Page:Great Men and Famous Women Volume 5.djvu/136

80 WORKMEN AND HEROES rich merchant who carried on extensive business with France. In those days Italian merchants maintained a lavish mode of life, resembling that of the nobles; and as the disorders of the period and the perils attending travel compelled them to send armed escorts with their convoys of merchandise, there was something of military daring and display mingled with their business and their surroundings. The wife of Bernardone, however, whose name was Pica (of the noble Bourle- mont family of Provence), was remarkable for her piety ; the son in this, as in so many historic instances of genius or distinction inheriting his rare quality from the mother's side. She had but one other child, a younger son, Angelo, who, not- withstanding his heavenly name, seems to have been a boy after Bernardone's own pattern ; since he, later on, reviled Francis and called him a fool for his piety and self-renunciation. Angelo's descendants were still living in Assisi in the latter half of the sixteenth century. Whether they shared their ancestor's contemptu- ous opinion of the Saint has not been recorded ; but it seems probable that the homage of the world, rendered to the poor ascetic for several centuries, may have made some impression on their minds, if not their souls. Just before tjie birth of Francis, his mother suffered greatly. A pilgrim, com- ing to the house for alms, told the servants : " The mother will be delivered only in a stable, and the child see the light upon straw." This appeared strange and unreasonable enough. Nevertheless his advice was followed. Pica was carried to the stable, and there she gave birth to her first son, whom she caused to be baptized John, after the beloved apostle of Jesus. Her husband, Bernardone, was absent at the time on a business tour in France. Upon his return, he was delighted at finding that he had a boy ; and he insisted on giving him the sur- name Francis, in commemoration of that country with which he drove such a flourishing trade. Possibly he was also moved by the thought albeit the chron- iclers do not say so that his wife's family came from Southern France. At all events, Francis was the name by which the son came to be known throughout his life and in history. Under priestly teachers he received an education which, for that time, was a fairly good one, in Latin, French, and literature. At the age of fourteen his father took him into partnership ; and for ten years the young man bought and sold with him, or travelled for him. But while Bernardone was a hard, avari- cious man, the son differed from him greatly in disposition ; being fond of dress, of song, and feasting, gayety, and gaming. He was generous even to prodigal- ity, full of wit and imagination, very sympathetic withal, and compassionate. Thomas of Celano thus describes him : "His figure was above the middle height and well set. He was thin, and of a very delicate constitution. He had an oval face, broad brow, white, close-set teeth, dark complexion, black hair, regular features, expressive countenance, rosy lips, and a charming smile." With all his roystering, dissipation, and extravagance, however, -he was a foe to immorality, always rebuked impurity in severe terms, and kept his own purity intact. This lavish and somewhat reckless pursuit of other pleasures gave his parents much anxiety; although his mother, Pica, said in his defence, " I see in him, even in his