, the man and principles for
which he had labored triumphed, and he had come to Washington to reap
his reward. He had been assured that his services would not be
forgotten, and it was no intention of his that they should be.

After a while he left his room and went out, returning later with
several gentlemen from the South and a Washington man. There is some
freemasonry among these office-seekers in Washington that throws them
inevitably together. The men with whom he returned were such
characters as the press would designate as "old wheel-horses" or
"pillars of the party." They all adjourned to the bar, where they had
something at their host's expense. Then they repaired to his room,
whence for the ensuing two hours the bell and the bell-boy were kept
briskly going.

The gentleman from Alabama was in his glory. His gestures as he held
forth were those of a gracious and condescending prince. It was his
first visit to the city, and he said to the Washington man: "I tell
you, sir, you've got a mighty fine town here. Of course, there's no
opportunity for anything like local pride, because it's the outsiders,
or the whole country, rather, that makes it what it is, but that's
nothing. It's a fine town, and I'm right sorry that I can't stay
longer."

"How long do you expect to be with us, Professor?" inquired Col.
Mason, the horse who had bent his force to the party wheel in the
Georgia ruts.

"Oh, about ten days, I reckon, at the furthest. I want to spend some
time sight-seeing. I'll drop in on the Congressman from my district
to-morrow, and call a little later on the President."

"Uh, huh!" said Col. Mason. He had been in the city for some time.

"Yes, sir, I want to get through with my little matter and get back
home. I'm not asking for much, and I don't anticipate any trouble in
securing what I desire. You see, it's just like this, there's no way
for them to refuse us. And if any one deserves the good things at the
hands of the administration, who more than we old campaigners, who
have been helping the party through its fights from the time that we
had our first votes?"

"Who, indeed?" said the Washington man.

"I tell you, gentlemen, the administration is no fool. It knows that
we hold the colored vote down there in our vest pockets and it ain't
going to turn us down."

"No, of course not, but sometimes there are delays--"

"Delays, to be sure, where a man doesn't know how to go about the
matter. The thing