In the Speculum Vitæ this is related as to the attempts of the friars to help the lepers: "There was in a certain place a leper so impatient, froward, and impious that every one thought he was possessed by an evil spirit. He abused all that served him with terrible oaths and imprecations, often proceeding to blows. What was still more fearful, he uttered the direst blasphemy against Christ and His holy mother and the holy angels. The friars endured this ill-usage patiently, but they could not tolerate his blasphemies; they felt they ought not, and therefore they resolved to abandon the leper to his fate, having first taken counsel with St. Francis. Brother Francis visited the leper, and upon entering the room said to him in the usual salutation, 'The Lord give thee peace, brother.' 'What peace,' exclaimed the leper, 'can I have who am utterly diseased?' 'Pains that torment the body,' replied St. Francis, 'turn to the salvation of the soul, if they are borne patiently.' 'And how can I endure patiently,' rejoined the leper, 'since my pains are without intermission night and day? Besides, my sufferings are made worse by the vexation I endure from these friars you have appointed to wait upon me. There is not one of them who serves me as he ought.' St. Francis perceived that the man was troubled by a malignant spirit, and went away and prayed to God for him. Then returning, he said, 'Since others do not satisfy you, let me try.' 'You may if you like; but what can you do more than the rest?' 'I am ready to do whatever you please,' replied St. Francis. 'Then wash me,' replied the leper, 'because I cannot endure myself; the stench of my wounds is intolerable.' Then St. Francis ordered water to be warmed with sweet herbs; and stripping the leper, began to wash him with his own hands, whilst a friar standing by poured water upon him." ST. FRANCIS'S DEXTERITY. After giving away all his property, St. Francis of Assisi, who died 1226, set himself the task of repairing the church of St. Damian at Assisi. And he had an ingenious mode of collecting funds. He said to the mob, "Whoever will give me one stone shall have one prayer; whoever gives me two shall have two prayers; and three stones three prayers." The mob laughed and jeered; but he carried the stones with his own hands, and gradually he accumulated materials enough. He was equally adroit with the Pope, Innocent III. One day his Holiness was walking on the terrace of the Lateran, when a mendicant of the meanest appearance presented himself, proposing to convert the world by poverty and humility. The haughty pontiff dismissed him with contempt. But on second thoughts he had a vision, and then saw that this was a very feasible way of meeting the heretics on their own ground. He sent for St. Francis, and on the whole approved of the new order. THE STIGMATA OF ST. FRANCIS.