The Count of Monte Cristo

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"Do you then really suffer?" asked Morrel quickly.

"Oh, it must not be called suffering; I feel a general uneasiness, that
is all. I have lost my appetite, and my stomach feels as if it were
struggling to get accustomed to something." Noirtier did not lose a
word of what Valentine said. "And what treatment do you adopt for this
singular complaint?"

"A very simple one," said Valentine. "I swallow every morning a spoonful
of the mixture prepared for my grandfather. When I say one spoonful,
I began by one--now I take four. Grandpapa says it is a panacea."
Valentine smiled, but it was evident that she suffered.

Maximilian, in his devotedness, gazed silently at her. She was very
beautiful, but her usual pallor had increased; her eyes were more
brilliant than ever, and her hands, which were generally white like
mother-of-pearl, now more resembled wax, to which time was adding a