ember 1801, and was the son
of General D'Orsay, from whom he inherited an exceptionally handsome
person. Through his mother he was grandson by a morganatic marriage of
the king of Wurttemberg. In his youth he entered the French army, and
served as a _garde du corps_ of Louis XVIII. In 1822, while stationed at
Valence on the Rhone, he formed an acquaintance with the earl and
countess of Blessington (q.v.) which quickly ripened into intimacy, and
at the invitation of the earl he accompanied the party on their tour
through Italy. In the spring of 1823 he met Lord Byron at Genoa, and the
published correspondence of the poet at this period contains numerous
references to the count's gifts and accomplishments, and to his peculiar
relationship to the Blessington family. A diary which D'Orsay had kept
during a visit to London in 1821-1822 was submitted to Byron's
inspection, and was much praised by him for the knowledge of men and
manners and the keen faculty of observation it displayed. On the 1st of
December 1827 Count D'Orsay married Lady Harriet Gardiner, a girl of
fifteen, the daughter of Lord Blessington by his previous wife. The
union, if it rendered his connection with the Blessington family less
ostensibly equivocal than before, was in other respects an unhappy one,
and a separation took place almost immediately. After the death of Lord
Blessington, which occurred in 1829, the widowed countess returned to
England, accompanied by Count D'Orsay, and her home, first at Seamore
Place, then at Gore House, soon became a resort of the fashionable
literary and artistic society of London, which found an equal attraction
in host and in hostess. The count's charming manner, brilliant wit, and
artistic faculty were accompanied by benevolent moral qualities, which
endeared him to all his associates. His skill as a painter and sculptor
was shown in numerous portraits and statuettes representing his friends,
which were marked by great vigour and truthfulness, if wanting in the
finish that can only be reached by persistent discipline. Count D'Orsay
had been from his youth a zealous Bonapartist, and one of the most
frequent guests at Gore House was Prince Louis Napoleon. In 1849 he went
bankrupt, and the establishment at Gore House being broken up, he went
to Paris with Lady Blessington, who died a few weeks after their
arrival. He endeavoured to provide for himself by painting portraits.
He was deep in the counsels of the prince preside