two rows of guards stood also to either side of the dais , armed with swords and muskets-of spanish or of portuguese make , laurence judged , and likely traded for at the coast , or from brazil itself-and wearing a sort of armor made of thick wool ; which might have been merely intended to add to the imperial state , but the atmosphere conveyed was not one of formality but of an armed camp , and the unfriendly looks bent upon them would have been merited more by assassins than by honored guests .