feelings behind. He counted that as achievement enough, and having known themwas part of the harmonious balance that made him content now with thisharboured, contemplative life, and gave him patience and insight to bear withthese cloistered, simple souls who had put on the Benedictine habit as alife’s profession, while for him it was a timely retirement. When youhave done everything else, perfecting a conventual herb-garden is a fine andsatisfying thing to do. He could not conceive of coming to this stasis havingdone nothing else whatever.

Five minutes more, and he must go and wash his hands and repair to thechurch for Mass. He used the respite to walk the length of his pale-flowered,fragrant inner kingdom, where Brother John and Brother Columbanus, twoyoungsters barely a year tonsured, were busy weeding and edge-trimming. Glossyand dim, oiled and furry, the leaves tendered every possible variation ongreen. The flowers were mostly shy, small, almost furtive, in soft, sidelongcolours, lilacs and shadowy blues and diminutive yellows, for they were theunimportant and unwanted part, but for ensuring seed to follow. Rue, sage,rosemary, gilvers, gromwell, ginger, mint, thyme, columbine, herb of grace,savoury, mustard, every manner of herb grew here, fennel, tansy, basil anddill, parsley, chervil and marjoram. He had taught the uses even of theunfamiliar to all his assistants, and made plain their dangers, too, for thebenefit of herbs is in their right proportion, and over-dosage can be worsethan the disease. Small of habit, modest of tint, close-growing and shy, hisherbs called attention to themselves only by their disseminated sweetness asthe sun rose on them. But behind their shrinking ranks rose others taller andmore clamorous, banks of peonies grown for their spiced seeds, and lofty,pale-leaved, budding poppies, as yet barely showing the white or purple-blackpetals through their close armour. They stood as tall as a short man, and theirhome was the eastern part of the middle sea, and from that far place Cadfaelhad brought their ancestors in the seed long ago, and raised and cross-bredthem in his own garden, before ever he brought the perfected progeny here withhim to make medicines against pain, the chief enemy of man. Pain, and theabsence of sleep, which is the most beneficent remedy for pain.