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atthesightofthelamp；thestove；andthevisitor；whostandstherelikeamagicianinthemidstofthesewonders；theydrawbackalmostfrightened。pauletteisthefirsttoprehendit；andthearrivalofthegrandmother；whoismoreslowlymountingthestairs；finishestheexplanation。thenetears；ecstasies；thanks！
butthewondersarenotyetended。thelittlesisteropenstheoven；anddiscoverssomechestnutsjustroasted；thegrandmotherputsherhandonthebottlesofciderarrangedonthedresser；andidrawforthfromthebasketthatihavehiddenacoldtongue；apotofbutter；andsomefreshrolls。
nowtheirwonderturnsintoadmiration；thelittlefamilyhaveneverseensuchafeast！theylaythecloth；theysitdown；theyeat；itisapletebanquetforall；andeachcontributeshissharetoit。ihadbroughtonlythesupper：andthebandbox…makerandherchildrensuppliedtheenjoyment。
whatburstsoflaughteratnothing！whatahubbubofquestionswhichwaitedfornoreply；ofreplieswhichanswerednoquestion！theoldwomanherselfsharedinthewildmerrimentofthelittleones！ihavealwaysbeenstruckattheeasewithwhichthepoorforgettheirwretchedness。beingusedtoliveonlyforthepresent；theymakeagainofeverypleasureassoonasitoffersitself。butthesurfeitedricharemoredifficulttosatisfy：theyrequiretimeandeverythingtosuitbeforetheywillconsenttobehappy。
theeveninghaspassedlikeamoment。theoldwomantoldmethehistoryofherlife；sometimessmiling；sometimesdryinghereyes。perrinesanganoldballadwithherfreshyoungvoice。henrytolduswhatheknowsofthegreatwritersoftheday；towhomhehastocarrytheirproofs。atlastwewereobligedtoseparate；notwithoutfreshthanksonthepartofthehappyfamily。
ihaveehomeslowly；ruminatingwithafullheart；andpureenjoyment；onthesimpleeventsofmyevening。ithasgivenmemuchfortandmuchinstruction。now；nonew…yearsdaywilleamisstome；iknowthatnooneissounhappyastohavenothingtogiveandnothingtoreceive。
asicamein；imetmyrichneighborsnewequipage。she；too；hadjustreturnedfromhereveningsparty；and；asshesprangfromthecarriage…stepwithfeverishimpatience；iheardhermurmur〃atlast！〃
i；whenileftpaulettesfamily；said〃sosoon！〃
CHAPTER II
thecarnival
february20th
whatanoiseoutofdoors！whatisthemeaningoftheseshoutsandcries？ah！irecollect：thisisthelastdayofthecarnival；andthemaskersarepassing。
christianityhasnotbeenabletoabolishthenoisybacchanalianfestivalsofthepagantimes；butithaschangedthenames。thatwhichithasgiventothese〃daysofliberty〃announcestheendingofthefeasts；andthemonthoffastingwhichshouldfollow；carn…ivalmeans；literally；〃farewelltoflesh！〃itisafortydaysfarewelltothe〃blessedpulletsandfathams；〃socelebratedbypantagruelsminstrel。
manpreparesforprivationbysatiety；andfinisheshissinthoroughlybeforehebeginstorepent。
why；inallagesandamongeverypeople；dowemeetwithsomeoneofthesemadfestivals？mustwebelievethatitrequiressuchaneffortformentobereasonable；thattheweakeroneshaveneedofrestatintervals？themonksoflatrappe；whoarecondemnedtosilencebytheirrule；areallowedtospeakonceinamonth；andonthisdaytheyalltalkatoncefromtherisingtothesettingofthesun。
perhapsitisthesameintheworld。asweareobligedalltheyeartobedecent；orderly；andreasonable；wemakeupforsuchalongrestraintduringthecarnival。itisadooropenedtotheincongruousfanciesandwishesthathavehithertobeencrowdedbackintoacornerofourbrain。
foramomenttheslavesbeethemasters；asinthedaysofthesaturnalia；andallisgivenuptothe〃foolsofthefamily。〃
theshoutsinthesquareredouble；thetroopsofmasksincrease鈥斺�攐nfoot；incarriages；andonhorseback。itisnowwhocanattractthemostattentionbymakingafigureforafewhours；orbyexcitingcuriosityorenvy；to…morrowtheywillallreturn；dullandexhausted；totheemploymentsandtroublesofyesterday。
alas！thoughtiwithvexation；eachofusislikethesemasqueraders；ourwholelifeisoftenbutanunsightlycarnival！andyetmanhasneedofholidays；torelaxhismind；resthisbody；andopenhisheart。canhenothavethem；then；withthesecoarsepleasures？economistshavebeenlonginquiringwhatisthebestdisposaloftheindustryofthehumanrace。ah！ificouldonlydiscoverthebestdisposalofitsleisure！itiseasyenoughtofinditwork；butwhowillfinditrelaxation？worksuppliesthedailybread；butitischeerfulnessthatgivesitarelish。ophilosophers！goinquestofpleasure！findusamusementswithoutbrutality；enjoymentswithoutselfishness；inaword；inventacarnivalthatwillpleaseeverybody；andbringshametonoone。
threeoclock鈥斺�攊havejustshutmywindow；andstirredupmyfire。asthisisaholidayforeverybody；iwillmakeitoneformyself；too。soilightthelittlelampoverwhich；ongrandoccasions；imakeacupofthecoffeethatmyportressssonbroughtfromthelevant；andilookinmybookcaseforoneofmyfavoriteauthors。
first；hereistheamusingparsonofmeudon；buthischaractersaretoofondoftalkingslang：鈥斺�攙oltaire；buthedisheartensmenbyalwaysbanteringthem：鈥斺�攎oliere；buthehindersoneslaughterbymakingonethink：鈥斺�攍esage；letusstopathim。beingprofoundratherthangrave；hepreachesvirtuewhileridiculingvice；ifbitternessissometimestobefoundinhiswritings；itisalwaysinthegarbofmirth：heseesthemiseriesoftheworldwithoutdespisingit；andknowsitscowardlytrickswithouthatingit。
letuscallupalltheheroesofhisbookgilblas；fabrice；sangrado；thearchbishopofgranada；thedukeoflerma；aurora；scipio！
yegayorgracefulfigures；risebeforemyeyes；peoplemysolitude；bringhitherformyamusementtheworld…carnival；ofwhichyouarethebrilliantmaskers！
unfortunately；attheverymomentimadethisinvocation；irecollectedihadalettertowritewhichcouldnotbeputoff。oneofmyatticneighborscameyesterdaytoaskmetodoit。heisacheerfuloldman；andhasapassionforpicturesandprints。heeshomealmosteverydaywithadrawingorpainting鈥斺�攑robablyoflittlevalue；foriknowhelivespenuriously；andeventheletterthatiamtowriteforhimshowshispoverty。hisonlyson；whowasmarriedinengland；isjustdead；andhiswidow鈥斺�攍eftwithoutanymeans；andwithanoldmotherandachild鈥斺�攈adwrittentobegforahome。m。antoineaskedmefirsttotranslatetheletter；andthentowritearefusal。ihadpromisedthatheshouldhavethisanswerto…day：beforeeverything；letusfulfilourpromises。
thesheetof〃bath〃paperisbeforeme；ihavedippedmypenintotheink；andirubmyforeheadtoinviteforthasallyofideas；wheniperceivethatihavenotmydictionary。now；aparisianwhowouldspeakenglishwithoutadictionaryislikeachildwithoutleading…strings；thegroundtremblesunderhim；andhestumblesatthefirststep。irunthentothebookbinders；whereileftmyjohnson；wholivesclosebyinthesquare。
thedoorishalfopen；ihearlowgroans；ienterwithoutknocking；andiseethebookbinderbythebedsideofhisfellow…lodger。thislatterhasaviolentfeveranddelirium。pierrelooksathimperplexedandoutofhumor。ilearnfromhimthathisradewasnotabletogetupinthemorning；andthatsincethenhehasbeeworseeveryhour。
iaskwhethertheyhavesentforadoctor。
〃oh；yes；indeed！〃repliedpierre；roughly；〃onemusthavemoneyinonespocketforthat；andthisfellowhasonlydebtsinsteadofsavings。〃
〃butyou；〃saidi；ratherastonished；〃areyounothisfriend？〃
〃friend！〃interruptedthebookbinder。〃yes；asmuchastheshaft…horseisfriendtotheleader鈥斺�攐nconditionthateachwilltakehisshareofthedraught；andeathisfeedbyhimself。〃
〃youdonotintend；however；toleavehimwithoutanyhelp？〃
〃bah！hemaykeepinhisbedtillto…morrow；asimgoingtotheball。〃
〃youmeantoleavehimalone？〃
〃well！mustimissapartyofpleasureatcourtville鈥斺�敚parisiansummerresort。＇鈥斺�攂ecausethisfellowislightheaded？〃askedpierre；sharply。
〃ihavepromisedtomeetsomefriendsatolddesnoyers。thosewhoaresickmaytaketheirbro