swear by

“I never saw a Devonshire man who did not swear by his county,” I remarked.

I swear by my honor as a sailor, by my love for Mercédès, by the life of my father——”

“I do, indeed; and this I swear by the two beings most dear to me upon earth,—my father and Mercédès.”

“‘“It is this:—‘I swear by my honor not to reveal to anyone what I have seen and heard on the 5th of February, 1815, between nine and ten o’clock in the evening; and I plead guilty of death should I ever violate this oath.’” The general appeared to be affected by a nervous tremor, which prevented his answering for some moments; then, overcoming his manifest repugnance, he pronounced the required oath, but in so low a tone as to be scarcely audible to the majority of the members, who insisted on his repeating it clearly and distinctly, which he did.