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One undischarged duty still devolves upon the chronicler of the Durbar festivities at Delhi. It is that of noting briefly the work of some of the men who toiled early and late for months together to make the gigantic gathering a success. To appreciate the extent of their labours, it is necessary to convey some idea of the vast magnitude of the camp; and despite all that has been written about it, one fears that no adequate conception of its size has been gathered by those who did not see it. The actual work of preparation on the ground itself took over a year.

The share Lord Curzon took in these manifold labours has been explained on a previous occasion. This letter deals only with the services of some of his many lieutenants. First among these comes Sir Hugh Barnes, who on the evening of the Investiture received the phenomenal honour of knighthood in two orders within an hour. Sir Hugh Barnes was the President of the Central Committee, and had the chief executive responsibility of the whole gathering. He had to attend to in- numerable details of all kinds, and with unfailing good humour and calmness coped with an amount of work which would have killed a less capable man. For months he undertook the control of the preparations in addition to his normal duties at the Foreign Office; but latterly he was compelled to hand over the Foreign Secretaryship