engraving and text extracted from
History of Madeira - 1821 (from my library)
Madeira was then under British domination
A priest of the order of St Francis and a lay brother
In Catholic countries, at least in those where monastic institutions retain their establishments, the Franciscan orders are the most numerous ; and if a town, has but one convent, as is the case at Funchal, it may generally be presumed to be devoted to St. Francis. Its brothers are, of course, of the priesthood ; but, besides the duties of their own domestic altars, they also travel from place to place, extending the performance of their spiritual functions, particularly that of preaching. Among the lower classes especially, their offices are frequently preferred to those of the secular clergy. Their influence, therefore, must be in proportion to these circumstances ; though it may be diminishing, from the enlightened spirit of the age in which we live.
Some of the fathers are represented as men of family and education, who mix in society, and sometimes bear the marks of that hospitality to which they are admitted. A jolly Franciscan may not be an uncommon sight, and spiritual pride may sometimes, perhaps, be seen to blend with the mendicant profession ; though the lay-brother, who is employed in the domestic offices of the convent, offers rather a picture of humility.
Holy St. Francis, do I see
One who has sworn his faith to thee.
To live a life of poverty !
One who so lowly makes pretence
To rigid rules of abstinence !
One who has vowed it is a sin,
To live in ought but shrivelled skin ;
Who should be humble and be thin !
Holy St. Francis, saint divine,
This cannot be a child of thine !
Thou wert pale, and lank, and lean,
With downcast eye, and haggard mien ;
And, with thy scourge, gave many a thwack
Upon thy patient, smarting back ;
And was, so history tells us, fraught
With the humility you taught.
But it appears that modern schools
Have changed the rigour of thy rules ;
Else why that swelling, outstretch’d hide ;
That look of insolence and pride ;
Whence the disdainful sneer we see
On poor, half-starved humility ?
St. Francis, as old legends tell,
Would sometimes work a miracle ;
And this, as some have thought, is one,
To form such flesh by fish alone ;
To conjure up such monstrous paunches,
Without the aid of hams and haunches !
The costumes :
Both the fat Franciscan and the lay brother wear a wide-brimmed hat of cream colour, probably made of felt. They both also wear sandals, which cover the foot well in the case of the big friar, but less so, it seems, in the case of the lay friar. Similarly, while the latter seems to be wearing his cassock directly over his body, the other is wearing a white shirt which appears at the level of the neck.
