"Your Excellency," he continued, "you would never believe what inseperables this man and I have been.

Indeed, if you had stood there and said to me, 'Nozdrev, tell me on your honour which of the two you love best--your father or Chichikov ?' I should have replied, 'Chichikov, by God!'" With that he tackled our hero again, "Come, come, my friend!" he urged.

"Let me imprint upon your cheeks a baiser or two.

You will excuse me if I kiss him, will you not, your Excellency?
No, do not resist me, Chichikov, but allow me to imprint at least one baiser upon your lily-white cheek." And in his efforts to force upon Chichikov what he termed his "baisers" he came near to measuring his length upon the floor.
Every one now edged away, and turned a deaf ear to his further babblings; but his words on the subject of the purchase of dead souls had none the less been uttered at the top of his voice, and been accompanied with such uproarious laughter that the curiosity even of those who had happened to be sitting or standing in the remoter corners of the room had been aroused.

So strange and novel seemed the idea that the company stood with faces expressive of nothing but a dumb, dull wonder.