he State again to go Democratic by default. The loss which Mr.
Blaine sustained in the latter case, therefore, was much greater than
that gained by him in the former.

But, let the causes, circumstances, and conditions be what they may,
there was not a Democrat in Mississippi in 1884 who did not believe that
Mr. Cleveland's election to the Presidency was a foregone conclusion.
That he would have the support of the Solid South there was no doubt.
Those States, they believed, were as certain to be returned Democratic
as the sun would rise on the morning of the day of the election.

Although I accepted the nomination for Congress, I as chairman of the
Republican State Committee, devoted the greater part of my time to the
campaign throughout the State. Mr. Blaine had many warm friends and
admirers among the white men and Democrats in the State, some of them
being outspoken in their advocacy of his election. In making up the
electoral ticket I made every effort possible to get some of those men
to consent to the use of their names. One of them, Joseph N. Carpenter,
of my own home town, Natchez, gave his consent to the use of his name.
He was one of the solid business men of the town. He was not only a
large property owner but the principal owner of a local steamboat that
was engaged in the trade on the Mississippi River between Natchez and
Vicksburg. He was also the principal proprietor of one of the
cotton-seed-oil mills of the town. In fact his name was associated with
nearly every important enterprise in that community. Socially no family
stood higher than his in any part of the South. His accomplished wife
was a Miss Mellen, whose brother, William F. Mellen, was one of the most
brilliant members of the bar that the State had ever produced. She had
another brother who acquired quite a distinction as a minister of the
gospel.

When the announcement was made public that Joseph N. Carpenter was to be
an elector on the Republican ticket, intense excitement was immediately
created. The Democratic press of the State immediately turned their
batteries upon him. Personal friends called upon him in large numbers
and urged him to decline. But he had consented to serve, and he felt
that it was his duty, and ought to be his privilege to do so. Besides,
he was a sincere Blaine man. He honestly believed that the election of
Mr. Blaine would be conducive to the best interests of the country, the
South especially. To these appeals, the