of the prison by his side.

Only when he was without, he inquired:

"Who are you, you who send dreams to men and set prisoners free? You
have the beauty of a woman and the strength of a man, and I admire you,
though I cannot love you."

And the Subtle Doctor answered:

"You will love me so soon as I have made you suffer. Men cannot love but
those who make them suffer; and there is no love except in pain."

And so conversing, they left the city and began climbing the mountain
paths. And after faring far, they saw at the entering in of a wood a
red-tiled house, before which was a wide terrace overlooking the plain,
planted with fruit trees and bordered with vines.

So they sat down in the courtyard at the foot of a vine trunk; its
leaves were gilded by the Autumn and from the boughs hung clusters of
grapes. And a girl brought them milk and honey and cakes of maize.

Presently the Subtle Doctor, stretching out his arm, plucked a
scarlet-cheeked apple, bit into it and gave it to the holy man. And
Giovanni ate and drank; and his beard was all white with milk and his
eyes laughed as he gazed up at the sky, which filled them with blue
light and joy. And the girl smiled.

Then the Subtle Doctor said: