"The king of Portugal, coming along the road at midnight, which was in his own room at noon, his foot slipped, and three balls went through his body; which, however, had no other consequence than giving him a stroke of the palsy, of which he is quite recovered, except being dead."
- Letter to Lady Hervey, Oct. 17, 1758
Coming unexpectedly upon the word "bewolfenbutteled" for the second time in my life, sent me to where I saw it the first time,...
This one I found amusing in its dry delivery of the news of the assassination of King Jose I of Portugal on Sep. 3, 1758. More amusing to find, upon internetting, that Walpole had his information wrong, news of the King's death being premature - he lived another 19 years - and he was shot twice rather than three times. Walpole's oblique reference to regal indiscretion was right, though, as the king was ambushed on his ... 2y
In the aftermath of the assassination attempt lots of disaffected aristocracy and priests were rounded up and publicly tortured to death with the intent of discouraging further discontent, whilst actually making the king even more unpopular - who'd have guessed? 🤷🏻♂️ 2y