The next day was one of the days for visiting the Borgia Apartment. Cæsar and Kennedy met in the Piazza di San Pietro, went into the Vatican museum, and walked by a series of stairs and passageways to the Gallery of Inscriptions.
Then they went down to a hall, at whose door there were guards dressed in slashed clothes, which were parti-coloured, red, yellow, and black. Some of them carried lances and others swords.
“Why are the guards here dressed differently?” asked Cæsar.
“Because this belongs to the Dominions of the Pope.”
“And what kind of guards are these?”
“These are pontifical Swiss guards.”
“They look comic-opera enough,” said Cæsar.
“My dear man, don’t say that. This costume was designed by no one less than Michelangelo.”
“All right. At that time they probably looked very well, but now they have a theatrical effect.”
“It is because you have no veneration. If you were reverential, they would look wonderful to you.”