The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-03-08


 The beautiful houses of the old fashioned squares, most of them built during the best Georgian period, stand out as gems of architecture, and inside many of them are quite perfect in proportion and decorations. The dignity of their staircases, the effec-- tive and yet simple plaster decoration of their ceilings, and walls, preclud- ing the hanging of pictures without rhyme or reason. give one not only a feeling of repose but of complete | ness. How different from the mod ern house, where the dislike of an empty wall-space is only equafled by the hatred of nature for a vacuum, It is sad, however, to see in the by-streets so many of the once-attrac- tive habitations absolute derellcts II not in total ruins, and most of them turned into common lodging houses, or occupied by small tradesmen, to whom the delicate mouldings and tracings the work of the brothers Adam, are things of naught.
 Tragedy of Decay
 InG IIdSeuy Ol Illllleoo N1lGAI AAeN' V | had their day is always being brought home to one. There is nothing sad | der than to see a one beautiful woman grown old without dignity or trace of form or feature, a fine city fallen into disrepair or disuse, or lovely garden gone to seed; and how melan- choly is the sight of paths over grown with weeds. grass and briars choking the plants, rose bushes trail ing their new shoots unrestrained or defiantIy brandishing them towards the heavens hundreds of ambitious buds which ought to be nipped, sap ping the vitality of the plants and | preventing the production of few | perfect blooms
 The dilapidated appearance of places in Ireland is often accentuat- ed by the fact that when a house falls, there must it lie-the debris only being removed according to the wants of the neighbors, who help themselves freely to the material as they may need it for their own build ing purposes.
 Dublin since the Union has grad ually fallen on evil days, and has steadily gone down. Indeed, until lately it semed as though it would be impossible to galvanize the moribund town and revive the prosperity and social activity of the old days. Irish hospitality has always been proverbial. If one goes back to the eighteenth century one reads in the memoirs of the day how gay and pleasant was the society of Dublin Ridottes, assemblies, concerts and balls, generally lasting till eight ir the morning. were the order of the day, besides parties where those who loved gambling played quadrille basset or whist, and grand reviews ir the Phoenix Park, where the rank and fashion apeared, graced by the presence of the Lord Lieutenant an6 his wife
 No Rationing Then
 Mrs. Delaney, whose description o1 Georgian society and habits is as in structive as it is amusing, expatiates on the extraordinary hospitality she meets with on her peregrinations 1T Ireland. There was evidently no Ira. tioning" then. '"Thet people of thi! country" she writes in 1732, "doa seem solicitious of having goot dwellings or more furniture than i! absolutely necessary, but they make it up in eating and drinking. I have not seen less than fourteen dishes O. : met for dinner and twenty-seven fo supper. No people can be more hos pitable. and obiging." She describes ball at the Castle where there wa
 "a vast profusion of meat and drinl which gained the hearts of the guz zlers." The Lord and Lady Lieuten ant, who at that time happened to b 1 the Duke and Duchess of Dorset, art l spoken of as ''breaking througI ; their reserve and being vastly ob l liging'' Dinners and supper partie
 were numerous, graced by all the wit and beauties of the day; we read O
 Dean Swift, of the clever and lovel!
 Miss Kelly in whose train came {
 host of admirers. Mrs. Delaney her
 self must have been a. great attrac
 ton.
 But notwithstanding the vicissi
 tudes of latter days, Dublin has al
 ways had cultivated and witty so
 ciety of it's own, and that of today whose names are familiar to so man
 of us through George Moore's books
 may indeed compare faVorably witt
 that of any period. It is many year
 since there has been such an influ,
 of ~~ distinguished Irishmen iron
 North, South and West to Dublin
 opening it's doors to welcome compar
 ative strangers There is no doub
 that the advent of the convention
 has given great impetus to socia
 intercourse, if nothing else. Tn
 Irish Court, which since the war ha
 perforce kept it's doors closed, ha
 now reopened them to welcome an
 show hospitality to the brilliant mem
 bers of the convention. Lord an
 Lady Wimborne with that charr
 and geniality for which both are S
 well known have been able to brin
 together under the same roof tn
 most varied groups of people. Tn
 visitors are also entertained by tn
 world-renowned scholar, Dr. Mahaff
 the Provost of Trinity College, who's
 office gives him the privilege of liv . 1 ing in the most beautiful and histori