Almanac Seller. No, sir, I should not.
Passer-by. How many years have gone by since you began to sell almanacs?
Almanac Seller. About twenty years, sir.
Passer-by. Which of the twenty should you wish the new year to be like?
Almanac Seller. I do not know.
Passer-by. Do you not remember any particular year which you thought a happy one?
Almanac Seller. Indeed, I do not, sir.
Passer-by. And yet life is a fine thing, is it not?
Almanac Seller. So they say.
Passer-by. Should you not like to live those twenty years, and even all your past life from your birth, over again?