Page:Notable Irishwomen.djvu/52

 III.

1747- 1840.

T is a recognised fact that women of Irish or French nationality are better suited to be leaders of society than their more sedate Anglo-Saxon sisters. The Celtic temperament is eminently social; the variety, the movement, the excitement of society are congenial to it.

Next to Frenchwomen, the Irish are the best hostesses. Who that has ever been at one of Lady Wilde's receptions in that well-known house at Oakley Street, can forget how admirably she received her guests, saying the right thing to each, and making even the most obscure guest feel at home.

A born leader of society was the woman whose name stands at the head of this article. For sixty years she kept a mimic court at which every celebrity of any kind was welcome. Beginning with Dr. Johnson, Burke, Goldsmith, Boswell, and Reynolds, she went on to Sheridan, Moore, Byron, Kemble, and other lesser notabilities. She either had a dinner party, a reception, or else