If thou thinkest it sin to break thine oath, to thee it is sin.

And for thee, my poor child, thy promise is sacred, were it made to Iscariot himself.

But hear me.

Can either of you, by asking this woman, be so far absolved as to give me speech of her?
Tell her--that is, if she be in Alexandria, which God grant--all that has passed between us here, and tell her, on the solemn oath of a Christian, that Arsenius, whose name she knows well, will neither injure nor betray her.

Will you do this ?' 'Arsenius ?' said the little porter, with a look of mingled awe and pity.
The old man smiled.