The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1888-10-04
''NoT GUILTY.
The Grapevine at 1t again.

Our private Grapevine telephone again
collided with the public wire last Satur-
day and SO accidently reported to us the
following colloquy between a couple of
well known political bummers down in
Brattleboro, that evidently was not intend
ed for our ears:
Levi Fuller. Halloo, Central, give
me Hooker, quick
Central. All right, go ahead.
L. George, is that you?
Hooker. Yes, Levi, what's want
ed now?
L. Have you seen that - SIF-
TER this week? How in thunder does
that internal Shanks manage to get
hold of everything l say and do?
He's kept me on red-hot gridiron
for the last two years and more, until
l can't either eat or sleep or even sit
down in any kind of comfort; and
now he has got hold of the whole in
side history of my South Derry news
paper venture, and has begun to print
it peice-meal so as to keep me broiling
over the Goals another year, blast his
ugly picter! If he was old and weak :,
like old man Pierce, I'd get somebody
to hold him, as l did old Pierce, and
thrash him within an inch of his life,
condem him! But Pm afraid he'd
fight back, and don't dare to tackle
him. I've a great mind to call out
my Battery and charge on the tor
menting devil.
Fl. Hold on, Levi If you don't
look out the Baptist Church will have
you over the Goals again for swearing
as they did for deliberate lying, and
if they do you won't get off so easy as
before, when they let up to give you
just one chance more to reform.
L. What do you want to throw
that old matter up at me for just now
when I'm clear up to my eyes in
trouble? AS to swearing, how can 8
fellow help almost using cuss words.
on the sly and in confidence, among
wicked friends like you, George. Nc
other language will begin to express
what feel when l think of that in.
fernal ,,Shanks, whom I set out tc
ruin, and who now bids fair to ruin
me with the aid of Harrington, who,
just because I didn't pay that nasty
little board bill and a few other bills
as | promised, has let the cat out OF
the bag, how put up all the money
to buy Shanks' worthless old type
and press, and even bought the sold
shebang' itself at three prices so as
to turn the pesky SITTER into the
street.-the whole thing costing me
over a thousand dollars and all a dead
loss-just because that Shanks
wouldn't stay ruined after got him
down, and after we had set Daven-
port on to him, too, and got him shut
up in jail, where we expected he
would rust. After all this, the ag-
gravating cuss turned up smiling in a
few days with new type and a new
press and saucer than ever. Who
wouldn't swear if his life was worried
out of him as mine is?
Fl. You don't mean to say you
have gone back on your faithful pal,
Harrington, and left him in the lurch
for bills you agreed to pay and SC
have given him good reason to blow
on you?
L. Well, yes, l did. You don't
expect me to pay everything do you
When l found Harrington could dc
me no further service of course |
dropped him. I've paid out fortune
already for political promotion, and
| can't afford to pay for dead rabbits,
even if | did promise to. Besides,
didn't you, and Low and Wash, and
the other fellows, all unload on to
me, after agreeing to stand by? Then
there's 'Mouth-Almighty" at Ludlow,
why don't he pay Warner for setting
up the press?
III. Well, one thing is fortunate.
after all, that you didn't disclose tc
Harrington your pet scheme to gel
Mr.. Morrill's seat in the U. S. Sen.
ate.
L. That's just what l did do, anc
that's the worst of it. That - SIF
TER knows all about it, and has seer
all my letters proclaiming my modes
ambition, and is chuckling over it a.
though it was something terribly fun
ny, and everybody who has heart
about 1T appears to be on the broat
grin as though it was huge joke
For my part can't see what there il
to laugh about. Why shouldn't / b,
United States Senator, I'd like t,
know? Who's got a better right
Amt | the biggest man in Vermont
and can't l beat them all at Grating
And who's got such grip on tn
Grand Army boys as L? Don't
90 everywhere. whether | am aSket