Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1900-06-28

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why. the man died this very dayr
exclaimed. The priest took back the
paper and put it in his breviary. That
Is all know about the gentleman he
said ssappishly. and came out
Here it was not half past of the
day on which the man had died. and
my fine man, grave and cloaking his
grief so bravely, had come piously to
get his help for his lost one. He had
probably come straight from the death
bed of Emil Pomfet that his poor soul
might get as little purgatory as posi-
ble
81 could understand the grave, well
groomed man walking up the church
In the shadow. He had no heart for
sunshine. OF course began to con-
lecture who Emil Pompet was and it
didn't take much to convince me that
he was the son, the only son, the
young brilliant promising boy whom
his ambitious father idolized My
heart went out to NJ. Pompet Prob
ably he belonged to some fine old fam
lily. and in the aristocratic atmosphere
of hotel in the Faubourg st. German
|
of the family pride fade away Then,
in his good old Catholic piety, dignifed
In all his sorrow, he had fastened to
get mass said for his boy. Oh. work
| ed it up till l felt quite deep regret
for the grand old sufferer, the bereav-
ed sire"
He may have injured this De Pom
pet in some way and meant the mass
as partial atonement," suggested
Franklin knowingly.
| Perhaps he did, and perhaps he was
justified in doing it." said Herbert i'm
passively. pressing down the ashes in
his pipe with his stubby finger. ODE
Pomfet is good. That's you. 1t was
Pomfet on the scrap of paper.
well, l went to my studio and for
got the incident. had too many joys
in the way of hopes and beliefs in
those days to be greatly done up by
other peoples sorrows. By the time l
went to the little cafe where l used to
dine-Im glad to say it's a long time
since had to do that had forgotten
all about it. While the garcon was
getting me my dinner l glanced
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across the notice of Emil Pomfet's
death, De Pomfet' And how do you
suppose the petted son of my aristo-
cratic pious father wound up?" contin-
ued Herbert sardonically. ga large
steel knife fell and struck him right in
the neck with such force that his head
was completely severed from his
body!'
Franklin forbore to delay the tale by
any opinion on this melancholy Incl
dent Herbert took puff and added,
"'The Widow bit his head off with her
sharp TOOTH"
"Guillotined"
''That morning. at La Roquette, at
the cool, quiet hour Of half past 5-no
aristocrat either, but a common ou-
vrier, who had strangled his wife to
death simply because absinth had
made him more than usually irritable
She had few friends. Pomfet had
none. His neighbors focked to the
square of La Roquette that they might
have the satisfaction of seeing him put
out of the way.
"Well, this made my aristocratic
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for such wretch all the more mex
| plicable. There was no mystery about
Pomfet. He was workman, the COM
monest Of his kind, and had never been
anything else all his life. The wife,
| though tritle better than her brute of
q husband, was an i'll favored trollop
of even lower social standing than he.
She was so homely that she couldn't
.arn, being good
| IT coulu invent no theory to fit the
case; yet, of course, l felt there must
be some reason for my severe gentle
man rushing off in such hot haste to
get prayers for an executed criminal
l talked over the thing with Coralie.
| She was little model l had in those
days. COralie was a butterfly. CO.
quette, but with some good sense I'M
der her frivolity. My description of
| the fine gentleman fired her curiosity.
Perhaps he had son who was guillo-
| tined she said thoughtfully. Yes, he
| looked it, said L. Then he is an Eng
fish MILFORD retorted Coralie, with tri-
| umphant conviction. Any kind or de-
gree of eccentricity is sufficiently ac-
| counted for to the French mind If the
author Of it is an Englishman. But the
spiritual henefactor of Emil Pomfet
| did not look like an Englishman, and
| his clothes We're Of French cut and
style. So Coralie was no help to me
| by her explanation. She asked me two
or three questions about him which
showed that my description had arous-
ed her interest. How old was he? Did
he seem wealthy? Was he triste or
only grave and distinene?"
-ternaps he was devout Cathol:-,
said Franklin musingly, land felt that
| it was beautiful work of spiritual
| mercy to have masses said for the gull
lotined. They can't have too many
prayers offered for them. Coralie's
| idea was not a bad one either"
'Well, it happened that about
month after this some other poor devil
had his head chopped off at La Ro-
quette. 1t was a good year for MUIR