As far ahead and behind on the road as
he could see the carts were drawn up on one side; men were hurrying
to and fro, orders were being shouted, and everything showed that
the entry into the town was about to be made. Directly opposite
the wagon on which he had been sleeping were the four elephants and
two camels, and close behind, contentedly munching their breakfasts,
were a number of tiny ponies. Troops of horses were being groomed
and attended to; the road was littered with saddles, flags, and
general decorations, until it seemed to Toby that there must have
been a smash up, and that he now beheld ruins rather than systematic
disorder.
How different everything looked now, compared to the time when
the cavalcade marched into Guilford, dazzling everyone with the
gorgeous display! Then the horses pranced gayly under their gaudy
decorations, the wagons were bright with glass, gilt, and flags, the
lumbering elephants and awkward camels were covered with fancifully
embroidered velvets, and even the drivers of the wagons were
resplendent in their uniforms of scarlet and gold. Now, in the
gray light of the early morning, everything was changed. The horses
were tired and muddy, and wore old and dirty harness; the gilded
chariots were covered with mud bespattered canvas, which caused
them to look like the most ordinary of market wagons; the elephants
and camels looked dingy, dirty, almost repulsive; and the drivers
were only a sleepy looking set of men, who, in their shirt sleeves,
were getting ready for the change which would dazzle the eyes of
the inhabitants of the town.
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