242 A HISTORY OF 



ancient minstrels were close to the King's tent, and 

 a platform for dancers stood near. The crowds that 

 flocked to the ground all wore a blue ribbon, with 

 " R. d. s." in gold letters. 



The King arrived at 12.30 p.m., and was received 

 in the courtyard with military honours, 150 members 

 of the Society forming line. The Lord Lieutenant 

 met His Majesty, while near at hand were Lord Oriel, 

 Lord Meath, Lord Frankfort, Sir R. Shaw, Mr. Leslie 

 Foster, Right Hon. George Knox, Serjeant Joy, and 

 others. In attendance on the King were the Duke of 

 Montrose, the Marquis of Graham, and Sir R. Bloom- 

 field. His Majesty inspected with great interest the 

 various noble apartments of Leinster House, the library, 

 model room, and museum, expressing much admiration 

 at all he saw. He then moved to the lawn, where 

 he was received with unbounded enthusiasm, after- 

 wards retiring to the marquee, where he conversed with 

 Lord and Lady Manners, and others. It was remarked 

 that on this occasion the dresses worn were chiefly of 

 Irish manufacture. 



A large surplus resulted from this entertainment, 

 and it was resolved to expend it in procuring a statue 

 of the King, which Behnes offered to execute gratis, if 

 the Society provided the marble. This was done at 

 a cost of ^400, and, strange to say, the statue, which 

 was never quite finished by the sculptor, remained in 

 his studio in London, under one pretence or another, 

 for a period of twenty-four years, until his affairs were 

 being administered in bankruptcy. The Society ob- 

 tained it from the assignees in May 1845, and an 

 arrangement was made with Mr. Panormo to complete 

 the work for a sum of ^100. In October, the com- 

 pleted statue was placed in the hall of Leinster House, 

 where it still remains. There is another statue of 



