The Life of King Henry the Eight • Paragraph 324
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The journey to Baroda was commenced on November 18th and finished early on the following morning. At the station the Prince of Wales was received by the Gaekwar, Sir Madhava Rao, the British agent and other officers, and outside were triumphal arches and a rolling sea of dark, silent faces, topped by turbans of every colour in the rainbow. Outside also was an enormous elephant, with a golden howdah on his back, and into this the Prince and the Gaekwar presently entered. Everything was cloth of gold and velvet. The procession started after a time with a long line of gorgeously-caparisoned elephants following, a way was cleared for them by an advance guard of the 3rd Hussars, while in the rear were some of the Gaekwar's artillery and cavalry and a great crowd of Sirdars and lesser chiefs. The three miles to the Residency was lined by cavalry, and the spectacle must have been a superb one to see for the first time. The whole of the route was bordered by a light trellis work of bamboos, hung with lamps and festooned with flowers, while at certain points were special arches and clusters of flags. On his arrival the Prince held a sort of Durbar, paid a return visit to the Gaekwar and went to the Agga, or arena for wild-beast combats, where he saw Eastern wrestlers, an elephant fight, a buffalo fight, a struggle of fighting rams, and a show of wild or curious animals. The night was brilliant with illuminations, and the Prince accepted an invitation to dine with the 9th Native Infantry--an honour of which they were very proud.