“Now you talk!” said he to the smiling factor; and as he went to the window, and saw the life of the street, rolling by in costly carriages, or sweeping the sidewalks with shining silks and mellow velvets, he felt that he was at home.  Here he could see and be seen.  Here his splendors could be advertised.  Here he could find an expression for his wealth, by the side of which his establishment at Sevenoaks seemed too mean to be thought of without humiliation and disgust.  Here was a house that gratified his sensuous nature through and through, and appealed irresistibly to his egregious vanity.  He did not know that the grand and gaudy establishment bore the name of “Palgrave’s Folly,” and, probably, it would have made no difference with him if he had.  It suited him, and would, in his hands, become Belcher’s Glory.

The sum demanded for the place, though very large, did not cover its original cost, and in this fact Mr. Belcher took great comfort.  To enjoy fifty thousand dollars, which somebody else had made, was a charming consideration with him, and one that did much to reconcile him to an expenditure far beyond his original purpose.

When he had finished his examination of the house, he returned to his hotel, as business hours were past, and he could make no further headway that day in his negotiations.  The more he thought of the house, the more uneasy he became.  Somebody might have seen him looking at it, and so reached the broker first, and snatched it from his grasp.  He did not know that it had been in the market for two years, waiting for just such a man as himself.

Talbot was fully aware of the state of Mr. Belcher’s mind, and knew that if he did not reach him early the next morning, the proprietor would arrive at the broker’s before him.  Accordingly, when Mr. Belcher finished his breakfast that morning, he found his factor waiting for him, with the information that the broker would not be in his office for an hour and a-half, and that there was time to look further, if further search were desirable.  He hoped that Mr. Belcher would not be in a hurry, or take any step that he would ultimately regret.  Mr. Belcher assured him that he knew what he wanted when he saw it, and had no fears about the matter, except that somebody might anticipate him.

“You have determined, then, to buy the house at the price?” said Talbot.

“Yes; I shall just shut my eyes and swallow the whole thing.”

“Would you like to get it cheaper?”

“Of course!”

“Then, perhaps you had better leave the talking to me,” said Talbot.  “These fellows all have a price that they ask, and a smaller one that they will take.”

“That’s one of the tricks, eh?”

“Yes.”

“Then go ahead.”

They had a long talk about business, and then Talbot went out, and, after an extended interview with the broker, sent a messenger for Mr. Belcher.  When that gentleman came in, he found that Talbot had bought the house for ten thousand dollars less than the price originally demanded.  Mr. Belcher deposited a handsome sum as a guaranty of his good faith, and ordered the papers to be made out at once.