At a reception given by the German ambassador in Lisbon, the former king of Italy, Umberto, in quite a long conversation with the communist leader Cunhal, kept paying him compliments, while Cunhal, for his part, was always kind enough to open the door for the former king or to draw up an armchair for him. It was as though I had, throughout the evening, been witness to a thoroughly friendly conversation in which the former monarch was constantly praising communist world revolution, and the communist leader was constantly praising the achievements of the monarchy. Finally, Umberto invited Cunhal to visit him at his house in Sintra, the most charming and, indeed, the most beautiful spot in Portugal, and Cunhal accepted the invitation. In the middle of the night, on my way home through Lisbon, the clamor of the angry crowds was a perverse political contradiction.