The week that followed was taken up with entertainments of various kinds--balls, races, and garden-parties, interspersed with official visits--which I am afraid the Prince could not have found amusing--and on New Year's Day, 1876, His Royal Highness held a Chapter of the Order of the Star of India, after which the Commander-in-Chief returned to Delhi to arrange to receive the Prince in that historical city on the 11th January.
His Royal Highness's camp, and that of the Commander-in-Chief, were pitched on the ground occupied by the British army during the siege.
The road, five miles in length, from the station to the camp was lined with troops, and on the Ridge itself were placed six Rifle corps, three of which had taken part in the siege.[2] The 2nd Gurkhas were very appropriately drawn up immediately under Hindu Rao's house, and when this point was reached, the Prince stopped and warmly complimented the men on the distinguished service the regiment had performed.
The next day there was a parade of all the troops in review order for the inspection of the Prince, who was pleased to express his complete satisfaction and approval of 'the steadiness under arms, soldier-like bearing, and precision of movement, which distinguish the corps of the three armies assembled at the camp at Delhi.' That evening the Prince was present at a ball in the _diwan-i-khas_ (private audience hall) in the palace, given in His Royal Highness's honour by the officers of the army.
The next few days were taken up with manoeuvres, which the Prince attended, accompanied by Lumsden[3] and myself.

The defence was commanded by Reid, the attack by Hardinge, the latter's object being to gain possession of the Ridge, with a view to future operations against the city on the arrival of the main army from the Punjab.

But the attack did not meet with the success which attended Barnard in 1857, while the Commander of the defence proved himself as skilful in protecting the Ridge against an enemy advancing from the north as he had been, twenty years before, in repulsing one coming from the opposite direction.
The Prince of Wales held another investiture of the Star of India on the 7th of March at Allahabad, which Lord Napier and the staff attended.

At its close we took our leave of His Royal Highness, who started that night for England.
In less than a fortnight our dear old Chief followed, and I saw him off from Bombay on the 10th April.

I was very low at parting with him, for though in the earlier days of our acquaintance I used to think he was not very favourably disposed towards me, when I became more intimately associated with him nothing could exceed his kindness.