New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-05-28
COUNT D'ORSAY.
THE VICIssITUDES OF A FAMOUS DANDY
OF THE FORTIES.

A writer who was himself an exquisite, tens
of the reception of Count dOrsay III this
country: THE youth Of st. Jamess gave him a
wonderful welcome. The flight OF Mr.. BruInme,
had left them as sheep without shepheIu T.
They had even cried out against the inscrutapit u,
decree of fashion and curtailed the helght oi
their stocks. And. 10! here. ambling down the
Mall with tasselled cane laughing in the WIN
dow at Whites. or in Fops Alley posturins
here with the devil in his eyes ana ali the
graces at his elbow TOrsay the prince
paramount, who should dominate London and
should guard life from monotony by the daring
Of his Whims."
First at Seamore Place. then at Gore House
once the residence Of William Wherefore OF
pious memory--Isdy Bessington and her friend
electrified society. Jekyll describes their dwell
in as "a bijou or as Sir w. Curtiss Iady said
a perfect bougie" Thither fastened the elite
Of England. In the rcception-rooms. with their
Fl escoed ceilings. their chandeliers OF crystal
and silver. their Oriental embroideries. thel:
priceless pictures. Wings for while forgot their
hatred of Tories men of letters rubbed Shout
ders with the cubtes and the bucks Loro
Chesterfield was there, who passed his lie In
imitation of Count d'Orsay Every daV
the circle wiccned. became rlcher IN variety,
common meeting ground for all who were dis
tinguished talented or witty Side by side were
TO be seen a German highness. a Russian prince.
French marquis, Italian duke. And, oD-
served Of all observers. on an ottoman in
studied attitude Of negligence. the central inquire
of a brilliant throng. with nod and mot FOR
every one who passed. lOunged the hero OF the
moment Alfred d'Orsay. very splendid, but
undefnable. He seemed Showily dressed till
you looked TO particulars and then it seemed
only simple thing fitted TO very magnificent
person"
one afternoon he strolled into the studio of a
brother painter-HayGon; white great coat, blue
satin cravat hair oiled and curling daintily
curved hat, gloves primrose in tint. sknike in
tightness smelling fragrantly of eau de jasmin.
with gracious condesceDson In this pride OF
Gdndysm NJ caught up a nasty dirty hogtoor
and immOrtaized a portrait of the great Duke
,n..r hU daff n "a
sky "A complete Young Adonis." Hayden calls
him. mot made up at all. He bounced into his
cab and drove off like young Apollo with a
fiery Pegasus" This. in 1899. Ten years
later ce jeune cupidon was fleeing from the
country in the dead Of night. taking with him
one valet and but one portmanteau. Gore House
was occupied by bailiffs Jews and brokers' its
entrance was as tie entrance To fair Philips,
the auctioneer sat in the drawing room; dealers
and sightseers thronged the magnificent apart
ments.
The tragedy of the finale was inevitable. An
income of f2,OO year, aided by the sums
which d'Orsay contrved to borrow upon the So
curity Of the estates in Dubn-a this was but
single raindrOp in the sea of debt which soon
encompassc6 them Many and various were the
expedicnts to which the beau and his fair friend
resorted in the attempt to keep their creditors
al bay. BY writing and by painting they
deferred the end. To Lady Blessington are due
those erstwhile famous novels Of high life. The
Follies of Fashion or, the Beau Monde of Lon
DON" The Victims of Society. The Belle or
originating spirit sprang the well-known Books
Of Beauty. charming of their kind. which Tor
many years remained in vogue. ON this side
dOIsay early turned his talents TO account. and
his studio became the fashionable lounge. His
portraits one hundred ard twenty-five in num-
ber were published by Mitchell. Of Bond st.
and include almost every one of note; CARVE
Disraeli. Countess Guiccioli. Lander. Dickens.
Theodore Hook. Napoleon III, Monckton
Mines. Landseer. Marryat ard Eugene sue.
at last" exclaimed the Iron Duke. II have
inf. 4 Ifl-a M sit To
any che else"
There still exists a curious series of letters
which throws some light upon Count dOrsay
methods at this time. . For a long time
the tradeSmen with whom he dealt refrained
frcm sending him their bills lest he might with
draw his patronage and lose them other Gus
tom. In this conn ncticn it is said that his tan
Ors. before delivering his clothes. were accus-
toned to slip roll of banknotcS into the p0ck-
cts. Once for some reason this pleasant prae-
ticc was omitted. DOrsay returned the gar
ments to the makers with a politely worded
note: The lining has been forgotten. Please
to reCtify the error" Ev such strange make
shifts did the beau succeed in keeping his head
above water
Yet his popularity never for one moment
waned Albany Fonblanque has left on record
that "he could be witter with kindness than
the rest Of the world with malice. and MS gem
erOsity proverbial Were friend in dis
tress he would scrape together 100. stake the
whole with unrufied ease upon single coup ar
Crockford's and. Disraeli puts ii. Mon ami
best Joke in the world. | broke Crooks bank
three times Of course. ! told you so. Directly
| am awake | will send you the three thousand,
and | will lend you the rest until your mar
riage." This was the manner of the man; he
could never be anything but popular TIL"
leader of the dandies. they copied the cut or ms
coat the style of his cravats. the FASHION OF MS
canes while boOtmakerS. tailors and gloVers
dubbed their wares with his name and insured a
ready sale. The scandal OF his connection with
the noble hostess of Gore House gave him "a
CO rtain piquant interest" and the ladies. who
would have persisted rather than be seen with
Lady Blessington, almost fought with one an
other in the desire to secure his company. we
send back our dearest dOrsay." Disraeli wrote