John Huss and the Hussite Wars - James Aitken Wylie

down before the newly elected Pope, he kissed the
feet of the Roman Father. The doors of the
conclave being now thrown open, the cardinals
eagerly rushed out, glad to find themselves again in
the light of day. Their temporary prison was so
guarded and shut in that even the sun's rays were
excluded, and the Fathers had to conduct their
business with the light of wax tapers. They had
been shut up only from the 8th to the 11th of
November, but so thin and altered were their
visages when they emerged, owing to the meager
diet on which they were compelled to subsist, that
their acquaintances had some difficulty in
recognizing them. There were fifty-three electors in
all – twenty-three cardinals, and thirty deputies of
the nations – for whom fifty-three separate
chambers had been prepared, and distributed by lot.
They were forbidden all intercourse with their
fellow-electors within the conclave, as well as with
their friends outside, and even the dishes which
were handed in to them at a window were carefully
searched, lest they should conceal contraband
letters or missives.
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