Impression
Sketch of Captain Herail
shooting Madam Herail - By
Jamie Mann.
Almost
like a Greek tragedy, transported
To
the twentieth Century, there happened
In
war betrayal and love to result in murder.
In
court martial a French soldier and officer,
Captain
Herail, stood in the dock sobbing -
To
face the questions of a Court President.
The story
unfolded before his peers, how
Prior
to war, a love match had occurred
Between
a handsome soldier and a girl.
For
some years before the war broke this
Man
and wife had lived together in passion
And
affection - only the French possess.
As
Captain Herail openly mourned his wife,
He
spoke through broken sobs of his love
For
a beautiful and wealthy strong woman.
Perhaps
what bloomed from a young girl's
Love
was attraction for a soldier - only
To
become jealous of his country's duty.
The
court learned the background of this
Man's
love - also to his duty when war came,
And the
necessary separation for them both.
After
a time, the French wife had followed
Him
to Compiegne - and refused to leave
Her
husband - her jealousy was his career.
Captain
Herail explained to his Colonel,
How
his life had become a nightmare - each
Night
they argued and he could not sleep.
For
every argument she had an answer
While
beneath it all, she adored her man -
Yet
how she longed him all for herself.
Captain
Herail felt trapped by Madam Herail;
He
was reminded how he refused to send
Her
away, at the General's orders of 'no wives.'
At a
point he thought to leave his commission,
But
it would have been a sacrifice too much -
With
a great passion for his military profession.
He
held onto his duty to fight for his country,
Yet
his wife impaired his soldier’s efficiency -
Finally
he was driven to demand she left him.
Other
witness then came to the stand, as in
Major
Rouchez, who stood at the bar on his
Crutches,
to tell of a couple's mutual affection.
Roucheza,
a friend of Herail, spoke of a night
In
September when Frances' fate trembled -
About
a fire, agreeing to sacrifice all for France.
If
not their lives, then take their wives and their
Children
- to say how Herail was prepared to put
His
own life and wife upon the alter, for freedom.
The
accused then stood with emotion, unable
To
speak for some moments - to tell on a day
When
his wife had locked him in his room.
Torn
between love and duty, Captain Herail
Found
how Madam Herail could not understand
Importance
of his military duty and would not go.
Before
the military court, head in hands, he told
How
he kept domestic trouble from his colonel
And
how he shot his wife, in frenzied moments.
But
it was the pleas of Major Rouchez who said
'Pardon
him and pity him as I pity him with
All
my heart' - all was laid before military judges.
The government
commissary stressed, despite
Extenuating
circumstance pride prevented Herail
Telling
the Colonel - the verdict should be guilty.
For
the defence, Henri Robert's emotion raised
To
say it was fate of a comrade not to refuse pity
When
all of France needs all her children to fight.
All
The Captain had left was his honour and for
His
life to be sacrificed in duty - the court martial
Took
only a few short minutes for the acquittal.
On
two counts Captain Herail was found not
Guilty
of voluntary homocide - inflicted wounds
And
blows had caused the deceased's death.
Captain
Herail left an officer soldier and a free man.
by Jamie Mann.
Anon.,1915. Love and Duty
- Officer Shoots Wife in Moment of Madness - French Captain Acquitted. The Daily
Telegraph, [online] 12 Apr. P.10.
Col.5. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11520529/Daily-Telegraph-April-12-1915.html
[Accessed: 12 April 2015].
Mann, J., 2015. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal
communication, 12 April 2015).
#WW1 #WW1centenary #GreatWar #WW1poem #GreatWar #WW1centenary
#worldwarone #worldwaroneremembered #WW1France
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