The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-09-11
IRISH HORSES
SHINE At THE
/ DUBLIN SHOW
Great Annual Event
Is Described.
FAMOUS HISTORY RECALLED
GROWTH OF A SOCIETY FORMED
OVER A CENTURY Ago.
During the Assemblage of Country
People "The Belle of New
York" Makes a Decided
Hit.
FAMOUS HISTORY RECALLED
BY j. j. CLANCY.
Special Correspondence of The Call.

what is known as horse show week in
Dublin. Only to those who know what
the annual Dublin Horse Show is and
what 1t brings in it's train will this
phrase convey it's full meaning. For
the show is not only the greatest of its
kind in Europe probably-in England,
Scotland or Ireland certainly-but it
has now grown into a sort of national
carnival. 1t is held under the auspices
of the Royal Dublin Society, which has
itself had a rather historic past. Over
a century and half ago fourteen resi-
dents of Dublin met in the rooms of the
Philosophical Society in Trinity Col
lege and there resolved to form soci-
ETY. called the Dublin Society,"" the OBJ
tect of which would be ito promote the
improvement of all kinds of husbandry.
manufactures and other useful arts and
sciences"
In 1920 King George IV-'the last Of
the fools and oppressors called George
as Byron called him in his Irish Ava
tar''-became patron of the society, and
thenceforward it became the Royal
Dublin Society. In 1915 the body was
sufficiently affluent to purchase Lem
ster House. the town residence of the
Duke of Leinster. and the 1t has been
located since In 1868 it held its first
horse show in the grounds of Leinster
House, and 1t was so successful that it
was resolved to make it annual. In
the course of dozen years the entries
had increased from 300 to nearly 600,
and the attendance from II 900 to over
10000. Fresh and more extensive
grounds were then acquired at Balls
bridge, a place on the River Dodder,
outside the city bounds, on the south
side. Here progress has been the con-
spicuous watchword of the great show.
Last year the entries numbered nearly
1900, and the attendance amounted to
nearly 10000. This year the figures for
both are larger still.
This phenomenal success-phenom-
email. that is, for Ireland, where so
many things have gone to the bad un-
der English RULES undoubtedly due to
the superiority of the Irish-bred horse.
The soil and climate of Ireland are pc
culiarly suitable for producing first
class thoroughbreds and hunters, as
has been shown conclusively of late
years, especially on the English turf;
and accordingly no such collection can
anywhere be had in Europe as is now
10 be seen every year at Ballsbridge of
thoroughbred sires, thoroughbred mares
and thoroughbred colts and fillies
while the hunters are, If possible, better
still than anything of the kind which
can be produced in England. The re-
suit is that the horse show is now pa
tronized not only by people from all
parts of Ireland but from England,
Scotland, France, Italy, Germany and
Russia, who come to see and to buy,
and who often pay fancy prices. The
greater number, however of the visit
ors come from the provinces of Ireland
itself, and horse show week. is for
f1,a IL of 4fn rhn1
They come up to Dublin in all their
finery and in such crowds as almost TO
transform the look of the principal
Dublin streets, to fill the restaurants to
overlooking and to crowd the regular
p'-olin playgoers out of the theaterS
and music halls. The ladies, of course,
are the more conspicuous. They seem
to dominate the whole place, and
wonderful sight they present for female
beauty as they are all gathered to-
gether. clad in charming costumes and
furnished with that splendid complex
ion which can only be obtained in the
pure air of the country, in the grand
semi-circular stand in the great jump
ing paddock. Apropos Of the Irish Ia
dies, however, a Dublin paper to-day
draws distinction between the present
and the past, which may interest Irish
Americans. The modern Irish girl, it
SAYS. is much taller than her mother
The country beauties up LOT the morse
show" it adds, nearly all tower above
their attendant chaperons. So far as
actual beauty, however. goes, the
mothers, we are informed, bear away
the palm, the pretty girl of the present
generation seldom having the perfect
features, never the gracious pose, Of
the belle of say 1860 She is, it ap-
pears, a finer woman physically but
she is wanting in detail. Her complex
ion is good and her figure well devel-
oped, but her eyes are ordinary, and
she does not show up well in evening
dress. because her violent athletic iii
versions have made her just little
stringy." 1 confess l am not myself
able to say whether all this is true, but
I have asked some ladies of my ac-
Quaintance whether it is, on the whole,
accurate or not, and they not only adj
nit that il is but they, moreover, at
tribute to the now almost universal use
of the bicycle the contrast between the
present and the past.
The horse show has among It's chief
conComitants extra attractions In orr
public places of amusement, and this
week. accordingly, both our leading
theaters have put their best side out
and have been rewarded by gala at
tendances. In the Theater Royal we
have The Belle of New York" and al
though the hardy and seasoned thea
rather little of the piece, it is quite evil
dent that our country cousins hold a
very different opinion of Ii. Night ufter
night during the past week they have
rushed to see it and have applauded it
unanimously; and, as for the operas
at the Gaiety, 1t goes without saying
that it has been almost impossible TO
get to see them during the last few,
nights. Apropos of opera, it is worth
noting that Italy, which used to give
us in this country and in England, too,
the greatest operate artists, does so
no longer. America was the frst coun-
try to throw down the gauge and chal-
lenge Italy's proud title of "the Land
of Song" and at the present time AL
bani, Nordica and Ella Russell (who is
singing in Dublin this week. are among
the best sopranos we have But Aus
tralia is about the last country one
would expect to see entering the lists.
and yet that continent has given us
some of the very best singers of the
day. Between the companies in the
Theate1 Royal and Gaiauy this week
Dublin people and visitors to Dublin