Several of
his friends spoke to him; but for the first few moments he returned no
answer. Then, still fixing his eyes upon the young lady opposite, he
abruptly exclaimed, in a voice, the altered tones of which startled
every one who heard him:--"_That_ is the face I saw in the
balcony!--_that_ woman is the only woman I can ever marry!" The next
instant, without a word more of either explanation or apology, he
hurried from the room.

One or two of the guests mechanically started up, as if to follow him;
the rest remained at the table, looking on each other in speechless
surprise. But before any one could either act or speak, almost at the
moment when the door closed on Mr. Streatfield, the attention of all was
painfully directed to Jane Langley. She had fainted. Her mother and
sisters removed her from the room immediately, aided by the servants. As
they disappeared, a dead silence again sank down over the company--they
all looked around with one accord to the master of the house.

Mr. Langley's face and manner sufficiently revealed the suffering and
suspense that he was secretly enduring. But he was a man of the
world--neither by word nor action did he betray what was passing within
him. He resumed his place at the table, and begged his guests to do the
same. He affected to make light of what had happened; entreated every
one to forget it, or, if they remembered it at all, to remember it only
as a mere accident which would no doubt be satisfactorily explained.
Perhaps it was only a jest on Mr. Streatfield's part--rather too serious
a one, he must own. At any rate, whatever was the cause of the
interruption to the dinner which had just happened, it was not important
enough to require every body to fast around the table of the feast. He
asked it as a favor to himself, that no further notice might be taken of
what had occurred. While Mr. Langley was speaking thus, he hastily wrote
a few lines on a piece of paper, and gave it to one of the servants. The
note was directed to Mr. Streatfield; the lines contained only these
words:--"Two hours hence, I shall expect to see you alone in the
library."

The dinner proceeded; the places occupied by the female members of the
Langley family, and by the young lady who had attracted Mr.
Streatfield's notice in so extraordinary a manner, being left vacant.
Every one present endeavored to follow Mr. Langley's advice, and go
through the business of the dinner, as if nothing had occurred;