A man of rather good appearance went to the hospital to offer himself as a companion to Saint John of God. John, who was full of tact, had no difficulty in recognizing that the subject was not suitable for him. He told him so with kindness, but he could not prevent the man from becoming angry and making a racket that attracted a lot of people. He eventually moved away, but picking up a stone, he threw it with all his might in the face of the Saint, and disappeared. John, in a daze, held back those who wanted to pursue him, and said to them among other things, “Is it not right that I should forgive him this one offense, when I have so many before God that need to be forgiven?”