The Count of Monte Cristo

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with me.'

"My mother only answered by sighs to consolations which she knew did not
come from my father's heart. She prepared the iced water which he was in
the habit of constantly drinking,--for since his sojourn at the kiosk
he had been parched by the most violent fever,--after which she anointed
his white beard with perfumed oil, and lighted his chibouque, which he
sometimes smoked for hours together, quietly watching the wreaths of
vapor that ascended in spiral clouds and gradually melted away in the
surrounding atmosphere. Presently he made such a sudden movement that I
was paralyzed with fear. Then, without taking his eyes from the object
which had first attracted his attention, he asked for his telescope.
My mother gave it him, and as she did so, looked whiter than the
marble against which she leaned. I saw my father's hand tremble. 'A
boat!--two!--three!' murmured my, father;--'four!' He then arose,
seizing his arms and priming his pistols. 'Vasiliki,' said he to my
mother, trembling perceptibly, 'the instant approaches which will decide