Was I right?

by Mrs. O. F. Walton

"But if you promised to do what was wrong," I said, "it can surely not be right to keep your promise."

"Do you think so, May?" she said. "I thought it was a dreadful thing to break a promise."

"Yes, so it is," I answered, "if there is nothing wrong in what we have promised; but if conscience tells us afterwards that we ought never to have made the promise, and that we cannot keep it without doing what is wrong, then I feel sure that we ought to break it."

"Do you think so?" she said again.

"I am sure of it," I answered. "It is wrong to promise to do what is wrong, but to keep the promise is doubly wrong."

"I don't see that at all," she said; "I think if you promise to do anything, you ought to keep your promise, whether the thing is right or wrong."

"Suppose I should promise some enemy of yours that I would poison you, Evelyn," I said; "that would be wrong, would it not."

"Yes, very wrong," she said, laughing, though she had tears in her eyes; "what a dreadful illustration to use!"

"Never mind, it will show you what I mean. It would be very wrong of me to promise to do such a wicked thing, but it would be still worse if I kept my promise, and really did poison you; now, wouldn't it?"

"Yes," she said, "I see; of course it would!"