Collected Works of V. I. Lenin - Vol. 13 - From Marx to Mao

470THE HAPPENING TO THE KING OF PORTUGALThe bourgeois press, even of the most liberal and “democratic”trend, needs must point a Black-Hundred moral whendiscussing the assassination of the Portuguese adventurer.Take, for example, the special correspondent of oneof Europe’s best bourgeois-democratic newspapers—theFrankfurter Zeitung. He begins his story with a semi-humorousaccount of the way the flock of correspondents, asif descending on their prey, made a rush for Lisbon as soonas the sensational news was received. “I shared a sleepingcompartment with a well-known London journalist,” writesthis gentleman, “who began to boast of his experience. Hehad already been to Belgrade on the same errand and couldconsider himself ‘a special correspondent for cases of regicide’.”Indeed, the happening to the king of Portugal is a truly“occupational accident” of kings.Small wonder that we have professional correspondentsspecialising in the description of their Majesties’ professional“misadventures” .But however strong the element of cheap and vulgar sensationalismis with such correspondents, the truth has away of asserting itself. “A merchant residing in the busiestshopping district” told the Frankfurter Zeitung correspondentthe following: “As soon as I learned what had happenedI hung out a mourning flag. But very soon customers andacquaintances started coming in and asking whether I hadgone out of my mind and was determined to ruin my custom.Do you mean to say that no one has any feeling of compassion,I asked. My dear sir, you wouldn’t believe what kindof answers I received! And so I removed the mourning flag.”