American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1867-09-28
DEAD BROKE.


there was no one else to mutter to-
We felt constrained to ask him what
he was doing there?
Hain't doin' nothin',' was the re-
ply.
"Where do you belongH"
"Don't belong nowhere, and no
where don't belong to me-"
Who are you ;"
"I'm Broke"
Well, suppose you are broke,
you've got name, haven't you
What is it?"
"I'll tell you I'm brOke-Dead
Brobe-that's my name and that's
my natur'. Ny father was broke be
fore me. If he hadn't been, l would
not be Broke nOw-at least not so
bad. My mother wasa Peasley, but
she wanted husband, and she got
Broke; that's my dad. I've been
broke ever since"
For few moments the unhappy
d. Broke buried his face in his hands,
and seemed lost in the most doletul
reflections. Then raising his head he
exclaimed bitterly:
81 wish | had been born a colt !"
"Why do you wish you had been
born colt "
because colt amt broke until
he is two or three years old. l was
Broke the moment | saw the light
and | never gotoyer it. 1t is hard
to be broke SO young"
How did your parents come to
call you Dead Broke y"
Well, you see, as soon as | was
born something seemed to tell me
that l had got to be broke all my life,
unless l could get my name changed
by an act OF the legi Stature, and that
you know, would be an impossibi-
lily"
"How an impossidility ~
Are You such blOckhead as to
suppose that a man can get anything
through the Legislature when he is
Jrohe ?"
you are right. Go on"
"When the convection forced itself
upon my infant brain, confused as it
was by recent experience, that must
be Broke all my life, l felt that there
was nothing left to live for, and lost
all consciousness at once. q have
found only part of it Since.")
He is dead y cried my mother,
ringing her hands.
" Yes" groaned my father, dead
Broke ~
q revived, alas but Dead Broke
became my name, and | have been !
lead broke ever since.
My name has been fatal to me all |
through life. The smallest boy in
school always broke me in playing
marbles. | broke more windows than
my other hoy in base ball. | always
broke down at recitatiOns, and my |
read was br0ke every day by the |
When | left school | |
vent to clerk for broker. One day |
here was a heavy deficit in the ac.
.ounts, | was afraid he might think .
hat | had something to do with it
50 II Jrohe. They caught me
hough, and put me in jail, but L.
,rOke out.
Out of Jail ?"
"No, jr0ke ont 1cjth the small port" |
" After the court had disposed of
ny case, was allowed to 90 into the
business again"
"How was that?
81 broke stone in the penitentiary,
log on :! After | got out | broke
l broke my promise,
roke the Sabbath, and broke the
)ledge."
"Were yea ever married ?"
Yes, (sighing deeply.) Matrimo-
ny broke me mp worse than anything
else. My wife was a regular ripper.
She broke my furniture and the dish
IS, nearly broke my back with fat
ron, and finally broke my heart"
By running away"
"No, indeed, by sticking to me-
Iou have had a hard time of it,
" All owing to my name. But bad
IS | dislike it, it's mine; | came by
t honestly. You wouldn't think any
body else would want to be in my
place, would ye ! but there are thou
sands Of impostOTs over the country.
rying to pass themselves off for me-
In what way ?"
When they tell their creditors
hat they are dead broke"
There was another pause, during
which the unhappy possessor of an
name could be heard to
ob. At length he broke out
" 1t will be a simple and fitting in
cliption for my tombstone, though"
" What 2"
- DEAD BPOEF"