ashing steel;
chain-mail armour hung down over their trunks and covered their backs
and sides; and they were mounted by warriors clad in chain-mail, and
armed to the teeth. Delhi must have witnessed many splendid pageants,
when the Rajput, the Moghul, and the Mahratta dynasties, each in its
turn, was at the height of its glory; but never before had Princes and
Chiefs of every race and creed come from all parts of Hindustan, vying
with each other as to the magnificence of their _entourage_, and met
together with the same object--that of acknowledging and doing homage
to one supreme Ruler.

The next few days were spent by Lord Lytton in receiving the
sixty-three[4] Ruling Princes of India according to the strictest
etiquette. Each Prince, with his suite, was met at the entrance to
the camp, and conducted up the street to the durbar tent by mounted
officers, the salute to which he was entitled being fired while the
procession moved on. He was then presented by the Foreign Secretary to
the Viceroy, who placed him on a chair on his right, immediately
below a full-length portrait of Her Majesty. A satin banner, richly
embroidered with the Chief's armorial bearings, surmounted by the
Imperial crown, was next brought in by Highland soldiers and planted
in front of the throne, when the Viceroy, leading the particular Chief
towards it, thus addressed him: 'I present Your Highness with this
banner as a personal gift from Her Majesty the Queen, in commemoration
of her assumption of the title of Empress of India. Her Majesty trusts
that it may never be unfurled without reminding you not only of the
close union between the throne of England and your loyal and princely
house, but also of the earnest desire of the paramount power to see
your dynasty strong, prosperous, and permanent.'

His Excellency then placed round the Chief's neck a crimson ribbon, to
which was attached a very handsome gold medal[5] with the Queen's head
engraved on it, adding: 'I further decorate you, by command of Her
Majesty. May this medal be long worn by yourself, and long kept as
an heirloom in your family in remembrance of the auspicious date it
bears.'

The 1st January, 1877, saw the Queen proclaimed Empress of India, The
ceremony was most imposing, and in every way successful. Three tented
pavilions had been constructed on an open plain. The throne-pavilion
in the centre was a very graceful erection, brilliant in hangings and
banners of red, blue, and