DOM CARLOS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 65, 16 March 1908, Page 9

DOM CARLOS.

;.J7_KNED BY KIXG EDWAED. IV~ ' ——^~ *<Fro3i Oar Special Correspondent) LOXDOX. Febniarv 7. 'According to the Parisian journal, "Le Gaulois/ , King Edward recently warned the unfortunate Dom Carlos, King of Portugal, that his life was in danger, and begged him to take measures to ensure his personal safety. His Majesty's message, "Le Gaulois" declares, took the form of a confidential letter which he handed to Queen Amelie on her departnre from England after his sister"s mar- | jjage at Wood Norton to the Due dOr- | jgajis. In this letter, it is said, King I jgward informed the Portuguese King I that he was in possession of information I pointing to the existence of a serious plot j Against the dynasty, and strongly urged | jjain Caxlos to adopt every precaution | ggainst those who sought to injure him- i seli and his family. Unfortunately, con- j iioues the "Gaulois,"' Dom Carlos, always ! confident and full of courage, did not pay i jnneh heed to this warning, which he at- I to undue anxiety on the pan of the members of the English Royal Fam3y. He believed that the news was exaggerated. The facts, however, proved ! that the English Government and the | Sing -were better informed on events in I jPortngal than were the Court of Lisbon end the Government of Senhor Franco. The Portuguese tragedy has, of course, j slsced the English Court in mourning, j and all State functions arranged for the sear ftrbrre have been either cancelled or postponed. King Carlos was a fremeni and welcome visitor to England, lie last occasion on which he was the of the English Court was in Xo•jgnber, 1904, when he was accompanied ly -Queen Amelie. King Edward and Qneen Alexandra, in honour of their Bojal guests, gave a State banquet in S-fieorge's Hall, Windsor Castle. There sjasiaimposing welcome from a powerful British, fleet at Spithead, and King CarQueen Amelie were also most cor(Jjally received in the City of London, •B&eiE the Lord Mayor presented an adxiress tctheir Majesties, and had the honoar of entertaining them at lunch in the Guildhall. It was on the occasion of the State banquet at Windsor on November 16 that the important announcement was made of the conclusion of a new Treaty of Arbitration between Great Britain and Portugal Tvfng Carlos was one of the most popular monarchs .who has ever visited this conntry. He had an easy, genial manner irhich appealed to Englishmen, and in the Ehooting expeditions which took place in Windsor Great Park and Forest he was the foremost among the sportsmen. He las been described as ""one of the best gunners in Europe," and amply justified Ms reputation whilst at Windsor. By those who knew him intimately, ying Carlos was regarded as a warmieaxted, generous gentleman, but it is Sopen to grave doubt whether he was the liberal-minded man his obituarists -would have us believe, or that he possessed all the accomplishments attributed to him. As a sovereign, he was per-

laps more the victim of circumstances than of his own shortcomings. Thus he may be said to have bean handicapped from the very start, from the principal

jioval palace at Lisbon, formerly a eon,v : vent, bears tfie peculiar name of "Das JfJecessfdades," which may be translated as "those in need." , which, is a particularly appropriate title for the home ot a monarch -whose Crown jewels have been in pawn. As for his country house. Dora Carlos was probably the only monarch in Christendom who established his favourite retreat in a prison. That was the purpose for which the seaside residence at Cascaes, near the mouth of the lagus, was built and originally employed. One blazing hot summer's day the father of the murdered King happened by mere chance to stumble upon it. and struck by the delicious coolness of the prison, and by the healthy look of the convicts, he decided that it was altogether too good lOr them, and jUSt" what he wanted for iimself. S-α the pri ers were t timed pose of a. sTimn?er palace for the Eoya.l |o«j|n an ardent patron °"of~ and eften figured" in tlip rill* Of course the sport in Portugal is comparatively harmless, for the horns of the bull ere padded to prevent it goring a horse, and the animal itself is not killed, but only baited. A Spanish beauty once rallied the Duke on this practice,'and hinted that Portuguese hull-h'glitprs would not dare to face a bull with unprotected Boms. At the next fight the Duke g;>v c orders for an aniranl without padding to be sent into the ring. The Duke took iis stand and waited, with the frillM darts ready in his hands, for the bull to ttaige. With a bellow the bull made far the place where the future King was But it stopped, snorted angrily, and threw up the sand with its front loofs. The Prince waved his arms, made ■a ieint to lure it on, and then, as it charged again, sprang to one side tv svoidit, but in the very act of his spring , us slipped and fell. The whole audience »se with a cry of horror, for though ■Pom Carlos fought incognito, everyone raw who the handerillo was. Another fighter waved his red capa in the bull's wee; the animal's attention was diverted to a moment, ana the Prince rose. The bull saw the movements, and made once more for its first adversary, it was run Frince, run bull, to the barriers: and the iPrince won by inches. As his heels cleared the barricade, the bull's horns knocked splinters out of the woodwork a few writes below.

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