Where is your own pipe ?" "I never smoke," rejoined Chichikov drily.
"Rubbish! As if I did not know what a chimney-pot you are! What is your man's name?
Hi, Vakhramei! Come here!" "Petrushka is his name, not Vakhramei." "Indeed?
But you USED to have a man called Vakhramei, didn't you ?" "No, never." "Oh, well.

Then it must be Derebin's man I am thinking of.

What a lucky fellow that Derebin is! An aunt of his has gone and quarrelled with her son for marrying a serf woman, and has left all her property to HIM, to Derebin.

Would that _I_ had an aunt of that kind to provide against future contingencies! But why have you been hiding yourself away?
I suppose the reason has been that you go in for abstruse subjects and are fond of reading" (why Nozdrev should have drawn these conclusions no one could possibly have said--least of all Chichikov himself).

"By the way, I can tell you of something that would have found you scope for your satirical vein" (the conclusion as to Chichikov's "satirical vein" was, as before, altogether unwarranted on Nozdrev's part).