The Countess Humiecka was instrumental in encouraging the musical talents of Joseph Boruwlaski, the 3ft 3in Polish dwarf.

As his benefactress, she ensured that he was taught by the best. The ballet master of Vienna taught him to dance, and violin lessons at Paris came from none other than Gavinies, a leading musician of the age.

These talents would prove useful to Boruwlaski as time went by and would ultimately provide him with a means to a living.

It was love that forced Boruwlaski to seek independence from Humiecka. On his return to Warsaw from his travels with the countess, Boruwlaski found a new young lady-in-waiting employed by the Humiecka household. Her name was Isalina Borboutin, a woman of French parentage and normal height. He fell in love with her at once.

After some time it became apparent that Isalina shared these feelings, but their clandestine meetings came to the attention of the furious countess. She ordered the dwarf to end the romance and Isalina was returned to her parents.

Boruwlaski was locked in his room for a fortnight and the countess employed a footman to watch over him and prevent future encounters. Fortunately, the footman sympathised with Boruwlaski and allowed love letters to be sent to Isalina.

In one letter Boruwlaski, signing his name JouJou, declared to Isalina that if he were to lose her, "he would renounce life itself".

The countess, perhaps jealous of losing her influence, may have thought Boruwlaski could not survive without her financial support. She demanded that he should renounce his love or quit her house. The strength of his feelings for Isalina left him with no choice.

Boruwlaski now had to sustain a living without the countess. Fortunately, he acquired some financial support from the Polish king, who gave him a pension of 100 ducats.

It is said that the king made Boruwlaski a count at this stage, but sources disagree on the authenticity of this title. With the king's blessing, Boruwlaski and Isalina were married but the dwarf realised his pension would not be enough to support a wife. Friends suggested he could make a living through concert performances.

So Boruwlaski began his extensive travels across the continent, entertaining the far-flung corners of Europe.

It was at Vienna that Boruwlaski first met Sir Robert Keith Murray, a British ambassador who encouraged him to visit Britain. The count arrived in Britain in 1782 where he continued his travels.

He became a friend of the lords and ladies of the land and of King George IV. His journeys included a two-year tour of Ireland and a performing tour of Scotland that took in Orkney and Shetland. It is said that the Scots often struggled with the pronunciation of his name and called him "Barrel of whisky".

During a visit to Newcastle, the count was encouraged to visit Durham and instantly fell in love with the place.

He was most impressed with the intelligent company of the Ebdon family who lived in the Bailey. They also held property close to where the so-called Count's House stands today. The count initially stayed with the family in a house that is now part of St Cuthbert's Society.

Boruwlaski praised the Dean and Chapter for its maintenance of the Durham peninsula and its riverbanks and set up home there in a cottage, now demolished, near Prebends Bridge.

When Boruwlaski retired to Durham in 1791, he was long since separated from his wife and was not sorry to hear of her eventual death.

The count claimed she had humiliated him on numerous occasions and he recalled with great bitterness to friends in Northumberland that she often sat him on the mantlepiece and treated him like a child.

Throughout his life, Boruwlaski was at pains to demonstrate that, despite his size, he was like any other man and should be treated accordingly. As he reached old age he was well used to those who saw him merely as a curiosity.

In Durham, it is said that local miners followed him about the city calling him the "canny aad man". Interestingly, one of his Durham friends was the enormous, oversized actor, Stephen Kemble, who must have provided a curious walking companion for Boruwlaski as they strolled along the riverbanks of the city.

Boruwlaski's time in Durham was the quietest and least eventful time of his life, but his memoirs praise Mr Ebdon and the situation of Durham.

In his own words, Durham was "most happily adopted to his wishes for a retired life, not only from its romantic situation but from its being the abode of a friend whose manners were so congenial with my own and whose society afforded me such heartfelt delight."

Writing the closing sentences of his travel memoirs at Durham, Boruwlaski stated that he had "quitted the busy theatre of the world and its noisy promiscuous intercourse."

He would reside in Durham for 47 years of his life and finally passed away on September 5, 1837 aged 97, a record-breaking age for a dwarf.

He was remembered with great affection by the people of the city and given the high honour of burial inside the cathedral. His grave can still be seen not far from the cathedral's main door, marked by a simple stone slab 15in square, inscribed with the letters JB.

*Don't miss David Simpson's daily local history bulletins, plus his Saturday show (7am to 10am) on Durham local Radio. DLR is back on air from Monday - tune in on 107FM

Published: 29/08/2003

If you have any memories of Durham City, Chester-le-Street, Derwentside or the Durham coast, including old photos or stories of people and places you would like to share with readers of The Northern Echo, write to David Simpson, Durham Memories, The Northern Echo, Priestgate, Darlington, DL1 1NF or email David.Simpson@nne.co.uk. All photos will be returned.