‘Mr Pecksniff!’ cried Mrs Todgers, ‘what a ghastly smile! Are you ill, Sir?’ He pressed his hand upon her arm, and answered in a solemn manner, and a faint voice, ‘Chronic’ ‘Cholic?’ cried the frightened Mrs Todgers. ‘Chron-ic,’ he repeated with some difficulty. ‘Chronic. A chronic disorder. I have been its victim from childhood. It is carrying me to my grave.’
