The Saint Paul globe., 1900-03-25
Erin TO Greet Mef0nja. DS
Elaborate Preparations Being Made for Her Britannia
Majesys Visit to Ireland. :: :: :: :: /"
SSSSSs SSSSSS-


Ireland Is talking of nothing else but
the coming Of Queen Victoria In Eng
land it is exciting the liveliest interests.
Elaborate arrangements are being made
to insure the comfort and safety Of the
queen during the visit. The queen Is ex-
ceedingly active for her age and Is fond
of travelling She has devised system
which reduces the discomforts Of travel
to minimum. Her voyages for years,
the New York Herald says, have consist
ed Of brief trips across the Solent or
the English channel. Now she will I'M
dertake a longer sea journey. Her rail-
way trip to Holyhead will be made in
her own special train and she will take
a large suite to Ireland with her
Six months ago Englishmen would have
laughed at any one who predicted that
their sovereign would ever again cross
the Irish channel In Ireland even the
most loyal subjects had long given up
hope Of ever seeing her there. One can
imagine, therefore, how great was the
surprise not only In official circles, but
also throughout the United Kingdom
when the news spread that the queen
would soon go to Dublin. and would re-
main there for some weeks, as the guest
of the lord lieutenant at the Viceregal
lodge.
Thrice before during her long reign has
| Victoria visited Ireland-ln 1919, 1853 and
1861. Memorable visits they were. and
more pleasant, in one respect at least
| than this one can possibly be, since she
was accompanied on each occasion by
| her husband, the late Prince Consort A
! Joyous welcome the Irish people gave
her, and in the numerous places in which
| she visited there are many who even to-
day gladly recall the glimpse which they
obtained Of her. Songs. humorous and
grave, were composed and sung in her
honor In 1919 and 1855, and while almost
all have passed into oblivion one at least
may still at times be heard, that one
which tells
How the Queen. she came to Dublin, her
health for to revive,
| And the bOuld ould Duke of Leinster he
took her for drive.
! Dublin, Cork, Limerick, and even the
most rural districts have been much inn
proved since then, and in this sense the
queen IS practically going to a new coun-
try In Dublin, dear, dirty Dublin" as
|
it, there are today gas and electric lights.
where half a century ago there were
| fickering lamps there are speedy tram
cars In place of numbering coaches; in
| the stores and private houses there are
modern appliances in place of the old
fashioned methods. In a word the queen
will find in the capital of Ireland quite
as many comforts and conVeniences as
| are to be found in any other great city
of Europe.
| Yet in no respect has Dublin lost it's
| individuality. The splendid public build
! ings, the beautiful squares, the magnifl-
cent park and the lovely bay, which have
so long formed its most attractive
! features. still impress even the casual
visitor and compel him to admit that his
| guide book is right when it says that
| Dublin is one of the most fascinating
| capitals in Europe. AS the queen drives
down Sackville street, one of the finest
thoroughfares in the world. being 12O feet
| wide and 700 yards long, she will surely
| be gladdened at the sight of the numer-
! Gus improvements, and ere she reaches
| the Viceregal Lodge she can readily see
| that as in London so here. too, the march
! of progress has wrought a benefCent
| change.
The public buildings and other objects
I or interest Wnlcn nave 50 lOilB Deeu COLI
| spicuous she will find either unaltered or
| beautifed Stephens Green, with its
! area of twenty acres; Phoenix park, with
| It's magnificent expanse of nearly 1000
! acres; Trinity college, around which clUs-
| ter so many stories and legends, and
| which has been the alma mater of SO
| many famous men; the custom house,
| Dublin castle, Nelson's pillar, ST. Georges
| church, with its steeple nearly 200 feet
| high, and the Bank of Ireland. which was
| formerly the parliament house and the
scene of many historic debates-these
| still remain, an unmistakable testimony
| of Dublins title to be ranked among the
| great cities of the world
| Those to whom the past seems always
| preferable to the present may claim that
! the Dublin of today lacks much Of that