Kitabı oku: «Wright's Historical Guide to the City of Dublin, 1825»

Wright's Historical Guide to the City of Dublin,Illustrated by engravings, and a plan of the city, published at London. 1825

Dublin Society

This valuable institution originated in the private meetings of a few eminent men, Dr. Prior, Dr. Madan, and others, 1781, for scientific purposes, and was supported solely by their subscriptions for eighteen years. On April 2nd, 1749, George II. granted a charter of incorporation, as the "Dublin Society, for promoting Husbandry and other useful Arts," and 5001. per annum; since which period, parliament have lent liberal patronage and support: it is governed by a president (his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland), and six Vice-presidents.

The Governors and Company of the Bank of Ireland are Treasurers; the officers are, two Secretaries and an Assistant, a Solicitor, Professor and Lecturer on Botany and Agriculture, Professor of Chemistry, and an Assistant, Professor and Lecturer of Mineralogy, Mining Engineer, Lecturer in Experimental Philosophy, Professor and Lecturer in the Veterinary Art, Librarian, Corrector of the Press, Master of the School for Ornament and Landscape Drawing, Master of the Figure School, Master of the School for Architectural Drawing, Master for Sculpture, and Head Gardener at the Botanic Garden, Glasnevin.

There is a General Meeting every Thursday at two o' clock. Annual Courses of Lectures, open to the public, are delivered by the Professor and Lecturer, from whom and the House-keeper, tickets can be had. Chemistry; 1st Course commences the first Tuesday in November; 2nd Course, first Tuesday in January. Mineralogy; first Monday in March. Natural Philosophy; 1st Course, first Tuesday in March. . 2nd Course, first Tuesday in May. Botany, 1st Course, first Monday in May; 2nd Course, second Tuesday in June. Mining, first Tuesday in February. Veterinary art, first Monday in May.

The following departments are open to the Public:- Museum on Mondays and Fridays from twelve to three. Room of Statuary and Elgin Casts, Tuesdays and Saturdays from twelve to three. The Library, on introduction to the Librarian. Botanic Garden, on Tuesdays and Fridays from twelve to four; but, a member can introduce visitors at any time.

The subscription to become a member of the Society for life, is 30 guineas; the number of members is about 500.

One object of the institution is, to encourage improvements in agricultural science and practice. Premiums are granted to planters of nurseries; and such is the effect already produced, that many millions of young trees have been planted, and extensive nurseries formed.

To Botany they have given liberal encouragement; having purchased a considerable piece of land at Glasnevin, about one mile from Dublin, at the north side of the city, which they have disposed as a botanic garden, with great judgment; and an eminent professor delivers lectures at their rooms in the garden, during the spring season. This garden, laid out and designed by the late professor, contains 27 acres, 20 perches English, or 16. 2. 39. Irish acres; and is inferior, in size, to but one of the same description, that is, the Botanic garden of Jamaica: the ground has every advantage in quality of soil, and aspect of its banks, and is watered by a well-supplied stream, the river Tolka. The classification of the plants is as follows:-

The Linnaean garden, which contains two divisions, - Herbaceous plants, and shrub-fruit; and forest-tree plants.

2. Garden arranged on the system of Jussieu. 3. Garden of Indigenous plants (to Ireland), disposed according to the system of Linnaeus. 4. Kitchen Garden, where six apprentices are constantly employed, who receive a complete knowledge of systematic botany. 5. Medicinal plants. 6. Plants eaten, or rejected, by cattle. 7. Plants used in rural economy. 8. Plants used in dyeing. 9. Rock plants. 10. Aquatic and marsh plants. - For which an artificial marsh has been formed. 11. Cryptogamics. 12. Flower garden, besides extensive hot-houses, and a conservatory for exotics.

Near the centre of the garden, stand the professor's-house, and lecture-room, where lectures are delivered in the spring, and of which one end communicates with the conservatory for the purpose of more easily introducing any of the exotics required at lecture. The lectures commence in May, and continue to September; the hour of attendance, eight in the morning, three days in the week. The introductory lecture is delivered at the Society's house in Dublin; the garden is open to the public on Tuesdays and Fridays; on other days, an order from a member of the society, procures immediate admission.

The Botanic Establishment comprises a Professor, a Superintendant, two Assistants, twelve Gardeners, an six apprentices.

The Veterinary Establishment is similar to that in London; there are two eminent lecturers, and a veterinary museum.

One of the most important objects of this institution, is the cultivation of mineralogy; to promote which the society purchased, in the year 1792, the museum of Leske, professor of Natural History, at Marburg, a distinguished pupil of the illustrious Werner; this collection was subsequently improved by Kirwan, the Irish Philosopher. The classification of the minerals is Werner's, and is as follows:- 1. Characteristic collection. 2. The Systematic. 3. Geological. 4. Geographical. 5. Economical.

The Irish minerals form a distinct collection, distributed according to the arrangement of the thirty-two counties, and is called "Museum Hibernicum." This valuable collection of specimens is open to students at all hours, and to the public on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, from 12 to 3 o'clock. Sir Charles G. S. Giesecke, is the present professor.

The Drawing School, is divided into three departments; landscape, figure, and architecture, to which is added a school of sculpture or modelling; over each of these a different master presides, who gives instruction three times each week, and three hours at each sitting. The pupils of the figure-school, are occasionally provided with a living figure, to perfect their sketches of the human frame, and all this is gratuitous. About two hundred pupils partake of this advantage, and from the exhibitions of native genius and education presented at the annual display of drawings formerly made in the society's house, the beneficial consequences were manifest.

The first regular place of meeting used by the society, was in Shaw's-court, till October 1767, when they removed to a convenient building which they had erected in Grafton-street; from this latter place they removed in 1796, to Hawkins-street, where they had built an edifice for their Repository, Laboratory, Galleries, Library, &c. In 1815, they purchased the mansion of the Duke of Leinster, in Kildare-street, for the sum of 20,000l, eleven of which have been paid off since. This is one of the most noble private residences in Europe; the entrance is from Kildare-street, through a grand gate-way of rusticated architecture, leading into a spacious court. The front of this palace is ornamented with four Corinthian columns on a rusticated basement story, and is crowned by a pediment, with a plain tympanum; between the pedestals of the columns are balustrades. The windows are ornamented by architraves, and those of the first story have circular and angular pediments alternately; at the rear of the building is a lawn of great extent, separated from Merrion-square by a low wall, and occupying the greater part of the western side of the square. The hall is a noble lofty room, and has an elegantly ornamented ceiling; at the end, you pass between large pillars into a long gallery at right angles to the length of the hall, in which are the board-room, news-room, secretary's apartments, &c.

Hall. - In three squared niches above the front arcade are large busts of Nero, Vespasian, and Brutus; over one of the doors on the right hand side, are busts of Mithridates, Alexander, and Homer; and on the adjacent chimney piece those of Plautilla, the Farnese Hercules, and Gaeta. Above one of the doors on the opposite side, are busts of Commodus, Pompey, and Marcus Aurelius; and above the other, those of two Senators, between which stands Ariadne. In the recesses of the arcades are Clythia and Niobe's daughter. There are also statues of the Belvidere Apollo, Venus de' Medici, and Caligula, resting on pedestals.

But the most interesting works in this part of the buildings, are the performances of several young artists educated in the Society's schools; among whch a bust of Young the tragedian, by Behnes, is admirable. This young artist purposes to evince his gratitude to the institution, by presenting them with a statue of his present majesty, which he is now executing, and which is to be placed in the new drawing school. Prometheus chained to the rock, by Gallagher, is a classical conception, and is executed with ability. The busts of the late Serjeant Ball, Hamilton Rowan, - Reeves, Esq., Rev. Mr. Taylor, and Mr. Farren the comedian, have all been admired for their style, but more particularly for the extreme accuracy of the likenesses; and are all by the pupils of the Society's schools.

Gallery of Statuary, Busts, &c. - This collection occupies two rooms; and is as favourably disposed as the very awkward and imperfect accommodation which these apartments afford, can admit of.

The first room contains casts from the Elgin Marbles, consisting of ornaments taken from the Friezes of die Parthenon at Athens. There are also the Metopes of the exterior frieze, representing the Centaurs and Lapithae,

Near the entrance door, a reclining figure, in large life, much mutilated, represents Theseus or Hercules; and opposite is the Ilissus. The horse's head is tolerably perfect and very fine.

The second room contains Statues of a Faun, a Gladiator, Bacchus, a Roman Slave, a Grecian Venus; the Laocoon, and Belvedere Apollo, Pugilists, Venus de' Medici (the gift of I. Weld, Esq.), and Antinous: with the following busts, Niobe's son, Ariadne, a River God, Antinous, a Vestal Virgin, Niobe, and Susanna.

Inner Hall. - Within the arcade in the great hall, and at either side of the door leading to the secretary's room, conversation and board rooms, are statues of Apollo de' Medici and Flora, on handsome pedestals. On the left is the door leading by the principal staircase, to the Library and Museum. Concealing a disused doorway, whick opened into the state parlour, is a figure of Susanna in large life; and on the landing at the foot of the stairs, is a painting on a large scale, a copy by Tresham (who was instructed in the Society's school), from Michael Angelo's Last Judgment; and on the right, as you ascend, is a model of the celebrated wooden bridge, at Schaffhausen in Switzerland, presented to the Society in 1771, by Lord Bristol. The original, which was destroyed by the French in their retreat from Switzerland, was 365 feet in length; and consisted of two arches, whose chords measured, the one 172, the other 193 feet, which appear to spring from a pier in the centre, the remains of a stone bridge. On the next landing is a figure of Mercury seated on a pedestal.