Poor Abbé! he blushed and faltered, and mentally vowed another penance for his sin.
"Jeannette," he said, "you may go, I will hear the rest of your confession in the evening."
The Baron smiled furtively as the old lady rose and left the room—he had, unfortunately heard the latter part of the pretended confession.
"Now, Monsieur le Curé," said he, "I have come to consult you on a very grave and important subject. You are renowned in all this district for your piety and learning; tell me, do you consider vows to be sacred and indissoluble?"
The priest was surprised to hear these words from the lips of a gentleman whose reputation for light morals and free views was so extensively known; but after a few moments' consideration—
"There are several kinds of vows, Monsieur le Baron," he replied; "there are vows by which we bind ourselves to the service of God, and those never must be broken. Then there are vows rashly uttered in times of mental excitement, by which people engage themselves to perform acts of sacrifice or penance."
"Ah, it is of such that I would speak!" said the captain. "What of those? Think well, M. le Curé, before you answer me."
"It is doubtless a great sin," replied the priest, "not to fulfil such vows; but still I do not think that the good God in His mercy would desire to chastise eternally an erring creature who had thus offended him; especially if the vow were made under the strong influence of human passion."
The dragoon bit his lips angrily.
"I am no churchman, Monsieur le Curé," said he roughly, "but I cannot agree with you there. Do you forget that God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac his son?"