; but it was all in vain. He was seized with that amiable
form of social monomania, called "love at first sight."

He entered the palace, greeted his friends, and performed all the
necessary Court ceremonies, feeling the whole time like a man in a
trance. He spoke mechanically, and moved mechanically--the lovely face
in the balcony occupied his thoughts, to the exclusion of every thing
else. On his return home, he had engagements for the afternoon and the
evening--he forgot and broke them all; and walked back to St. James's
Street as soon as he had changed his dress.

The balcony was empty; the sight-seers, who had filled it but a few
hours before, had departed--but obstacles of all sorts now tended only
to stimulate Mr. Streatfield; he was determined to ascertain the
parentage of the young lady, determined to look on the lovely face
again--the thermometer of his heart had risen already to Fever Heat!
Without loss of time, the shopkeeper to whom the house belonged was
bribed to loquacity by a purchase. All that he could tell, in answer to
inquiries, was that he had let his lodgings to an elderly gentleman and
his wife, from the country, who had asked some friends into their
balcony to see the carriages go to the _levee_. Nothing daunted, Mr.
Streatfield questioned and questioned again. What was the old
gentleman's name?--Dimsdale.--Could he see Mr. Dimsdale's servant?--The
obsequious shopkeeper had no doubt that he could: Mr. Dimsdale's servant
should be sent for immediately.

In a few minutes the servant, the all-important link in the chain of
Love's evidence, made his appearance. He was a pompous, portly man, who
listened with solemn attention, with a stern judicial calmness, to Mr.
Streatfield's rapid and somewhat confused inquiries, which were
accompanied by a minute description of the young lady, and by several
explanatory statements, all very fictitious, and all very plausible.
Stupid as the servant was, and suspicious as all stupid people are, he
had nevertheless sense enough to perceive that he was addressed by a
gentleman, and gratitude enough to feel considerably mollified by the
handsome _douceur_ which was slipped into his hand. After much pondering
and doubting, he at last arrived at the conclusion that the fair object
of Mr. Streatfield's inquiries was a Miss Langley, who had joined the
party in the balcony that morning, with her sister; and who was the
daughter of Mr. Langley, of Langley Hall, in ----sh