'Genevieve, you accuse me, and I am not the cause of these cruelties!'
'It is not you I accuse; it is slavery; you are kind to me. But still, look how I have been treated.'
'In vain, for the last three days, have I sought your pardon from my husband,' said Aurelia, her voice full of compassion.
'He has refused me: I have entreated him to allow me to see you; he was deaf to my prayers; besides, he always carries the keys of the prison about him.'
'And how have you obtained possession of it to-night?'
'He had placed it under his pillow; I profited by his sleep, and I am come.'
'I have suffered much more of shame than of pain,' continued Genevieve, overcome by the grief of her mistress; 'but your kind words console me!'
'Listen, Genevieve, I am not here simply to console you; you can fly from this house and render a great service to the young man of Nazareth, perhaps even save his life.'
'What say you, my dear mistress?' exclaimed Genevieve; thinking less of her liberty than of the service she might render to the Nazarene.
'Oh! speak; my life, if necessary, for him who said that "one day the chains of the slave shall be broken!"'