The Count of Monte Cristo

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hesitated. This promise of an impotent old man was so strange that,
instead of being the result of the power of his will, it might emanate
from enfeebled organs. Is it not natural that the madman, ignorant of
his folly, should attempt things beyond his power? The weak man talks of
burdens he can raise, the timid of giants he can confront, the poor
of treasures he spends, the most humble peasant, in the height of his
pride, calls himself Jupiter. Whether Noirtier understood the young
man's indecision, or whether he had not full confidence in his docility,
he looked uneasily at him. "What do you wish, sir?" asked Morrel;
"that I should renew my promise of remaining tranquil?" Noirtier's eye
remained fixed and firm, as if to imply that a promise did not suffice;
then it passed from his face to his hands.

"Shall I swear to you, sir?" asked Maximilian.

"Yes," said the paralytic with the same solemnity. Morrel understood
that the old man attached great importance to an oath. He extended his