"Nearly twenty years, sir."
"Well, which of these twenty years would you wish to have like the coming one?"
"I? I really don't know, sir."
"Can't you remember any one year that seemed particularly attractive?"
"I cannot, indeed, I cannot."
"And yet life is very pleasant, isn't it?"
"Oh, yes, sir, we all know that."
"Would you not be glad to live these twenty years over again?"
"God forbid, sir."