picturesque figure in the life of her day gives charming pictures in
her memoirs of the Irish society of the time, descriptions which are
confirmed by contemporary writers. She was the wife of Dr. Delany,
Dean of Down, the companion of duchesses and queens, and the friend
of Swift. Hannah More, in a poem called 'Sensibility,' published in
1778, gives this quaint and stilted picture of her:-

'Delany shines, in worth serenely bright,
Wisdom's strong ray, and virtue's milder light.
And she who blessed the friend and graced the page of Swift,
still lends her lustre to our age.
Long, long protract thy light, O star benign,
Whose setting beams with added brightness shine!'

The Irish ladies of Delany's day, who scarcely ever appeared on foot
in the streets, were famous for their grace in dancing, it seems, as
the men were for their skill in swimming. The hospitality of the
upper classes was profuse, and by no means lacking in brilliancy or
in grace. The humorous and satirical poetry found in the fugitive
literature of the period shows conclusively that there were plenty
of bright spirits and keen wits at the banquets, routs, and balls.
The curse of absenteeism was little felt in Dublin, where the
Parliament secured the presence of most of the aristocracy and of
much of the talent of the country, and during the residence of the
viceroy there was the influence of the court to contribute to the
sparkling character of Dublin society.

How they managed to sparkle when discussing some of the heavy dinner
menus of the time I cannot think. Here is one of the Dean of Down's
bills of fare:-