Page:Lisbon and Cintra, Inchbold, 1907.djvu/50

Rh succession of the King of Castile. He was her son-in-law, and in every effort to make him acceptable to the people of Lisbon she was aided by her favourite, Andeiro, Conde de Ourem. To get rid of the Grand Master of Aviz she made him governor of Alemtejo, a position he pretended to accept and then left the city. He returned almost directly, appearing unexpectedly in the palace with some of his noble partisans, and a party of armed men. In explanation he told Queen Leonore that the King of Castile was entering Portuguese territory with a large army, and he desired her permission to levy troops in numbers proportionately great. The Queen appeared satisfied with his excuse for return, and D. João withdrew to another salon under pretext of speaking privately with the Conde de Ourem. He struck the first poignard blow in the embrasure of one of the windows, and the second stab by a confederate killed the victim. Meanwhile a frantic multitude had collected in the open place before the Limeiro, threatening to break into the palace, for rumour suggested that their favourite, the Grand Master of Aviz, was being assassinated. They were only appeased when D. João appeared to show that he was safe, but, infuriated with the idea of the Castilian invasion, the mob surged down upon the Cathedral, seized Bishop Martinho, a native of Castile, and threw him headlong from one of the western towers, afterwards dragging his body through the streets. From that day one event followed another up to the famous battle of Aljubarrota, which made the name of D. João I figure prominently in Portuguese history. A century later Dom Manuel established the Court of Appeal in this old palace. After the earthquake the portion destroyed was rebuilt by order of the Marquis de Pombal and converted into the civil prison of to-day. 28