Afewyearsago，the“Hon。“JohnWhimperyBrass，ofGeorgia，oneofthe“thoughtfulpatriots“oftheperiod，whonowandthenfoundtimetolayasidethecaresofstatecrafttonurselittleprivatejobsofhisown，alluredbytheseductiveoffersof“Wogan&Co。“
ofNewYorkCity，wrotetothatsomewhatmythicalconcernproposingtobecometheiragentforthecirculationofthe“queer。“Evenafterreceivingthefirstinstallmentoftheirwares，thehonorablegentlemandidnotcomprehendthatthefirmdealtexclusivelyinsawdust，notincurrency。Hewroteagain，complainingthat，afterajourneyofsixtymilesoveraroughroadtothenearestreliableexpressoffice，hefoundnothingbutaworthlesspackage，marked“C。O。D。，“awaitinghim。DidWogan&Co。distrusteitherhispartsorfidelity？HeventuredtoassertthatnomanintheStatecouldservethemsoeffectually。HehadjustrunforCongress，andthoughbeatenatthepollsby“fraud，“intendedtocontesttheseatwiththechancesofsuccessinhisfavor。Themountaineersamongwhomheliveddidnotcarewhetherthemoneyintheirpocketswasgoodorbadsolongasitcirculated。Hecouldputthousandsofcounterfeitsafloatwithouttheslightestfearofdetection。Hisconstituencybelievedinhimandwouldstandbyhim。Currencywasveryscarceinthatcongressionaldistrict，anditwouldreallybedoinghispeopleagreatfavortogivethemmore。Aftersettingforththemutualbenefitstoaccruefromtrustinghim，heappealedtoWogan&Co。withthevehemenceandenergyofthesewing-machineman，orlife-insuranceagent，tosendonthegoodswithoutfurtherdelay。Theyshouldneverregretdealingwithhim，hischaracterandstandingbeingasufficientguarantythathecouldnotplayfalse。Hewasactingingoodfaith，andexpectedliketreatmentinreturn。
Unfortunatelyforthepoliticalaspirationsof“Hon。“JohnWhimperyBrass，theauthoritiesnotlongaftermadeadescentuponthedenofWogan&Co。，findingagreatmanylettersfromcredulousfools，andalargesupplyofsawdust——theironlystockintrade。Themissivesoftheprospectivecongressmanwerepublished，thusgainingmuchmoreextensivecurrencythanheproposedtogivetotheimitationgreenbacks。Itwassupposedthatthenoisyfellowwouldslinkawaytosomecaveinhisnativemountains，andnevershowhisbrazenfaceamonghonestpeopleagain。Buttheimpudenceof“Hon。“JohnWhimperyBrassrosetotheleveloftheemergency。
Insteadofhidingorhanginghimself，hepublishedacardrepresentingthatheembarkedintheschemeforthepurposeofentrappingWogan&Co。andbringingthemtojustice。
Patheticwasthespectacle，showingtheconfidenceofaningenuoussoulinitsownprowess，ofthevolunteerdetective，diggingparallelsonthesouthernspursoftheBlueRidgeforthecaptureofthewilyswindlerathousandmilesaway!Armedwithakernelofcorn，thedoughtygoslingsetsforthtocatchthewickedfoxthatispreyingontheflock!Iftheboldmountaineers，theconstituencyof“Hon。“JohnWhimperyBrass，cannotcommendthediscretiondisplayedbytheprojectoroftheenterprise，theymustcertainlyadmirehispluck。Infaceoftheodds，fewgoslingswouldvolunteer。