I felt like an actor in a medieval pageant whose costume had not been delivered in time for the performance. Cardinals in their gorgeous robes, with gold snuffboxes, gave to the scene a high colour among the soberer tones of Bishops and Archbishops and uniformed Ambassadors. Then there were Princes and Princesses and other nobilities of Roman society, the men displaying gay ribbons and decorations, the women in elaborate costumes, and all in a “stage setting” as far removed from modernity as a magnificent old-world palace could be. To make this reproduction of old customs complete our host made a point of having liveried attendants with flaming torches to light the Cardinals to and from their carriages.