ,god4 ,they felt he was their true friend and loved them for ,god's sake1 and so they often climbed the steep path to visit him and ask his help and advice4 ,but very soon news of him spread beyond the mountain shepherds1 and people of all sorts from far and near flocked to see the holy man and ask his prayers and his advice4 ,sad1 wicked people went away with sorrow for their sins1 and became good4 ,cowards went away full of strength and courage4 ,and many people began to learn a new way of serving ,god truly1 always doing their best for love of ,him1 and never giving in to themselves4 ,it was then that ,god allowed ,st4 ,benedict to have a terrible temptation1 to test him4 ,suddenly he felt within him a great desire to give up all he was doing for ,god and return to the wicked city he had left and live a life of ease and pleasure4 ,it was the ,devil who put this thought into his mind1 but ,god's grace in ,st4 ,benedict was stronger than the ,devil4 ,with all his heart he vowed that he would never give up doing ,god's will1 and1 to punish himself for the thoughts that had entered his mind1 he threw himself into a mass of sharp1 thorny briars and stinging-nettles1 so that his flesh was all torn and stung4 ,after that he was so strong that no temptation was ever able to conquer him1 and he was able to lead thousands of souls to victory4 ,the time had come when ,god wanted ,st4 ,benedict to leave his cave4 ,he had learnt what ,god had to tell him in secret1 and now his great work was to begin4 ,a large number of men who wished to serve ,god with all their hearts began to collect round ,st4 ,benedict4 ,gradually they formed twelve monasteries1 all within about two miles1 and got ,st4 ,benedict to rule over them all4 ,this was the beginning of ,st4 ,benedict's great work for ,god4 ,he drew up a ,rule which showed men how they could live in the way most pleasing to ,god4 ,it was not so terribly hard as to be impossible for ordinary men1 like some of the holy hermits and ,saints in the past had taught4 ,and so thousands and thousands of men began to promise to keep this ,rule and to live together in monasteries1 doing good4 ,st4 ,benedict had many wonderful adventures during the rest of his life1 but ,i must keep those stories to tell you another time4 ,the end of this one is that after ,god had called ,st4 ,benedict to ,heaven1 his great work went on4 ,his followers began to travel all over the world as missionaries1 teaching the pagans about ,christ1 and bringing peace and goodness to the poor1 sad1 wicked world4 ,they cultivated the land and made it fruitful2 and built churches and hospitals and schools2 and taught the children1 and looked after the poor1 and civilized the world4 ,it was they who brought the ,christian ,faith to ,england1 for ,st4 ,augustine was one of ,st4 ,benedict's monks1 and did more than anybody else to make ,england the great country which she became2 for before ,st4 ,benedict's monks came the country was all wild and the ,saxons were heathen4 ,so1 you see1 by listening for ,god's voice1 and doing his best to obey faithfully1 the boy ,benedict became one of the men who have done very great things for the world4 99 99 99 99 99 ,tell us some more1 said the ,cubs sleepily4 ,tell us all the adventures ,st4 ,benedict had4 ,no1 no1 said ,akela2 that was a long story4 ,now you must go to sleep and dream about ,st4 ,benedict1 and then you will be ready to get up and have a glorious day to-morrow4 ,so the ,stable boys stumbled sleepily back to their own quarters1 and ,akela tucked each of them up in his blankets4 ,a quarter of an hour later everyone was asleep4 ,as ,akela crept softly round she could only hear the regular breathing of sound sleepers4 ,true1 at midnight ,patsy made some loud conversation1 and thought he could do without any blankets at all1 but he did not wake up even then1 and was soon tucked up quietly again4 ,so ended the ,first ,day4 ,,the ,,second ,,day ,the sun has already been up some time when the first ,cub wakes up and wonders where he is4 ,finding he is in camp1 he feels sure it would be a good turn if he thumped the sleeping form next him and woke him up1 that he1 too1 may have the delight of remembering that to-morrow has actually come--the first real day in camp6 ,these two make conversation to each other1 and become so cheery that soon everybody else has woke up4 ,it is #f4cj1 so ,akela gives leave for everyone to turn out4 ,there is a tap in the ,stable-yard4 ,soon everyone is washing in a tin basin4 ,the two cooks have dressed quickly1 said their prayers in the little chapel1 and are off up the hill to the camp field4 ,at the ,stable it is some time before everyone is thoroughly washed and dressed1 beds are tidied1 and everything spick and span4 ,then the crowd of happy ,cubs race off to the field4 ,the fire is burning merrily1 and a big dixie of porridge bubbling for all it is worth4 ,away1 between the trees1 you can see the blue sea glinting and sparkling4 ,overhead the sea-gulls circle on silver wings1 and cry good-morning to each other as they pass with swoops and dips1 like so many tiny aeroplanes4 ,the dew is thick on the grass1 the blackbirds sing1 the sun shines1 and the camp-fire sends a steady column of blue smoke into the fresh morning air4 ,how different to early morning in ,london6 ,with a howl of joy the ,cubs scatter over the field4 ,here comes ,godmother in a big blue overall and a sun hat2 and ,father and ,mother appear at the same moment from the farther corner of the field4 ,they take over the cooking1 and the two cooks run off for a bit of sport after their labours4 ,then everyone collects in the council circle for prayers4 ,a short run wild again1 and then a series of whistle-blasts calls the ,pack in for breakfast4 ,in come rushing the ravenous ,cubs1 and each squats down where the cooks have placed their mugs in a circle4 ,caps off1 and all stand quiet for a moment1 for grace1 and then porridge and mountains of bread-and-butter begin to disappear at a great rate4 ,breakfast finished1 the pots and the pans washed up1 the ,pack invades the post office1 and1 armed with picture postcards and pencils1 the ,cubs squat along the sea-wall and write to their mothers4 ,that duty done1 and spades1 pails1 boats1 and shrimping-nets bought1 they lose no more time in getting down on to the shore4 ,it is a happy and hungry crowd with wet and rumpled hair that turns up again at camp1 all ready for the splendid dinner ,mother and ,father have cooked4 ,after dinner a rest1 while ,godmother reads aloud4 ,the day ends up with a wonderful shrimping-party4 ,besides shrimps1 the ,cubs catch every kind of funny little sea-creature--star-fishes1 jelly-fishes1 baby sea-anemones1 tiny1 tiny crabs1 a devil-fish1 baby dabs1 and everything else you can think of4 ,the tide is right out1 and there are mysterious green pools under the pier1 full of feathery red sea-weed and little darting fishes4 ,of course1 ,sam falls into one in his clothes1 and comes out looking like a drowned rat4 ,akela wrings him out and sends him home to get into dry clothes1 for the sun is beginning to sink4 ,supper1 night prayers1 a race down the hill1 a few minutes1 to see the little twinkling lights1 and the happy family is getting undressed in double quick time1 for ,akela has promised a good story to-night--a nexiting one about a robber chief4 ,soon everyone in the coach-house is settled on his palliasse1 and has invited a ,stable ,cub to share it with him4 ,the candle has been lighted and stuck with a dab of grease on the ledge4 ,fire ahead1 miss1 commands a ,sixer4 ,silence reigns4 ,the story ,i told you yesterday1 said ,akela1 was about a boy who started good1 and went on being good all his life4 ,to-night ,i am going to tell you about a boy who started good1 but became bad1 and was very wicked until he grew up1 when something happened which sent him on the great adventure of serving ,god4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,st4 ,,guthlac4 ,many hundreds of years ago1 in the days when ,england was ruled over by the ,saxon ,kings1 there lived a boy called ,guthlac4 ,he was a very intelligent boy1 not dull1 like some children2 he was obedient to the grown-ups1 and1 as the old book says1 blithe in countenance1 pure and clean and innocent in his ways2 and in him was the lustre of ,divine brightness so shining that all men who saw him could perceive the promise of what should hereafter happen to him4 ,but when he got to be about fifteen he forgot all the things he had been taught as a child4 ,when he felt a kind of restless longing for adventure rising up inside him1 and a desire to do wild things1 and a cruel feeling that he did not care what happened to other people so long as he had a good time1 he gave in to himself and began the most wild and reckless life you can imagine4 ,he armed himself with a great ash-bow and a sharp spear from his father's armoury4 ,he slung a shield on his back1 and stuck his belt full of knives and daggers and arrows4 ,then he went about and collected a gang of all the wildest boys he could find1 and put himself at their head4 ,then1 going through all the country round1 these wild boys attacked anybody they thought was an enemy of theirs1 paid off old grudges1 killed and wounded innocent people1 set fire to their houses1 and did all the damage they could4 ,mad with excitement and lust for blood1 they soon became just a robber band1 attacking friend and foe alike1 killing just for the pleasure of killing1 or sacking farms and houses to satisfy their greed4 ,they knew all the woods and by-ways so well that no one could catch them4 ,after a time they began to build themselves huts where they could sleep1 and also hide the treasure they had plundered from rich men4 ,you can't imagine any wicked or horrible thing they did not do4 ,and1 of course1 they forgot ,god entirely1 though once they had been ,christian children and had been brought up to know and love ,god4 ,nine years passed like this1 and then something happened4 ,one night as ,guthlac1 the chief1 lay on his bed of rushes and soft1 warm skins in the darkness of the wooden cabin1 thinking over the excitements of the day and planning all the wicked things he would do the next day1 a wonderful thought flashed into his mind1 and it seemed to swallow up all the other thoughts4 ,he lay still1 gazing into the darkness and trying to understand what it was4 ,then1 gradually1 he found that it was ,god he was thinking about--,god1 ,whom he had forgotten for nine long years4 ,he did not turn away his mind1 but went on thinking about ,god until his heart was full of a kind of glow that was love4 ,he was surprised1 for he knew he did not really love ,god2 for he was spending all his days fighting against ,him by every wicked thing he could imagine4 ,and then he began to understand that this feeling inside him was sent by ,god--it was ,god's love for him1 and not his love for ,god4 ,could it really be that ,god loved him8 ,he was so very wicked and cruel1 and ,god--,god was so good and just and merciful4 ,the robbers1 sleeping on their rush beds1 breathed heavily2 they were tired after a hard day4 ,guthlac listened to their breathing4 ,they were his men2 they obeyed him as their chief4 ,he remembered the day1 nine years ago1 when he had thought of the bold robbers and sea-kings and brave men of the past1 and longed to show that he was as daring as they1 and could lead men to war4 ,but as he lay1 very wide awake1 with the strange feeling of ,god near1 he began to think of other great men he had heard of in his childhood--men just as brave and daring as the sea-kings1 just as good leaders of men1 more famous and wonderful1 and--lovers of ,god4 ,god loved them1 and they loved ,god and gave all their strength and courage to serve ,him4 ,they were ,his special friends4 ,and now it seemed to ,guthlac that ,god was filling his heart with love and asking him to be ,his special friend4 ,a great feeling of shame came over him4 ,how could ,god forgive him and want him for a friend after all the terrible things he had done8 ,but suddenly a great longing filled him to be one of ,god's special friends1 and obey ,him1 and go on always loving ,him4 ,he longed for ,christ to become his ,chief and ,leader2 and then he began to understand that this would mean he must tell ,god from the bottom of his heart that he was sorry for all the wicked things he had ever done1 and must promise on his honour that he would never again do a single one of them4 ,guthlac sat up in bed and thought hard4 ,this would mean that he must give up being a robber1 give up his free life in the woods1 give up leading his daring followers1 give up all the unlawful pleasures of which his life was made up4 ,it would be a terribly big giving up 4 4 4 but then1 what a big1 big thing he would get in exchange6 ,he would get the friendship of ,god1 and the knowledge that he had become very pleasing to ,him4 ,stretching wide his arms in the darkness1 he told ,god that he gave up all1 all1 all that was wicked1 and he begged to be forgiven and made clean once more1 like an innocent little child4 ,then1 very happy1 he lay back on his bed of skins and fell asleep4 ,the sun was streaming into the long1 low room when ,guthlac awoke4 ,it was a glorious ,english spring morning4 ,the sleeping robbers were stirring1 one by one1 beneath their warm deer-skins4 ,they little thought that their chief1 sitting up in bed with the morning sun in his eyes1 was thinking about ,god1 and how wonderful it was that ,he had come to him in the night and called him to become one of ,his friends4 ,it was rather difficult to believe1 in the light of day1 with the coarse laughter and wild voices of the robbers ringing out on the morning air1 and yet ,guthlac knew it was true1 and knew that he had made a great promise4 ,he was too brave a man to go back on a promise1 however hard to keep1 so he stood up with a strong purpose in his heart4 ,the first step would be to tell his men4 ,that would be terribly hard4 ,he suddenly felt very lonely1 and wished there was someone else there to back him up4 ,then he remembered that the ,lord ,christ was his ,chief4 ,surely ,he would be near and help him in his first adventure8 ,so he stepped out into the dewy woods1 where all the birds were singing as if they1 too1 loved ,god with all their hearts4 ,and he called his men about him to hear the important thing he had to say4 ,they all came crowding round1 expecting to hear some splendid new adventure that ,guthlac1 their chief1 had planned for them4 ,then he stood up1 taller than any of them and more splendid1 and in his clear1 ringing voice he told them that a wonderful thing had happened--,god had called him to join the band of ,his brave friends4 ,when ,god calls there's no hanging back4 ,and so he had given up for ever the robber's life4 ,he was no longer their chief4 ,he had found a new ,chief for himself1 and was off1 at once1 on the adventure of ,god's service4 ,and so he bade them--good-bye4 ,the robbers looked at each other in horror and surprise4 ,what had happened to their chief8 ,was he mad8 ,what would happen to them without their brave leader8 ,falling down on their knees about him1 they begged him to stay2 but ,guthlac's eyes were already looking away at the new adventure he saw before him4 ,the pleasures of his old life did not seem worth anything now2 he scarcely heard the voices of his friends as they pleaded with him4 ,at last they gave up all hope of persuading him1 and ,guthlac walked away through the woods1 leaving his old life behind him for ever4 ,he did not know where to go at first1 but he felt sure ,christ1 his new ,chief1 would help him2 and1 sure enough1 he presently remembered that not very far away there was an abbey of ,st4 ,benedict's monks4 ,he knew those men were all ,christ's friends1 and he was quite sure they would welcome him4 ,so he walked through the woods until he came to the abbey4 ,there he knocked loudly on the great door1 and presently a brother opened it4 ,he must have been terrified when he saw the tall young chieftain standing before him1 for all the countryside feared ,guthlac4 ,but very soon the brother saw the love of ,god shining in ,guthlac's eyes1 and the gentle humility in his voice showed that he was no longer the cruel robber1 but a servant of ,christ4 ,the monks took ,guthlac in and made him welcome4 ,soon he found that conquering himself and the ,devil was a harder fight than he had ever fought against his enemies in the world1 but he threw himself into the battle with all his heart4 ,he did not do things by halves1 but began to serve ,god with all his might1 because before he had fought so hard against ,him4 ,remembering how often he had got drunk with the wine he had stolen1 he now would not drink one single drop even of the wine the monks were allowed to have4 ,at first the brothers did not like this1 but soon they began to understand the strong resolve of the young robber1 and1 seeing how very pure his heart was and how much he loved ,god1 they all loved him4 ,the curious old book which tells all about him says3 ,he was in figure tall1 and pure in body1 cheerful in mood1 and in countenance handsome2 he was modest in his discourse1 and he was patient and humble1 and ever in his heart was ,divine love hot and burning4 ,for two years he lived in that monastery1 and then he began to long to live a harder life for ,christ's sake4 ,he heard about the hermits of old days who used to live apart from other men in wild places1 and he got leave from the ,abbot to follow their example4 ,so one day he set out4 ,he did not choose the beautiful green woods that he had once roamed in1 but turned towards a most horrible place--a great marsh full of pools of slimy black water1 and reeds1 and rough scrub and bushes4 ,it was the most lonely place you can imagine1 and people feared to go there because they said it was haunted by evil spirits4 ,on an island in this lonely fen ,st4 ,guthlac settled down with two servants4 ,it was a very hard life1 and the ,devil sent him all sorts of horrible temptations and haunted him and gave him no rest2 but ,st4 ,guthlac rejoiced in the chance of fighting under his ,captain1 ,christ1 against the evil spirits4 ,it would take too long now to tell you of all the wonderful things that happened to ,st4 ,guthlac on this island--we must keep them for another time4 ,for ,god rewarded his love and his courage by giving him a wonderful gift of miracles and of great wisdom1 so that the news of him gradually spread all over the country1 and people began to understand that the great robber had now become a great ,saint4 ,and so from far and near1 the people flocked to him4 ,but one thing more about him ,i will tell you4 ,though he had now no human companions1 and chose to set all his love on ,god1 he had a wonderful friendship with the wild animals that shared the island with him4 ,in those days there were many wild beasts in ,england1 such as wolves4 ,these would come to ,st4 ,guthlac and eat out of his hand4 ,even the fishes would come to him2 and as to the birds1 they did not fear him at all4 ,the swallows1 which are very timid birds1 would come and settle all about on him1 and there were some ravens which were a trouble because they were so tame and would come and steal things from his house4 ,once a holy man called ,wilfrith1 who had come to see ,st4 ,guthlac1 was surprised to see the swallows settle on him1 and 7as the old book says7 asked him wherefore the wild birds of the waste sat so submissively upon him4 ,st4 ,guthlac explained to him in these words3 ,hast thou never learnt1 ,brother ,wilfrith1 in ,holy ,writ1 that he who hath led his life after ,god's will1 the wild beasts and wild birds have become the more intimate with him8 ,and the man who would pass his life apart from worldly men1 to him the angels approach nearer4 ,so it was that the wild place called ,croyland became a place of ,god1 and ,st4 ,guthlac1 through ,god's power1 was able to do more good to his fellow-men than ever he had done them harm in his wild days4 ,but though ,st4 ,guthlac was doing miracles as wonderful as those of the ,old ,testament prophets1 and preaching in his wilderness as wonderfully as ,st4 ,john the ,baptist did in his1 ,god did not mean to leave him there very long1 for ,he wished to have ,his brave and true friend in heaven4 ,after fifteen years ,st4 ,guthlac1 who was still almost a young man1 fell ill4 ,knowing that ,god was calling him to ,heaven1 he gladly began to prepare4 ,his illness lasted only seven days1 and he himself knew that he would die on the eighth4 ,but he had nothing to fear1 for he had so truly repented of his sins that night when ,god spoke to him first that they had been all washed away4 ,so he lay in his little house waiting4 ,and when one of his faithful servants1 who was some way off1 at his prayers1 chanced to look up1 he saw the house with a kind of bright cloud of glory round it4 ,and this brightness stayed there till day broke4 ,and at dawn ,st4 ,guthlac called his servant and gave him last messages for his friends4 ,and after that1 says the old book1 he raised his eyes to heaven and stretched out his arms1 and then sent forth his spirit with joy and bliss to the eternal happiness of the heavenly kingdom4 99 99 99 99 99 ,that was a good one1 said the ,cubs4 ,but they were too sleepy to ask for another story1 as usual1 and in less than five minutes every one was asleep1 sailing away through the dream-sea towards the golden1 sunlit country called ,to-morrow4 ,,the ,,third ,,day ,seven o'clock and no one awake yet6 ,akela crept softly out and roused the cooks4 ,sam woke quickly1 but ,bill was just like a hermit crab--the more you poked him1 the more he drew back into his shell and hid his head under his blanket4 ,presently1 however1 he began to uncurl1 opened his eyes very wide1 sat up1 and discovered it was not his mother calling him1 but that he was at camp4 ,he got up quickly1 and was the first ready4 ,gradually they all woke up1 but no one was in such a hurry to turn out this morning4 ,they put on uniform and boots and stockings1 for it was not to be a shore day4 ,breakfast over1 haversacks were packed with grub1 and the whole party tramped off along the sea-wall to ,ryde4 ,the first thing that happened was a beautiful service in a very beautiful little church1 for on this day 7,august #aeth7 the ,pack always goes to church4 ,then five of the younger ones who didn't fancy a long tramp went home with ,father and ,mother1 and the rest set off on an adventure4 ,along the roads and lanes they went1 but the way did not seem long1 for they talked of so many interesting things4 ,after about two miles1 as they were going along a narrow lane1 they suddenly came on a man sitting on the bank1 who stood up and said1 ,hullo6 ,the ,cubs gave a yell and fell upon him1 for1 you see1 he was their ,scoutmaster4 ,he led the way past an old ruin1 under a ruined archway1 and along a little path1 till they got to a great building called ,quarr ,abbey1 where he was staying4 ,there1 under the shade of the trees1 the weary travellers sat and had an enormous lunch4 ,three big jugs of cider had been provided for them4 ,it was the first time they had ever tasted cider1 and ,akela began to be afraid they would never be able to walk home straight if they drank any more2 so it was decided to pour the remainder into the water-bottles1 and take it back for the five boys in camp4 ,after dinner the ,scoutmaster took the ,cubs for a row in the creek1 and afterwards they bathed4 ,then they had a good tea1 and were allowed to see over the abbey and go down in the crypt under the church4 ,it interested them very much to see a wonderful library of eighty thousand books6 ,some were hundreds and hundreds of years old1 and all done in writing and painting1 because there was no printing in those days4 ,some were books done in the very first days of printing4 ,there was one enormous book you could hardly carry1 and by it a tiny wee little book you could put in your waistcoat-pocket4 ,at last it was time to go home1 and they set out once more to tramp along the lanes4 ,the evening sun shone down through the thick green leaves1 and the blackbirds sang as if they were saying all sorts of important things to each other1 if only you could understand4 ,the grey1 broken arches of the ruined abbey seemed to tell sad tales of long ago--seemed full of secrets nobody will ever hear4 ,it's been a good adventure1 said the ,cubs1 and they tramped home contentedly1 for their minds were full of things to think about4 ,even at the end of a four-mile tramp they were ready to run up the grassy hill into the camp1 each keen to be the first one to tell ,father and ,mother about the eighty thousand books1 and the ruin1 and the cider1 and the crypt4 ,the five ,cubs enjoyed the cider1 and everyone talked at the same time round the camp-fire that night1 all telling different things4 ,story to-night1 miss8 said a ,cub1 suddenly4 ,yes1 said ,akela4 ,good one8 ,yes--a very good one about a soldier-,saint4 ,hooray6 ,buck up1 boys1 and let's get down to the ,stable for the story1 cried the ,cub1 cramming the last bit of bread-and-cheese into his mouth4 ,the trampers were quite ready to lie down on their beds that night4 ,it's been the best day we've had yet1 they said2 and now1 please1 tell the story4 ,so ,akela curled up on someone's palliasse1 and silence fell4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,st4 ,,martin4 ,a little more than three hundred years after ,our ,lord formed the ,christian ,church and then went back to ,heaven1 having promised always to be in spirit with ,his people1 a boy called ,martin was born in ,hungary4 ,this boy ,god chose to be a very great leader among ,his people1 the ,christians1 and so ,he began to arrange ,martin's life in such a way that he should be led1 little by little1 to the fulfilment of ,god's plans4 ,now1 part of ,god's plan was that ,martin should be given the chance of conquering himself1 and1 with the addition of a lot of ,god's grace1 be made strong and able to bear bravely the terrible dangers and hardships that were bound to go with a high position in the ,church of ,christ in those days of persecution4 ,this story ,i am going to tell you is the story of all the hard things and disappointments and adventures ,god sent to the boy ,martin1 in order to prepare him well1 and bring him1 at last1 to the position he was to fill in the ,church4 ,well1 the first thing that happened was that the ,holy ,spirit put into the little boy's heart the idea of praying to a wonderful1 unknown being1 ,whom he called the ,god of the ,christians4 ,you see1 his father was a pagan1 and ,martin had never been taught anything about ,god1 and must have picked up this idea all on his own4 ,he had no church to go to1 or anything1 so he set to and built himself a little chapel on the top of a hill near his home1 and there he often ran off and prayed to the ,god he knew so little about1 but ,who1 he felt sure1 was a kind and loving friend of little boys4 ,well1 ,god was pleased to see that ,martin had answered so well to the idea ,he had sent into his heart1 so ,he rewarded him by making something happen1 which was the next bit of ,his plan1 so to speak4 ,martin's father was a soldier1 and had risen from the ranks to the position of ,colonel in the ,roman ,army4 ,to repay him for his good services he was given a farm in ,italy4 ,and so1 when ,martin was ten years old1 his father and mother moved to this farm1 and ,martin found himself living in a country where the ,christian ,faith was openly practised and people loved and served the ,god of the ,christians1 ,whom ,martin had so much longed to know more about4 ,you can imagine how pleased the boy was2 and before long he had discovered the house of the priests who taught young pagans all about the ,christian faith1 and had begun to go to them regularly to learn4 ,his father did not take much notice of this1 and thought his small son would soon forget all about it when he got old enough to enter the life his father had decided he should follow--the exciting life of a soldier4 ,but ,martin was not dreaming of battles and the adventures of a soldier's life1 for he had discovered that among ,christians there was such a thing as specially giving yourself to ,god1 and bravely breaking away from all the things you love by nature--like riches and fine clothes1 and nice food1 and friends1 and adventures in the world1 so as to love ,christ only1 and follow the adventures of the spirit to which ,he will lead ,his loyal soldiers4 ,while still a boy ,martin decided that this was the life for him1 and he began to long to leave his comfortable home and go and join the hermits who lived in caves4 ,so you can imagine that when his father began to talk about his starting his military training he was very much dismayed4 ,being a frank and honest kind of boy1 he looked his father bravely in the face1 and told him straight out that he wanted to be a ,christian and give up his whole life to it4 ,martin's father was very angry indeed4 ,he stormed at the boy1 and when he found that was no good1 he thrashed him4 ,but nothing could make ,martin change his mind1 and at last he decided the only way was to run away from home4 ,but ,i told you ,god meant ,martin to become a leader4 ,to have run away and lived with the hermits would not have given him just the kind of training he needed1 and the chance of showing he could stick to ,god through real difficulties4 ,so ,god let the next bit of ,his plan happen4 ,martin's father told the ,roman officials that his son had come to the age at which all boys had to undergo their military training 7though he hadn't1 really74 ,and as ,martin would not go and join up1 a kind of press-gang lay in ambush one day and captured him1 and he was led away in chains and forced to take the oath of military allegiance4 ,his father being a ,colonel1 ,martin was given a good position in the army straight off1 and had his own horse and his own servant4 ,of course1 nearly all his companions were pagans1 and the life of the army was of a pretty low standard4 ,but ,martin stuck faithfully to the kind of life he knew was pleasing to ,god1 and tried in his dealings with his fellow-men to do things in the brave1 kind1 generous1 unselfish way ,christ would have done them4 ,of course1 this made all the soldiers and his fellow-officers love him1 and they must often have wondered why he never got angry1 or cheated1 or grumbled and swore at unpleasant things2 and why he was so very kind to his servant1 and always ready to give up his place or any little privilege to other people4 ,though no one knew it1 even his pay he gave away to the poor4 ,and yet he was not yet a baptized ,christian1 for in those days people used to wait a long time and prepare themselves very carefully for the great honour of being made one of the children of ,god2 and during this time of waiting they were called catechumens4 ,it was at this time1 while ,martin's regiment was stationed in ,france1 that a very wonderful thing happened to him--for ,god was still planning his life and giving him chances2 and1 if he took them1 rewarding him with special graces which should turn him gradually into a brave soldier of ,jesus ,christ4 ,one cold wintry day1 as the wind whistled down the narrow streets of ,amiens1 ,martin's troop came clattering through the old gateway1 the soldiers wrapping their great military cloaks close round them1 for the bitter ,french winter seemed to freeze their ,southern blood4 ,by the gate of the city they noticed1 as they swung by1 an old1 ragged man4 ,the wind fluttered his tattered rags about1 and he stretched out his thin hands1 all blue with cold1 hoping for a few pence to buy himself some food4 ,the soldiers1 however1 passed him by and gave him nothing4 ,but when ,martin reached the corner and saw the piteous sight his heart was touched1 and he reined in his horse4 ,he felt in his pockets1 but1 alas6 they were empty1 for he had given away all he had to some other poor person4 ,he was very sad1 because he always felt the poor were a kind of chance given him by ,god of showing his love for the ,lord ,christ1 ,who had said that if you served the poor and naked and hungry and unhappy you really served ,him4 ,well1 ,martin felt he simply couldn't pass on and give the old man nothing4 ,and suddenly the idea came to him that he was warm in his big cloak1 and the old man very cold4 ,what if he gave his cloak8 ,but it was his uniform1 and he knew that he must not ride out without it altogether1 so he took it off1 drew his sword1 slashed it in half1 and then1 bending down with a smile1 put the warm folds about the old man's cowering shoulders4 ,of course1 the soldiers and other officers laughed2 but ,martin didn't care--he was willing to be what ,st4 ,paul calls a fool for ,christ's sake4 ,and now comes the wonderful thing4 ,that night as ,martin lay in bed1 asleep1 a wonderful vision came to him4 ,suddenly his room seemed full of angels1 and in the midst of them was ,christ4 ,and--on ,his shoulders was ,martin's half-cloak6 ,then ,our ,lord spoke4 ,martin1 ,he said1 dost thou know this mantle8 ,and then ,he turned to the angels1 and ,he said3 ,martin1 yet a catechumen1 hath clothed ,me with this garment4 ,you can imagine what ,st4 ,martin felt6 ,but besides the joy in him1 there was a feeling that ,our ,lord was a little disappointed because he was only a catechumen still1 and not yet baptized and made a real part of ,his ,church1 a real child of ,god4 ,and so1 feeling that ,god wished him to have the great honour of ,baptism1 he went to the priests1 and started on the long1 hard preparation that they used to have in those days4 ,no meat might he have1 nor wine1 and he must pray a lot1 and often watch in the church the whole night1 and in many other ways practise not giving in to himself4 ,only at ,easter and ,whitsun were the catechumens baptized2 and then they were clothed in white garments1 which they wore for a week4 ,these were meant to show the perfect purity of their souls1 from which all stain of sin had been washed away by the waters of ,baptism4 ,at last the great day came1 and ,martin received the wonderful ,sacrament with great love and humility4 ,but now he felt that he simply couldn't let his hands be stained with the blood of his fellow-men1 and that the soldier's life was not for him4 ,and so1 when the ,emperor came one day and inspected his regiment1 which was shortly to go into battle1 he asked him if he might leave the army4 ,until now ,i have fought for you1 he said2 let me henceforth fight for ,god4 4 4 4 ,i am a soldier of ,christ1 and it is not lawful for me to take part in a bloody battle4 ,the ,emperor was very angry4 ,coward6 he cried4 ,it is not religion that causes you to refuse to fight--you are afraid4 ,so1 to show them he was not afraid1 ,martin offered to go into battle in the very front rank1 but to go unarmed 7since he would not shed human blood74 ,and1 to show that he trusted in ,christ as his protector1 he said he would go without armour or helmet4 ,his challenge was accepted1 and he was put under arrest1 lest he might try to escape4 ,of course1 he spent the night praying1 and the next day everyone was astonished by some strange news4 ,the enemy had sent a despatch to sue for peace1 and to say they would agree to the ,emperor's terms4 ,so there was no battle2 and not only was ,martin's life saved1 but the lives of many other brave men4 ,probably the ,emperor saw ,god's hand in the unexpected action of his powerful enemy1 for he at once gave ,martin leave to go free4 ,at last ,martin found himself at liberty to follow the life he had always felt called to2 and once again ,god sent him where things should happen to him which would finally lead to the accomplishment of ,god's great plan4 ,after making a pilgrimage to ,rome1 which was now not only the head of the worldwide ,empire1 but the kind of headquarters of the ,christians1 he returned to ,france1 so as to put himself under the guidance of a very holy man1 called ,st4 ,hilary1 the ,bishop of ,poitiers4 ,st4 ,hilary soon saw that ,martin was no ordinary young soldier1 but was a very promising soldier of ,jesus ,christ1 and that his services would be very valuable4 ,he saw1 also1 that he had received a special call from ,god1 so he proposed to ordain him deacon4 ,but ,martin was very humble1 and he refused the honour4 ,in the end he let ,st4 ,hilary ordain him exorcist4 ,but directly after this he was ordered by ,god in a dream to go back to his native land and visit his relations and bring them into the ,christian ,faith4 ,st4 ,hilary was disappointed1 but he let him go1 making him promise1 however1 that he would return to the ,diocese of ,poitiers1 to which he now belonged4 ,after many adventures1 including falling into the hands of robbers and escaping in a marvellous way1 which must have been through ,god's help1 ,martin reached his old home1 and had the joy of seeing his mother received into the ,church1 as well as seven of his cousins and his two great-uncles4 ,at this time the ,church was being persecuted by a very strong party called the ,arians4 ,they were heretics1 who taught that ,our ,lord was only a man and not ,god1 and as the ,church turned them out on account of their false teaching1 they did nothing but fight against her4 ,of course1 ,martin1 the brave soldier of ,christ1 stood up for what he believed1 so that one day he was seized by the ,arians1 beaten1 and banished from his own country4 ,he began to make his way back to ,st4 ,hilary1 but when he reached ,milan he learned that his friend had been banished from ,poitiers1 and that an ,arian ,bishop ruled in his place4 ,so ,martin stayed at ,milan2 and this1 too1 was a part of ,god's plan1 because it was his stay here which started him on an idea which in the end developed into one of the most important things in his life4 ,this idea was to form a kind of little monastery outside the city1 where he and a handful of other young men lived1 and tried to do good and to live in a way specially pleasing to ,god1 and more perfect than they could do in the busy rush of the ordinary world4 ,but after a while the ,arians got strong in ,milan1 and drove out ,martin and his followers4 ,for a while ,martin and a friend of his lived as hermits on a wild little island off the coast of ,spain4 ,but1 hearing that ,st4 ,hilary had been restored to his see1 ,martin went to ,poitiers so as to fulfil his solemn promise4 ,but once more ,st4 ,hilary was to be disappointed1 for this time ,martin begged to be allowed to continue his hermit's life4 ,st4 ,hilary gave him leave1 and ,martin now withdrew to a forest about eight miles from ,poitiers4 ,here he built himself a hut1 and was soon surrounded by men who wished to lead the same kind of holy life4 ,this was the beginning of all the wonderful monasteries of ,france1 which civilized the whole country in time and taught it to be ,christian4 ,that ,martin's new life was really pleasing to ,god was soon shown1 for ,god gave him the gift of doing miracles1 and twice he even raised the dead to life4 ,you will remember how ,our ,lord specially promised that ,his faithful followers1 in the years to come1 should do miracles like ,he had done1 and even greater ones4 ,well1 ,st4 ,martin was one of the men who showed that ,our ,lord's promise was fulfilled4 ,all the men to whom the ,church has given the title ,saint have done wonderful miracles1 that ,god's name might be glorified and people see that with ,god all things are possible4 ,st4 ,martin now lived in very close communion with ,god1 and his miracles showed that he was not just an ordinary good man4 ,besides training his monks1 ,st4 ,martin was working very hard among the heathen ,gauls4 ,he would press forward through the forests and preach in the little villages1 and do miracles1 and1 after instructing the people in the true ,faith1 baptize them all1 and leave a happy ,christian village where he had found a miserable1 frightened1 heathen one4 ,st4 ,martin's tender pity for all suffering things is shown by this little story4 ,one day1 as he walked in the country1 he saw a poor1 terrified hare dashing along with starting eyes1 and nearly exhausted1 for a party of huntsmen and their hounds were close upon it4 ,st4 ,martin saw that in a few minutes it must be torn to bits by the hounds1 for there was no cover for it4 ,his tender heart longed to help it to escape1 because it was weak and small and frightened4 ,so he called out to the hounds to stop6 ,and1 strange to say1 they pulled up short in their mad rush1 and all stood still as if frozen to the ground1 and the poor little hare scurried away into safety4 ,now1 this kind of life was just what suited ,st4 ,martin1 and he was very happy4 ,he lived apart with ,god1 and yet had work to do in training his monks in the way of perfection and teaching the ,faith to the ignorant pagans4 ,but he had not yet arrived at the end of ,god's great plan for him4 ,and if ,god now called him away from the life he loved to a life he did not want at all1 we must not be surprised1 for ,christ said that those who would be ,his disciples must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow ,him1 and that is what all good ,christians must be ready to do--that is1 live according to the way ,god wants instead of according to the way they want themselves4 ,well1 the change came when ,st4 ,hilary died2 for of course the people wanted ,st4 ,martin to become ,bishop in his place4 ,to be ,bishop was a very great honour1 and one that many men would have been glad to accept4 ,but ,st4 ,martin was humble1 like all ,saints2 and he also felt that if he was to remain pure of heart and close to ,god he must live in the quiet solitude and silence of his monastery1 so he refused to become ,bishop4 ,but that he should be ,bishop was ,god's will1 and also the people were quite determined to have him4 ,they got him by making him think there was a poor sick woman who wanted him to come to her4 ,he came out of his monastery1 all unsuspecting1 and the people carried him off by force to ,poitiers1 and he had to consent to be consecrated ,bishop4 ,he did not look very like a ,bishop as he was brought into the city4 ,he was clad in a poor1 thin old habit1 and his head was closely shaved1 as the monks were accustomed to do1 and he was thin and pale with fasting and his hard life4 ,but even his humble appearance made the people cheer him all the more2 and the church was absolutely packed at the solemn service of his consecration as ,bishop4 ,now began a life in which his own will was altogether given up to that of ,god4 ,he lived in a poor little hut adjoining the church--the poorness of it pleased him2 but all day he was at it1 doing things for people--now visiting a sick man to pray over him1 now making peace between quarrelsome people1 now blessing oils1 that they might bring healing to the sick2 preaching sermons1 talking to people1 and explaining ,holy ,scripture in the way he could do so wonderfully2 visiting his priests1 or listening to the worries and troubles they came to tell him2 and when there was nothing else1 there was always a crowd of people waiting just to see their beloved ,bishop's holy face and go away cheered with a patient smile from him4 ,but just sometimes he slipped away for a little peace alone with ,god1 at a beautiful monastery called ,marmontier1 which he formed near the city1 and which later became very famous1 and kept the ,rule of ,st4 ,benedict ,i told you about before4 ,there were many things that were serious worries and very bitter sorrows and trials to ,st4 ,martin at this time1 but ,i can't tell you all about these now4 ,but there were also joys2 and one of these ,i will tell you about1 because it was the companionship of a little boy4 ,he was nearly ten when ,st4 ,martin baptized him and then adopted him4 ,as they travelled together soon after the boy's ,baptism1 and while he still had on the beautiful white robe ,i told you about1 which showed outwardly the new purity of his soul1 they came to the ,river ,loire4 ,a little way ahead of them they saw a poor blind beggar waiting for someone to help him across4 ,son1 said ,st4 ,martin to the boy1 ,victorius1 go to that man2 wash his face and eyes with water from the river2 then bring him to me4 ,so the boy went and did as ,st4 ,martin had told him2 and as soon as he had washed the poor man's eyes1 the man opened them and found he could see6 ,with joy he looked about at the blue sky and the river2 and when he heard that it was the holy ,bishop who had sent the white-robed boy to him1 he praised ,god for what had happened1 and ran and fell down at ,st4 ,martin's feet4 ,the poor beggar was very excited about it all1 and didn't know how to thank ,st4 ,martin and the boy4 ,so ,st4 ,martin said3 ,calm thyself1 cease talking1 and come2 for with me in this boat thou shalt cross the river4 ,so the beggar stayed with them three days1 and ,victorius was allowed to look after him1 and1 as the old book says1 eagerly brought him everything to eat that he liked best4 ,victorius stayed always with ,st4 ,martin1 and went about everywhere with him1 scarcely ever leaving his side4 ,even to the church he would go with him for the night offices2 or on his tours visiting the churches or preaching to the heathen4 ,st4 ,martin taught ,victorius1 and in return the boy waited on him2 also1 ,i think1 he must have cheered up the old ,bishop1 and often made him feel a boy again4 ,but don't you think ,victorius was a very lucky boy8 ,he saw a great many wonderful miracles of the ,saint1 and was even allowed to have a hand in the doing of some of them1 as in the case of the blind beggar4 ,when ,victorius was old enough1 ,st4 ,martin made him a priest1 and himself cut off the young man's hair in the way priests used to have it cut4 ,there are a great many more wonderful stories about ,st4 ,martin which ,i haven't time to tell you now2 but gradually1 gradually he was establishing the ,christian ,faith very firmly in ,france4 ,god's great plan was being fully worked out1 for1 you see1 ,st4 ,martin had never resisted ,god's will in any point2 always he had done just what he felt ,god was gently leading him to do1 never mind what it cost him at the time4 ,and so he took each step that ,god arranged for him1 and each one led on to the next1 and all led on to the wonderful life of building up the ,church of ,christ1 and making it bigger1 stronger1 purer1 more healthy2 and the great work1 too1 of turning a heathen land into a powerful ,christian country4 ,at last came the day when the tired old ,bishop felt1 with unspeakable joy1 that he was to go and receive his reward at the hands of ,christ1 ,whom he had loved so faithfully and so long1 and was to enter into his rest4 ,one day1 after a long journey1 ,st4 ,martin was thinking of returning to his beloved ,marmontier1 when a great weakness came over him4 ,the moment of my deliverance is at hand1 he said4 ,his monks and other faithful companions were nearly broken-hearted4 ,oh1 ,father1 will you then leave us8 they cried4 ,ravening wolves will fall on your flock1 and who will protect it when the shepherd is struck8 ,we know your longing to depart and to be with ,christ1 but your reward is assured and will be greater by delay4 ,have pity on us who must remain4 ,so ,st4 ,martin prayed a beautiful prayer1 because he loved his children more than himself1 and he was even willing to put off his reward and his longed-for rest for love of them4 ,lord1 he said1 if indeed ,i still be necessary to ,thy people1 ,i refuse not the labour4 ,let only ,thy will be done4 ,illustration3 ,s4 ,,martin1 ,,victorius ,,and ,,the ,,blind ,,beggar4 ,see page #ci4 ,but it was not ,our ,lord's will that ,his faithful soldier should fight any longer4 ,christ was waiting for him1 all ready to say1 ,well done1 good and faithful servant1 enter thou into the joy of thy ,lord4 ,and so1 lying humbly upon a bed of sackcloth1 ,st4 ,martin1 ,apostle of ,france1 finished the work that ,god had given him to do1 and passed into the glory and eternal rest of the ,blessed4 ,,the ,,fourth ,,day ,a gorgeous day of steady1 hot sun that made the sea sparkle like a million diamonds scattered on a great stretch of blue1 blue satin4 ,the tide was very far out1 leaving a golden stretch of sand that simply asked to be tunnelled into and dug into holes and trenches and castles4 ,the ,cubs all got into their bathing-costumes 7the ,cubs' costumes were mostly bare ,cub671 and spent the whole morning burrowing like moles into the sand1 and getting cool in the sea when they felt like it4 ,akela tried to write something very important1 but the ,cubs didn't seem to think it nearly as important as ,akela did1 and not much writing got done4 ,after dinner and rest1 when the tide had come up1 like a great green monster swallowing up the shore1 and clutching with foamy fingers at the rocks1 ,akela hired a boat and took half the ,cubs at a time for a row1 while the other half ran along the shore ready to scramble in1 when their turn came4 ,the wind had got up1 and out to sea there were no end of white horses shaking their manes and galloping after each other4 ,do you know what white horses are8 ,they are the white crests of the waves that break out all over the sea on windy days4 ,some of the white horses came galloping close in to shore1 and the ,cubs had a very exciting time landing to give the others a turn4 ,this is how they did it4 ,one large ,cub rolled up his shorts as far as they would go1 and stood ready in the bow4 ,akela then turned the boat shorewards suddenly1 and pulled at the oars for dear life1 and all the ,cubs helped by cheering4 ,crash--scrunch1 the boat went ashore2 the ,cub in the bow leapt out1 and held her nose steady while everyone else scrambled out4 ,a few white horses jumped over the stern and made things a bit wet1 but nobody minded4 ,in scrambled the next boatful of ,cubs1 and1 with a good shove1 the boat was out again4 ,a very little make-believe and you were lifeboat-men landing survivors from a wreck4 ,there was to be a long and very exciting story to-night1 so the ,cubs bustled down to the ,stable extra early1 and were undressed before you could say ,jack ,robinson4 ,in fact1 ,terry began to undress in the street1 and was out in the ,stable-yard in his night-shirt before ,akela and the last ,cub had got through the gate4 ,tell us a long1 long1 long one1 begged the ,cubs2 we aren't a bit sleepy4 ,let it last till midnight4 ,i'll tell as long as the candle lasts1 said ,akela1 sticking a stump of candle on the ledge4 ,the ,cubs curled up1 and the candle-light fell in a golden flicker on their ruddy1 sunburnt faces4 ,fifteen pairs of eyes were fixed on ,akela4 ,you couldn't hear a straw rustle4 ,only the faint ,swish-sh-sh--,sha-a-a-ah of the white horses breaking on the shore broke the stillness4 ,now we are going back1 back1 back into a thousand years ago1 began ,akela1 and the ,cubs gave a wriggle of satisfaction1 and prepared to take that mighty journey with the greatest ease4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,st4 ,,edmund1 ,,king ,,and ,,martyr4 ,now we are going back1 back1 back into a thousand years ago1 and more4 ,we shall stay in ,england1 but it is a strange1 wild ,england1 covered with deep1 mysterious green forests1 where speckled deer roam about1 and on moonlight nights you can hear the wolves howling4 ,the ,englishmen of these days are nearly as fierce as the wolves4 ,if you met one coming down a forest path ,i believe you'd be a bit afraid of him1 with his fierce eyes and shaggy head of hair1 his round shield and sharp spear4 ,a good many of these ,englishmen are still heathens4 ,but ,st4 ,benedict's monks have been hard at work for the last few hundred years turning the wild country into the beautiful ,england we know1 and the fierce1 cruel ,saxons into brave ,christian knights1 with kindly1 noble hearts as well as fearless spirits4 ,well1 in a part of the country called ,east ,anglia there lived an old ,king called ,offa4 ,he was a ,christian1 and descended from a line of brave and noble ,kings called the ,uffings4 ,poor old ,offa was very sad1 because he felt he was getting old1 and he thought that when he died the royal line of ,uffings would end1 for he had no son to succeed him4 ,as a matter of fact he had got a son1 but many years before ,god had called this boy to give up all thoughts of worldly glory and become a holy hermit1 giving up his life to prayer4 ,when ,god calls a man to serve ,him and ,him alone1 ,he does not let the world suffer by his loss4 ,god had a plan of ,his own for replacing ,offa's hermit son by one of the most glorious ,kings that ever reigned in ,england1 and it is the wonderful story of how he was found1 and of his thrilling adventures as the young ,king of ,east ,anglia1 that ,i'm going to tell you to-night4 ,well1 something--perhaps it was a whisper from the ,holy ,spirit--made old ,king ,offa feel that if he prayed very hard he might in some wonderful way obtain an heir to his throne4 ,in those days1 when people wanted to pray very hard and show ,god they really wanted a thing1 and really believed ,he would give it them1 they used to do what was called going on a pilgrimage4 ,it was like doing instead of only saying a great prayer1 for the whole1 long1 dangerous journey was one act of faith and devotion or of thanksgiving4 ,so old ,offa set out on a pilgrimage to the very best place you could pilgrimage to--the land where ,our ,blessed ,lord lived and died1 where there are still the very same rocky paths ,his ,blessed ,feet touched1 the same mountains and lakes ,his ,eyes rested on1 the very hill where ,his ,precious ,blood poured down from the ,cross1 dyeing the grass and the little white daisies red4 ,somehow the ,king felt that if he could go and pray where ,our ,lord had prayed he would get some wonderful answer4 ,so he started off1 crossed the blue sea and landed on the opposite coast4 ,now1 ,god is so ready to grant the prayers of people who have so much love and faith that ,he sometimes answers almost before they have asked4 ,that's what happened with the old ,king4 ,his way lay through ,saxony1 the kingdom of his cousin ,acmund4 ,one day he rode up with his men-at-arms to the ,court1 and decided to spend a few days there4 ,acmund1 of course1 welcomed his cousin1 and received him joyfully to the palace4 ,well1 as ,king ,offa sat resting on one of the low couches covered with the skins of wild beasts that ,acmund had killed in the chase1 there was a light footfall outside the chamber1 the heavy curtain was drawn back from the doorway1 and there stood before him a tall1 slim boy of thirteen1 with fair hair1 truthful blue eyes1 and a face tanned with the sun and wind of his open-air life4 ,something seemed to jump up in the old ,king's sad heart4 ,oh1 if only that noble boy were his son1 his heir6 ,he was a true ,uffing4 ,what a ,king he would make for ,east ,anglia6 ,in the next few days ,offa and the ,king's son1 ,edmund1 became great friends4 ,edmund took upon himself the job of looking after his old cousin1 and seeing that he had all he needed and enjoyed his visit at the ,court4 ,and ,offa watched ,edmund with a feeling of love and interest such as he would have had for his own son4 ,he saw that the boy was brave and clever1 a good shot with his bow1 able to throw a spear straight and ride a horse4 ,he saw that he was loved by all1 and always ready to do good turns and put the wishes of others before his own4 ,but he saw something that pleased him more--that ,edmund was a true1 loyal ,christian4 ,in all the excitement of the chase and the gaiety of the ,court1 his first thought was of ,god--to serve ,him and please ,him1 to keep from all sin for ,his sake4 ,the more ,offa saw of ,edmund1 the more sure he felt that ,god had led him to this ,court that he might find his heir4 ,still1 though it seemed as if his request was already granted1 he did not give up his pilgrimage1 but decided to press on1 if only as an act of thanksgiving to ,god4 ,before starting once more on his way1 the ,king called ,edmund aside4 ,taking a gold ring from his finger1 he put it on ,edmund's hand1 and told him that if it were ,god's will this might some day mean great things for him4 ,then he said good-bye1 and rode away towards the ,east4 ,young ,edmund must often have wondered what it was that ,god held in store for him1 and as he looked at the gold ring on his finger ,i feel sure he used to promise ,god that whatever it was he would do his best to fulfil ,his ,holy ,will4 ,well1 old ,offa reached ,palestine all right4 ,his heart thrilled with joy and love as he saw the very village where ,jesus was born1 and where the shepherds came that early ,christmas morning to adore the little new-born ,king4 ,he remembered the three ,kings of the ,east1 who came plodding along on their camels1 bearing gifts for ,mary's little ,son4 ,then he went on to ,mount ,calvary1 and the tears ran down his old face as he saw the hill where ,our ,blessed ,lord suffered such agony1 with such glorious courage1 for our sakes4 ,he prayed and gave thanks1 and then1 with a confident heart1 left all the future in ,god's ,hands and started homewards4 ,but he had not got very far before he fell ill1 and soon his men saw that he was dying4 ,calling them about him1 he told them that it was ,god's will that young ,edmund1 ,acmund's son1 should be their ,king4 ,taking from his finger the signet-ring that had been placed upon it by the ,bishop at his coronation1 he commanded that when he was dead it should be carried as quickly as possible to the boy4 ,then1 heaving a last sigh of peace and gratitude1 he closed his eyes on the world1 and his faithful soul went to ,god4 ,the ,coming of ,st4 ,edmund4 ,now we will go back to ,england4 ,the people have heard of the death of their ,king1 and they are not at all sure that they want a strange young ,prince from ,saxony to come and rule over them4 ,they have collected in a great crowd on the shore1 for the galleys from across the sea have come in sight1 bearing down before the wind4 ,the ships draw every moment nearer1 and the people wait4 ,as long as most of them can remember they have been ruled over by ,king ,offa2 and for many generations their ,kings have been ,uffings--tall1 fair1 blue-eyed men1 with noble1 fearless hearts4 ,what will this strange boy be like8 ,and on the ship young ,edmund pushed his way forward to the prow4 ,he could see the green1 tree-covered cliffs of his new kingdom1 and the crowd of people on the shore4 ,his heart beat fast1 and he fingered the ring old ,offa had put on his hand4 ,oh1 if only these people knew that he came to them ready to do his best to be to them a good ,king--to do his best for them1 for the love of ,god6 ,splash1 splash6--the big anchors go overboard and the chains rattle as they run out over the bows4 ,soon ,edmund and his men are in small boats1 being rowed swiftly to the shore4 ,edmund's boat is the foremost and he himself stands up on the prow1 ready to leap ashore4 ,as the men of ,england look at him they see that he is no stranger1 but one of themselves1 a true ,uffing1 and then and there a sense of loyalty springs up in their rough hearts4 ,the nose of the boat grates on the shore4 ,with a leap ,edmund has cleared the water1 and is standing on the land of which he is to be ,king4 ,his first act is to fall on his knees and ask ,god's blessing on himself and his people4 ,his short prayer ended1 he gets up and turns to greet his new friends2 but to his surprise they are all falling on their knees1 murmuring to one another1 ,a miracle1 a miracle6 ,for a spring of clear water has bubbled up where ,edmund's knees touched the ground--a sign from ,heaven that he is the true ,king1 a symbol of the power of the ,holy ,ghost that will well up like a spring in his heart4 ,the ,crowning of ,st4 ,edmund4 ,after a time of study and preparation under a holy man1 called ,bishop ,humbert1 who became a true father to the boy and his lifelong friend1 the time of ,st4 ,edmund's coronation drew near4 ,it took place on ,christmas ,day1 and the old books tell us of the gorgeous procession and the wonderful service4 ,st4 ,edmund had to make a solemn promise of loyalty to ,god and his people1 and after being anointed with holy oil he was clothed in certain royal garments by the ,bishop1 while a thane stepped forward and put sandals on his feet1 a purple cloak was put upon his shoulders1 and in his hand a sceptre of mercy and an iron rod of justice4 ,after that a naked sword was presented to him1 and a helmet put on his head4 ,then1 laying aside all these1 ,st4 ,edmund stepped forward1 and standing before the altar declared solemnly that by the grace of ,god he would fulfil all the duties of a good ,king4 ,the ,bishop placed the crown upon his head1 saying1 ,live the ,king for ever1 and the people all cried1 ,amen1 amen1 amen4 ,after that there was a solemn service of praise and thanksgiving to ,god1 and the new ,king received ,holy ,communion4 ,you can imagine how happy it made the holy young ,king that this should be the very first act of his reign1 and what confidence it gave him that ,christ would stay with him through all the difficult years to come4 ,war4 ,for a long time there was peace in ,st4 ,edmund's kingdom1 though the people in other parts of the country were suffering terribly from their enemies1 the ,danes1 who came over in wild hordes from the ,north in their low1 black-sailed boats1 and1 landing on the coast1 went through the country burning and plundering and killing4 ,st4 ,edmund knew they would sooner or later invade his kingdom too4 ,so he set to work to prepare for them4 ,his chief way of doing this was to win the loyalty of all his subjects1 so that if there was war he knew they would all rally round him4 ,he made wise laws1 and he was so fair to all1 and so ready to listen to the poor and oppressed and help them1 that soon everyone in the kingdom loved the young ,king and would do anything for him4 ,they could see that ,god was with him1 and they could not help feeling that in serving the humblest of his subjects he felt that it was ,christ ,himself that he served4 ,st4 ,edmund had1 of course1 prepared his army and had thrown up defences to try and keep the enemy out as long as possible4 ,you can still see one of his great earthworks running from ,newmarket to the ,fen country4 ,for hundreds of years it was called ,edmund's ,dyke4 ,he placed scouts and outposts all round his borders1 and prepared in every way he could4 ,at last the day came when the country people came running into the towns in terror4 ,they had seen along the borders huge1 fierce men1 with flashing eyes and long red hair and beards4 ,their leather tunics were stained dark with blood4 ,huge round shields were slung across their backs2 they were armed with spears1 bows1 clubs1 and knives1 and they shouted to one another in a strange language4 ,st4 ,edmund's scouts came running in to say that the ,danes were collecting in great crowds on the frontiers4 ,soon they began creeping in at every point1 burning houses and churches1 and killing people1 especially the ,christians4 ,though it was an almost hopeless job1 ,st4 ,edmund led his brave army forward1 and whenever it was possible he engaged the enemy in battles and drove them out4 ,the ,danes had never before been so powerfully resisted1 and thousands of them were killed4 ,there's not time now to tell you all of the thrilling adventures ,st4 ,edmund had at this time1 and of his wonderful escapes from the ,danes4 ,anyhow1 the ,danes were so much weakened that they asked for peace1 and after spending the winter in a great camp at ,thetford1 they sailed away1 full of rage and hatred and desire for revenge4 ,a ,cowardly ,plot4 ,for a time there was peace1 and then a sad thing happened4 ,one stormy day when the waves dashed and foamed up the shingly beach1 and the sea and sky were a leaden grey1 the fisher-folk who lived down by the shore saw a small boat1 with tattered sails and broken mast1 being driven before the wind4 ,there seemed to be a man in it1 but he was evidently weak and exhausted1 and was doing nothing to help himself4 ,presently the boat was thrown up on the shore1 and the fishermen ran down and collected in a little crowd round it4 ,looking down at the helpless man1 still clinging to a spar and drenched with foam and sea-water1 they soon saw he was not one of their people4 ,a ,dane1 a ,dane6 they murmured with sullen hate4 ,then one who had served in ,st4 ,edmund's army suddenly gave a wild exclamation4 ,by ,heaven1 he said1 it's ,lothparch6 ,lothparch was the leader of the ,danish army who had done such awful harm to ,east ,anglia only a few years before4 ,kill him6 growled one man4 ,throw him back on the mercy of the sea6 hissed another4 ,but the man who had fought under ,st4 ,edmund would have nothing of the kind4 ,the ,king never allowed a helpless man1 even a cruel enemy1 to be killed4 ,so ,lothparch was carried up to the royal palace4 ,to the surprise of the fierce ,angles1 ,st4 ,edmund not only made the stranger welcome1 but showed him every kindness4 ,love your enemies1 said ,our ,lord1 and sure enough ,st4 ,edmund seemed truly to be obeying that command4 ,everything the ,king did seemed right to his loyal subjects2 but there was one man--,berne1 the ,king's huntsman--whose jealousy was so bitter at ,st4 ,edmund's showing favour to a ,dane that he waited till he had an opportunity1 and then he murdered ,lothparch4 ,the ,king was very angry1 of course2 but he said that1 though ,berne deserved to die for the crime1 he would give him a faint chance of escape2 he should be put in an open boat1 and pushed out to sea and left to the mercy of the waves4 ,after tossing for many days1 ,berne was washed up on a strange coast4 ,during those lonely days of tossing on the waves1 instead of repenting of his crime1 ,berne's wicked heart had been full of hatred for the ,king4 ,so when he heard that the land he had come to was ,lothparch's own kingdom1 and that his two sons1 ,inguar and ,hubba1 were reigning in his place1 a horrible idea came into his mind4 ,asking to be taken before the ,princes1 he made up and told them an awful lie1 saying that when their father1 ,lothparch1 had been washed up1 helpless1 on the coast of ,england1 ,edmund the ,king had caused him to be cruelly put to death4 ,of course1 this enraged ,inguar and ,hubba1 and they at once collected a huge and fierce army1 and set out once more for ,east ,anglia4 ,a ,fight to the ,death4 ,landing in the ,north1 and marching from ,york southward1 the ,danes plundered every city they passed through4 ,they burned the monastery that had been built at ,croyland 7,st4 ,guthlac's isle71 and also those at ,peterborough1 ,ramsey1 ,soham1 and ,ely4 ,meeting ,st4 ,edmund's army1 they defeated it completely1 killed the brave ,general who commanded it1 and took ,thetford by storm4 ,then they sent ,st4 ,edmund a message to say that he must give up half his kingdom and pay heavy taxes1 or they would do the most terrible frightfulness throughout the land4 ,but ,st4 ,edmund and his men decided to make one great effort to keep their land in liberty and true to the ,christian ,faith4 ,at the head of his gallant army1 ,st4 ,edmund marched on ,inguar's army1 and a ghastly battle began4 ,arrows flew thick2 swords clashed on shields2 great spears tore men open and left them to bleed to death4 ,all day the battle raged1 but at night the ,danes fell back exhausted1 and ,st4 ,edmund held the field1 victorious4 ,but as he stood in the moonlight and looked upon the scene his heart sank4 ,before him stretched the great battlefield1 its trampled grass all soaked in blood2 and around him1 silent for ever1 lay his great army--an army of dead men4 ,with a heavy heart he led back his little handful of tired and wounded soldiers to the camp4 ,the next day came terrible news4 ,hubba1 with ten thousand men1 had marched up and joined his brother4 ,the ,martyr4 ,it was hopeless to try and resist any more--the ,king knew it1 and his people knew it1 and they shuddered to think of their fate4 ,then a great idea came to the ,king4 ,it was he himself the ,danes hated so4 ,if only they had him in their power1 perhaps they would leave his beloved country in peace6 ,the more he thought of this1 the more certain he felt that1 by giving himself up1 he could buy the peace and happiness and safety of his people4 ,christ1 his ,captain1 had done this--,he had not feared to face the most cruel death to save mankind1 and ,st4 ,edmund's heart suddenly leapt with the thought that he would follow ,christ and do the same6 ,at first his old friend the ,bishop1 ,st4 ,humbert1 tried to hold him back4 ,but after a while he saw that ,st4 ,edmund was quite resolved4 ,he spoke of it with such courage and joy that the aged ,bishop knew the ,holy ,spirit must be in his heart leading him to this glorious sacrifice of himself1 this giving of his very life for his ,god and his friends1 this quest for the martyr's crown4 ,and so he gave him his blessing and bade him do as his brave heart prompted him4 ,so1 calling together his people1 ,st4 ,edmund told them what he was going to do4 ,you can imagine what they felt--how they begged him with tears not to do it4 ,but nothing would make him change his mind--he knew it was ,god's ,will4 ,bravely he gave his last order to his men4 ,it was that all the gates of the fortress should be thrown open1 all the defences left unguarded1 nothing done to stop the ,danes entering it4 ,then he made his way to the chapel4 ,unbuckling his faithful sword1 he laid it on the steps of the altar1 and knelt down1 with no protection save ,god's mercy4 ,the little chapel was very dim1 and full of a holy feeling4 ,all was still4 ,it seemed to the young ,king as if he were far1 far away from the rest of the world1 from all the horror of bloodshed and crashing battle-axes that had filled the last few weeks like some horrible dream4 ,he let his mind just rest on the thought of ,god and ,his love1 and a wonderful peace came over him4 ,near him knelt the old ,bishop1 and his heart was near to breaking1 for he loved ,st4 ,edmund very much4 ,the tears ran down his furrowed cheeks1 and fell silently on the steps of the altar1 but he spoke no word4 ,silently the moments passed1 and then1 suddenly1 a sound broke the stillness that sent a cold shiver through ,st4 ,humbert4 ,wild shouts1 coarse laughter1 the clash and clatter of armed men rushing in wild triumph through the fortress4 ,it was the ,king they were seeking4 ,where was he8 ,they cared for nothing but to find him and wreak their revenge4 ,the shouts came nearer 4 4 4 the tramp of feet 4 4 4 the clang and scrape of spears against the wall4 ,nearer1 nearer1 until the chapel door burst open and a crowd of cruel faces peered in4 ,then a wild oath rang through the quiet of the chapel4 ,they had found the ,king6 ,rushing in1 they seized him and dragged him out4 ,faithful unto ,death4 ,in a field beyond the town the ,danes tied ,st4 ,edmund to a tree4 ,they were determined to have a full revenge4 ,with long whips they began to scourge his naked body4 ,each lash was like the touch of a red-hot iron1 and left a long1 bleeding wound in the bare flesh4 ,but ,st4 ,edmund only rejoiced that1 at last1 he could share truly what ,christ had suffered from the ,roman soldiers4 ,no cry escaped him1 except now and then the name of ,jesus4 ,then1 throwing down their whips1 the ,danes took up their bows4 ,the arrows fell thickly round ,st4 ,edmund1 piercing him in every part1 until1 as the old book says1 he was as covered with arrows as a porcupine with quills4 ,inguar1 the ,danish ,prince1 looked on with a horrible smile of cruel enjoyment4 ,hearing the ,holy ,name break like a sob from the mouth of the martyr1 he began to taunt him1 telling him to give up his faith in ,christ1 since it had only brought him to this4 ,but ,st4 ,edmund was faithful unto death4 ,soon1 soon he would receive the crown of life1 the welcome of the ,king of kings4 ,seeing that nothing could make ,st4 ,edmund cry for mercy or give up his faith in ,god1 ,inguar drew his long sword1 and1 with a hoarse laugh of triumph1 cut the martyr's head from his body4 ,free and glorious the soul of ,king ,edmund rose from his bloodstained body into the sunlight of heaven4 99 99 99 99 99 ,st4 ,edmund had not sacrificed himself in vain4 ,the ,danes1 so greatly weakened by the bloody battles they had fought1 gave up the idea of ruling ,east ,anglia1 and sailed away to their country1 leaving ,st4 ,edmund's people in peace1 and free to practise the ,christian ,faith4 ,,the ,,fifth ,,day 7,,sunday7 ,everyone dressed quickly and quietly1 found his ,prayer-,book somewhere in the far depths of his kit-bag1 and ran down to sit on the sea wall and wait for ,akela and the last ,cub or two 7the ones whose boots had got lost1 or who were so fussy about parting their hair1 etc41 that dressing took rather a long time74 ,very reverently they went into church1 and very quietly came out again and up to the field4 ,breakfast1 a run round the field to let off steam1 and then down to the shore for a bathe4 ,in the afternoon every ,cub got hold of a piece of paper and a pencil1 and sat1 lay1 knelt1 or squatted in some corner1 his tongue well out and his brow furrowed with thought1 to write home4 ,some wrote very private letters1 all on their own1 and didn't give the show away even to ask how to spell the hardest words1 like library 7which might just as well be lybary1 or librurry1 or lieberry74 ,of course1 library1 in some form or other1 came into all their letters1 because they all wanted to tell about the adventure of going to ,quarr ,abbey4 ,some ,cubs1 sacrificing the privateness of their letters1 decided that if ,akela or ,godmother did the writing1 while they did the saying what1 it would be much quicker1 and much more could be told to mother and all at home4 ,so they brought their paper and pencils1 and asked ,akela to do it in proper1 quick writing4 ,they told everything--even what they had had for dinner each day1 and one said his bed at camp was much comfortabler than his bed at home4 ,after tea there was a little cricket practice and some tree-climbing1 and then supper and1 of course1 night prayers4 ,and then1 feeling as if they had lived in camp all their lives1 instead of only five days1 the ,cubs walked contentedly down the hill to bed4 ,patsy1 as usual1 was having a free ride on ,akela's back1 and he was certainly quite a lot heavier than the first day4 ,before long everyone was established in the ,coach-house and the candle lighted4 ,to-night1 said ,akela1 ,i'm going to tell you about a very ,cubby ,saint4 ,i know he would have loved ,cubs1 because he loved small boys and wild animals2 in fact1 a certain wolf was a great friend of his2 and he thought it worth while1 once1 to preach a beautiful sermon to a flock of birds4 ,he was always laughing or singing or doing something ,cubby1 and he had ideas he used to teach his followers1 very much like our ,cub ,law and ,motto4 ,his name was ,st4 ,francis of ,assisi4 ,now listen1 for ,i specially want you to make friends with ,st4 ,francis1 because ,i love him very much4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,st4 ,,francis--,i4 ,there was once a boy called ,francis1 who lived in a curious old town in the mountains of ,italy4 ,the town was called ,assisi4 ,it was all funny little up-and-down streets and flights of long1 crooked stone steps2 and there was a wall all round 7to keep enemies out71 and big gates in the wall that were closed at night4 ,the purple hills and mountains spread away as far as you could see beneath a blue1 blue sky1 and all round the city there were vineyards1 and lovely little rocky paths winding about among the silvery olive-trees4 ,francis was the son of a rich merchant called ,peter ,bernardone4 ,he was a regular ,cubby boy--always laughing and singing1 ready for mischief1 but still more ready to do anyone a good turn4 ,he was ,peter ,bernardone's only son1 and he had a jolly good time of it1 because his father had made up his mind that young ,francis should make a success of life1 and end by being a great man in the town4 ,he used to smile to himself and rub his hands together as he saw what a clever1 handsome boy ,francis was growing up into1 and how everybody loved him1 and how he was always the ringleader in all the fun4 ,as ,francis grew to be a young man his father would encourage him to give lots of feasts to his friends1 not minding how much they cost1 and it pleased him to see that it was always ,francis who was the life of these feasts1 making jokes1 leading cheerful singsongs1 enjoying himself no end1 and making everyone else enjoy themselves4 ,but while ,peter ,bernardone chuckled to see young ,francis so gay and popular1 ,francis' mother1 ,pica1 used to notice little things that made her happy too1 only in a different way4 ,she noticed that ,francis never really gave in to himself1 like his wild friends2 never overate himself in a greedy way or drank enough wine to make him drunk2 never thought it funny to tell nasty stories or swear2 and if ever ,god's name was mentioned1 it seemed to make him serious for a moment4 ,one day1 she said1 he will become a son of ,god4 ,but her friends thought it a silly remark to make1 for ,francis seemed to be living just to please himself and have a jolly time4 ,but mothers are generally right in what they prophesy about their sons1 and ,pica's remark was really a very true one4 ,this story is all about how ,francis gave up being a rich merchant's son and became a poor man who found all his joy and his riches in calling ,god his ,father4 ,the change did not come easily1 and a great many wonderful adventures befell him1 which ,i am going to tell you now4 ,it all began with a war between ,assisi and another city4 ,of course1 ,francis and his pals joined in the fray and thought it great sport1 till they got captured and carried off prisoners4 ,it was not sport at all being shut up in stuffy old houses with only a little food and nothing to do4 ,francis used to cheer them up with troubadour songs and stories4 ,but although he always seemed so cheerful1 it was doing great harm to his health1 and when1 after a year1 the prisoners were freed and returned to ,assisi1 ,francis became very ill indeed4 ,so ill was he that he came near dying1 and this experience of nearly passing out into the next life made him begin to think seriously4 ,when he was well enough to go out1 walking slowly with a stick because of his weakness1 he felt that life could never be quite the same2 he must do something1 take a man's place in the world4 ,well1 the chance soon came1 for all the young ,christian men were called out to fight in a ,crusade4 ,a certain nobleman of ,assisi started getting up a party1 and ,francis decided to join him4 ,he soon had all his kit--armour1 a bright sword1 a good horse1 and all complete2 and with a gay heart1 full of a thirst for adventure and a determination to do great things1 he waited impatiently for the start4 ,he had been rather puzzled as to what to do with himself1 and now he felt he had hit on the right plan4 ,so it was a bit of a surprise when1 his very first night away1 something happened which unsettled his mind altogether and made him feel it was not ,god's will that he should go to the ,crusades4 ,the night before the party set out ,francis had had a very curious dream1 about a beautiful palace1 all hung round with knightly arms1 which a mysterious voice told him was for him and his followers4 ,this made him so happy that the next day1 when someone asked him what good fortune he had had1 he replied that now he knew for certain he was to be a great prince and leader of men4 ,but the next night1 as he lay in the hostelry on the first halt along the road1 something still more strange happened4 ,he was not asleep1 and yet1 through the still darkness1 he heard the mysterious voice of his dream1 and it said3 ,francis1 whom is it better to serve1 the lord or the servant8 ,surely it is better to serve the lord1 replied ,francis1 softly1 into the dark4 ,and the voice answered3 ,why1 then1 dost thou make a lord of the servant8 ,then it all seemed to flash on ,francis1 and he felt sure this was a ,voice from heaven1 and he replied very humbly3 ,lord1 what dost ,thou wish me to do8 ,and the ,voice said3 ,return to the land of thy birth1 and there it will be told thee what thou shalt do2 for it may behove thee to give another meaning to thy dream4 ,he felt so positive that the ,voice was from heaven1 that he felt he simply could not disobey it4 ,so1 although it cost him a lot to do it1 he turned his horse's head northwards and rode home4 ,there was nothing to do now but wait for ,god to show him ,his ,will4 ,he tried to settle down again to his old life of feasting and gaiety1 but somehow he couldn't throw himself into it4 ,there was something he was feeling after1 but he didn't know what4 ,one day something happened which was the beginning of great things4 ,francis had been out for a ride beyond the city4 ,as he turned his horse's head homewards and rode slowly back towards the golden sunset1 he suddenly saw1 a little way ahead1 something that made him shudder and almost turn aside on to another path4 ,it was a poor leper1 his filthy rags only half covering his wretched body1 with its horrible running sores4 ,his face was swollen and disfigured1 and his eyes full of the frightened misery of a hunted animal4 ,now1 seeing lepers always made ,francis feel quite sick4 ,he hated horrible sights4 ,but somehow1 to-night1 a new feeling woke up in him--a sudden feeling of brotherhood with this poor man1 almost of love for him4 ,it was such terribly bad luck that he had caught leprosy and become a ghastly sight1 so that he could not earn any money nor come near the town4 ,francis felt in his wallet for a silver piece to give him1 and then he thought how sad it must be to have money flung at you by strangers1 who passed by with head turned away because they loathed the very sight of you4 ,how the lepers must long for just a friendly look1 a smile6 ,a great idea suddenly leapt up in ,francis's mind1 and it took all his courage not to give in to himself4 ,as he came up with the leper1 he jumped off his horse1 took a silver piece from his pocket1 and held it out to the man4 ,the leper1 full of surprise1 held out his poor swollen stump of a hand1 with several fingers already rotted away1 to take the coin4 ,but meeting the man's eyes1 and seeing in them the look of hunger for friendship1 ,francis took the poor hand in his1 as he would the hand of his friend1 pressed the coin into it1 and then1 stooping1 pressed his lips upon it in a kiss4 ,then1 with his heart full of joy1 he remounted his horse and rode home4 ,with that kiss a wonderful new idea had sprung up in ,francis's heart--a sense of love for the poor1 of longing not only to help them1 but to share their very lives1 to be one of them4 ,at first he tried to satisfy his longing to help them by making great feasts and serving his poor guests with his own hands4 ,one day he went on a pilgrimage to ,rome1 and as he saw the crowd of beggars clustering round a certain shrine in hope that the pilgrims would give them money1 he longed to become just one of them4 ,so1 taking one of them aside1 he exchanged his fine clothes with the beggar for his dirty rags1 and spent the whole day with his poor brothers in the dust and the scorching sun1 enjoying the sense of being a mere outcast to whom rich men threw ha'pence4 ,still1 when he returned to his home he was as puzzled as ever as to what he should do4 ,he took to spending long hours at prayer in a certain cave begging ,god to make known ,his ,will2 and at last ,god answered his prayer1 and ,i will tell you how4 ,francis had been for a long walk outside the city1 and as he returned along the stony little mountain paths1 the evening sunlight dazzling his eyes1 and the olive-trees whispering to each other in the soft evening air1 he noticed a tumble-down little wayside church4 ,something made him stop and turn in4 ,it was very dim and cool and quiet4 ,there was no one there--except ,god4 ,a lamp burned with a feeble flicker in the sanctuary4 ,francis knelt down and began to pray4 ,then1 out of the stillness a strange1 wonderful ,voice spoke his name--,francis4 ,he knew directly ,whose ,voice it was--,our ,blessed ,lord's4 ,yes1 ,lord1 he answered1 his heart beating rather fast1 though he felt very happy4 ,francis1 go and repair ,my church1 which thou seest falling1 said the ,voice4 ,then all was still4 ,the tones of that ,voice seemed to vibrate through and through ,francis4 ,he was filled with a great desire to obey--to do anything1 anything ,our ,lord wanted4 ,repair ,my church1 ,he had said4 ,he must mean this poor little tumble-down house of ,his1 that was certainly on the point of falling4 ,so ,francis jumped up from his knees and went out into the sunlight very happy4 ,he found the old priest1 who lived in a poor little house near by1 and1 telling him the wonderful thing that had happened1 gave him all the money he had1 and promised to return soon with enough to rebuild the church4 ,then he hurried home4 ,his father was away on a journey4 ,so ,francis went down to the warehouse and picked out the most costly bale of rich stuff he could find4 ,then he took a good horse1 and1 putting the bale of stuff on his back1 set out for the town of ,foligno4 ,here he sold both the stuff and the horse1 and returned with a good sum of money4 ,full of joy1 he hurried along the little mountain path to the old priest's house1 and held out the heavy purse of gold to him4 ,but the priest was afraid to accept it1 for he was not at all sure that ,francis's father would be pleased about it4 ,francis was disappointed4 ,he had got the money for the church1 and certainly wasn't going to carry it home again2 so he threw it into the deep recess of one of the windows of the little church1 and left it there4 ,then he told the priest he meant to stay1 for here ,our ,lord had spoken to him1 and he must stay and see to the building of the church4 ,the old priest was very kind1 and let ,francis share his little house and his poor fare1 and ,francis began to feel like a kind of hermit1 living a life of prayer4 ,meanwhile ,peter ,bernardone returned from his journey4 ,when he heard what ,francis had done1 and his new1 mad idea of living like a hermit on the mountain-side1 he was furiously angry4 ,taking a stick in his hand1 he set out1 saying he would teach the young fool a good lesson and bring him home4 ,but one of the servants ran ahead by a short cut and warned ,francis4 ,francis had no wish to meet his angry father armed with a stout stick1 so he fled and hid himself in a cave1 and ,peter ,bernardone had to go home again1 even angrier than he set out4 ,for about ten days ,francis stayed in hiding1 the servant bringing him food4 ,he spent this time in prayer4 ,this made him braver1 and he began to think that he had been a funk to run away and hide and not face the music1 so he decided to make up for it by being braver4 ,his time of hiding in the dark1 dirty cave1 with little food1 had made him look thin1 untidy1 and a bit of a scarecrow4 ,the people of ,assisi had heard what he had done1 and they decided he must have gone mad4 ,so when he appeared in the city the boys began throwing stones and rubbish at him1 and calling after him4 ,francis bore it all patiently1 and felt rather a hero4 ,but presently ,peter ,bernardone discovered that his son was being insulted in the streets4 ,it filled him with rage1 and he rushed out1 dragged ,francis indoors1 gave him a good flogging and shut him up in a little cell4 ,here he had to stay for some time1 until his father went on another journey and his mother let him out4 ,of course1 he went straight back to the little church on the hill-side1 and here1 when his father came back1 he found him4 ,peter ,bernardone stormed at him and demanded the money back1 but ,francis would not give it1 saying he had given it to ,god4 ,so ,peter ,bernardone went to the ,bishop about it4 ,the matter came up at the ,bishop's ,court1 and the ,bishop had to tell ,francis to give back the money4 ,bernardone was so angry with his son that he then and there disinherited him1 and said he would not own him as his son any more4 ,so ,francis took off his very clothes and gave them back to his father1 saying1 ,now will ,i say no more ,peter ,bernardone is my father1 but only ',our ,father ,who art in heaven4' ,so1 taking the bundle of clothes1 old ,bernardone stalked out of the ,court4 ,someone fetched ,francis a rough habit1 such as was worn by the farm-hands4 ,on this ,francis chalked a big cross1 and1 putting it on1 stepped out joyfully1 feeling that at last he was free to serve ,god1 in whatever way ,he wanted him to1 and share the life of the poor4 ,he felt somehow that he must get right away1 alone2 so he started walking up over the mountains1 not caring where he went4 ,soon he was right up among the pines1 and as night fell he found it was pretty cold1 for the winter's snow still lay in the deep shade of the trees4 ,but he was so happy that he did not care for anything1 and as he went he sang aloud for joy4 ,then1 suddenly1 out of the dark wood a band of robbers pounced on him4 ,who are you8 they cried4 ,i am the herald of the great ,king6 answered ,francis4 ,so they stripped him of his habit1 and threw him in a ditch full of snow4 ,luckily1 the next day he found a friend in a town the other side of the mountains1 who gave him a pilgrim's cloak1 a pair of shoes1 and a staff4 ,then1 after a bit more wandering1 ,st4 ,francis returned to the little church and settled down with the old priest1 meaning now in good earnest to build up the church4 ,since he had no money to buy what was needed1 the only thing was to beg4 ,so he went out in the streets begging for stones to build up the little church4 ,the poor people were very kind1 and gave him stones1 and some of them came and helped1 and soon they and ,francis together had begun rebuilding the walls4 ,every day ,francis went begging1 and sometimes it was very hard not to give in to himself and go skulking down a side-street when he saw a group of his old friends ahead4 ,but he went bravely on1 and faced their stares and laughter4 ,one day it struck ,francis that he ought not to be eating the old priest's scanty store of food1 which he noticed his kind old friend used to cook and try and prepare as nicely as possible for him4 ,this was not what a true lover of poverty should do4 ,rise up1 thou lazy one1 he said to himself1 and go begging from door to door the leavings of the table4 ,so1 taking a big dish1 he went round the houses of the townspeople asking for scraps4 ,they gave him broken bits of messy old food1 and he returned with his dish full4 ,but when he sat down to supper he didn't feel at all like eating from that pile of scraps--the very thought made him feel quite sick4 ,but he was learning to conquer himself1 and by the time the meal was done he felt he had really accomplished something1 and was at last really a poor man and ready to live on what ,god's mercy would give him from day to day4 ,all this time he had been praying a great deal1 and learning to know ,god very much better4 ,more and more he felt that ,god meant to use him for something special--what he did not know4 ,at last the little grey church was all built up new and strong1 and ,francis felt the job ,our ,lord had given him was done4 ,but as ,god had not shown him anything else to do1 he set out and found another tumble-down little church to build up1 and started on that4 ,when that1 too1 was finished1 he started on a third one4 ,the third one had been restored1 and a service was being held in it for the first time since its restoration1 and ,francis was assisting at this service1 when something happened which sent him on a new adventure1 and which proved to be the beginning of the great adventure which filled all the rest of his life4 99 99 99 99 99 ,that's a good stop1 said ,akela4 ,if we started on ,st4 ,francis's next adventure1 we could not finish it before you all fell asleep4 ,so we will keep it for to-morrow night4 ,to-morrow you will hear how the boy ,francis turns into the man ,st4 ,francis1 and what a wonderful life of service and suffering for ,god he begins to have1 and how he ends in becoming a great ,saint1 and one of the greatest leaders of men4 ,,the ,,sixth ,,day ,the splashing sound of ,cubs making good use of soap and water2 snatches of cheerful song2 the lamentation of someone who had lost the relation of his left sand-shoe2 the sound of a ,sixer trying to make a sleepy-head turn out--all these sounds filled the sunny morning4 ,presently there fell on the ears of ,akela 7who was still in her den7 the sound of an argument4 ,i say it's dirt1 cried one2 he's a dirty-neck1 who doesn't know how to wash himself4 4 4 4 ',taint6 squealed a small ,cub2 it's the sun what's made my neck brown4 ,garn6 it's not using soap what's made your neck that colour1 dirty little4 4 4 4 ,splosh6 ,somebody got a wet flannel in the eye that time4 ,now1 then1 what's up8 cries a ,sixer1 coming up to the group4 ,quite a little crowd collects4 ,he says my neck's dirty1 wails the small ,cub1 and really it's the sun4 4 4 4 ,someone has a bright idea3 ,let's ask ,miss4 ,so ,akela comes out1 and scrubs the neck in question with soap and flannel4 ,it turns out to be nearly all sunburn1 with just a little dirt4 ,the sun is shining1 and the sky is full of flocks of sheep--those tiny1 steady white clouds that stretch in close rows across the sky in fine weather4 ,the dew on the grass is nearly dry already when the ,cubs get to the field4 ,prayers6 calls ,akela1 and the ,cubs come up quietly and form a kneeling circle4 ,i haven't told you what the morning prayers of the ,cubs were1 so ,i will tell you now4 ,a ,,prayer ,,that ,,we ,,may ,,pray ,,well 7see page #f74 ,,our ,,father4 ,v4 ,incline unto mine aid1 ,o ,god4 ,r4 ,o ,lord1 make haste to help me4 ,glory be to the ,father1 etc4 ,,hymn4 ,the star of morn to night succeeds1 ,we therefore meekly pray3 ,may ,god in all our words and deeds ,keep us from harm this day4 ,may ,he in love restrain us still ,from tones of strife and words of ill2 ,and may earth's beauties that we see ,remind us always1 ,lord1 of ,thee4 ,amen4 ,,confession4 ,i confess to ,almighty ,god that ,i have sinned against ,him in thought1 word1 and deed4 7,pause a moment and think of your sins47 ,may ,almighty ,god have mercy upon us1 and forgive us our sins1 and bring us to life everlasting4 ,let us pray ,a ,,prayer ,,that ,,this ,,day ,,may ,,be ,,pleasing ,,to ,,god4 ,o ,lord ,god ,almighty1 ,who hast brought us to the beginning of this day1 defend us in the same by ,thy power1 that we may not fall this day into any sin1 but that all our thoughts1 words1 and works may be directed to the fulfilment of ,,thy ,,will4 ,through our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 ,thy ,son4 ,amen4 ,,our ,,father4 ,a ,,prayer ,,that ,,we ,,may ,,be ,,forgiven ,,any ,,wandering ,,thoughts ,,we ,,have ,,had ,,while ,,reciting ,,these ,,prayers4 ,breakfast over1 and orderly jobs finished1 the ,pack went down to the shore and had a splendid bathe4 ,several of the ,cubs had really begun to swim2 while ,bill1 ,dick1 and ,mac1 who could swim already1 were getting good practice4 ,mac meant to get his ,swimmer's ,badge as soon as he got back to ,london1 so he practised floating and duck's diving and the other things you have to do4 ,after dinner and rest ,father took some cricket practice1 because to-morrow there was to be a match4 ,no one must talk to me1 said ,akela1 settling down in a sunny corner with some papers2 ,i'm doing something very important4 ,cubs always want to know everything1 so of course they said1 ,what was the important thing8 ,reading proof1 said ,akela4 ,what's 'proof'8 said the ,cubs4 ,this is proof1 said ,akela1 holding out a long narrow strip of printed paper4 ,it's the way they print stories at first1 and it has mistakes in it4 ,i have to read it through and correct the mistakes4 ,now1 if you don't shut up and go away1 the next instalment in the ,wolf ,cub will have mistakes in it--see8 ,is it the next bit of the ',mysterious ,tramp'8 cried the ,cubs4 ,yes4 ,that did it4 ,a ,cub sat down each side of ,akela and read over her shoulder1 and one jumped up and down in front1 saying3 ,miss1 is it good8 ,every now and then ,akela made strange little squiggles in the margin--secret signs only the printer-man could understand4 ,coo6 what silly mistakes he makes6 said one of the ,cubs in derision4 ,i wouldn't have done that in dictation even when ,i was in ,standard ,i46 ,i think he makes very few mistakes1 said ,akela2 other printer-men make lots more4 ,you see1 this one is printing the ,wolf ,cub1 so he has to do his best4 ,the cricket people had been doing their best at cricket to such good purpose that they had succeeded in splitting one of the bats4 ,so after tea ,akela and some of them went down to the man who sells bats and golf-balls1 down by the tennis-courts4 ,the road where his shop is runs between the seashore and a big stretch of grassy land1 called the ,dover4 ,that1 said ,akela1 is the very place where ,billy got carried up by the giant kite4 ,it was a favourite story of the ,cubs1 so they were pleased to see the place4 ,is that the fierce bull8 said one4 ,no1 said ,akela1 that's a sleepy old cow4 ,the man said he would mend the bat in time for to-morrow's match4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,st4 ,,francis4--,,ii4 ,the little church ,st4 ,francis had last restored was very wee1 but it had a very long name4 ,it was called the ,portiuncola1 which meant the little portion4 ,it was built all among the trees and long grass1 and mossy1 fern-covered rocks2 and the birds sang around it4 ,st4 ,francis loved the spot very much--it was like home to him--and he spent a lot of time there4 ,besides1 it was not far from the leper settlement1 and he had now taken on himself the rather horrible job of serving the poor lepers--a job that was very pleasing to ,our ,lord1 specially as ,he saw ,st4 ,francis did it all for love of ,him1 and served each wretched man as if he was ,jesus ,christ4 ,then1 too1 the ,portiuncola was not very far from the town where ,francis begged his food4 ,well1 early one morning1 while the sun shone outside on the dewy world1 and the birds sang their morning hymns of praise1 a priest said ,mass in the little chapel1 and ,st4 ,francis knelt praying with all his heart4 ,presently the priest read out the ,gospel1 and1 as usual1 ,st4 ,francis listened with great attention4 ,and suddenly1 as he listened1 he felt that those words of ,our ,lord which the priest was reading out were a message from heaven for him--the very orders he had been waiting for6 ,these were the words3 ,going forth1 preach1 saying3 ,the kingdom of heaven is at hand4 4 4 4 ,possess not gold1 nor silver1 nor money in your houses1 nor scrip for your journey1 nor two coats1 nor shoes1 nor a staff2 for the workman is worthy of his meat4 ,and into whatsoever city or town you shall enter1 inquire who in it is worthy1 and there abide till you go hence4 ,and when you come into a house1 salute it1 saying3 ,peace be to this house4 4 4 4 ,behold ,i send you as sheep in the midst of wolves4 ,be ye therefore wise as serpents1 but simple as doves4 4 4 4 ,but when they shall deliver you up1 take no thought how or what to speak3 for it shall be given you in that hour what to speak 7,matt4 x4 #g-ai74 ,here were clear orders4 ,something in ,st4 ,francis answered to that call1 and this something was the ,holy ,spirit of ,god speaking in his heart1 as ,he always does in those who really wait and listen and mean to obey should ,god speak4 ,when the ,mass was finished1 ,st4 ,francis got the priest to read the words over to him again4 ,and then1 feeling quite sure he had discovered ,god's ,holy ,will1 he began to obey it at once4 ,he took off his shoes2 he laid aside his second garment1 making himself a rough brown habit2 he put down his staff1 and he exchanged his belt for a bit of rope4 ,then1 feeling full of joy1 he set out along the stony road on his bare feet1 towards the town--not to beg this time1 but to give the greeting of ,peace1 and to tell the people to make up their quarrels and forgive each other1 and turn with all their hearts to the ,lord ,christ4 ,the people of the town did not laugh now1 and jeer2 they saw that ,st4 ,francis was speaking to them from the bottom of his pure heart--a heart on fire with the love of ,god--and that the grace of ,jesus ,christ1 his ,master1 was upon him4 ,and before long two men of ,assisi had joined him as the first of the great company who were to follow him--for you remember how he was to be a leader1 and that the palace of his dream had been promised to him and his followers4 ,this is the story of ,st4 ,francis's first recruit4 ,his name was ,bernard de ,quintavalle1 and he was a rich merchant1 serious and ,god-fearing1 and not a bit like the gay1 eager ,st4 ,francis4 ,but seeing how unselfish and hard-working a life ,st4 ,francis led1 and that ,god's ,holy ,spirit was with him1 he began to visit the young preacher1 and to receive him in his house4 ,st4 ,francis willingly gave his friendship to such a good man4 ,bernard used to like ,st4 ,francis to sleep on a bed in his own room4 ,often at night he would lie awake1 thinking2 and he would notice that after a short sleep ,st4 ,francis got out of bed and knelt down1 and spent the rest of the night praying to ,god4 ,the only words ,bernard could hear were just ,my ,god and my ,all1 my ,god and my ,all1 which ,st4 ,francis repeated over and over again1 as if his soul was really seeing ,god1 and his heart was so full of love for ,him that he could say nothing else4 ,and ,bernard understood the secret of ,st4 ,francis's holiness and purity1 for to one who prays like that ,god pours out very much grace1 so that he can begin to be all that he knows he ought to be if he is really to please the ,lord ,christ1 his ,master4 ,so one day ,bernard told ,st4 ,francis that he wanted to give back to ,god all his riches and become his poor brother4 ,so ,st4 ,francis said what they ought to do would be to go to the church and read in the ,gospel1 where the words of ,jesus ,christ would show them what to do4 ,before going to the church1 however1 they called for another friend of theirs--a learned man called ,peter ,cathanii1 who also wanted to serve ,god perfectly1 and had been trying humbly to learn how from ,st4 ,francis4 ,but ,st4 ,francis1 though holy1 and ,bernard1 though rich1 and ,peter1 though clever at his books1 did not any of them know their way about in the big ,bible that was kept open in the church for all to read 7for there were no printed books in those days1 and a ,bible was very costly1 so that few people had a copy of their own74 ,so ,st4 ,francis prayed that he might come on the right place1 and then he opened the book4 ,this was what he read out3 ,if thou wouldst be perfect1 go1 sell that thou hast1 and give to the poor1 and thou shalt have treasure in heaven2 and come1 follow ,me 7,matt4 xix4 #ba74 ,that seemed just right6 ,but perhaps ,our ,lord had still another message4 ,so he shut the big book1 and opened it again1 just anywhere1 and it said3 ,take nothing for your journey1 neither staff1 nor scrip1 nor bread1 nor money2 neither have two coats 7,luke ix4 #c74 ,splendid6 ,just one more1 please1 ,lord1 he said in his heart1 as he opened the book for the third time4 ,and ,our ,lord told him something very wonderful and hard to follow1 which was really the explanation of all the others3 ,if any man will come after ,me1 let him deny himself1 and take up his cross1 and follow ,me 7,matt4 xvi4 #bd74 ,so the three friends left the church very happy4 ,and ,bernard sold all his rich stuffs and his house and his land2 and ,peter sold all his precious books2 and they carried all the gold to a square in front of the old church of ,st4 ,george1 and ,st4 ,francis sat on the steps with his lap full of money1 and gave away great glittering handfuls to all the poor people who crowded round4 ,when none was left1 the three poor brothers1 smiling with delight at being really poor and true followers of ,christ1 went off to the dear little chapel in the woods and began the life of the ,friars4 ,not long after1 a third recruit turned up1 and ,i must tell you about him4 ,he was a simple working-man called ,giles4 ,when he heard about ,st4 ,francis and his two ,friars1 and of this new way of learning to serve ,god perfectly1 he laid down his tools1 and left the vineyards and tramped into the town4 ,he went to an early ,mass at ,st4 ,george's ,church1 hoping to find ,st4 ,francis there1 as it was ,st4 ,george's ,day2 but not doing so1 he set out for the ,portiuncola4 ,he didn't know where that was1 so when he came to the crossroads he stopped and began to ask ,god somehow to show him the way4 ,and just then ,st4 ,francis came out of the wood4 ,giles was delighted that ,god answered his prayer so quickly1 and1 kneeling down at ,st4 ,francis's feet1 ,brother ,francis1 he said1 ,i want to be with you for the love of ,god4 ,st4 ,francis saw at once that this was a true brother1 so he said3 ,knowest thou how great a favour the ,lord has given thee8 ,if1 my brother1 the ,emperor came to ,assisi and wished to choose one of the citizens to be his knight or chamberlain1 many are they who would come forward to claim the honour4 ,how much more highly1 then1 shouldest thou esteem it to be chosen by the ,lord from out of so many1 and to be called to ,his ,court6 ,then ,st4 ,francis took him back and showed him to ,bernard and ,peter1 and said3 ,see what a good brother the ,lord hath sent us6 ,soon after this the four ,friars set out1 ,st4 ,francis and ,brother ,giles going together1 and ,bernard and ,peter1 to tramp the roads from place to place1 and preach to the little knots of country or town people who collected round them in the market-places4 ,so strange did they look1 and so full of joy and love did they seem to be1 that the people wondered at them very much1 and though some believed them to be servants of ,god1 others thought them mad4 ,when they returned to the ,portiuncola three more men joined them4 ,it was then that the townspeople began to get angry1 and say that ,st4 ,francis was turning rich men into beggars4 ,even the ,bishop spoke seriously to him4 ,now1 if ,st4 ,francis had not been so sure that what he was doing was ,god's plan1 and not his own1 he might have got discouraged and given up trying to carry it out2 but1 relying on ,god's grace1 he listened humbly while people spoke angrily1 or scoffed1 or argued1 or pleaded1 and then he bravely carried on4 ,for the first few months the brothers lived in their little hut at the ,portiuncola1 and prepared themselves 7by prayer and the studying of the perfect way of life and the correction of their faults7 for the great work ,god held for them4 ,part of the day was spent serving the lepers and doing simple work in the fields4 ,one more journey they went1 and then1 four more brethren having joined them1 and ,st4 ,francis having had a wonderful vision which showed him that hundreds would soon be flocking to join his ,order from ,france and ,germany and ,england and all the countries1 he set out for ,rome1 to get the ,pope's approval of his work4 ,at first the ,pope would not listen to this poor1 unknown beggar-man1 full of eager new ideas1 but in the end he received him kindly and1 after hearing all he had to tell1 said3 ,my son1 go and pray to ,jesus ,christ that ,he may show us ,his will2 and when we know ,his will more certainly1 we shall the more safely sanction your pious purpose4 ,so the brethren all prayed hard4 ,when ,st4 ,francis went again1 the ,pope was even more kind1 for he recognized ,st4 ,francis as the man he had seen in a dream4 ,in his dream he saw a church nearly falling and being held up by a small man in a poor habit1 and he knew it meant the ,church of ,christ was in trouble1 and that this man was going to make it strong again through all the earth4 ,so the ,pope gave the ,friars his blessing1 saying3 ,go forth in the ,lord1 brothers4 ,and he gave them leave to preach penance1 and told them to come back to him later and he would do even more for them4 ,so the ,friars went back to ,assisi full of joy4 ,for a time they lived in a kind of wayside shelter called ,rivo ,torto2 but later on the monks on whose land was the ,portiuncola gave the little chapel and the bit of land to ,st4 ,francis 7or rather rented it to him1 the payment being one basket of fish per year1 caught in the river--for ,st4 ,francis did not wish the ,friars to own anything74 ,some more men joined the brothers1 and now they lived as a very happy family in their little huts1 built of branches1 around their beloved chapel4 ,st4 ,francis was like the loving ,father of this family1 always kind1 patient1 cheery1 ready to comfort the sad or nurse the sick1 or explain things to those who felt worried and did not understand how to get rid of their faults and serve ,christ in perfect purity of heart4 ,you ,cubs would have loved ,st4 ,francis1 for he was just like a boy himself4 ,i wish ,i had time to tell you all the lovely little stories about him and the ,friars at this time while his family was still small1 but we must keep them for another time1 and go on now to the time when the ,order had grown so large that the ,friars could no longer all live at the ,portiuncola1 and began to have their poor1 simple houses all over the place1 while hundreds of brothers set forth1 tramping the world over1 preaching the ,gospel of ,christ1 not only to the poor1 but to the heathen in barbarous countries4 ,some of the brothers were cruelly martyred1 and all had to suffer a lot of hardships1 for often people would drive them away1 so that they had to go hungry and cold1 with nowhere to lay their heads for the night4 ,we cannot follow all the brothers and hear all their adventures1 so ,i will just tell you one or two which show what kind of men ,st4 ,francis and his ,friars were4 ,here is one which shows you their obedience and humility4 ,i daresay it will make you laugh6 ,the ,friars had by now become quite noted for their preaching1 and would often go up into the pulpits of the churches1 where large crowds gathered to hear them1 the ,bishop even inviting ,st4 ,francis to preach in the cathedral4 ,now1 among the brethren there was one called ,ruffino1 who was very shy and nervous and felt he simply couldn't preach and face a great crowd of people1 all staring at him and waiting for his words4 ,now1 ,st4 ,francis hated that any of his ,friars should give in to themselves about anything4 ,he also loved them to obey quickly1 and do everything they were told at once1 without a murmur4 ,so one day he told ,brother ,ruffino to go to a big church in the city and preach4 ,but ,brother ,ruffino1 instead of obeying at once1 begged ,st4 ,francis not to command him this1 as he had not the gift of preaching4 ,st4 ,francis was not pleased at this1 and he said that1 as ,brother ,ruffino had not obeyed quickly1 he must now take off his habit and go to the city and preach1 clad only in his breeches1 and otherwise naked6 ,so ,brother ,ruffino stripped1 and went off humble and obedient4 ,but1 of course1 when he went into the church and up into the pulpit dressed like that the men and children of ,assisi began to laugh and say the ,friars had gone mad4 ,meanwhile ,st4 ,francis presently began to be sorry he had sent off poor ,brother ,ruffino clad only in breeches1 especially considering he had once been one of the noblest men in ,assisi4 ,he began to call himself names for having been so hard on him2 and1 saying he would do himself what he had told his poor brother to do1 he stripped himself of his habit and also set out1 half naked1 for the town6 ,when he got to the church1 of course everyone laughed all the more to see another ,friar in his breeches4 ,poor ,brother ,ruffino was in the pulpit struggling bravely to preach in simple words4 ,then ,st4 ,francis mounted the pulpit1 and1 standing by ,brother ,ruffino1 preached a most wonderful sermon1 so that all the people of ,assisi were touched to the heart1 and many wept to think of their sins and of the ,passion of ,christ4 ,then ,st4 ,francis gave ,brother ,ruffino his habit and put on his own 7for ,brother ,leo had brought them to the church71 and they returned home rejoicing4 ,once when ,st4 ,francis was walking along the road he saw a great crowd of birds in a field1 and saying he must go and preach to his little sisters1 the birds1 he went among them and preached a wonderful sermon to them1 telling them how they ought to praise ,god for all he had given them4 ,and the birds didn't fly away1 but all crowded round to listen4 ,at the end ,st4 ,francis gave them his blessing and told them to fly away1 and they rose up in the air and flew away in the form of a great cross1 to north1 south1 east1 and west4 ,st4 ,francis loved all animals1 even earthworms1 which he would pick up tenderly from the path and put into safety4 ,and he would never allow people to cut trees quite down1 but made them leave the roots1 so that they might grow up all green and beautiful once more4 ,little children he loved1 too4 ,some day ,i will tell you the story of a little boy who joined his ,order and became a little ,friar1 and had the great joy of seeing ,st4 ,francis at prayer one night out on the mountain-side1 with a wonderful gold light all round him1 and heavenly visions comforting him4 ,but the little boy had to promise ,st4 ,francis he would never tell anyone what he had seen as long as ,st4 ,francis was living4 ,i must leave1 too1 the story of how ,st4 ,francis tamed a huge1 fierce wolf2 and of how he went right into the ,saracen camp during a ,crusade and preached to the ,sultan of ,turkey1 and told him to be a ,christian2 and how he called a great gathering of the ,friars at the ,portiuncola1 to which five thousand brothers came1 and how the people of the cities round came with carts full of food and fed the ,friars for more than a week's time1 freely4 ,all these stories and many more ,i must leave1 and go on now to tell you of the wonderful1 beautiful1 and holy end of ,st4 ,francis's life1 and of the mysterious thing that happened to him4 ,i want you to remember that this mysterious thing is perfectly true1 and really did happen to ,st4 ,francis1 and is a sign of how very closely his soul had become united to ,jesus ,christ and ,his ,passion on the ,cross--for he had never forgotten the heavenly message he had found in the book of the ,gospels3 ,he that will come after ,me1 let him deny himself1 and take up his cross1 and follow ,me4 ,st4 ,francis's ,order was now established1 and his ,friars were renewing the life of the ,church by their wonderful preaching1 their holy example1 and their pure lives4 ,st4 ,francis himself1 though not really old at all1 was almost worn out4 ,his life of hardships2 his great worries 7for his enormous family gave him much trouble as well as joy72 his burning zeal and passionate love of ,god and his fellow-men--all this had nearly used up his strength1 and now he was in constant pain1 and very nearly blind4 ,he was always patient and happy--even merry1 as of old4 ,but at last came a day when he felt he must go away and be alone a little with ,god4 ,so1 taking a few chosen brothers with him1 he retired to the top of a beautiful mountain1 called ,mount ,alverna1 which belonged to a nobleman who was a friend of ,st4 ,francis4 ,on this mountain1 with only the sky and the rocks and the trees for company1 with the lovely peaks of other mountains stretching away as far as eye could see1 the six ,friars made themselves a little camp of huts2 but ,st4 ,francis had his hut right away from the other ,friars1 and across a little rocky ravine which was crossed by a plank4 ,here he could feel quite alone with ,god4 ,looking up1 there was just the blue1 blue sky and the steady clouds2 and looking down1 there was a steep rock falling away below him to a great depth1 with little ferns and flowers clinging to it4 ,in this rocky solitude lived a falcon who became a very dear friend of ,st4 ,francis1 and for whom he had a great love4 ,it knew the time he liked to rise and pray in the night1 and it would come and flap against his hut and wake him at the right time1 and then stay near him while he prayed4 ,the ,friars were not allowed to come near the spot2 only ,brother ,leo came with a little bread and water each day1 and to join at midnight with ,st4 ,francis in the ,divine ,office4 ,at times ,st4 ,francis was very happy1 and the joy that fills the ,blessed in heaven seemed to glow in his heart1 so that he understood the secrets of ,god2 and wonderful visions he had too4 ,but sometimes he was filled with sorrow and pain and temptation1 for the ,devil would torment him and try in every way he could to separate the heart of ,st4 ,francis from ,god4 ,one day1 after he had had a very wonderful vision1 he went with ,brother ,leo to the little chapel the ,friars had made1 and1 casting himself on the ground before the ,altar1 he prayed to ,god to make known to him the mystery which ,he would teach him--for he felt there was some mysterious reason why ,god had made him come up this mountain and dwell apart4 ,then he told ,leo to open the book of the ,gospels three times1 and see what it said4 ,and each place ,leo opened on was about ,christ's ,passion4 ,then ,st4 ,francis felt quite sure that it was ,god's will that somehow he should share his ,lord's pain1 and reach the kingdom of ,god through suffering4 ,and he longed very much for this1 and also to have in his heart the love which made ,christ so willing to suffer for men4 ,it was a few days after this that the strange and wonderful thing happened4 ,st4 ,francis was kneeling1 absorbed in prayer1 when suddenly a wonderful ,form came towards him1 and stood on a stone a little above him4 ,bright and shining was the ,form1 with the most beautiful1 beautiful face2 and ,his arms were stretched out upon a cross1 and feet joined together4 ,and ,he had two great wings with which ,he flew1 and two stretched up above ,his head1 and two covered ,his body4 ,and as ,st4 ,francis gazed upon this crucified ,seraph with the beautiful face full of pain1 a great throb of intense agony shot through his soul and his body1 so that he had never felt such pain or sorrow before4 ,and then the ,seraph spoke to him as to a friend and revealed many mysteries4 ,when ,he had gone ,st4 ,francis rose from his knees and wondered what it could mean2 and then he saw what it meant4 ,for in his own hands and feet had come the marks of the crucified ,christ3 his hands and his feet were pierced right through with red wounds1 and in the palms of the hands and on the instep of his feet were the round black heads of the nails1 and their points came out the other side1 bent back4 ,and in his side was a big wound1 as if made by a spear4 ,and the pain of them all was very great4 ,and ,st4 ,francis understood that he had been allowed by ,god to share in ,our ,lord's ,passion4 ,at first he said nothing to the ,friars2 but after a while he told them1 but he did not show them the wounds1 but kept his hands hidden in his big sleeves4 ,only to ,leo did he show them1 so that he might wash and bandage them because of the pain and the bleeding4 ,then1 leaving the ,friars on the holy mountain1 ,st4 ,francis went down with ,leo2 but he rode on a donkey1 because of the nails in his feet4 ,he scarcely noticed the places he passed through or the people he saw1 though he did several wonderful miracles4 ,and at last he came home to his beloved ,portiuncola4 ,st4 ,francis's body was almost worn out1 and greatly weakened1 too1 by the bleeding from his wounds1 but his soul seemed full of new life and joy and energy4 ,so1 riding upon a donkey1 he set out for a last journey through the country he had loved so much1 and along the familiar roads he had so often tramped4 ,i cannot now tell you of all that happened on this journey and of the miracles that ,st4 ,francis performed2 but it was a wonderful last journey1 and already the people had begun to speak of him as the ,saint4 ,but towards the end of his journey ,st4 ,francis became so ill that he had to be carried in a litter2 and so it was that at last he came back to the little ,portiuncola chapel to die4 ,as you can imagine1 he was not only brave in the face of death1 but gay and cheerful4 ,many ,friars had gathered round their beloved ,father1 and he spoke comforting words to them and blessed them2 but he gave a very special blessing to ,bernard1 who had been the first man to come and join him in those early days when he was still alone4 ,and he made the brothers sing1 joyful and loud1 the song he had himself made up on his last journey1 called ,the ,canticle of ,brother ,sun--a beautiful song all about ,brother ,sun and ,sister ,moon1 and the stars1 and flowers1 and birds1 and grass1 and ,brother ,wind1 and how they must all praise ,god ,who made them4 ,and when he knew he must very soon die1 he cried1 ,welcome1 ,sister ,death6 ,and he made them lay him on the ground1 without even his habit1 and spread sackcloth over him and sprinkle ashes upon him1 and read to him the story of ,our ,blessed ,lord's ,passion and ,death from the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john4 ,all was still1 and outside in the twilight the larks had gathered1 and were soaring up into the evening sky1 singing with all their hearts1 as if rejoicing that in a few minutes the soul of their brother ,francis would be free to soar up with them1 and away beyond even the reach of their swift wings1 to the beautiful garden of ,god4 ,and in the house all was of a sudden marvellously still4 ,and the brothers1 bending down over the form on the floor1 saw1 through their tears1 that their friend and father had gone4 ,only for themselves they wept1 for they knew that ,st4 ,francis1 beautiful and young and strong and gay once more1 was already with his ,friend and ,master1 the ,lord ,christ1 ,who with smile and outstretched hand would welcome him to his glorious reward4 ,and the ,divine ,hand outstretched1 and the hand of ,st4 ,francis1 would bear the same print of nails1 and ,st4 ,francis would understand the great and wonderful thing that ,god had granted him4 ,,the ,,seventh ,,day ,when ,akela woke up she could hear the roar of the sea dashing up on the rocks4 ,there was a regular gale blowing1 and every now and then the wind brought a lash of rain out of the grey sky4 ,so she decided to let the ,cubs sleep as late as possible4 ,it was #h4cj before the first one woke up4 ,arriving at the field1 they found that ,father and ,mother and the two orderlies had succeeded in getting the fire to burn 7though the rain was coming down pretty fast now71 and hot porridge and tea were all ready4 ,prayers and breakfast both had to be in the store tent--a bit of a squash1 but everyone was as cheery as usual4 ,after breakfast it cleared up--luckily1 for a party of choirboys from ,portsmouth were coming over for the day4 ,they arrived about #a4j1 and were quite ready for dinner1 after the tossing they had had on the boat4 ,dinner consisted of large beef and ham sandwiches1 and spuds1 and jam roly-poly4 ,there was a real hurricane blowing2 the beef and ham and bread got blown off the plates as the orderlies handed it round6 ,when everyone had eaten as much as they could hold1 the ,cubs collected in the lee of the tent for their rest1 and the choirboys1 not being ,cubs1 thought it a suitable moment to go in the swings and hammocks4 ,after that there was a cricket match1 and then the ,cubs and some of the choirboys bathed4 ,a big ,london scout1 who had met the ,cubs in the street and claimed brotherhood1 also spent the day in camp4 ,no one knew his name1 and he was just called ,kangaroo1 because that was his patrol4 ,when the choirboys had gone1 ,kangaroo and the ,cubs had a good rag4 ,that night in the ,coach-house the big doors had to be shut1 or the candle would never have kept alight4 ,you could hear the wind whipping up the white horses all over the great black sea1 and laughing to see the way they jumped up over the rocks4 ,but it was nice and cosy in the ,coach-house4 ,the ,cubs had got out some extra blankets1 and sat wrapped up in them like so many ,indian chiefs4 ,you promised to tell us ,st4 ,antony to-night1 said ,sam4 ,yes1 said ,akela2 ,i know you will like the story of his life4 ,well1 he was one of ,st4 ,francis's ,friars--the most famous one of all4 ,but when you have heard his story you will see that with the ,saints it was possible for a man to be a 'wonder-worker1' as ,st4 ,antony was called1 and yet think nothing of himself at all1 and expect no one else to pay him honour and respect4 ,so much did ,st4 ,antony hate swank and love humility that he let no one know what wonderful powers he had1 until one day ,god made an adventure happen which showed everybody what he really was4 ,tell us--tell us1 said the ,cubs4 ,so ,akela squatted down in the middle of the listening ,cubs1 and began4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,st4 ,,antony4 ,to understand the story of ,st4 ,antony you must picture yourselves in the beautiful1 sunny land of ,portugal4 ,oranges and purple grapes and all kinds of lovely fruits ripen in the old gardens4 ,galleys full of rich merchandise come sailing across the blue1 blue sea and touch at the port of ,lisbon4 ,all along the banks of the ,river ,tagus are the big houses of the nobility4 ,it is in one of these houses that there lives a boy called ,fernando4 ,fernando is one of those boys who will always have a good time4 ,he is very clever and quick1 handsome1 and full of life4 ,he gets on wonderfully well at school1 and he has a fine time in the holidays1 for his people lead a gay life--feasts1 sports1 the chase1 grand parties of every sort4 ,fernando has the chance of seeing a good deal of life1 for he is the kind of boy the grown-ups are always ready to take out4 ,he gets a lot of admiration1 and he enjoys everything to the full4 ,but1 do you know1 when he is alone there is a certain idea that often comes to him1 and he sits on his window-sill and gazes away across the purple hills1 and thinks and thinks and thinks4 ,the idea is this3 that1 after all1 this pleasure and gaiety is not worth much2 it's all rather selfish and greedy and stupid4 ,there must be something more worth while in life4 ,for one thing1 there's ,god4 ,how little we know of ,god6 ,and yet there is a lot to be learnt and understood about ,him if only there was time and quiet and books1 and not all this bustle of parties and grand people4 ,surely ,god wants men to get to know ,him1 and not be so busy pleasing themselves that they quite forget all about ,him4 ,then1 again1 how rotten it would be to die and feel you had done nothing in life but please yourself6 ,after all1 there's no end of things to be done to make the world a better1 holier1 wiser place4 ,fancy going out of the world knowing you were leaving it no better than when you came--or perhaps a little worse4 ,surely a man must feel rather nervous about dying1 and about the ,judgment ,day1 when he knows he hasn't ever done anything useful or kind4 ,why should ,god give such men the reward of heaven8 ,rewards are for people who have worked hard2 and so is rest4 ,and then1 again1 when ,god came to earth and lived among men1 ,he didn't just spend ,his time seeking for pleasures2 in fact1 ,he seemed never to think of ,himself at all1 but always of other people4 ,that thought held the boy ,fernando more than all the others--the thought of ,christ1 ,who could have made ,himself a ,king if ,he had liked1 spending ,his days for others1 preaching and doing miracles1 and the whole long night out under the stars1 under the whispering olive-trees talking to ,god4 ,these thoughts used to come to ,fernando when he was quite a little chap1 and he had a kind of idea that when he was a man he would give himself to ,god4 ,but when he began to grow up a bit1 and got about thirteen or fourteen1 he found that if he didn't look out he would get so keen on the life of pleasure that he would become like the gay young men about him1 and quite forget all about ,god4 ,he began to see that if he meant to stick to his good ideas he must do something about it before it was too late4 ,so1 after a very hard struggle1 he promised ,god the whole of himself1 with all his love and all the keen1 strong desire within him to do great things4 ,he knew it would mean giving up all the pleasures that filled his life1 and all the riches and glory that would some day be his4 ,but somehow nothing mattered so long as he obeyed this sense that ,god was calling4 ,of course1 his people told him he was a young fool1 and did all they could to stop him2 but he stuck to his idea1 and at the age of fifteen he was admitted to a monastery of ,canons1 just outside the city1 and exchanged his rich clothes for the white habit4 ,it was a beautiful monastery1 full of holy men and hundreds of wonderful books1 and in the quiet and peace young ,fernando was very happy4 ,he felt he had really got near to ,god4 ,he worked so hard at his studies that by the time he had become a young man he was admired by all the ,canons1 who thought him very clever and gifted1 and told each other that some day he would be a famous scholar and do great things4 ,fernando himself felt that ,god had given him the gift of preaching2 and that if he went out and preached he would be able to attract great crowds to listen1 and win souls for ,god2 so he worked and worked to learn all he could1 so as to be ready to stand up and defend the ,christian ,faith against heretics4 ,fernando had gone to another great monastery at ,coimbra1 and had been there eight years1 when something happened which was the beginning of a great change in his life--the beginning of a great adventure4 ,one day five dusty wayfarers tramped into the town and stopped at the little house of the ,franciscans1 not far from the monastery of the ,white ,canons4 ,the five strangers were really five heroes1 for they were five of ,st4 ,francis's ,friars1 bound on a quest so thrilling and so dangerous that they felt quite sure they would never come back4 ,they were going to ,morocco1 in ,africa1 to preach to the heathen1 and with shining eyes they spoke of dying there1 for the love of ,christ1 and winning the martyr's crown6 ,full of joy they went on their way2 but without knowing it they had set on fire the heart of the young ,canon1 ,fernando4 ,in the quiet of his peaceful monastery he could think of nothing but ,africa1 the heathen1 the chance of sharing ,christ's suffering1 and dying for ,his sake4 ,it was really the ,holy ,spirit ,who was stirring up those thoughts in ,fernando's heart4 ,well1 some months later news came that the five brave ,friars had been put to a most horrible death by the ,saracens4 ,they were first scourged till the whiplashes had almost cut their bodies to pieces4 ,boiling oil and vinegar was then poured over them1 and they were rolled on the ground1 over fragments of broken glass and pottery4 ,they were then promised their lives if they would give up ,christ2 but as1 of course1 they wouldn't1 they were beheaded4 ,these were the first martyrs of ,st4 ,francis's ,order4 ,can you imagine what ,fernando felt when one day a solemn procession stopped outside the church of his own monastery1 and the coffins containing the bodies of the martyrs were laid within it for a while on their way to ,spain8 ,fernando now felt more sure than ever that ,god was calling him to be a poor ,friar1 and to set out barefoot for some hot1 dusty land away beyond the seas1 where cruel hands would torture him to death4 ,once again he offered himself to ,god1 but this time it took an even harder struggle than it had before1 for he loved his quiet life of prayer and study in the beautiful monastery even more than he had loved the gay life of his boyhood4 ,still1 he did not give in to himself4 ,next time the poor ,friars came1 in their old1 patched habits1 to beg at the rich monastery1 can you imagine their surprise when one of the most learned and famous young ,canons came out to them1 in his stately white habit1 his beautiful face lighted up with a great resolve1 and asked them if they would give him a brown habit1 and make him a ,friar1 and send him to the ,saracen country to win a martyr's crown8 ,of course1 they were delighted1 and promised to bring him a habit the very next day4 ,fernando had a hard job to persuade the ,canons to let him go4 ,but at last they did2 and once more he turned his back on a happy home and set out on an unknown adventure4 ,as he left the monastery1 one of the ,canons1 a great friend of his1 called after him3 ,go--go6 ,you will doubtless become a ,saint6 ,and ,fernando called back to him3 ,when you hear that ,i am a ,saint give glory to ,god6 for he knew very well that it is only ,god ,who can make a man into a ,saint1 and that the man's own efforts can never do it4 ,it must have been a great change for ,fernando to find himself in the poor little huts belonging to the ,friars1 and obliged to go barefoot1 dressed in a rough habit and cord1 with only scraps of food to eat1 begged from the houses of the rich4 ,these ,friars were only poor1 ignorant men--very holy1 but with no learning or refinement4 ,they did not know ,fernando was a very clever man1 a scholar4 ,of course1 he did not tell them1 but humbly took his place as the newest and least important of the brothers1 never letting them see that he missed the wonderful library1 or the beautiful music of the monastery1 or the quiet cell where he had been able to pray and work in peace4 ,so as to start life quite fresh1 he even gave up his noble name1 ,fernando1 and took the name of ,antony4 ,so now we will begin to call him ,st4 ,antony4 ,illustration3 ,s4 ,,francis ,,receives ,,the ,,marks ,,of ,,the ,,passion4 ,see page #ha4 ,of course1 the one thing he kept thinking about was the quest of the martyr's crown1 and at last he got his ,superiors to send him1 with one companion1 to the ,saracen country4 ,but now came the greatest disappointment of his life1 for no sooner had he got there than he fell ill4 ,all the winter he lay between life and death1 with a terrible fever1 so ill that he could do nothing4 ,he knew that he was now so weak that he would never be able to go and preach to the ,saracens and be martyred4 ,he would have to go home again1 a failure4 ,this was much harder to him than any danger or suffering1 and the way he bore it1 cheerfully and patiently for the love of ,christ1 made him much more pleasing to ,god than anything else4 ,for ,god loves humble people1 who are willing to do ,his ,will1 instead of choosing for themselves4 ,seeing that ,god wanted his life rather than his death1 ,st4 ,antony decided to go back to his own country and become as strong and well as possible4 ,so he set sail4 ,but when ,god sees that a man has altogether given up his own will1 ,he takes full control of his journey through life1 and makes things happen to show the man what to do4 ,in this case ,god made ,st4 ,antony's ship get driven ashore on the island of ,sicily4 ,here there happened to be a small house belonging to the ,franciscans4 ,it was while ,st4 ,antony was resting there that he heard that there was going to be a great chapter 7or general meeting7 of the ,friars1 at ,assisi1 and that ,st4 ,francis would be there2 so he asked leave to go1 and then set forth4 ,this was to be the beginning of a new adventure4 ,when he got to ,assisi he found two thousand ,friars collected there for the chapter4 ,the country people were providing all their food free4 ,you can imagine what ,st4 ,antony felt when he saw ,st4 ,francis6 ,but when ,st4 ,francis called for volunteers to go on a dangerous mission to the fierce ,germans1 it must have cost him an awful lot to keep quiet4 ,but he had learnt his lesson--,god did not want of him a glorious death1 only a patient life4 ,when the chapter came to an end all the ,friars dispersed1 some going gladly off on their dangerous quests1 others collecting in little bands under their ministers1 as the head ones were called1 and starting to tramp back to their friaries4 ,but ,st4 ,antony stood all alone4 ,he had no brave quest to follow2 no minister looked for him to go home with a party of cheerful ,friars2 no one cared what became of the young ,portuguese stranger4 ,so ,st4 ,antony asked one of the ministers to take him and form him in the practice of religious discipline4 ,the minister little knew the wonderful gifts of this pale young stranger1 with the beautiful1 sad face1 and sent him to a humble friary on the top of a steep1 rocky mountain4 ,there were only a few simple ,friars there4 ,one of them had hewed out a little cave in the rock4 ,this he gave to ,st4 ,antony1 who made it his cell4 ,there he spent most of his day in prayer4 ,but one job he specially made his own4 ,what do you think it was8 ,why1 washing up the plates and greasy dishes4 ,he didn't tell the ,friars anything about himself1 and of course they never guessed that their new brother1 who always chose the meanest jobs1 was a nobleman's son and a famous scholar of one of the greatest monasteries in ,portugal4 ,for a whole year ,st4 ,antony lived like this4 ,do you think he wished himself back in the beautiful monastery in ,portugal1 with his books and his clever1 interesting friends8 ,no2 for he loved what was ,god's ,will for him above all things4 ,people should not pine for the past1 nor be impatient for the future2 they should live heart and soul in the present1 because the present is always what has just been provided by ,god1 and so it is the best possible thing4 ,but ,god meant ,his faithful servant to be made known1 and ,i will tell you1 now1 the wonderful way in which ,he made it happen4 ,in the town1 not far from ,st4 ,antony's little friary1 there was one day a meeting of ,franciscan and ,dominican ,friars for an important ceremony4 ,after the service the ,superior asked the ,dominicans1 who were clever men and good preachers1 to preach a sermon4 ,but they all said they were not prepared2 and so did the ,franciscans4 ,so the ,superior turned to ,st4 ,antony1 who had come as a companion of his ,minister1 and ordered him to preach4 ,st4 ,antony tried to get out of it1 but1 finding he must obey1 he walked slowly up into the pulpit4 ,the ,friars did not expect much of a sermon4 ,this was only poor ,brother ,antony1 whose chief job was washing dishes4 ,st4 ,antony1 ready to do his best for ,god1 did not think of himself a bit4 ,he just turned over in his mind what would be the best thing to preach on so as to help his brothers and bring honour and glory to his ,god4 ,by the time he was in the pulpit the ,holy ,spirit had put a text into his mind4 ,he gave it out in his clear1 ringing voice3 ,for us ,christ became obedient unto death1 even the death of the cross4 ,then he began to preach4 ,the ,friars sat up and stared4 ,the young1 unknown ,friar was pouring forth a wonderful flood of eloquence1 full of the deepest thought1 and showing such learning as none of them possessed4 ,only a scholar could preach like that2 and only a scholar who was full of the fire of the ,holy ,ghost could move the hearts of his hearers as this man did6 ,the ,friars and their ,superiors sat spellbound4 ,they quite forgot the preacher1 and were carried away by his words into a greater love of ,god4 ,when at last he ceased1 and walked quietly down from the pulpit1 his eyes on the ground1 deep humility in his heart1 his hearers turned to each other in wonder and delight1 and all said they had never heard such a preacher in their lives4 ,of course1 the ,superiors hurried off and told ,st4 ,francis all about it1 and you can imagine how delighted ,st4 ,francis was to hear he had such a wonderful man among his ,friars4 ,it ended in ,st4 ,francis sending ,st4 ,antony to do what many years ago he had longed to do--that is1 preach to the heretics who were teaching wrong things about the ,christian ,faith4 ,still as humble as ever1 ,st4 ,antony set out to tramp along the roads to the places at which he was to preach4 ,through ,italy he went1 and then ,france1 and then ,spain1 and back to ,italy1 and on these journeys the most wonderful things happened4 ,not only did ,god give him the power of preaching such marvellous sermons that the people crowded in thousands to hear him1 but ,he gave him the power to do miracles1 like ,he once gave to ,his ,apostles4 ,as to the heretics1 they simply couldn't stand up against ,st4 ,antony1 and thousands of them either had to stop their false teaching and keep quiet1 or else were converted and came over to ,st4 ,antony's side4 ,because of this he got the name1 ,hammer of ,heretics4 ,but it wasn't only to the heretics he preached4 ,the ordinary people used to come in such crowds that there simply wasn't room in the churches for them1 and ,st4 ,antony had to preach out in the fields and plains4 ,rich and poor used to come1 clergy and ignorant peasants4 ,the shopkeepers used to shut up their shops4 ,the people were so much moved by his sermons that enemies forgave each other1 men paid their debts1 or creditors forgave their debtors2 wicked people gave up their sinful life1 and started trying to do their best to become pleasing to ,god4 ,one day a band of twelve brigands who lived in the forest and robbed passers-by heard about the famous preacher4 ,so they disguised themselves1 and went to see if what was said of him was true4 ,when he began to preach he completely won their hearts1 and they repented of their sinful life4 ,after the sermon they spoke to ,st4 ,antony1 and confessed what wicked men they had been4 ,he told them they must never go back to their robber life1 and he said that those who gave it up would go some day to heaven1 but that if any went back to it they would have miserable ends4 ,and1 sure enough1 some who went back soon died horrible deaths4 ,st4 ,antony told them to try and do something to make up for having been so wicked4 ,one of them1 he said1 was to go twelve times in pilgrimage to the tomb of ,st4 ,peter and ,st4 ,paul at ,rome4 ,years and years after1 when this robber was an old1 old man1 he met a ,friar on the road1 and he told him how when he was young he had heard ,st4 ,antony preach1 and how he had told him to go to ,rome twelve times4 ,and now ,i am on my way back from ,rome for the twelfth time1 he said4 ,that shows you what power ,st4 ,antony had4 ,there's no time now to tell you of all the miracles he did2 but they were so wonderful that he came to be called the ,wonder-worker1 and it showed everyone that ,god was with him4 ,and do you think all this honour and glory1 and big crowds running after him1 and great men praising him1 made ,st4 ,antony proud or even the least bit pleased with himself8 ,no2 he stayed just as humble and retiring as he was in the days when he used to wash dishes in the mountain friary4 ,but ,st4 ,antony's hard life was beginning to tell on his health4 ,for a long time he had secretly suffered from a very painful disease4 ,it was now about nine years since the day he preached his first sermon and was sent forth by ,st4 ,francis on his great mission4 ,as the summer drew on ,st4 ,antony ceased to preach1 so as not to hinder the people's work in the vineyards4 ,also1 he knew the end of his life was near4 ,he longed for a little peace and solitude and silence2 he longed to be alone with ,god to prepare for his great journey into the next world4 ,there was a nobleman called ,count ,tiso1 who had a beautiful estate not far from ,padua1 a city ,st4 ,antony loved very much4 ,here ,st4 ,antony went for a time of rest4 ,there was no rocky hill-side to make a cave which he might use as his cell1 so he got ,count ,tiso to make him a cell in the great branches of a walnut-tree4 ,these branches spread out not far above the ground1 and between them ,count ,tiso wove reeds and willow twigs1 and made a lovely little house for ,st4 ,antony4 ,the thick1 leafy branches above sheltered him from the hot sun2 a few rough steps led up to it2 and here ,st4 ,antony could spend his days in complete solitude4 ,but one evening when he had come down to have his evening meal with his companions1 in the little friary near by1 he was taken very ill1 and his pain was so great that he could no longer sit upright4 ,he knew he was soon to die1 and he longed to die at his beloved city1 ,padua4 ,he was really much too ill to be moved1 but when his companions saw how much he wanted this1 they fetched a rough ox-cart and laid ,st4 ,antony in it4 ,i told you how ,st4 ,antony had longed to share ,christ's sufferings and die a martyr's death--well1 now was his chance4 ,he was in such frightful pain that any tiny movement hurt him1 and now he had to go mile after mile in a rough cart with no springs1 jolting over the stony roads1 the broiling ,italian sun beating down upon him1 the thick white dust choking his parched throat1 the flies tormenting him4 ,you can't imagine the agony he must have suffered4 ,and yet he never grumbled--he was glad of this chance of suffering2 he felt he was really taking up his cross and following his beloved ,master along the painful way to ,calvary4 ,when the cart had nearly reached ,padua1 a ,friar who had been sent to inquire after ,st4 ,antony met the little procession4 ,he saw at once that ,st4 ,antony would not live to reach the city1 so he made the ,friars lift him from the cart and carry him to a little house of the ,friars near by4 ,it had been ,st4 ,antony's last great wish to die at ,padua2 but even this he gave up patiently and gladly and without a murmur4 ,in the little cell he lay1 his pain getting worse and worse1 and his weakness greater and greater4 ,the ,friars gave him the last rites of religion4 ,then1 raising his eyes1 the old book says1 he looked fixedly on high4 ,as he continued to gaze steadfastly towards heaven1 the ,friars asked him what he saw4 ,he answered3 ',i see my ,lord4' ,not long after1 like one falling quietly asleep1 he breathed out his last breath4 ,his loving1 holy soul quitted the body1 and1 conducted by the good ,jesus1 entered into the joy of his ,lord4 ,the little cell where ,st4 ,antony died still stands1 and people can go in and look on the very walls his eyes looked on1 the very floor on which his body lay4 ,it is such a holy spot that a church has been built over it1 and the little square cell stands inside the church4 ,that is the story of one of the holiest and humblest men who ever lived4 99 99 99 99 99 ,very quietly the ,cubs lay down on their palliasses1 and fell asleep thinking of their new friend1 ,st4 ,antony4 ,,the ,,eighth ,,day ,a pouring day6 ,luckily the ,cubs remained in the sunny land of dreams till eight4 ,meals had to be in the bell-tent4 ,this was great fun6 ,there was just room for a council circle1 only you had to be careful not to put your feet in other people's porridge1 or let your head rub against the tent4 ,if you did1 a stream of water soon began to run down your neck1 and ,akela said it served you right4 ,every now and then the rain nearly stopped1 and everybody dashed out for a few minutes2 but no sooner were you out1 than the weather-fairy seemed to say1 ,yah6 ,sold again6 and down came another sheet of rain that sent everyone scuttling for shelter4 ,the ,cubs decided that it would be a good day to have a concert1 and that there might be a rehearsal in the morning and the grand performance later on4 ,so they sat round and made a lovely row2 and some people sang some very pretty solos--but ,i will tell you about them when ,i tell you about the grand performance4 ,it cleared up for a little while before dinner1 and the ,cubs went out for a search for dry wood4 ,some of them went down to the shore1 and there they found some boys with donkeys and ponies for hire1 so they had some lovely rides up and down the sand1 and no one fell off4 ,just as they got home the rain started again in torrents4 ,in the tent they found two visitors--old friends who had once known them in ,london4 ,this made them think how lucky it was they had had a rehearsal1 for now they would be able to give the visitors a concert1 and then they would not be disappointed because of the rain4 ,so after dinner the concert began4 ,first the whole ,pack shouted the camp chorus--the same one which ,i told you they sang in the train4 ,they then sang ,john ,peel4 ,then ,bunny sang a solo called ,hush thee1 my ,baby4 ,this was followed by a very pretty duet by ,patsy and ,mac--',tis the ,last ,rose of ,summer 7,mac sang the alto very well74 ,then the whole ,pack sang a song called ,robin ,hood1 which ,akela had once made up for them4 ,after that ,bunny recited ,brutus' speech from ,shakespeare's play1 ,julius ,csar--he made you feel he really was ,brutus1 and everyone clapped him4 ,then four ,cubs sang ,annie ,laurie1 in parts4 ,then they all made ,spongey sing a song4 ,spongey was very shy1 and said he couldn't4 ,but in the end he sang a very short song1 in a very deep voice1 called1 ,oh-oh-oh1 it's a ,loverly ,war4 ,of course1 everyone cheered themselves hoarse4 ,then the ,pack sang ,the ,golden ,vanity right through all its many verses4 ,this was followed by a solo from ,mac--a sad little ,irish song--and another duet by ,mac and ,patsy1 ,when ,irish ,eyes are ,smiling1 followed by ,oh ,wert ,thou in the ,cauld ,blast1 sung in parts by ,jack1 ,patsy1 and ,mac4 ,then everyone sang choruses4 ,the visitors enjoyed it very much4 ,by the end of the programme it was quite impossible for the ,cubs to sit still for another moment4 ,you can't get much exercise in a wet bell-tent4 ,so ,akela had a bright idea4 ,if you were in the sea the rain couldn't wet you--what about a bathe8 ,everyone cheered1 and got into their coats and macs1 and ran down to the ,stable1 where they changed into their bathing things4 ,the sea felt awfully warm1 and everyone shrieked and splashed and made such a row that the visitors1 all shut up stuffy and cross in their lodgings1 looked out of their windows and wondered who could be so cheerful on such a day4 ,coming back to tea1 the ,cubs were delighted to find their ,scoutmaster sitting on the floor of the bell-tent1 a large bun in one hand and a mug of tea in the other4 ,he had tramped all the way over from ,quarr to see how far the whole camp had been drowned4 ,in case there were any survivors1 he brought two enormous bags of sweets4 ,that night all the ,cubs prayed very hard for a real1 proper1 hot day for their last in camp4 ,it certainly did not look possible4 ,but ,spongey put the matter in a nutshell when he stood in his long night-shirt1 one eye shut as usual1 and remarked3 ,i think it'll sunshine to-morrer1 'cos ,i've prayed very hard it will4 ,the ,cubs had turned in early1 to get out of the wet world into their dry1 cosy beds4 ,there was plenty of time for a good long story1 and they settled down with wriggles of satisfaction and waited for ,akela to begin4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,st4 ,,patrick4 ,nearly four hundred years after ,our ,lord had gone up to heaven1 and left ,his disciples and their followers to carry on1 a boy was born who was destined to be one of ,god's greatest ,saints1 and to bring thousands and thousands of pagans into the ,christian ,faith4 ,this boy was ,st4 ,patrick1 called the ,apostle of ,ireland1 because he turned the whole of ,ireland ,christian4 ,for many hundreds of years after ,st4 ,patrick had died1 ,ireland was like a fruitful garden in which sprang up hundreds of ,saints and holy and learned men1 who helped to spread the knowledge and love of ,christ all over the world4 ,so ,st4 ,patrick was truly an ,apostle1 and1 like ,st4 ,john and ,st4 ,andrew and the others1 one of the foundation-stones of ,christ's great ,church4 ,but though he ended in being so very important1 and doing things that made a great difference to the whole world1 he began as an ordinary boy--and rather a naughty one1 as he tells us himself4 ,we know a great deal about ,st4 ,patrick1 and we know it is quite true1 because when he was over one hundred years old he wrote it all down himself4 ,he called the book his ,confession1 and though he told us such a lot about himself1 beginning with the adventures of his boyhood1 there is one thing he did not put down in the book4 ,can you guess what8 ,well1 he did not put down how good he was4 ,for1 you see1 the ,saints never thought themselves good1 because1 instead of comparing themselves with people less good than themselves1 as we are all so fond of doing1 they kept on comparing themselves with ,our ,blessed ,lord1 and of course1 that made them seem very1 very far from perfect4 ,when ,st4 ,patrick was a boy he did not love ,god or believe all his ,christian teachers told him1 nor was he obedient or ready to do his best4 ,one day some fierce pirates raided the land where he lived with his father and mother1 and carried him off captive with lots of other boys4 ,sailing across the sea to ,ireland1 the pirates sold the boys as slaves4 ,st4 ,patrick was bought by a great chief called ,milcho1 and sent out on to the hill-sides to watch the sheep4 ,do you think he was lonely and afraid8 ,no4 ,for1 when torn away from his home1 from the friends who loved him1 he had discovered that there is one ,friend that you can't be dragged away from1 and ,who can be with you even in the midst of the tossing green sea1 on a pirate ship4 ,for1 though ,patrick had forgotten ,god1 ,god had not forgotten ,patrick4 ,the ,lord1 he says1 showed me my unbelief1 and had pity on my youth and ignorance4 ,so when he trudged out on to the mountain-side1 he was not sad and alone1 but glad in the knowledge that his unseen ,friend was with him4 ,christ with me1 ,christ before me1 ,christ behind me1 ,christ in me1 ,christ above me1 ,christ beneath me1 ,christ in the chariot1 ,christ in the fort1 ,christ in the ship4 ,that is a prayer ,st4 ,patrick made up himself4 ,there1 on the rough mountain-side1 the boy ,st4 ,patrick spent all his lonely days talking to ,god1 so that1 he says1 more and more the love of ,god and ,his faith and fear grew in me1 and my spirit was stirred4 ,he tells us that he would recite one hundred prayers in one day1 and nearly as many in the night4 ,he had to sleep out with the sheep in some rough cave or hut4 ,before the dawn1 he says1 ,i was called to pray by the snow1 the ice1 and the rain4 ,but he did not mind this outward cold1 because of the burning heart within him4 ,st4 ,patrick had learnt his lesson--the lesson of where to find the only comfort and friendship and help worth having4 ,god wanted him1 now1 for the great work he was to do4 ,one night a mysterious voice told him that if he went to a certain place he would find a ship ready to take him home4 ,the place was about two hundred miles away1 and ,st4 ,patrick had never been there4 ,however1 trusting in ,god's help1 he started off4 ,at last1 after a long tramp1 he reached the town1 and1 sure enough1 there was a ship at the quay about to set sail4 ,st4 ,patrick asked to be taken on board1 but when the sailors heard he had no money they refused him a passage4 ,st4 ,patrick went sadly away1 but as he went he prayed4 ,before long he heard someone coming after him4 ,turning round1 he found it was one of the sailors1 who said after all they would take him4 ,i can't tell you now of the adventures ,st4 ,patrick had on his way home1 but after being shipwrecked and nearly starved1 and each time wonderfully saved by ,god1 he reached his father's house4 ,but though he was home again with those he loved1 he did not forget the ,friend ,who had been his all in those cold1 hard days in ,ireland4 ,he thought of ,him all day1 and of how best to please ,him4 ,he had already begun studying for a life in ,god's service1 when he had a wonderful vision of the people of ,ireland calling him to come to their help1 and he knew it was a sign from ,god that this was the work he was to do4 ,you can imagine how impatient he must have been to get a ship and go sailing back to ,ireland to tell the people about the true ,god1 and how ,christ had died on the ,cross for them1 and all the rest2 but for such a difficult and dangerous job he needed a lot of training--not only in learning1 but in the strength and holiness and obedience to ,god which should make him able to face the task before him4 ,how long do you think ,god kept him at his training8 ,thirty-eight years6 ,at the end of this time a holy man who was his friend and guide was sent to preach in ,britain4 ,st4 ,patrick went with him4 ,this was the first step1 and it ended in his being made a ,bishop and sent--at last--to the lifework he had so long waited for1 the conversion of ,ireland4 ,when ,st4 ,patrick's ship came to shore1 the wild men of ,leinster would not let him land4 ,so1 trusting as usual to ,god1 he sailed out again to sea1 and landed a little farther to the south4 ,there seemed to be nobody about1 to stop him2 and1 tired out1 ,i suppose1 with a day of exploring in the strange land1 ,st4 ,patrick lay down and fell asleep4 ,a little ,irish boy chanced to come along1 and1 seeing a stranger asleep1 crept up on tip-toe to look at him4 ,what a lovely1 kind face he had6 ,the boy thought to himself that he had never before seen anybody who looked so nice1 and he longed to do him some good turn4 ,he couldn't think of anything to do for someone who was asleep1 but at last he got an idea4 ,picking all the best flowers he could find1 he put them round ,st4 ,patrick for a surprise for him4 ,when ,st4 ,patrick woke up you can imagine how pleased he was with the flowers1 and still more pleased to see a little ,irish boy smiling at him shyly from among the bushes4 ,before long ,st4 ,patrick and the boy had become great friends1 and the boy simply wouldn't go away1 but stuck to ,st4 ,patrick4 ,then ,god made known a secret of the future to ,st4 ,patrick1 and he said3 ,some day he will be the heir to my kingdom4 ,and1 sure enough1 the boy1 whose name was ,benignus1 succeeded ,st4 ,patrick as ,bishop of ,armagh4 ,don't you wish you were that boy1 always to stay with ,st4 ,patrick8 ,after this the most wonderful adventures began to befall ,st4 ,patrick2 but even more wonderful than the adventures were the miracles by which he managed to escape out of them1 not only alive1 but victorious4 ,getting into his ship again1 ,st4 ,patrick landed farther north4 ,once more the fierce ,irish set on him and his little band1 and their chief1 ,dichu1 raised his sword to bring it crashing down on ,st4 ,patrick's head4 ,but1 somehow1 his arm stayed stiff in mid-air1 and he could not strike the blow4 ,dichu was an honest man1 and soon understood that such a miracle must be a sign from the true ,god4 ,if once you believe in ,god--well1 the only possible thing is to serve ,him4 ,so ,dichu became a ,christian1 and humbly learned from ,st4 ,patrick how he should serve ,god4 ,then ,st4 ,patrick went to the house of the very chief who had kept him as a slave1 and converted his children to the true ,faith4 ,but it was at ,easter that something very thrilling happened1 and was the beginning of ,st4 ,patrick's real triumphs4 ,the ,chief-,king of ,erin 7as ,ireland was called7 was just going to hold his solemn festival at ,tara4 ,all the ,irish princes and all the priests of the pagan religion had collected together4 ,one of their ceremonies was the lighting of fire at dawn1 with magic rites and ceremonies4 ,it happened to be ,holy ,saturday1 and on that day the ,christians used to light a beacon4 ,st4 ,patrick lit his holy fire1 as usual4 ,the ,king saw it blazing on a hill-top1 and was very angry4 ,one of his priests 7or ,druids1 as they were called7 said3 ,if that fire is not put out before morning1 it never will be put out1 and he meant the ,christian ,faith4 ,so the ,king sent for ,st4 ,patrick4 ,surrounded by his ,druids and bards1 and all the ,irish princes1 the ,king sat1 fierce and proud1 and awaited the strangers4 ,it was ,easter morning1 so1 as ,st4 ,patrick and his little band advanced1 they chanted the ,easter litanies4 ,so noble and holy did ,st4 ,patrick look that one of the bards rose as he drew near4 ,this little act of politeness on the part of the bard brought him special grace from heaven1 and he accepted the ,christian ,faith4 ,standing quietly in the midst of the circle of priests and princes1 ,st4 ,patrick looked around him4 ,he met countless pairs of fierce eyes fixed upon him1 as the princes sat in silence1 with the rims of their shields against their chins2 and as he looked at them he longed to win them all for ,god1 and he prayed for grace and power to do what was needed4 ,then he told them why he had come to ,ireland4 ,the ,king left his ,druids to reply4 ,they did so by doing all sorts of horrible magic4 ,and certainly they made things happen1 much as people called spiritists do nowadays2 but it was not by ,god's power1 so it must have been the ,devil who helped them4 ,whatever the ,druids did1 ,st4 ,patrick undid1 and then did something more wonderful4 ,the ,druids were furious1 and no one knows what might have happened had not ,st4 ,patrick caused an earthquake to happen1 by ,god's power4 ,so terrified were the ,irish that they went half mad and began killing each other1 and ,st4 ,patrick and his men escaped4 ,but the next day ,st4 ,patrick boldly came back1 though he knew the ,king meant to kill him4 ,he was given a cup of poisoned wine to drink4 ,well1 what of that8 ,did not ,our ,lord say to ,his disciples1 when ,he sent them out to convert the world1 ,if you drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt you8 ,st4 ,patrick made the sign of the cross over the cup and drank it1 and nothing happened4 ,then the ,druids arranged a horrible test4 ,they laid two great fires1 one of dry faggots and the other of wet1 green wood4 ,on the dry wood they laid the boy ,benignus1 dressed in a ,druid's white robe4 ,on the green they put a ,druid1 clad in ,st4 ,patrick's cloak4 ,then they said they would set fire to both piles4 ,st4 ,patrick accepted the challenge4 7,if you had been the boy1 would you have got the wind up1 do you think1 or would you have trusted ,st4 ,patrick87 ,well1 they set fire to the two piles of wood4 ,strange to say1 the green wood blazed up1 with many sizzlings and cracklings and much smoke1 but the dry wood simply wouldn't light4 ,there was1 however1 a sudden flame1 and the ,druid's robe on the boy flared up and was soon burnt to ashes1 leaving ,benignus quite all right1 and1 ,i expect1 very pleased with himself6 ,meanwhile1 horrible noises had been coming from the other pile1 and when the smoke and flames died down there were only charred cinders where there had once been a ,druid4 ,but ,st4 ,patrick's cloak had not been burnt at all4 ,as the ,king still would not believe1 ,st4 ,patrick had to make another earthquake happen1 which swallowed up so many of the ,king's subjects that he gave in1 and said ,st4 ,patrick might preach1 though he himself never accepted the ,faith4 ,so1 on the green plains of ,tara1 ,st4 ,patrick preached a wonderful sermon to the ,irish1 who by this time had come crowding round to see the stranger who could beat the ,druids at their own game4 ,during this sermon ,st4 ,patrick stooped down and picked a leaf of shamrock1 and1 holding it up1 showed the people how the little green leaf was three and yet one4 ,he said that would help them to understand how the ,blessed ,trinity is three--,god the ,father1 ,god the ,son1 and ,god the ,holy ,ghost--and yet is really only one ,god4 ,that is why the ,irish wear shamrock on ,st4 ,patrick's ,day 7,march #agth74 ,illustration3 ,s4 ,,patrick ,,and ,,the ,,little ,,boy ,,benignus4 ,see page #aja4 ,many more miracles did ,st4 ,patrick which ,i can't tell you about now2 and he went from place to place1 winning thousands of men for ,christ1 and giving spiritual life to their souls by baptizing them4 ,one ,shrove ,tuesday ,st4 ,patrick went up on to the top of a lonely1 rugged mountain above the sea1 and there he stayed without any food all through ,lent till ,easter4 ,and all the time he prayed and prayed and prayed for the men of ,ireland and their fate on the ,judgment ,day4 ,at the end of his long and painful time of prayer ,god sent an angel to tell him his request was granted4 ,so1 with his heart full of joy1 ,st4 ,patrick knelt and blessed ,ireland1 and as he gave his blessing hundreds of poisonous snakes came out of their holes and went slithering away into the sea1 where they were all drowned4 7,that is why you see pictures of ,st4 ,patrick with snakes47 ,and now1 every year1 thousands of ,irish people go on pilgrimage up that mountain4 ,before ,i end ,i must just tell you one little story about a young ,irish ,prince who didn't give in to himself4 ,this ,prince and his followers1 after hearing ,st4 ,patrick preach1 decided to become followers of ,christ and be baptized4 ,st4 ,patrick1 being a ,bishop1 carried a thing called a crozier--a kind of long staff1 like a shepherd's crook1 because ,bishop means shepherd4 ,st4 ,patrick's crozier had rather a sharp point at the end1 and during the ceremony of ,baptism1 somehow1 by accident1 he pierced the ,prince's bare foot with it1 but did not notice what he had done4 ,the ,prince said nothing1 and did not wince or seem surprised4 ,afterwards1 when ,st4 ,patrick found out what he had done1 and asked the ,prince why he had said nothing1 the ,prince replied3 ,i thought it was the rule of faith4 ,a bit of poetry has been written about it1 which puts it rather nicely4 ,the ,prince says1 in it3 ,i thought1 thus called to follow ,him ,whose ,feet ,were pierced with nails1 haply the blissful rite ,some little pain included4 ,everywhere ,st4 ,patrick went he was loved1 and soon the fame of him had spread through the whole country4 ,the superstitious religion of the ,druids altogether died down1 and ,ireland became a ,christian country4 ,st4 ,patrick made a set of wise laws1 and by these the ,irish were governed for a thousand years4 ,at last came the time when his great work was finished4 ,the little boy1 ,benignus1 had grown up and taken over ,st4 ,patrick's work4 ,st4 ,patrick had written his ,confession4 ,and now1 at one hundred and twenty1 he was quite ready for the rest and the reward of heaven4 ,he was very happy2 his great work had been accomplished4 ,god had been very good to him4 ,and so1 satisfied1 he lay down to die1 knowing that all the men of ,ireland were praying for their beloved father4 ,so1 on ,march #agth1 in the year #dic1 ,st4 ,patrick passed from this world into the glory of ,heaven4 ,,the ,,ninth ,,day ,as the ,cubs one by one opened their eyes on the last day at camp1 the first thing they saw was that their prayers of last night had been fully1 wonderfully answered4 ,the sun shone with that clear golden radiance of early morning sun4 ,the sky was a misty blue1 with just a few small flocks of sheep4 ,the wind had dropped1 and the world1 washed clean by the rain1 was going to enjoy itself to-day4 ,quickly the ,cubs washed themselves and scrambled into their old clothes1 and were away up to the field in record time4 ,the smell of wood smoke2 the cry of the sea-gulls2 the bigness of ,god's beautiful world--only one more day of it all6 ,porridge out in the sunshine1 and lots and lots of bread-and-jam4 ,then down to the shore4 ,on the way shorewards the ,cubs met a kind lady who lived in the little house at the end of the sea-wall4 ,she had often seen them run past1 and now she stopped and asked ,akela what they were4 ,when she heard it was their last day she said they might have her boat for the whole morning6 ,so the ,cubs and ,akela all got into their bathing things1 and the boat was rowed round from where it was anchored to the bit of the shore where they always played4 ,when everyone had been out and had learnt to row1 first with one oar and then with two2 and when the tide had gone down1 down1 down1 as far as it could1 ,akela anchored the boat in shallow water1 and took away all the oars but one4 ,then the ,cubs had a gorgeous time1 rowing by themselves1 as far as the long rope would allow4 ,i don't know what that boat turned into--pirate vessels1 the ,golden ,hind1 and everything else you can imagine1 while the gallant crew had many an adventure4 ,meanwhile1 another kind lady had appeared on the scene4 ,she lived in a nice house1 with a very sloping lawn in front1 and her garden steps came right down on to the bit of sand where the ,cubs always played4 ,she came down and offered a prize for the best little house or model village or garden the ,cubs could make4 ,four couples set to work1 and by dinner-time there were some splendid models ready4 ,then ,big ,andy and ,little ,andy1 clad only in their bathing-drawers1 walked demurely up to the front-door of the house1 and asked the lady to come and see4 ,she came out carrying two lovely spades1 two splendid shrimping-nets1 and two very nice rubber balls4 ,she decided the ,andies had got first prize2 they had made a model of ,quarr ,abbey2 ,sam and ,dick were second1 with a church2 while ,bert and ,bunny came in a good third1 with a very nice house standing in a large and luxurious garden4 ,after giving the prizes1 this fairy godmother invited the whole ,pack to tea in her garden1 at four o'clock1 after the afternoon bathe6 ,so1 after dinner1 they went to the ,stable and made themselves a little bit respectable1 and then down to the shore and bathed1 and afterwards went up the smooth1 steep lawn to the fairy godmother's house4 ,soon a maid brought out tea2 and it was some tea--cake of all sorts1 and real bread-and-butter 7not marg471 and little jam-sandwiches 7but1 as one ,cub remarked1 it didn't fill you up1 like camp-tea74 ,after tea1 during which the ,cubs were wonderfully quiet and well-behaved1 they entertained their hostess with various kinds of somersaults and cart-wheels1 and then went through a large part of the famous concert for her benefit4 ,before going they gave her a ,grand ,howl1 and then all shook hands with her4 ,after that they played on the shore1 and then ended up with a last bathe1 about seven4 ,back to supper4 ,camp prayers for the last time in the soft evening light4 ,good-night to ,father and ,mother and ,godmother2 and then to the ,stable1 for the last story4 ,but as they squatted round waiting for the story1 someone made a remark that was the beginning of quite a long pow-wow4 ,miss1 he said1 shall we be ,cubs in ,heaven1 and will you be our ,cubmaster8 ,everyone had questions to ask about ,heaven--more than ,akela knew how to answer6 ,and then they grew serious as someone mentioned two ,cubs who had died a year before4 ,do you think ,frank and ,bob have found each other in heaven8 ,yes1 said ,akela1 ,i'm sure they have2 and ,i expect they've found those two ,cubs from two other ,westminster ,packs1 who died of 'flu1 last winter4 ,and that is why this book is dedicated to ,frank and ,bob1 for they were two of the most faithful ,cubs who ever lived4 ,they died brave and unselfish--,bob after a long and very painful illness1 in which he never gave in to himself1 but was always thinking of other people and his little 'uns4 ,at last1 as he lay delirious1 he used to think he was in camp again1 and say3 ,oh1 mother1 look at the green fields--aren't they lovely8 ,and as ,akela knelt by his bed1 holding his poor little hot hand1 she felt sure that soon he would be playing in the green fields of ,heaven--the best camp of all1 where the ,good ,shepherd was already waiting to carry him in ,his strong1 kind arms4 ,and now someone else had a splendid idea3 ,perhaps they've talked to the ,saints6 ,we shall know a lot of the ,saints when we go to ,heaven1 said another ,cub2 ,i shall look out for ,st4 ,antony first4 ,and so they decided to try and get to know as many ,saints as possible before they died1 and to try and copy them1 so that some day they would find lots of friends in ,heaven1 who would not be ashamed to receive the salutes of their little brothers1 and to return them with kind smiles of welcome4 ,then the ,cubs settled down for a last story4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,st4 ,,george4 ,and now1 said the ,cubs1 a last story6 ,go on1 ,miss--make it an extra good one1 exciting and full of adventures1 and the best of all1 because it's the last night4 ,very well1 said ,akela1 ,i'll tell you the story of the ,patron ,saint of all ,cubs and ,scouts1 and of ,england4 ,who's that8 ,st4 ,george6 cried the ,cubs in chorus4 ,and although many of them knew the story very well1 they snuggled down in their blankets and prepared to enjoy themselves4 ,well 7said ,akela71 ,i'm going to tell you the story of the ,saint who was more thought about and honoured in the old days than1 perhaps1 any other ,saint who ever lived4 ,he was from the very earliest times--in fact1 from directly after his death--called the ,great ,martyr4 ,he became the patron of many countries and orders of knighthood1 but specially in ,england was he loved1 and his feast was kept as a great holiday1 equal to ,christmas4 ,already1 before ,william the ,conqueror came to ,england1 our forefathers had begun to build churches in honour of ,st4 ,george4 ,but it was ,king ,richard ,coeur de ,lion who specially spread devotion to ,st4 ,george in ,england1 because he took him as his own patron1 and used his name as his battle-cry4 ,for ,god and ,st4 ,george6 he would shout1 as he swung his mighty battle-axe in the air and charged at the head of his knights toward the ,saracen lines4 ,st4 ,george several times appeared on a white horse1 and led the ,crusaders to victory when it seemed as if the enemy were going to put them to flight and come off victorious4 ,many people think of ,st4 ,george as a knight on a prancing horse1 who killed a dragon and rescued a maiden in distress4 ,but this is only a kind of parable or picture of the real ,st4 ,george and what he did4 ,the dragon is a picture of the wicked1 heathen religion that tried to kill the beautiful young ,church that ,our ,lord had made4 ,st4 ,george fought this dragon1 and gave his life in the battle1 but he rescued the maiden 7who represents the ,church72 for his death seems to have rallied the ,christians and filled them with new courage to fight bravely and stick to it1 until at last the heathen dragon was overcome1 and the ,church of ,christ was able to fill all the world with joy and truth and light4 ,well1 now ,i will tell you what the old books say about ,st4 ,george2 but we have not many details about his life1 as we have about ,st4 ,francis's4 ,st4 ,george lived a bit more than three hundred years after ,christ4 ,he was the son of a ,roman soldier1 a ,christian1 stationed in ,palestine1 which was a ,roman colony4 ,st4 ,george was one of those brave1 straightforward boys who are afraid of nothing--neither of themselves and their weakness1 nor of other people and their unkindness4 ,he practised not giving in to himself1 like a good ,cub2 and he thought a great deal of his honour1 like a good ,scout4 ,and he knew that everything brave or good that he ever did was by the grace of his ,captain1 ,christ1 and not because he was any better himself than anybody else4 ,he could ride well1 shoot an arrow straight1 and use a spear or a broadsword as well as any ,roman boy4 ,but it was not so much this as his way of obeying quickly1 and keeping his word1 and never giving in to himself1 which made him rise from promotion to promotion when he joined the ,roman army4 ,he was still very young when he was made what we should now call a ,colonel1 and given a great deal of responsibility4 ,in fact1 the ,emperor thought no end of him1 and people whispered that some day he would be head of the army and one of the most important men in the ,roman ,empire4 ,this was rather wonderful1 because the ,emperor1 ,diocletian1 was a heathen and hated ,christians1 and1 as ,i told you1 ,st4 ,george was a very good ,christian4 ,in those days the ,christian ,church was no longer hiding in the ,catacombs1 but had come out into the open1 and nearly half ,diocletian's ,empire was ,christian4 ,but something--probably pride--made ,diocletian hate the ,christians1 and he decided to do all he could to destroy the ,church of ,christ1 and force the people back into the old religion1 and worship a god that was really not very different from ,csar1 the ,emperor1 himself4 ,so he first tried burning down the churches1 and then imprisoning the priests and bishops4 ,but one day he suddenly got mad1 and gave an order that if the people would not worship the ,roman gods and offer incense to them1 and swear that they no longer believed in ,christ1 his soldiers would kill them like beasts and leave them in the streets1 as a ghastly warning to any other fools who refused to obey4 ,so the soldiers went forth1 sword in hand1 and every man1 woman1 and child who refused to give up ,christ was killed1 or wounded and left to bleed to death4 ,now1 no one had thought that ,diocletian would ever go as far as this1 and when the horrible news was brought to ,st4 ,george he was filled with rage4 ,the ,emperor was1 of course1 his master1 but there and then he vowed that he would not stay in the service of a vile murderer1 a coward who could stain his sword with the blood of women and little children2 and he prepared at once to go to the ,emperor1 and say straight out all that was burning in his heart4 ,now1 his friends knew that nothing would more enrage the ,emperor than this1 because he thought a lot of ,st4 ,george1 and yet he was proud and obstinate1 and nothing would make him stop persecuting the ,christians4 ,if ,st4 ,george spoke as he said he would1 it would certainly mean no chance of promotion1 no becoming head of the army2 perhaps1 even1 it would mean imprisonment2 possibly death4 ,so they simply begged ,st4 ,george not to go4 ,but do you think he was that sort8 ,not much6 ,the last thing he wanted was promotion in the army of a man who was the cruel enemy of ,christ and the murderer of his fellow-,christians4 ,so he set spurs to his horse1 and rode off for the ,emperor's ,court4 ,diocletian was surprised to see him arrive suddenly1 travel-stained and apparently in a great hurry2 and still more was he surprised when1 instead of speaking with reverence and respect1 he let the words almost burst forth from his full heart1 and told the ,emperor that it would be better if he paid honour to the ,god from ,whom he had received his sceptre1 instead of murdering the faithful servants of that ,god4 ,diocletian was first surprised and then angry4 ,but he tried to laugh it off1 because he was really fond of ,st4 ,george4 ,then he tried reasoning with the young soldier1 and explaining that he had to keep the ,christians in good discipline in case they might revolt or get proud and rebellious4 ,but ,st4 ,george would listen to no reasons or excuses1 and1 unbuckling his sword1 he laid it down1 resigning his commission in the army of a man who could act so dishonourably4 ,then ,diocletian got very angry indeed4 ,he gave orders that ,st4 ,george should be put in a dark dungeon1 and loaded with chains until his pride should be broken1 and he should be willing to humble himself before the ,emperor4 ,so angry was he that he made up his cruel mind that now he would even force ,st4 ,george to give up the ,christian religion himself1 and that no pains should be spared to make him do this4 ,alone in the dark1 dank1 icy-cold dungeon1 ,st4 ,george lay in his heavy chains1 and wondered what was going to happen next4 ,it was very horrible1 down there1 and he ached in every limb1 and he was very hungry2 but somehow he felt kind of glad inside1 because he knew he was suffering all this for ,christ's sake4 ,one day1 when his gaoler brought him his ration of hard bread1 he told him that he had heard a rumour that the executioner was coming to the dungeon1 and that if ,st4 ,george did not give a satisfactory answer he would be put to torture4 ,the gaoler said it would1 he thought1 be a very painful kind of torture1 and ,st4 ,george had better be reasonable4 ,when he had gone ,st4 ,george sat in the darkness with his heart beating rather fast4 ,he wondered what sort of torture it would be1 and if he would be able to stick it4 ,then he remembered that ,our ,lord had suffered awful tortures1 and had foretold that ,his friends would have to1 as well4 ,so he asked ,our ,lord to give him grace to be able to stick anything the ,emperor should do1 and then he felt quite happy again4 ,well1 the hours dragged by1 and at last ,st4 ,george heard the tramp of feet on the stone stairs4 ,then there was a creak as the great key was turned in the lock1 and bolts were shot back4 ,the door opened1 and there stood the executioner and two soldiers1 one carrying a lantern4 ,the executioner1 who had known ,st4 ,george as a ,colonel in the army1 spoke respectfully4 ,he gave ,st4 ,george a message from the ,emperor1 saying that if he would come back and offer incense to the gods1 and apologize for his proud words1 he would get his liberty and be given back his commission4 ,st4 ,george laughed1 and said he certainly wouldn't4 ,then the executioner said that in that case the ,emperor had commanded that he should be tortured till he agreed to do all he was told4 ,the soldiers loosened his chains1 and he was led out and up the stairs4 ,the blazing1 blinding sun dazzled his eyes after the dimness of the dungeon4 ,the pavement of the courtyard seemed burning to his cold1 bare feet4 ,soldiers looked curiously at him as he passed1 but of course didn't salute1 now4 ,he was taken away to the horrible place of execution1 and there a new form of torture was applied to him--a great wheel full of spikes into which he was thrust4 ,when he was dragged out his body was one mass of wounds1 and his blood dripped down on to the floor4 ,he was carried on a stretcher back to the dungeon2 and the executioner felt quite sure that when he was well enough to answer he would agree to do anything the ,emperor wanted4 ,st4 ,george was dazed with pain and loss of blood4 ,his body seemed to burn all over4 ,the darkness made his eyes ache1 and he lay hour after hour1 wondering how soon he would die4 ,he had got to the point when he thought he simply couldn't bear another moment1 when he heard a ,voice in the darkness1 and ,it said3 ,fear not1 ,george1 for ,i am with thee4 ,his heart seemed to leap up1 for he knew for certain that it was ,our ,lord's ,voice--he could not possibly mistake it4 ,and suddenly all the pain seemed a thousand times worth while1 and he was glad he had had it2 and he didn't feel lonely any more2 and he just lay in the darkness and talked to ,our ,lord1 knowing that ,he was near4 ,and he forgot his pain4 ,well1 when a ,roman officer came to receive his message to the ,emperor ,st4 ,george was able to laugh--rather weakly this time--and say he had no message for the ,emperor1 except that he had better stop murdering ,christians1 and beg ,god's mercy before it was too late4 ,the officer thought ,st4 ,george was rather a fool1 and a very brave man1 and he went back to the ,emperor4 ,a few days later the executioner arrived once more1 and again led ,st4 ,george across the sunny courtyard4 ,st4 ,george remembered the ,voice of ,christ saying1 ,i am with thee1 and he was not afraid4 ,this time they rolled a great heavy stone over his body1 so that his bones were crushed and bruised1 and then they carried him back to the dungeon4 ,when the officer came for his answer he could hardly believe that ,st4 ,george dared still to refuse4 ,he told the ,emperor what ,st4 ,george had said4 ,the ,emperor was surprised and sorry1 for he saw that ,st4 ,george must be a very brave man4 ,he also saw that it was no good waiting any longer1 or trying to force him1 so he sent the executioner once again4 ,this time the executioner told ,st4 ,george that his last chance had come4 ,either he must give up ,christ1 or he must face death4 ,the words sent a kind of thrill through ,st4 ,george--a thrill of horror at the thought of death1 which turned into a thrill of joy at the thought of going into the presence of ,christ1 and hearing ,his wonderful ,voice again1 only this time seeing ,him1 too4 ,and he rejoiced1 also1 to think he would really be a martyr4 ,so he whispered faintly--for he could hardly speak now--that nothing in all the world would make him give up ,christ4 ,so the soldiers took off his chains and dragged him up to his feet1 and he walked slowly1 with weak1 swaying steps1 into the sun4 ,fear not4 ,he said the words over to himself4 ,no1 he wouldn't fear6 ,i am with thee4 ,how wonderful6 ,and soon1 he said in his heart1 ,i shall be with ,thee6 ,and so he knelt down and waited4 ,and the executioner's great axe flashed in the sun as he swung it aloft1 and the next instant the blood of the ,great ,martyr was streaming across the white pavement1 as ,st4 ,george's ,cross streams scarlet across the white ground of his flag4 ,the soul of the ,great ,martyr had entered ,heaven1 where the angels rejoiced at his coming1 when the ,christians picked up his poor1 broken body and carried it away4 ,it was buried in a beautiful tomb1 and before long a great church had been built over it4 ,on every hand people talked of the ,great ,martyr1 and the ,christians rejoiced at his courage1 and cheered each other on to resist bravely4 ,many of the heathen1 seeing that ,st4 ,george could suffer tortures and die for his faith1 began to believe in the ,christ he loved1 and were baptized4 ,diocletian himself began to fear a little1 and the butchering stopped4 ,and so it was that the maiden in distress1 the persecuted ,church of ,christ1 was saved by her brave knight1 ,st4 ,george4 ,,good-,,bye ,a grey morning1 but quite fine4 ,some of the ,cubs went off to bathe after breakfast1 others to do final shopping and buying of presents to take home1 while some stayed in the field to help with the packing4 ,the tent was struck and rolled up1 swings and hammocks taken down1 palliasses emptied and done up in bales1 and by twelve o'clock all was finished1 and the time came to change out of the comfy old camp clothes into full uniform4 ,how tight and hot boots and stockings seemed6 ,after dinner the ,cubs gathered round into the council circle4 ,everyone was feeling rather quiet4 ,akela had a short pow-wow1 and then the ,cubs squatted and let off a mighty ,grand ,howl1 as a thank you to everyone concerned for the glorious time they had had1 and as a sign that they were going back to ,london meaning to do their best as never before4 ,then they fell in1 two deep1 and1 with a last look at the field1 marched away4 ,there was plenty of time before the boat was due to sail from ,ryde1 so1 after marching smartly through the village1 they fell out and strolled along the wall or the seashore4 ,on reaching ,ryde they fell in again1 and halted near the fountain1 two at a time falling out for drinks4 ,at ,smith's bookstall ,akela bought a supply of comics to read in the train4 ,on board the ship an adventure happened4 ,big ,andy of course dropped his cap overboard4 ,the sea was rather rough and it seemed as if the cap must be lost1 two stars and all4 ,it was too far down to reach with the ship's mop or any stick4 ,but luckily some thoughtful ,cub had brought a long piece of string with an open safety-pin on the end1 in hopes of catching a fish on the crossing4 ,with this the cap was fished for1 while the people on the pier and the first-class passengers on the upper deck looked on with eager interest4 ,akela thought there was no hope of ever seeing the cap again on ,andy's head4 ,she little knew that two pious ,cubs were busy praying6 ,presently the cap was triumphantly pulled up1 amidst cheers from the pier and the upper deck4 ,i prayed he'd get it6 cried a ,cub4 ,and so did ,i6 exclaimed another4 ,at ,portsmouth there was a terrible crush for the train1 but1 as usual1 the ,cubs did well1 for the kind guard gave them two first-class compartments and locked them in4 ,and so they travelled back to dear1 smoky old ,london1 very much browner and a good deal fatter than when they set out4 ,,the ,,end ,,printed ,,in ,,great ,,britain ,,by ,,billing ,,and ,,sons1 ,,ltd41 ,,guildford ,,and ,,esher 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's ,notes3 ,obvious punctuation errors repaired4 ,page #db1 at changed to as 7important as ,akela7