theinfluenceofnew…yearsdayisvisiblethere。theservantshaveanairofeagernessproportionedtothevalueoftheirnew…yearsgifts；receivedorexpected。iseethemasterofthehousecrossingthecourtwiththemoroselookofamanwhoisforcedtobegenerous；andthevisitorsincrease；followedbyshopporterswhocarryflowers；bandboxes；ortoys。suddenlythegreatgatesareopened；andanewcarriage；drawnbythoroughbredhorses；drawsupbeforethedoorsteps。theyare；withoutdoubt；thenew…yearsgiftpresentedtothemistressofthehousebyherhusband；forsheesherselftolookatthenewequipage。verysoonshegetsintoitwithalittlegirl；allstreamingwithlaces；feathersandvelvets；andloadedwithparcelswhichshegoestodistributeasnew…yearsgifts。thedoorisshut；thewindowsaredrawnup；thecarriagesetsoff。
thusalltheworldareexchanginggoodwishesandpresentsto…day。ialonehavenothingtogiveortoreceive。poorsolitary！idonotevenknowonechosenbeingforwhomimightofferaprayer。
thenletmywishesforahappynewyeargoandseekoutallmyunknownfriends鈥斺�攍ostinthemultitudewhichmurmursliketheoceanatmyfeet！
toyoufirst；hermitsincities；forwhomdeathandpovertyhavecreatedasolitudeinthemidstofthecrowd！unhappylaborers；whoarecondemnedtotoilinmelancholy；andeatyourdailybreadinsilenceanddesertion；andwhomgodhaswithdrawnfromtheintoxicatingpangsofloveandfriendship！
toyou；fonddreamers；whopassthroughlifewithyoureyesturnedtowardsomepolarstar；whileyoutreadwithindifferenceovertherichharvestsofreality！
toyou；honestfathers；wholengthenouttheeveningtomaintainyourfamilies！toyou；poorwidows；weepingandworkingbyacradle！toyou；youngmen；resolutelysettoopenforyourselvesapathinlife；largeenoughtoleadthroughitthewifeofyourchoice！toyou；allbravesoldiersofworkandofself…sacrifice！
toyou；lastly；whateveryourtitleandyourname；wholovegood；whopitythesuffering；whowalkthroughtheworldlikethesymbolicalvirginofbyzantium；withbotharmsopentothehumanrace！
hereiamsuddenlyinterruptedbyloudandincreasingchirpings。ilookaboutme：mywindowissurroundedwithsparrowspickingupthecrumbsofbreadwhichinmybrownstudyihadjustscatteredontheroof。atthissightaflashoflightbrokeuponmysaddenedheart。ideceivedmyselfjustnow；wheniplainedthatihadnothingtogive：thankstome；thesparrowsofthispartofthetownwillhavetheirnew…yearsgifts！
twelveoclock鈥斺�攁knockatmydoor；apoorgirlesin；andgreetsmebyname。atfirstidonotrecollecther；butshelooksatme；andsmiles。ah！itispaulette！butitisalmostayearsinceihaveseenher；andpauletteisnolongerthesame：theotherdayshewasachild；nowsheisalmostayoungwoman。
pauletteisthin；pale；andmiserablyclad；butshehasalwaysthesameopenandstraightforwardlook鈥斺�攖hesamemouth；smilingateveryword；asiftocourtyoursympathy鈥斺�攖hesamevoice；somewhattimid；yetexpressingfondness。pauletteisnotpretty鈥斺�攕heiseventhoughtplain；asforme；ithinkhercharming。perhapsthatisnotonheraccount；butonmyown。
pauletteappearstomeasoneofmyhappiestrecollections。
itwastheeveningofapublicholiday。ourprincipalbuildingswereilluminatedwithfestoonsoffire；athousandflagswavedinthenightwinds；andthefireworkshadjustshotforththeirspoutsofflameintothemidstofthechampdemars。suddenly；oneofthoseunaccountablealarmswhichstrikeamultitudewithpanicfelluponthedensecrowd：
theycryout；theyrushonheadlong；theweakeronesfall；andthefrightenedcrowdtramplesthemdowninitsconvulsivestruggles。iescapedfromtheconfusionbyamiracle；andwashasteningaway；whenthecriesofaperishingchildarrestedme：ireenteredthathumanchaos；and；afterunheard…ofexertions；ibroughtpauletteoutofitattheperilofmylife。
thatwastwoyearsago：sincethenihadnotseenthechildagainbutatlongintervals；andihadalmostforgottenher；butpaulettesmemorywasthatofagratefulheart；andshecameatthebeginningoftheyeartooffermeherwishesformyhappiness。shebroughtme；besides；awallflowerinfullbloom；sheherselfhadplantedandrearedit：itwassomethingthatbelongedwhollytoherself；foritwasbyhercare；herperseverance；andherpatience；thatshehadobtainedit。
thewallflowerhadgrowninamonpot；butpaulette；whoisabandbox…maker；hadputitintoacaseofvarnishedpaper；ornamentedwitharabesques。thesemighthavebeeninbettertaste；butididnotfeeltheattentionandgood…willtheless。
thisunexpectedpresent；thelittlegirlsmodestblushes；theplimentsshestammeredout；dispelled；asbyasunbeam；thekindofmistwhichhadgatheredroundmymind；mythoughtssuddenlychangedfromtheleadentintsofeveningtothebrightestcolorsofdawn。imadepaulettesitdown；andquestionedherwithalightheart。
atfirstthelittlegirlrepliedinmonosyllables；butverysoonthetableswereturned；anditwasiwhointerruptedwithshortinterjectionsherlongandconfidentialtalk。thepoorchildleadsahardlife。shewasleftanorphanlongsince；withabrotherandsister；andliveswithanoldgrandmother；whohas〃broughtthemuptopoverty；〃asshealwayscallsit。
however；paulettenowhelpshertomakebandboxes；herlittlesisterperrinebeginstousetheneedle；andherbrotherhenryisapprenticetoaprinter。allwouldgowellifitwerenotforlossesandwantofwork鈥斺�攊fitwerenotforclotheswhichwearout；forappetiteswhichgrowlarger；andforthewinter；whenyoucannotgetsunshinefornothing。
pauletteplainsthathercandlesgotooquickly；andthatherwoodcoststoomuch。thefireplaceintheirgarretissolargethatafagotmakesnomoreshowinitthanamatch；itissoneartheroofthatthewindblowstheraindownit；andinwinterithailsuponthehearth；sotheyhaveleftoffusingit。henceforththeymustbecontentwithanearthenchafing…dish；uponwhichtheycooktheirmeals。thegrandmotherhadoftenspokenofastovethatwasforsaleatthebrokerscloseby；butheaskedsevenfrancsforit；andthetimesaretoohardforsuchanexpense：thefamily；therefore；resignthemselvestocoldforeconomy！
aspaulettespoke；ifeltmoreandmorethatiwaslosingmyfretfulnessandlowspirits。thefirstdisclosuresofthelittlebandbox…makercreatedwithinmeawishthatsoonbecameaplan。iquestionedheraboutherdailyoccupations；andsheinformedmethatonleavingmeshemustgo；withherbrother；hersister；andgrandmother；tothedifferentpeopleforwhomtheywork。myplanwasimmediatelysettled。itoldthechildthatiwouldgotoseeherintheevening；andisentherawaywithfreshthanks。
iplacedthewallflowerintheopenwindow；wherearayofsunshinebiditwele；thebirdsweresingingaround；theskyhadclearedup；andtheday；whichbegansoloweringly；hadbeebright。isangasimovedaboutmyroom；and；havinghastilyputonmyhatandcoat；iwentout。
threeoclock鈥斺�攁llissettledwithmyneighbor；thechimney…doctor；hewillrepairmyoldstove；andanswersforitsbeingasgoodasnew。
atfiveoclockwearetosetout；andputitupinpaulettesgrandmothersroom。
midnight鈥斺�攁llhasgoneoffwell。atthehouragreedupon；iwasattheoldbandbox…makers；shewasstillout。mypiedmontese＇inparisachimney…sweeperisnamed〃piedmontese〃or〃savoyard；〃
astheyusuallyefromthatcountry。＇fixedthestove；whileiarrangedadozenlogsinthegreatfireplace；takenfrommywinterstock。ishallmakeupforthembywarmingmyselfwithwalking；orbygoingtobedearlier。
myheartbeatateverystepthatwasheardonthestaircase；itrembledlesttheyshouldinterruptmeinmypreparations；andshouldthusspoilmyintendedsurprise。butno！鈥斺�攕eeeverythingready：thelightedstovemurmursgently；thelittlelampburnsuponthetable；andabottleofoilforitisprovidedontheshelf。thechimney…doctorisgone。nowmyfearlesttheyshouldeischangedintoimpatienceattheirnoting。atlastihearchildrensvoices；heretheyare：theypushopenthedoorandrushin鈥斺�攂uttheyallstopinastonishment。
atthesightofthelamp；thestove；andthevisitor；whostandstherelikeamagicianinthemidstofthesewonders；theydrawbackalmo
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