THE LISBON TRAGEDY.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LIII, Issue LIII, 6 April 1908, Page 3

THE LISBON TRAGEDY.

AN ENGLISH WITNESS' STORY

LONDON, February 7.

An. Englishman who was an eye-wit-ness of the assassination of the King and Crown Prince of Portugal, has given the following account, which adds many new facts to the story: — "When the members of the Royal Family stepped ashore at the landing-stage the people all remarked how well they were looking, and exclaimed on the specially handsome appearance of the Queen and the Crown Prince. The latter, who was over 6ft in height and admirably proportioned, looked a perfect picture of health and manly beauty. He r.as generally considered the handsomest boy in the country. There was a yery affectionate meeting with the Infante Manuel — who had returned to Lisbon to resume his studies — and other friends.

"Nothing out of the way happened until the carriage had passed the last arcade but one before running out of the square into the Rua do Arsenal, and then out of the gathering dusk came a flash and a report. The King's left shoulder twitched as if stung by a shot, but in an instant, before one could realise what had actually happened, : sn with revolvers in their hands •- verged on the carriage from all sic! „ with a suddenness that seemc * > point to the fact that the first s" . was a signal.

"One nan ran behind the carriage and poi.ited his revolver straight at the King's back. It was not until he was right behind the wheels of the carriage, and hardly more than two feet from the King, that he fired, shooting His Majesty through, the spine. The King's head immediately dropped on his chest. Meanwhile other men were running alongside the carriage, and firing revolvers. It is impossible to say how many shots were actually discharged, but there were at least a score. It was just like a battle when the fire was returned, and the effect was most weird. The Queen stood up between the King and the Crown Prince, and, calling for help, sought to defend herself, and at the same time to shield her son, by striking at the assassins with a bouquet, which had been presented to her on the pier by a poor god-daughter.

"At this moment the man who had fired at the King from behind was seized and killed. After that I saw no more, for the carriage turned the corner in the Rua do Arsenal. The Queen's escape was nothing short of miraculous. Had the attack been made a few yards further on the whole party would certainly have been killed, but the Arsenal gates were just round the corner, and the carriage being driven ' in there the surviving occupants were immediately in safety."

The above estimate of the number of shots fired is confirmed by the fact that twelve bullets were afterwards ' taken out of the carriage. I am also informed that the doctors who examined the bodies have come to the con- - elusion that the same bullet, evidently that fired by the man running behind the carriage, killed both the King and the Crown Prince, passing right . through his Majesty's body and enter- : ing that of Prince Luiz. It was at a ' little cafe in Lisbon that the plot to i kill the Royal Family was hatched and ! all the details arranged. Here the 1 assassin Buica and his four compan- | ions, one of whom was sometimes ab- ! sent, sat and plotted, illustrating their ' design with matches. The matches were laid on the table to represent the relative positions the Royal carriage ' would take, and other matches represented the would-be assassins. The : landlord had noticed the men laying j out these matches, but paid no more attention to such a trifling circum- j stance.