enry M.
Brown. One was stout and dark and the other was slim and quite light;
you could scarcely tell him from a dark white man. They used to call
them 'light Brown' and 'dark Brown.' I did n't know either of them
except by sight, for they were there only a few weeks after I went in.
As I remember them, Hamilton was the fair one--a very good-looking,
gentlemanly fellow, and, as I heard, a good student and a fine speaker."

"Do you remember what kind of hair he had?" asked Mr. Clayton.

"Very good indeed; straight, as I remember it. He looked something like
a Spaniard or a Portuguese."

"Now that you describe him," said Alice, "I remember quite well dancing
with such a gentleman; and I 'm wrong about my 'H.M.B.' The dark man
must have been some one else; there are two others on my card that I
can't remember distinctly, and he was probably one of those."

"I guess he 's all right, Alice," said her father when Sadler had gone
away. "He evidently means business, and we must treat him white. Of
course he must stay with us; there are no hotels in Groveland while he
is here. Let 's see--he 'll be here in three days. That is n't very
long, but I guess we can get ready. I 'll write a letter this
afternoon--or you write it, and invite him to the house, and say I 'll
meet him at the depot. And you may have _carte blanche_ for making the
preparations."

"We must have some people to meet him."

"Certainly; a reception is the proper thing. Sit down immediately and
write the letter and I 'll mail it first thing in the morning, so he 'll
get it before he has time to make other arrangements. And you and your
mother put your heads together and make out a list of guests, and I 'll
have the invitations printed to-morrow. We will show the darkeys of
Groveland how to entertain a Congressman."

It will be noted that in moments of abstraction or excitement Mr.
Clayton sometimes relapsed into forms of speech not entirely consistent
with his principles. But some allowance must be made for his
atmosphere; he could no more escape from it than the leopard can change
his spots, or the--In deference to Mr. Clayton's feelings the quotation
will be left incomplete.

Alice wrote the letter on the spot and it was duly mailed, and sped on
its winged way to Washington.

The preparations for the reception were made as thoroughly and
elaborately as possible on so short a notice. The invitations were
issued; the house was cleaned from attic to cell