187s] Royal Dublin Society's Soiree. 267 



1 4th of August, and the day following the Presidential 

 Address was marked by a soiree given by the Royal 

 Dublin Society, at which the Natural History collections 

 were supposed to be the principal subject of interest. The 

 management of the Museum had lately been transferred 

 from the Society which had so long directed it to the 

 Science and Art Department, South Kensington. But the 

 change was so recent that the Museum might still be re- 

 garded as the Royal Dublin Society's collection, and 

 therefore a more suitable time could scarcely have been 

 selected for a review of its contents and condition. Such 

 a review was fortunately provided by Mr. Howard 

 Saunders, whose account of the Museum as it was in 1878, 

 published in the "Field" for August 3ist (page 284), is 

 a tribute of no mean worth to the Royal Dublin Society, 

 as well as to the curator and staff. " There can be no 

 doubt (says Mr. Saunders) that the soire"e at the Royal 

 Dublin Society was a brilliant success ; but lest the whirl 

 of dissipation should have caused its frequenters to over- 

 look some of the principal objects of interest in the Natural 

 History Museum, a few remarks upon the more important 

 objects it contains may perhaps be acceptable. I may be 

 wrong ; but I fancy that comparatively few are aware of 

 the fine and eminently manageable collection, consisting 

 of typical specimens, and not overloaded with duplicates, 

 which is to be found within the precincts of Kildare-street, 

 or of the great advance which has been made during late 

 years under the superintendence of Dr. A. Carte, aided by 

 his energetic assistant, Mr. A. G. More. ... It is, indeed, 

 marvellous to see what has been done, with the limited 

 means at disposal, to display the various collections to the 

 best possible advantage." 



The various collections are then successively noticed. 

 First come the Fishes : 



Entering the Natural History section from the ethnological gallery, 

 we find, piled upon the lower cases, a collection of Irish fishes, in 

 spirits, which is probably unrivalled, and also a series of foreign 

 species, which can hardly be surpassed, except by that in the British 

 Museum. . . . Amongst the rarer Irish species are Cottus groen- 

 landicus, Sebastes norvegicus, Trichiurus lepturus, and Capros aper, 



