Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-02-12
TIE LATE KING CARLOS.
Interesting Facts About the Murdered
King Of Portugal.

He was q glutton and ate more tnaI
any man in his kingdom.
He weighed $50 pounds.
He WAS a champion swimmer.
| He had great personal courage.
He once risked his life to save :
drowning man, and to rescue peasant
from highwaylnan.
He was q skillful and bold banderil.
| lero in the bull ring.
| He was a good stOry-teller, me
| whip, a yachtslnan. painter of mote
and a sculptor tennis player and must
clan.
He had translated Shakespeare into
Portuguese.
He vas the best pistol shot in Eu-
rome.
He spoke seven languages.
He rawned his crown, worth $4,000,
00O
King Carlos was one of the most
unique characters in the world
Never mind the revolution. Bring on
the roasted pheasantS and another bot
tie of Burgundy" epitomiZes the type
of character he was. He was said To
bt the greatest glutton in all Europe.
He weighed $50 bounds, and he could
eat, at one meal, three whole pleas
ants, Il roast pig, several lOaves of
brown bread, and wash it all down
with four quarts of wine. When he
was younger and before he became
King he would enter the bull ring as
q toreadOr under an assumed name,
and soon he gained the reputation OF
being one of the most reckless bull
lighters Of the continent.
There was no cOwardice in his make
up. Once he risked his life by jump
ing into the sea to save Il man from
drowning. His br;tvey was displayed
on another occasion. when he was rid
ing along Il country road near Lisbon
and came upon highwayman robbing
a peasant. Carlos dismOunted, whip
ped the rObher into submission, and led
him off to prison.
Outside of his own country Don
Carlos was regarded as an admirable
monarch. He was a good sportsman
and ;,n agreeable companion. These
qualities, which rendered him so good
a friend. made him terribly expensive
to the natives. He loved to wander.
about the world, shooting, yachting,
performances at the theaters. All of
these luxurious exploits and excursions
required many hundreds of thousands
Of dcilars from the eXchequer of his
impoverished country. Within the
past two years Carlos had paid visits
to nearly all of the sOvereignS of Eu-
rope and great many wealthy noble
men, including the King of England,
the King of Spain. the German En-
peror, the RothschiI(iS and others.
The King drew heavily upon the ma
tional treasury in excess of his annual
allowance of 100000. For such con-
duet he was called an embeZzler and
traitor by the republicans.
Carlos WAS a blonde giant. He
weighed about 800 pounds. but. despite
his obesity, was very active. He was
credited with being one Of the best
wing shots in Europe, and is said to
have killed 1000 pigeons without II
miss
He was very powerful physically,
and once, when his horse was running
away with him, he felled it with a
blow of his fist on the top of it's head
His great weight once broke the
gangplang Of yacht as he was COM
ing ashore. He went down and did not
come up. Other members of the party
dived, but could not find HIM He had
dived unuer the keel of the yacht and
come UP on the other side.
At a bull fight he caught 4 falling
fagpole and saved the lives of several
women, but went to the hospital for q
week. He could bend coins in his pow
erful fingers and tear 4 pack of cards
in two.
Carlos was Il spendthrift. He seemed
to have no idea of the value of money.
and although Portugal, with Il popu-
lation of about 5000 900, groaned under
a debt as great as that of the United
sonal enjoyment and called on the
CortaZ to pay his bills.
This extravaganza added to the to-
bacco monopoly, which was said to be a
private graft of the political leaders.
and drove the country into Il state
vcrging OH rebellion. Then Carlos I'M
d'rwent a change of heart and deter
mined on the most radical reforms.
To carry these out. he made Senior
Franco, his most bitter critic. Prime
Minister. Franco cut off the grafters
right and left and raised such a storm
among the political leaders that Carlos
dismissed the CorteZ and proclaimed
Franco dictator for the purpose of
efectinG the reforms.
The storm of opposition was met
with the most repressive measures,
and The aditation for a republic was
used by the political leaders to fright
en- the King. Many outbreaks, which
were suppressed by the troops, culni-
mated in the aSsassinati ton.
King Carlos showed a great fond
ness for Americans travelling through
Europe. Thomas F. Walsh. j. Pier
pont Morgan, w. X. Vanderbilt and
others We're received with marks of
honor at the palace. He enjoyed the
most remarkable surroundings of any
monarch Of Europe. His royal palace
az Lisbon bears the extraordinary title
of DOS Necessdades." which means
"tnose in need The building was
formerly Il convent. He was the only
monarch i'll Europe who had resi-
dence in Il prison. His country palace
at Cascaes, near the mouth of the