"Who? I? Why, colonel, what a question! Invite the Crickets? Of
what can you be thinking?"

"And shall you not ask the Locusts, and the Grasshoppers?"

"Certainly. The Locusts, of course,--a very old and distinguished
family; and the Grasshoppers are pretty well, and ought to be asked.
But we must draw a line somewhere,--and the Crickets! why, it's
shocking even to think of!"

"I thought they were nice, respectable people."

"Oh, perfectly nice and respectable,--very good people, in fact, so
far as that goes. But then you must see the difficulty."

"My dear cousin, I am afraid you must explain."

"Why, their COLOUR, to be sure. Don't you see?"

"Oh!" said the colonel. "That's it, is it? Excuse me, but I have
been living in France, where these distinctions are wholly unknown,
and I have not yet got myself in the train of fashionable ideas
here."

"Well, then, let me teach you," said Miss Katy. "You know we
republicans go for no distinctions except those created by Nature
herself, and we found our rank upon COLOUR, because that is clearly a
thing that none has any hand in but our Maker. You see?"

"Yes; but who decides what colour shall be the reigning colour?"