Show IF 99 9 ti 9 stori C aln blied flied adil AMPA DEATH AND MADAM GOTTFRIED NO fine day in 1825 a 0 ONU respectable rind and prosperous wheelwright of Brom enfelt much ilk like i dancing and singing lie ile bad become the 1 owner of a large handsome house in the he nt at nn an absurdly low price the owner and occupant of tho the house louse madain gottfried had fallen into financial some time prep and and mortgaged the pro property tito mortgage fell duo due and she had no money for the lie occasion so tile tho man who held tho the instrument foreclosed and offered tho the place for sole sale kumf made a ridiculously low jid ld and it was accepted nt at once so tills merry wheelwright right felt that the hie occasion needed a celebration tind ho went to its his favorite gas garthaus thaus and invited incited everybody to have something ile he told tho the good acis and was ai surprised and grieved because nobody congratulated him ills cronies shook their heads and seemed to pity him itera kauffman tho the attorney finally indulged in plain speech you tou have been so busy those these runny many years salil sahl lie ho that you sou dont know been happening around you tho the house you havo have bought Is a house of benth tito undertaker Is the most frequent guest madam gottfried lins lias the evil eye and wherever she goes I 1 herr kumf laughed at such a stor story people sicken and dle die it I 1 you must live in that house at least see that madam madain gottfried Gottfr led moves out she may bo be a good woman in her intentions ind end in her life but she is accursed kumf laughed at such a story ile ho wita was a hardheaded hard headed practical man and believe in tho the evil eye or in accursed houses so he ha took possession of tho the house he and his family occupying the two lower floors and siad mad nin am gottfried Gottfr led moving upstairs she made a pathetic plea to be allowed to remain she was a sad lone woman the victim of unparalleled misfortunes in a brief time she had lost her father and mother her hei brother three children and had bad been twice widowed the story of her troubles made such nn an impression upon that he let her ber remain and made ilia his terms remarkably mar kably liberal sho she was a fine buxom woman of gracious manners and possessing a tad gad sweet smile that melted the hearts df men her hair was brown and her complexion marvelous iler her teeth were snowy set rather far apart nod and pointed had a modern criminologist noted her teeth lie he might have been impervious to the appeal of her eyes her rooms were handsomely fumi furnished shed and she had a hue fine library chiefly of religious books which she eha spent pent much time reading iler her clety while not always attracted attention in a few weeks madam gottfried Gottfr led was practically a member ot of the kumf family she spent most of her time in their part of the house louse and husband and nd wife agreed that she was a god tend send to them hem she was co 10 helpful so sympathetic she was a great comfort to madam madain eunit and when the latter tell fell dangerously sick tho the widow set eel dorn left her bedside the invalids illness was ans mysterious and seemed to bufflo the doctors she suffered excruciating pain 1 ow rind and then she rhe showed signs of improvement only to e z relapse and at last she lied led the grief of the husband was equaled by the affliction of madam who seemed inconsolable when kumf went bock back to Ms his work aftel tho funeral ho mt vhf vh sold said to him 1 I liali be tho the next vie vic tim it if you let that woman stay in your houi houe tills this angered madam gottfried lad had boon been an angel to his faro lly tho the lead womans comans wt it valle smile hai been for that patient watcher at lies hei bedside then tho the hired nurse who hit had been in attendance and who yet left the house foil fell sick rind and also a servant ervant mald three apprentices who hod bad thell theli 1 1119 at the home began to suffer from the same mysterious lous the nurse and servant girl left the house and soon recovered tho the doctor wore more a path to the h house ouse and the lie undertaker looked iw in that direction constantly friends begged hin I 1 to open ills his eyes before it was too lato late but their appeals merely aggravated him ile iio thought there wast was a conspiracy to defame and insult that mag but unfortunate woman and then lo 10 found himself too III to leave tho the house tho the disease which had taken his wife from him lind attacked ham for weeks lie suffered now feeling bettor better and again worse and in a little whilo while lie he was a n mero mere wreck of tho the stalwart healthy wheelwright of other days and madaie gottfried waited on him like a daughter giving him hla his medicine cooking ills food for him reading hor her reli religious glola books to him one day when lie he wat was alone in the house lie ho felt ft a sudden yearning for something to eat cat lie ile liob lobbied bled down to the kitchen and there lie found a pork chop ready for try frying A pork chop was just what lie wanted lie ile lifted it from the dish and found that it was covered with it 11 white powder at lust last tile the suspicions of tills credulous roan mail were aroused there was waa no reason why a pork chop should bo be covered with into lit powder so lie ho wrapped it up in a sheet of roper paper and sent it to a doctor and tho the doctor sent back word that tho tha powder wits was arsenic an examining magistrate visited the house and tile the result of ills hla investigation was that madame gottfried Gottfr led wont went to jall jail then a curious thing happened tills this plump and handsome woman suddenly became a repulsive ling tho the enameled complexion came olt off revealing a yellow skin most of her beautiful hair was false and her own hair was dyed iler her attractive form had been carefully built up and thirteen corsets were removed from her 0 there were many examinations and months elapsed before tile the truth was known at first tile the madam denied everything but tho the constant examinations and questionings finally overcame lier her composure and she confessed a list of crimes that has made her namo name unpleasantly immortal in her own country she had poisoned lier her husband because ho he was a drunkard and failed to support her and this was achieved so easily and gave her such a sense ot 0 power that polso poisoning ning became a manla with her later she blie wished to marry gottfried Gottfr led and her ter parents objected it was dangerous to object in the presence of tills this woman she removed them as she had removed husband and mourned them so sincerely that she was pitied rather than han suspected the parents removed gottfried was unwilling to worry marry her because ot of her children so BO she eho expunged tho the children with her trusty arsenic people began to talk then but after aul nn autopsy was hold held on one of the victims without any prejudicial discovery the talk died away gottfried Gottfr led was tho the next victim lie ile was reluctant to marry her and she began feeding him arsenic ile iio realized that lie ho was vas doomed unless lie ile married her so tho the ceremony took place but ho he was doomed anyhow iio rally from the poison lie had taken sho she confessed to having murdered madam and had intended to kill hill the tha husband because he had bought her home she had also poisoned the nurse the servant and the apprentices and could assign no reason for it sho she was sentenced to death and went to tho the scaffold lil its as calmly as ever nothing disturbed her sho she was wag sleep ing sweetly when the chaplain went to her cell to tell lier her that the hour had arrived sho she spent all the time allowed her at her tollet toilet insisted upon having a daintier pair of shoes than the ones provided and to the last moment waa vas smirking and su smiling illing evidently enjoying the attention she was receiving tho as fell and put an enil end to ono one of tile the wickedest wick edest and roost most abnormal creatures crea that ever trod tho the earth |