The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Love Letters of Dorothy Osborne to Sir
William Temple, 1652-54, Edited by Edward Abbott Parry

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

Title: The Love Letters of Dorothy Osborne to Sir William Temple, 1652-54

Editor: Edward Abbott Parry

Release Date: June 7, 2004 [eBook #12544]

Language: English

Character set encoding: US-ASCII

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LOVE LETTERS OF DOROTHY
OSBORNE TO SIR WILLIAM TEMPLE, 1652-54***

E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Cera Kruger, and the Project
Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team

THE LOVE LETTERS OF DOROTHY OSBORNE
TO SIR WILLIAM TEMPLE, 1652-54

Edited by Edward Abbott Parry

New York, 1901

TO
MY DAUGHTER
HELEN
THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED
EXEMPLI GRATIA

Editorial Note

It having been noted in the _Athenaeum_, June 9, 1888, that rumours were
afloat doubting the authenticity of these letters, and that these
rumours would sink to rest if the history of the originals were
published, I hasten to adopt my reviewer's suggestion, and give an
outline of their story. They are at present in the hands of the Rev.
Robert Longe at Coddenham Vicarage, Suffolk, where they have been for
the last hundred years. At Sir William Temple's death in 1698, he left
no other descendants than two grand-daughters--Elizabeth and Dorothy.
Elizabeth died without issue in 1772; Dorothy married Nicholas Bacon,
Esq. of Shrubland Hall in the parish of Coddenham. Dorothy left a son,
the Rev. Nicholas Bacon, who was vicar of Coddenham. This traces the
letters to Coddenham Vicarage. The Rev. Nicholas Bacon dying without
issue, bequeathed Coddenham Vicarage, with the pictures and papers
therein, to the Rev. John Longe, who had married his wife's sister. The
Rev. John Longe, who died in 1835, was the father of the present owner.
This satisfactorily accounts for the letters being in their present
hands, and these stated facts will, I trust, set at rest the fears or
hopes of sceptics.

EDWARD ABBOTT PARRY.

MANCHESTER, October 1888.

Contents

I. INTRODUCTION

II. EARLY LETTERS. Winter and Spring 1652-53

III. LIFE AT CHICKSANDS. 1653

IV. DESPONDENCY. Christmas 1653

V.