@prefix vivo: . @prefix edm: . @prefix ns0: . @prefix dcterms: . @prefix skos: . vivo:departmentOrSchool "Arts, Faculty of"@en, "English, Department of"@en ; edm:dataProvider "DSpace"@en ; ns0:degreeCampus "UBCV"@en ; dcterms:creator "MacKenzie, Mabel Laura"@en ; dcterms:issued "2012-03-20T18:36:50Z"@en, "1948"@en ; vivo:relatedDegree "Master of Arts - MA"@en ; ns0:degreeGrantor "University of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:description """The purpose of this thesis has been the re-creation of the social background of Dorothy Osborne, an evaluation of her letters, and an examination of the scholarship done on the letters. The series of letters, which has been called one of the best of the Restoration correspondences, was written by Dorothy Osborne, during the years 1652-1654, to her lover, William Temple. Three collected editions of the letters were used, by E.A. Parry, Israel Gollancz and G.C. Moore Smith, respectively. Moore Smith compiled his edition using the original spelling and punctuation of the letters, but a detailed examination of the text showed that it was substantially the same as the first edition, which was made by Parry. The Gollancz edition is not as complete as either of the other two. Moore Smith's edition of Lady Giffard’s MSS. was used extensively, as this contained much information on both Dorothy Osborne and William Temple. In studying the bibliography of the letters, it was found that there was much careless scholarship, even on the part of Professor Moore Smith. The major error, however, belongs to Edward Gibbon, the historian, who had harsh things to say about Temple's scholarship, and whose criticism was perpetuated in both Parry's and Moore Smith's editions. With regard to essays and literary criticisms carelessness was still more evident. Both Virginia Woolf and Lord David Cecil were guilty in this respect, the latter having half a dozen grave errors in his latest book on the subject. To amplify the background of the social scene several volumes relating to the period were examined, and a collection of Lady Giffard's letters, which included half a dozen letters from Lady Temple to her husband, were carefully considered. In the evaluation of the letters essayists and editors of the literature of the period were consulted. It was found that not enough importance was attached to Henry Osborne, the strange figure who haunts the letters; therefore this aspect of the letters was examined in detail, probably for the first time. To sum up: the thesis contains some new material, it clears up several vexed points, and it assembles pertinent material taken from ninety letters in such a way as to give a picture of the life and times of Dorothy Osborne."""@en ; edm:aggregatedCHO "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/41570?expand=metadata"@en ; skos:note "3 37 A STUDY OF THE LIFE AND TIMES- OF DOROTHY OSBORNE. AS FOUND IN HER LETTERS, by MABEL LAURA MACKENZIE A T h e s i s submitted i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t of the requirements f o r the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS-i n the Department of ENGLISH THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA May, 1948 A STUDY OF THE LIFE AND TIMES OF DOROTHY.OSBORNE AS SEEN IN HER LETTERS The purpose of this thesis has been the re-creation of the social background of Dorothy Osborne, an evaluation of her letters, and an examination of the scholarship done on the letters. The series of letters, which has been called one of the best of the Restoration correspondences, was written by Dorothy Osborne,during the years 1652-1654, to her lover,William Temple. . » • ' Three collected editions of the letters were used, by E.A. Parry, Israel Gollancz and G.C. Moore Smith, respect-ively. Moore Smith compiled his edition using the original spelling and punctuation of the letters, but a detailed examination of the text showed that i t was substantially the same as the f i r s t edition, which was made by Parry. The Gollancz edition is not as complete as either of the other two. Moore Smith's edition of Lady Giffards MSS. was used extensively, as this contained much information om both Dorothy Osborne and William Temple. In studying the bib-liography of the letters, i t was found that there was much careless scholarship, even on the part of Professor Moore Smith. The major error, however, belongs to Edward Gibbon, the historian, who had harsh things to say about Temple's scholarship, and whose criticism was perpetuated in both Parry's and Moore Smith's editions. With regard; to essays and literary criticisms carelessness was s t i l l more evident. Both Virginia Woolf and Lord David Cecil were guilty in this respect, the latter having half a dozen grave;errors in his latest book on the 2 s u b j e c t . To a m p l i f y the background o f the s o c i a l scene s e v e r a l volumes r e l a t i n g to the period were examined, and a c o l l e c t i o n of L a d y G i f f a r d ' s l e t t e r s , which i n c l u d e d h a l f a dozen l e t t e r s from Lady Temple to her husband, were c a r e f u l l y c o n s i d e r e d . I n the e v a l u a t i o n o f the l e t t e r s e s s a y i s t s and e d i t o r s o f the l i t e r a t u r e o f the p e r i o d were c o n s u l t e d . I t was found t h a t not enough importance was a t t a c h e d to Henry Osborne, the strange f i g u r e who haunts the l e t t e r s ; t h e r e f o r e t h i s aspect o f the l e t t e r s was examined i n d e t a i l , p robably f o r the f i r s t time. To sum up: the t h e s i s c o n t a i n s some new m a t e r i a l , i t c l e a r s up s e v e r a l vexed p o i n t s , and i t assembles p e r t i n e n t m a t e r i a l taken from n i n e t y l e t t e r s i n such a way as to g i v e a p i c t u r e of the l i f e and times of Dorothy Osbcme. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I INTRODUCTION A Statement o f sub jec t o f t h e s i s I B B i o g r a p h i c a l f a c t s r e l a t i n g to Dorothy Osborne C The L e t t e r s : b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l f a c t s - e d i t i o n s -s c h o l a r s h i p I I SOCIAL LIFE OF THE PERIOD AS SEEN IN THE LETTERS 37 I I I ROMANCE OF THE LETTERS 68 IV ASPECT OF THE LETTERS RELATING TO HENRY OSBORNE 95 V EVALUATION OF THE LETTERS 105 APPENDIX 114 BIBLIOGRAPHY 121 CHAPTER 1 Dorothy Osborne appears to have been a woman who crav e d anonymity. Time and a g a i n she wrote to her l o v e r , . . . i f I might be allowed to choose my happiness, p a r t of i t should c o n s i s t i n concealment, there should not above two persons i n the world know t h a t t h e r e was such a one i n i t as your f a i t h f u l . l E v e r y s c r a p o f knowledge which h e r b i o g r a p h e r s have been a b l e to d i s c o v e r i n the three hundred y e a r s s i n c e she wrote these words l e n d s weight to the assumption. I t i a f i t t i n g , t h a t we do not know where she was born, n o r where she spent her c h i l d h o o d . Her f a t h e r , S i r P e t e r Osborne of Chicksands P r i o r y , i a mentioned b r i e f l y i n h i s t o r y a s the governor of Guernsey who h e l d C a s t l e Cornet f o r K i n g C h a r l e s I, a g a i n s t a s i e g e o f nine y e a r s . She l i v e d a t a time when men had begun to keep d i a r i e s , and she appears i n the d i a r y o f h e r b r o t h e r Henry, which, however, i s s t i l l i n manuscript. She i s a l s o accorded mention i n Lady G i f f a r d ' s The L i f e of S i r W i l l i a m Temple, but as l i t t l e more than the w i f e o f the g r e a t man. S w i f t , h e r husband's young s e c r e t a r y , approaches h i s s u b j e c t t i m i d l y when he i n c l u d e s a v e r s e i n her p r a i s e i n h i s long poem on S i r 1 Edward A.Parry, The L e t t e r s from Dorothy Osborne to S i r W i l l i a m Temple, ed. E.A.Parry, London, J.M. Dent & Sbns, L t d . , Everyman's L i b r a r y , 1914, pp.199-200. (Notes T h i s book w i l l h e n c e f o r t h be r e f e r r e d to as The Letters,) -2-W i l l i a m Temple's i l l n e s s ; : M i l d Dorothea, p e a c e f u l , wise and great, Trembling, beheld the d o u b t f u l hand o f f a t e M i l d Dorothea, whom we both have long Not dared to i n j u r e w i t h our l o w l y song, Sprung from a b e t t e r world, and chosen then The b e s t companion f o r the bes t of mens JLa some f a i r p i l e , y e t spared by z e a l and rage, L i v e s pious w i t n e s s o f a b e t t e r age; So may men see what once was womankind. In the f a i r s h r i n e of Dorothea's mind. 1 I t i s strange then, t h a t we know so many i n t i m a t e d e t a i l s of the l i f e o f Dorothy Osborne - indeed i t may be cl a i m e d t h a t we know- her as an i n d i v i d u a l b e t t e r than we know any other woman of her century - and i t i s s t r a n g e r s t i l l t h a t through her ttfor the f i r s t time i n E n g l i s h l i t e r a t u r e we hear men and women t a l k i n g together over the f i r e \" . * * We do not owe our knowledge to any w i l l or kindness of Dorothy's, however. She d i d not w r i t e f o r the p u b l i c . Instead she wrote; \"I con f e s s I do n a t u r a l l y hate the n o i s e and t a l k o f the world, and should be bes t p l e a s e d never to be known i n ' t upon any o c c a s i o n whatsoever. a3 Not known she would have been but f o r W i l l i a m Temple, diplomat, statesman, and devoted l o v e r . J.E.Spingarn t e l l s us t h a t S i r W i l l i a m Temple's fame has waned s i n c e the days when his: essays were Pope's: 1 Jonathan S w i f t , The Poems o f Jonathan S w i f t , ed. W i l l i a m E r n s t Browning, London, G . B e l l & Sons, Ltd.,. 1910, vol.1 , , p.32. 2. V i r g i n i a Wbolf, The Second Common Reader, New York, Harcourt, .Brace & Co., 1932., p.61. 3 The L e t t e r s , p.110. -3-f a v o u r i t e p r o s e , ! b ut h i s t o r y s t i l l p r e s e n t s us w i t h a formidable l i s t of h i s achievements. Hot one o f these, however, i s of such importance to a tw e n t i e t h c e n t u r y reader as the simple f a c t t h a t he preserved the l e t t e r s of h i s m i s t r e s s . He was no Cassandra Austen to burn the pre-c i o u s l e t t e r s which had enchanted him, and which have p l e a s e d an admiring p u b l i c f o r a hundred y e a r s . \" A l l l e t t e r s , methinks, should be f r e e and easy as one's d i s c o u r s e ; n ot s t u d i e d as an o r a t i o n , nor made up of hard words l i k e a c h a r m . D o r o t h y p r a c t i s e d h e r own pr e c e p t s , and these p r e c e p t s have g i v e n her l e t t e r s , the h i g h p l a c e i n which they stand i n the world of l i t e r a -t u r e . The * i f s * of h i s t o r y t a n t a l i s e us. I f Dorothy Os-borne had been b o m a hundred years l a t e r i t i s probable t h a t she would have w r i t t e n n o v e l s . \"We may l o o k f a r to f i n d another such i n d i v i d u a l m i x t u r e o f J u l i e t , R o s a l i n d and Jane Austen. 1*** But e q u a l l y we may c o n j e c t u r e t h a t had she l i v e d a hundred years e a r l i e r she would, not have w r i t t e n a t a l l . We may be g r a t e f u l , then, t h a t she was born i n 1627, and grew up d u r i n g the p e r i o d when \"'both sexes and a l l c l a s s e s enjoyed a p l e a s a n t o r t h o g r a p h i c freedom*.^ T h i s does not mean, however, t h a t women wrote 1 J.E.Spingarn, S i r W i l l i a m Temple's Essays on A n c i e n t & Modern L e a r n i n g and on Poetry, Oxford, The Clarendon Press, 1909, p . i i i . 2 The L e t t e r s , p. 157. 3 D.Bush, E n g l i s h L i t e r a t u r e i n the E a r l i e r Seventeenth Century, Oxford, The Clarendon P r e s s , 1945, p.230. 4 I b i d . , p.22. -4-books. A c c o r d i n g to Dorothy f o r a woman to do such a t h i n g was \" r i d i c u l o u s , f c . 1 However, Dorothy's contemporar-i e s wrote poems and p l a y s and l i v e s of t h e i r husbands and br o t h e r s , and i n t h e i r day were known as *the matchless Orinda\", \"Incomparable A s t r e a \" , and, l e s s f l a t t e r i n g l y , as \"mad Madge of Newcastle\". Nor must Temple's \"sweet s i s t e r \" , Martha G i f f a r d , be f o r g o t t e n . 2 Dorothy's r e s p e c t f o r custom would not permit her to d e v i a t e from the p r e v a l e n t b e l i e f t h a t women should not w r i t e books. \" I f I should not s l e e p t h i s f o r t n i g h t \" ' , she s a i d , \"I should not come to t h a t . \" 3 But i t was seemly t h a t she s h o u l d w r i t e l e t t e r s , and thus, u n w i t t i n g l y and unknowingly, she wrote t h a t book w i t h which \"...we can f i l l i n the spaces between the g r e a t books w i t h the v o i c e s of people t a l k -i n g . * 4 In that phrase we have an e x c e l l e n t d e s c r i p t i o n of the book we know as The L e t t e r s from Dorothy Osborne to S i r g i l l i a m Temple. B o r o t h y wrote as i f she were t a l k i n g , t a l k i n g to an audience of one, the most p a r t i -c u l a r and p r i v a t e audience i n the world, her l o v e r , S i r W i l l i a m Temple. Her own d e s c r i p t i o n o f the l e t t e r s i s i n t e r e s t i n g * 1 The L e t t e r s , p.82. 2 F o r f u r t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n on these women see Note 1 i n the Appendix. 3 The L e t t e r s , p.82. 4 V i r g i n i a Woolf, The Second Common Reader, p.59. -5-... there a r e many p r e t t y t h i n g s s h u f f l e d t o gether which would do b e t t e r spoken than i n a l e t t e r , n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g the r e c e i v e d o p i n i o n t h a t people ought to w r i t e as they speak (which i n some sense I t h i n k i s t r u e ) . There are e i g h t y of these l e t t e r s i n the c o l l e c t i o n , the o r i g i n a l s of which are i n the B r i t i s h Museum. How many there were we do not know. Many, or a few, may have been l o s t or destroyed, or indeed so s t r a n g e has been the chance which k e p t these hidden i n an obscure v i c a r a g e f o r n e a r l y two hundred years, i t may be t h a t more w i l l y e t be found. L i k e Macaulay ...we f i n d so much i n the l o v e l e t t e r s . . . t h a t we would g l a d l y purchase e q u a l l y i n -t e r e s t i n g b i l l e t s w i t h ten times t h e i r weight i n s t a t e papers taken a t random. To us s u r e l y i t i s aa u s e f u l to know how the young l a d i e s of England employed them-s e l v e s a hundred and e i g h t y years ago, horn f a r t h e i r minds were c u l t i v a t e d , what were t h e i r f a v o u r i t e studies;, what degree o f l i b e r t y was allowed to them, what use they made of t h a t l i b e r t y , what accomplishments they moat va l u e d i n men, and what p r o o f s of tenderness d e l i c a c y p e r m i t t e d them t o g i v e to favoured s u i t o r s , as to know a l l about... the t r e a t y of ITimeguen. 2 The s p e l l t h a t Dorothy Osborne c a s t s upon us i s such that although she t e l l s i us these t h i n g s and many more, s t i l l she does not t e l l us enough. The l e t t e r s do not b e g i n u n t i l 1653, and by t h a t time Dorothy Osborne i s twenty-six. We know l i t t l e o r 1 The L e t t e r s , p.225. 2 Thomas Babington Macaulay, C r i t i c a l and H i s - t o r i c a l E s s a y s c o n t r i b u t e d to the Edinburgh Review, London, Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, 1854, vol . 2 . , p.10. n o t h i n g of her e a r l y l i f e . A s h o r t h i s t o r y o f the Os-borne f a m i l y i a g i v e n i n the p r e f a c e and appendix of the 1914 e d i t i o n o f The L e t t e r s , e d i t e d by E.A.Parry. The f a m i l y seat o f the Osbornes was Chicksands, i n the county of Bedford, and the f i r s t Osborne of whom we have know-ledge was Dorothy's g r a n d f a t h e r . H i s e l d e s t son, S i r Pet e r , was Dorothy's f a t h e r . S i r P e t e r was an ar d e n t l o y a l i s t and succeeded h i s f a t h e r i n the h e r e d i t a r y o f f i c e of T r e a s u r e r ' s Remembrancer. However he m a r r i e d Dorothy Danvers, a s i s t e r of the E a r l o f Danby who aft e r w a r d s took up the cause of Cromwell, an a l l i a n c e which was l a t e r of great s e r v i c e to S i r P e t e r . P a r r y t e l l s us that Dorothy was the youngest of eleven c h i l d r e n . 1 Moore Smith s t a t e s t h a t i t i s p r o -bable t h a t there were nine c h i l d r e n . 2 Of h e r education we know nothi n g save the r e s u l t s . S i n c e we know some-t h i n g , however, of the education o f f e r e d to her contem-p o r a r i e s , we may c o n j e c t u r e t h a t h e r s was on a l i k e s c a l e . Lucy Hutchinson, remembered f o r her L i f e of h e r husband, C o l o n e l Hutchinson, w r i t e s * * I had a t one time e i g h t t u t o r s i n s e v e r a l q u a l i t i e s - language, music, dancing, w r i t i n g and needlework. 1* 3 I t had b e t t e r be 1 The L e t t e r s , p.314. 2 G.C.Hoore Smith, The L e t t e r s of Dorothy Osborne to W i l l i a m Temple, Oxford, Clarendon P r e s s , 1928, p.320. 3 C . H . F i r t h , Lucy Hutchinson*, D i c t i o n a r y of N a t i o n a l Biography, London, Smith E l d e r & Co., 1908, vol. 1 0 , p.130. s t a t e d , however, t h a t i f the l a s t mentioned s k i l l was le a r n e d by Dorothy she does not appear to have p r a c t i s e d i t * Howhere i n her l e t t e r s does the womanly a r t of sewing appear. The Duchess o f Newcastle o f f e r s a l i s t of t u t o r s almost as long as Lucy%. A a f o r t u t o r s , a l t h o u g h we had f o r a l l s o r t s of ve r t u e s , as s i n g i n g , dancing, p l a y i n g on musick, reading, w r i t i n g , working and the l i k e , y e t we were not kept s t r i c t l y t h e r e t o , they were r a t h e r f o r f o r m a l i t y than b e n e f i t . 1 Whether Dorothy was kept s t r i c t l y to her s t u d i e s or not, we do not know. In The L e t t e r s we f i n d t h a t she l o v e d readings Cowley's poetry, the v e r s e s o f L o r d B r o g h i l l , the T r a v e l s o f Fernando Mendez P i n t o , and lo n g ponderous Frenc h romances, which she read i n the o r i g i n a l . We a l s o know t h a t she passed c r u e l judgment on the e f f o r t s of that \" I l l u s t r i o u s p r i n c e s s , Margaret, Buchess o f New-c a s t l e \" . 2 - I t i s probable that she read her B i b l e s i n c e she t e l l s us of the sermons she goes to hear. But t h e r e our knowledge ends. Between Dorothy and her mother t h e r e appears to have e x i s t e d a p l e a s a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p . She says o f her mother t h a t Lady Osborne \"was counted aa wise a woman as most i n E n g l a n d \" . 3 D u r i n g Dorothy's-, c h i l d h o o d her f a t h e r was r e s i d e n t 1 Margaret Cavendish, The L i v e s o f Walliain Cavendishe, Duke o f Newcastle, and of h i s w i f e Margaret, Duchess of Newcastle. W r i t t e n by the t h r i c e noble and i l l u s t r i o u s , p r i n c e s s , Margaret, Duchess of Newcastle, ed. Mark Anthny Lower, London, John R u s s e l l Smith, 1872, p.271. 2 The L e t t e r s , pp.81-82. 3 I b i d . , p.216. -8-i n C a s t l e Cornet, as deputy governor of Guernsey, but the c a s t l e does not appear to have been a s u i t a b l e p l a c e i n which to b r i n g up e l e v e n c h i l d r e n . T h e r e f o r e i t i s probable that the c h i l d r e n l i v e d a t Chicksands w i t h t h e i r mother b e f o r e the Cromwellian p a r t y took the house from them. We f i r s t meet Dorothy when she i s on a j o u r n e y w i t h her b r o t h e r Robin, who is; next to her i n age, to v i s i t t h e i r f a t h e r a t St.Malo, the p o i n t on the mainland c l o s e s t to C a s t l e Cornet. The s t o r y i s t o l d by Lady G i f f a r d , S i r W i l l i a m Temple's s i s t e r . A t twenty he £Sir W i l l i a m Temple] begun h i s t r a v e l s i n t o Prance i n ye year 48.... He chose to pass by the I s l e of Wight, where h i s u n c l e S r John D i n g l e y . . . l i v ' d , & where H i s M a j e s t y was then p r i s o n e r i n C a r i s b r o o k e C a s t l e , and twas there he f i r s t met w i t h Sr P e t e r Osbornes Daughter goeing w i t h her B r o t h e r to t h e i r F a t h e r a t Snt Maloes, who was Governour of Garnesey & h e l d i t out f o r the K i n g ; He made t h a t Journey w i t h them, i n wch h e r B r o t h e r had l i k e to be stop'd by an a c c i d e n t , t h a t I don't know whether i t w i l l be thought worth r e l a t e i n g . The s p i t e he had to se the k i n g imprison'd, and t r e a t e d by the Governour C o l l Hammond aoe u n l i k e what was due to him provoked him to step hack a f t e r a l l H i s company were gon b e f o r e him out of the Inne and w r i t e theese words w i t h a Diamond i n the window, (And Hamman wa.s hang'd upon the Gallows he had prepar'd f o r Mordecai. Twas easy to imagin what h a s t he made a f t e r his, company when he had done; b u t had no sooner overtaken them then he was s e i s ' d h i m s e l f e , & brought back to ye Governour, & only escaped by h i s s i s t e r t a k e i n g i t upon her s e l f e . In t h i s Journey begun an amour between S r W T and Mrs Osborne of wch the a c c i d e n t s f o r seven y e a r s might make a H i s t o r y . . . . ! T h e r e a f t e r t h e r e i s s i l e n c e f o r f i v e y e a r s . The l o v e r s may have w r i t t e n to each other, b ut of the l e t t e r s we have no t r a c e . Hor i s Dorothy mentioned i n h i s t o r i c a l r e c o r d s which t e l l that her f a t h e r v o l u n t a r i l y r e s i g n e d h i s command of C a s t l e Cornet i n 1646, and t h a t he spent the next t h r e e y e a r s a t St.Malo, endeavouring to f i n d succour f o r the g a r r i s o n he h a d - l e f t behind a t the c a s t l e . He was not s u c c e s s f u l , and i n 1651 the r o y a l i s t s gave up the c a s t l e . But by t h i s time S i r P e t e r was back home at Chicksands, which had been r e s t o r e d to him through the good o f f i c e s of h i s b r o t h e r - i n - l a w , the E a r l of Danby. As we l e a r n from Dorothy's l e t t e r s , he was worn out and o l d b e f o r e h i s time, and he l i v e d q u i e t l y w i t h h i s w i f e , h i s daughter and Henry, one o f h i s three remaining sons. Dorothy's s i s t e r E l i z a b e t h , Lady Peyton, had d i e d i n 1642 and her name s c a r c e l y e n t e r s The L e t t e r s . The L e t t e r s b e g i n i n 1652, and from then u n t i l 1654 we have a d e t a i l e d h i s t o r y of Dorothy's l i f e as she t o l d i t to her l o v e r . In 1654 she m a r r i e d Temple, and to quote P a r r y J 1 Lady G i f f a r d , from The- L i f e and C h a r a c t e r of S i r William.. Temple Bt., p u b l i s h e d , w i t h the E a r l y E s s a y s and Romances.of S i r Walliam Temple Bt., ed. G.C.MooreSmith, Oxford, Clarendon Press,.1930, pp.5-6. ( H e r e i n a f t e r r e f e r r e d to as Lady G i f f a r d ) . -10-From t h i s time onwards Dorothy Temple's l i f e may he b e s t l e a r n e d i n the r e c o r d o f her husband's career«... I t appears t h a t when they removed to I r e l a n d they l i v e d f o r f i v e y e a r s w i t h Temple's f a t h e r ; Lady G i f f a r d , Temple's widowed s i s t e r , j o i n i n g them... In 1665 Temple was sent to B r u s s e l s . . . . In 1668 he was removed from B r u s s e l s to the Hague, where the s u c c e s s f u l n e g o t i a t i o n s which l e d to the T r i p l e A l l i a n c e took p l a c e , and these have g i v e n him an honourable p l a c e i n h i s t o r y . There i s a l e t t e r of Lady Temple 's, w r i t t e n to her husband i n 1670, which shows how i n t e r e s t e d she was i n the p a r t he took i n p o l i t i c a l l i f e , and how he must have c o n s u l t e d h e r i n a l l S t a t e m a t t e r s . 1 In 1679 S i r W i l l i a m r e t i r e d from p u b l i c l i f e and went w i t h h i s wife and s i s t e r to l i v e a t Sheen, h i s country p l a c e i n S u r r e y . L i t t l e i s known of t h e i r f a m i l y l i f e a t t h i s time. Seven of t h e i r n i n e c h i l d r e n d i e d i n i n -fancy, and i n 1684 t h e i r o n l y daughter, a c h i l d of f o u r -teen, d i e d of smallpox. A. l e t t e r from t h i s c h i l d to h e r f a t h e r has been preserved w i t h the n o t a t i o n i n h i s hand-w r i t i n g \" M y D i \" . In 1689 t h e i r o n l y son committed s u i -c i d e . Lady G i f f a r d t e l l s the r e s t of the sad s t o r y t With t h i s l o a d of h i s a f l i c t i o n , & my owne, & a l l of us w i t h our h e a r t s broken, we r e -t u r n ' d a t ye end of y t y e a r w i t h him & h i s d e s o l a t e Famely to More Parke wch h i a Daughter i n law, her mpther, & two young c h i l d r e n (both Daughters) then made a p a r t o f f , & he w i t h soe f i r m e r e s o l u t i o n s of p a s s i n g the' r e s t of h i s l i f e there, t h a t I beleeve such another r e v o l u t i o n i t a e l f e c o u l d not have a l t e r ' d them....2 1 2 The L e t t e r s , p.275. L a d y . G i f f a r d , o p . c i t . , p.25. -11-Gne would l i k e to l e a v e them there, w i t h perhaps a s i g h of p i t y f o r two l i t t l e grand-daughters b e i n g brought up by two grandmothers, a managing g r e a t - a u n t .and a mother, but i t would not appear t h a t the household c o n t i n u e d to c o n s i s t of t h i s g a laxy o f women. ... about t h i s time he CSir W i l l i a m Temple3 took i n t o h i s s e r v i c e a s S e c r e t a r y a d i s t a n t r e l a t i v e of h i s w i f e ' s , an unknown young student from I r e l a n d , Jonathan S w i f t . 1 How shocked Lady G i f f a r d would have been had she guessed that now Moor Park was to achieve a f a r g r e a t e r degree of fame through having housed the unknown young s e c r e -t a r y than i t cou l d ever have a t t a i n e d as the home merely of S i r W i l l i a m Temple. But i n the l i v e s of Jonathan S w i f t which have h u r r i e d from the pens o f h i s admirers there i s only one c h i l d to e n l i v e n the formal gardens of Moor Park, and th a t c h i l d i s n e i t h e r B o r o t h y nor E l i z a b e t h Temple, the l i t t l e granddaughters. The c h i l d i s Hetty, b e t t e r known to the world as S t e l l a , daughter of Mrs.Johnston, companion to Lady G i f f a r d . But 1 O d e l l Shepard & P a u l Spencer Wood, E n g l i s h Prose and Poetry, 1660-1800, Boston, Houghton M i f f l i n Co., Cambridge, 1934, p.165. . -12-Dorothy Temple says nothing of S w i f t or S t e l l a , o r of her granddaughters. Her s i l e n c e i s complete. She d i e d i n 1694 and her husband d i e d i n 1699. I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g to s p e c u l a t e on what f r e a k o f chance, what a c c i d e n t of f a t e , p r e s e r v e d Borothy Os-borne's l e t t e r s . I t i s not strange t h a t they s h o u l d have been kept d u r i n g S i r W i l l i a m ' s l i f e t i m e . He knew the e x q u i s i t e q u a l i t y o f h i s t r e a s u r e . I t i s n a t u r a l , too, t h a t Martha G i f f a r d should have kept them s a f e dur-i n g the twenty three y e a r s she l i v e d a f t e r S i r W i l l i a m ' s death. She knew t h e i r v a l u e . In her L i f e and C h a r a c t e r of S i r W i l l i a m Temple, B a r t . , w r i t t e n i n 1690,she p r a i s e s the l e t t e r s h i g h l y . ... I have o f t e n wiah'd the(y) might bee p r i n t e d , f o r to say n o t h i n g of h i s w r i t e -i n g , wch the w o r l d has s i n c e b i n made judge o f f , I never saw any t h i n g more e x t r a o r d i n a r y than h e r s . l T h i s L i f e and C h a r a c t e r was n o t p r i n t e d u n t i l 1728, s i x y e a r s a f t e r the death o f Lady G i f f a r d , and then the e d i t o r omitted: ...the p r e f a t o r y paragraph and a crowd of the more p e r s o n a l and i n t i m a t e touches of Lady G i f f a r d ' a n a r r a t i v e . Temple's e a r l y l i f e a t Cambridge, f o r example, h i s adventure w i t h the Osbornes i n the I s l e o f Wight, the p r a i s e g i v e n by Lady G i f f a r d to h i s e a r l y E s s a y s and to Dorothy Osborne's l e t t e r s . . . . 2 1 Lady G i f f a r d , o p . c i t . , p.6. 2 S i r W i l l i a m Temple, E a r l y E s s a y s and Romances, ed. G.C.Moore Smith, Oxford, Clarendon P r e s s , 1930, p . x i v . 13-The world, then, had no knowledge of the e x i s t e n c e of the l e t t e r s . A t the death o f Lady G i f f a r d they came i n t o the p o s s e s s i o n of her two grand-nieces a l r e a d y mentioned, the daughters of S i r W i l l i a m ' s only son. The h i s t o r y of these two women i s i n t e r e s t i n g i n this, n a t r a t i v e only i n so f a r a s i t concerns the custody o f the Osborne l e t t e r s . To u n r a v e l the tangle o f t h e i r h i s t o r y , how-ever, has been a. d i f f i c u l t t a s k . E.A.Parry who has been a f a i r l y r e l i a b l e a u t h o r i t y up to now, s t a t e s i n The Letters^- t h a t E l i z a b e t h , one o f the daughters, d i e d without i s s u e i n 1772., and that the other, Dorothy, d i e d i n 1758, and l e f t among other c h i l d r e n , a son, the Rev. N i c h o l a s Bacon, who was v i c a r of Coddenham. The Rev. N i c h o l a s d i e d and l e f t h i s v i c a r a g e , w i t h the p i c t u r e s and papers t h e r e i n , to h i s w i f e ' s b r o t h e r - i n - l a w , the Rev.John Longe. What P a r r y does not t e l l us, though he undoubtedly knew the f a c t s , 2 i s that E l i z a b e t h married her c o u s i n , John Temple, son of S i r W i l l i a m ' s b r o t h e r , John, who had i n h e r i t e d Moor Park. E l i z a b e t h and John Temple had s e v e r a l c h i l d r e n , but they d i e d young and Dorothy's son, B a s i l , i n h e r i t e d Moor Park. P a r r y g i v e s the r e s p e c t i v e dates of the deaths' o f the s i s t e r s as 1758 f o r Dorothy Bacon and 1772 f o r E l i z a b e t h Temple, but a descendant o f the Longe f a m i l y , J u l i a Longe, i n 1 The L e t t e r s , p.315. 2: See Note 2 i n Appendix. -14-Martha Lady G i f f a r d , her L i f e and Correspondence, s t a t e s , p r o b a b l y erroneously, t h a t ...Mrs.Bacon l i v e d many y e a r s a f t e r , l o n g enough to see her son B a s i l succeed her s i s t e r B e t t y a t Moor Park, and i n h e r i t many of the Temple t r e a s u r e s among them the c a b i n e t c o n t a i n i n g these p a p e r s . 1 T h i s son B a s i l d i e d i n 1776 and l e f t h i s p r o p e r t y to h i s b r o t h e r John, who d i e d twelve years l a t e r and l e f t i t \" t o h i s b r o t h e r N i c h o l a s , the l a s t s u r v i v i n g member but one of S i r W i l l i a m Temple's f a m i l y . The one i a N i c h o l a s ' s i s t e r Mary, who d i e d c h i l d l e s s , as d i d N i c h o l a s . There i s proof i n J u l i a Longe's book that B e t t y -Temple was a l i v e and i n p o s s e s s i o n o f the l e t t e r s i n 1770, i n the form of a l e t t e r w r i t t e n by someone des-c r i b e d as tta daughter o f the f i r s t L o r d T o r r i n g t o n a , 2 and addressed to her grand-nephew, S i r George Osborne, B a r t . , of Chicksands. S i r George had asked about the l e t t e r s of h i s great-aunt, Dorothy Oaborne. The f o l l o w -i n g was p a r t of the r e p l y * Mrs.Temple d i d l e n d me these l e t t e r s to read w i t h i n j u n c t i o n not to shew them. I v e r y much doubt i f she would send them to London. You must c a l l on her sometime when you go to S t a n s t e d , I don't t h i n k they would answer to you, the p r i n c i p l e were l e t t e r s from Ghickaands before she m a r r i e d . Her f a t h e r S i r P.O and h i s f a m i l y was a g a i n s t the match, f o r he was o n l y a: 1 J u l i a G.Longe, Martha Lady G i f f a r d , London, Geo. A l l e n & Sons, 1911, p.282. 2 i b i d . , p . 195. .;.„_.i_ • -15 younger B r o t h e r and most of those , l e t t e r s were i n the tender s t i l e w i t h s e n s i b l e sentiments, indeed I b e l i e v e Mrs. Temple burnt them a f t e r . I had read them, she s a i d she would, as indeed I t h i n k she should, such l e t t e r s can never be exposed to advantage, there were many wrote a f t e r her marriage, they soon grew tame and f l a t to what was b e f o r e . l J u l i a Longe then goes on to say: I t i s f o r t u n a t e f o r us t h a t Mrs.Temple (Betty) changed her mind, and d i d not burn the l e t t e r s . Perhaps she began to do so ( f o r of the \"many\"' w r i t t e n a f t e r marriage, only seven s u r v i v e ) , and per-haps her h e a r t f a i l e d her, or she d i e d b e f o r e she f i n i s h e d her t a s k ; and when, a f t e r her death i n 1772 a t the age of e i g h t y - s i x , they came i n t o the p o s s e s s i o n of h e r s i s t e r , Mrs.Bacon, she a l s o r e f r a i n -ed from committing to the flames those that remained, but l e f t them to be enjoyed by gen e r a t i o n s to come. 2 The Rev.John Longe came i n t o p o s s e s s i o n of the \"c a b i n e t c o n t a i n i n g these papers\" i n 1796, 3 and he i s mentioned as c u s t o d i a n i n 1834, when we read t h a t he gave p e r m i s s i o n to the R i g h t Honourable Thomas P e r e g r i n e Gourtenay to copy some of Dorothy's l e t t e r s . Courtenay was an admirer of S i r W i l l i a m Temple and wrote a book on his. hero c a l l e d \"Memoirs of the L i f e , Works, and C o r r e s -pondence of S i r l i l l i a m Temple, B a r t . While examining the correspondence of Temple, Courtenay had come upon the Osborne l e t t e r s , and asked p e r m i s s i o n to i n c l u d e 1 J u l i a G.Longe,op.cit.,pp.193-194. 2 I b i d . , p.194... 3 G.C.Moore Smith, The L e t t e r s of Dorothy Osborne t o - W i l l i a m Temple, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1928, p . x l i v . -16-them i n a supplement to h i s work, e v e n t u a l l y p u b l i s h e d i n 1836. Courtenay p r a i s e d the l e t t e r s , speaking of \"the numerous and p l e a s i n g c o l l e c t i o n o f l e t t e r s w r i t t e n by Lady Temple, before her marriage to h e r f u t u r e husband\".-But, he was c a u t i o u s i n h i s judgment. He d i d not agree w i t h Lady G i f f a r d t h a t the whole c o l l e c t i o n was worthy of p u b l i c a t i o n . I n stead he gave e x t r a c t s from forty-two of the l e t t e r s - not n e a r l y enough f o r Macaulay, who now entered the l i s t s of Dorothy's admirers. Macaulay reviewed Courtenay*s book i n a c o n t r i b u -t i o n to the Edinburgh Review i n 1838, and he gave h i g h p r a i s e t o the l e t t e r s . Temple appears to have k e p t up a very a c t i v e correspondence w i t h h i s m i s t r e s s . H i s l e t t e r s are l o s t , but h e r s have been p r e s e r v e d ; and many of them appear i n these volumes. Mr.Courtenay expresses some doubt whether h i s r e a d e r s w i l l t h i n k him j u s t i f i e d i n i n s e r t i n g so l a r g e a number o f these e p i s t l e s , l e only wish there were twice as. many. V e r y l i t t l e of the d i p l o m a t i c correspondence of that g e n e r a t i o n i s so w e l l worth while r e a d i n g . 2 There the matter r e s t e d u n t i l almost f i f t y y e a rs a f t e r 1 Thomas P e r e g r i n e Courtenay, Memoirs of the L i f e , Works, and Correspondence of S i r W i l l i a m Temple,Bart. London, 1836, c i t e d by I s r a e l G o l l a n c z , The Love L e t t e r s of Dorothy Osborne to S i r W i l l i a m Temple, London, the: de l a More Press, 1903, pp.10-11. 2 Macaulay, o p . c i t . , v o l . 2 , p.8. -17-Macaulay's essay was p u b l i s h e d . One day i n 1885, E.A. Parry, a young law student, f o l l o w i n g h i s h a b i t of a c q u i r i n g books d i s c u s s e d by h i s f a v o u r i t e authors, found i n a second hand book s t o r e C o u r t e n a y 1 a L i f e o f S i r W i l l i a m Temple. Now he c o u l d read the l o v e l e t t e r s so h i g h l y p r a i s e d by Macaulay. In h i s y o u t h f u l judgment he found t h a t ...both these eminent w r i t e r s ICourtenay and Macaulay^ e n t i r e l y underrated the l i t e r a r y and h i s t o r i c a l v a l u e of Dorothy's l e t t e r s . To me she seemed one of the g r e a t E n g l i s h l e t t e r w r i t e r s . 1 Thus was E.A.Parry s t a r t e d on the work which has brought him a measure of fame, and an i n t e r e s t which has l a s t e d f o r more than f o r t y y e a r s . He decided to w r i t e an a r t i c l e on Dorothy Osborne. I remember v i s i t i n g the B r i t i s h Museum i n f e a r and trembling to f i n d out i f anyone had f o r e s t a l l e d me....to my g r e a t j o y , the a f f a i r of Dorothy Osborne's L e t t e r s seemed c e r t a i n l y to have remained where Courtenay and Macaulay had l e f t i t i n the ' t h i r t i e s , so I had no r i v a l s a t present to i n t e r f e r e w i t h my p l a n s . 2 P a r r y then t e l l s of the a r t i c l e he wrote and sent to the E n g l i s h I l l u s t r a t e d Magazine, which was e d i t e d by Comyns C a r r . I t appeared i n the A p r i l number of 1886. L e s s than a week l a t e r he r e c e i v e d a l e t t e r which s u r -p r i s e d and e x c i t e d him. A f t e r a few p r e l i m i n a r i e s , v e r y few indeed f o r a V i c t o r i a n l a d y , i t b u r s t i n t o the t o p i c s 1 S i r Edward Parry, My Own Way, an autobiography, London, C a s s e l l & Co.Ltd., 1932., p.l26~i 2 I b i d . , p.126. -18-I am: the d a u g h t e r - i n - l a w of Mr.Longe of G'oddenham who i s now;: 85. He l e t me have these p r e c i o u s l e t t e r s to copy, and I worked, encouraged hy what Macaulay s a i d i n h i s essay on S i r W i l l i a m Temple, to p u b l i s h them, or get someone to do so, but Hr.Longe would not a l l o w me, a l t h o u g h h i s f a t h e r had allowed Mr.Courtenay to do so, who was a s t r a n g e r . ! T h i s was a daughter-in-law of s p i r i t , however. She goes on to says When I had c o p i e d the l e t t e r s I spared no. t r o u b l e to l e a r n a l l I c o u l d . There are about 90 l e t t e r s , which by s t u d y i n g every book of the time I could hear of, I have to a c e r t a i n degree arranged and dated, and found out who everyone named i n the letters.-was. I have been to the B r i t i s h Museum. A l l I could f i n d i n a h a s t y v i s i t were the l e t t e r s of Lady G i f f a r d . The B r i t i s h Museum want the o r i g i n a l s , . b u t of course the Longes: do not wish to give them up, and a t Mr.Longe's death they w i l l go to h i s e l d e s t son, i n the Cabinet i n which S r . W i l l i a m always kept them.2 That l i t t l e item \"and found out who everyone named i n the l e t t e r s was\"' must be of g r e a t i n t e r e s t to anyone who has r e a d the l e t t e r s i n t h e i r c o l l e c t e d e d i t i o n . The l a b o u r at t a c h e d to such a task must have been c o l o s s a l . P a r r y s a i d that he r e p l i e d immediately to the l e t t e r and got another i n haste from Mrs.Longe, who seems indeed as im-petuous as Dorothy h e r s e l f . She wanted him to p u b l i s h a l l the l e t t e r s . Cognisant as one must be of a l l the work Mr.Parry put on the l e t t e r s , i t is. i m p o s s i b l e a t this, p o i n t to 1 Parry, o p . c i t . , p. 12,9. 2 I b i d . , pp.129-130. -19-f o r b e a r the. comment t h a t i t i a a ve r y g r e a t p i t y t h a t Mrs.Longe h e r s e l f was not perm i t t e d to f i n i s h the e x c e l -l e n t work she had begun on the l e t t e r s * There appear to be p e r s o n a l a n i m o s i t i e s i n the oase. Eote the w i s t f u l comment i n the f i r s t l e t t e r , \"Mr.Longe would not a l l o w me\", a l t h o u g h Mr.Courtenay had p u b l i s h e d them, \"who was a stranger' 1. The reason f o r r e g r e t t i n g the disappearance of Mrs.Longe's a i d i n p u b l i s h i n g the l e t t e r s i s t h a t i n her second l e t t e r to P a r r y ahe s a i d * My copies a re a l l s p e l t e x a c t l y l i k e the o r i g i n a l s (by the a d v i c e of S i r John T a y l o r C o l e r i d g e who thought t h a t was t h e i r value) and I w i l l g l a d l y g i v e you up a l l my notes, e t c . , e t c . , and enter i n t o e v e r y t h i n g - o n l y my name no t a p p e a r i n g . 1 But women wrote books i n the V i c t o r i a n age, i t was a seemly o c c u p a t i o n . Why should, her name n o t have appeared? As f o r the q u e s t i o n of to whom the c r e d i t is. due f o r tsuing the o r i g i n a l s p e l l i n g , to S:ir John or to Mrs.Longe, this, i s n o t important. What i s important i s t h a t i t was a p o i n t which Mrs.Longe seemed to f i n d of g r e a t i n t e r e s t . U n f o r t u n a t e l y Mr.Parry d i d not agree. He says; ...from the f i r s t , I had made up my mind t h a t the book would be of no use to the average r e a d e r i f the l e t t e r s were p r i n t e d i n the o l d s p e l l i n g , and f o r my p a r t , although I understand t h a t l e a r n e d people take an i n t e r e s t i n the orthography of a bygone age, I have never been impressed by d i s c o v e r i n g that a scholar...wrote ^buahoppes' where we wr i te ' b i s h o p s ' . 2 1 Parry, o p . c i t . , p.130. 2 I b i d . , p.131. -&o-Mrs.Longe had more i n s t r u c t i o n s as to the p u b l i c a t i o n of the book. I t must be 'by p e r m i s s i o n of the Rev, Mr.Longe' - then there w i l l be no j e a l -ousy as you know this, e x i s t s i n f a m i l i e s , e s p e c i a l l y w i t h d a u g h t e r s - i n - l a w . x But even this, evidence of r e s p e c t was. not enough f o r o l d Mr.Longe. He s t i l l proved adamant. He was \"hot w e l l enough to be t r o u b l e d w i t h the b u s i n e s s \" 2 and l e f t i t a l l i n the hands of h i s son, Mr.Robert Bacon Longe of S.pix-worth Park. Mr.Robert proved more ©nenable. I f he d i d not show the enthusiasm of h i s s i s t e r - i n - l a w , a t l e a s t he s t a t e d t h a t he had \"ho objections\"' to Mr .'Parry's s e e i n g and making use of Mrs..Longe''s c o p i e s of the l e t t e r s , but that h i s f a t h e r would n e i t h e r be t r o u b l e d w i t h v i s i -t o r s a t Goddenham, nor would he care to l e n d the o r i g i n a l s . . Mrs.Longe sent her c o p i e s to Mr.Parry. Even more, she accepted h i s d e c i s i o n as to the s p e l l i n g , and i n 188? the book was f i n i s h e d . Mrs.Longe's p a r t of the work was not y e t f i n i s h e d , however. . The L e t t e r s went the rounds, of the p u b l i s h e r s , to be sent back promptly, u n t i l Mrss.Longe wrote to say t h a t she had found a p u b l i s h e r , G r i f f i t h , F/arren & Okeden. Mr.Okeden was i n t e r e s t e d , but not s u f f i c i e n t l y so to take a l l the r i s k s of the p u b l i c a t i o n on h i s own s h o u l d e r s . Only enough c o p i e s were to be p r i n t e d to pay the expenses, and i f they s o l d , a commercial 1 Parry, o p . c i t . , p. 130. 2 I b i d . , p.131. -21-e d i t i o n would be brought out l a t e r . Then i f there were p r o f i t s S i r . P a r r y would share i n them wit h the p u b l i s h e r s . Moreover, Mr.Okeden s p e c i f i e d t h a t seven l e t t e r s , which he found of no g r e a t i n t e r e s t , should be omitted. To t h i s omission there were c u r i o u s r e p e r c u s s i o n s . In 1891, f o u r y e a r s a f t e r the p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h i s e d i t i o n of The L e t t e r s , the B r i t i s h Museum bought the o r i g i n a l l e t t e r s , but t h e i r r e p r e s e n t a t i v e wished to have o n l y the l e t t e r s p u b l i s h e d i n P a r r y ' s book, w i t h the r e s u l t t h a t the other seven were l e f t i n the p o s s e s s i o n o f Mr.Longe. Parry, however, wanted to see a l l the l e t t e r s p u b l i s h e d . He had concurred i n the omission, but not agreed a a to the wisdom of i t . T h e r e f o r e when he brought out a new e d i t i o n i n 1903, he a c q u i r e d from Mr.Longe the s o l e r i g h t of p u b l i s h i n g the misaing l e t t e r s and p r i n t e d the f u l l c o l l e c t i o n . In the meantime, the 1888 e d i t i o n ran i n t o a second p r i n t i n g , and the p u b l i s h e r s , having ignored t h e i r agreement w i t h Mr.Parry, brought out what he d e s c r i b e d a s \"a cheaj) and u n a t t r a c t i v e e d i t i o n \" . ^ They a l s o had a p p a r e n t l y f o r g o t t e n t h e i r agreement as to s h a r i n g the p r o f i t s . \"However, s a i d Parry, \" I explained to them t h e i r l e g a l p o s i t i o n and got some accounts and some share of the p r o f i t s . \" 2 I t appears that the e x p l a n a t i o n must have been e f f e c t i v e , s i n c e some time l a t e r the f i r m handed over the book to 1 Parry, o p . c i t . , p.137. 2 I b i d . , p.137. - 2 2 -P a r r y , and f o r the next f o u r t e e n or f i f t e e n y e ars he kept making notes f o r the r e v i s e d e d i t i o n which he brought out i n 1903, p u b l i s h e d by S h e r r a t t and Hughes. In t h a t same y e a r I s r a e l G o l l a n c z a l s o brought out an e d i t i o n of the l e t t e r s of Dorothy Osborne. In 1914 J.M.Dent & Sons, L t d . brought out a cheap copy o f the P a r r y c o l l e c t i o n i n the Everyman e d i t i o n , e d i t e d by E r n e s t Rhys, and f o r t h i s e d i t i o n P a r r y has w r i t t e n an e x c e l l e n t i n t r o d u c t i o n . He speaks of t h i s e d i t i o n i n h i s autobiography, and immediately a f t e r the statement t h a t the book i s now p u b l i s h e d by J.M.Dent, & Sons L t d . (he does not g i v e the date o f the p u b l i c a t i o n ) he says: Q u i t e r e c e n t l y , i n 1928 the Oxford U n i -v e r s i t y Press, asked me to a s s i s t them to produce an e d i t i o n i n the o l d s p e l l i n g , which P r o f e s s o r Moore Smith had prepared. I was:, of course, ready to comply, and gave them f u l l l i b e r t y to use f o r t h a t purpose any o f my c o p y r i g h t m a t e r i a l . 1 Nowhere does Parry, by now H i s Honour S i r Edward, mention the 1903 e d i t i o n of the l e t t e r s which was brought out under the s i g n a t u r e of I s r a e l G o l l a n c z , i n London, p u b l i s h -ed by the de l a More P r e s s . Nor s t r a n g e l y enough, does the D i c t i o n a r y of N a t i o n a l Biography mention t h i s volume among the works, of I s r a e l G o l l a n c z . P a r r y says, however* tt0n two occasions a t l e a s t , i t [\"The L e t t e r s ] has been p i r a t e d , once i n Toronto and once h e r e . . . . * 2 Was the 1 P a r r y , o p . c i t . , p.139. 2 I b i d ., p.139. -23-G o l l a n c z e d i t i o n one of those p i r a t e d ? There appears to be no evidence with which to answer t h i s q u e s t i o n . I t i s obvious that G o l l a n c z had not seen P a r r y ' s amended e d i t i o n , a l s o p u b l i s h e d i n 1903, a s he omitted the seven l e t t e r s , i n s e r t e d i n t h a t e d i t i o n . P a r r y ' s f a i l u r e to mention the G o l l a n c z e d i t i o n i s perhaps understandable when one reads the prefaces The Present E d i t i o n . But now t h a t the o r i g i n a l s of the l e t t e r s a r e r e a d i l y a c c e s s i b l e , i t must be confessed, w i t h a l l r e l u c t a n c e , that the copy p l a c e d a t Mr.Parry'a d i s p o s a l was. f a r from, being an a c c u r a t e t r a n s c r i p t . In the t e x t as p r i n t e d there are some hundreds of v e r b a l e r r o r s , and the omission of whole passages.1 T h i s i s f o l l o w e d by a f o o t n o t e which s a y s : \"Some of the more important e r r o r s are noted, but i t has not been deemed necessary to r e c o r d the many minor e r r o r s o f t r a n s c r i p t i o n . \"'2 G o l l a n c z then goes on to say: The present t e x t i s an attempt to put f o r t h a true and a u t h e n t i c v e r s i o n . T h i s is. i t s . primary c l a i m . A t the same time the notes have been worked up independently, and many a l l u s i o n s , a r e now e x p l a i n e d or c o r r e c t l y annota-ted f o r the f i r s t time. 3' He a l s o expresses thanka to his. good f r i e n d Mr .Walter Skeat, M.A ., f o r m e r l y s c h o l a r of C h r i s t ' s C o l l e g e , Cam-brid g e , f o r much valued h e l p i n the p r e p a r a t i o n of the 1 G o l l a n c z , p p . c i t . , p.xv. 2 I b i d . , p.xv. 3 I b i d . , p.xv. -24-book. He s t a t e s t h a t i n the c h r o n o l o g i c a l order of the l e t t e r s he has, i n the main, f o l l o w e d the order i n the B r i t i s h Museum f o l i o , t h a t i s to say, i n the order i n which P a r r y p l a c e d them. A t t h i s p o i n t i t might be p e r t i n e n t to enquire i f P a r r y saw Gollancz.'a e d i t i o n o f the l e t t e r s b e f o r e he p u b l i s h e d his. second e d i t i o n . I f he d i d not, why d i d he take the t r o u b l e to make up e l a b o r a t e t a b l e s , added as an appendix, headed thus* Table showing present arrangement of the l e t t e r s and that adopted i n the E d i t i o n ; of 1888 Present suggested date No.and page o f number l e t t e r i n E d i t i o n 1888 1 December 25th, 1652. 2. p.39 2 January 2nd, 1653 3. p . 4 0 1 and c o n t i n u i n g to the l a s t l e t t e r , numbered 7 7 , w i t h the new, l e t t e r s i n s e r t e d i n t h e i r a p p r o p r i a t e p l a c e , and so designated? Gollancz. used the o l d arrangement, has no new l e t t e r s , and moreover has something t o say about one o f these new l e t t e r s , even though he does not know tha t i t belongs to the c o l l e c t i o n . The statement occurs i n h i s p r e f a c e * Strange to say, among Courtenay*s ex-t r a c t s from the l e t t e r s , there i s a l e t t e r not c o n t a i n e d i n the c o l l e c t e d l e t t e r s , which from i n t e r n a l evidence would appear to belong to the yea r 1661. 1 The L e t t e r s , p.316-318. -25-I t i s s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t no n o t i c e has been taken of the f a c t t h a t here we have another l a t e l e t t e r - p o s s i b l y s t i l l a t Coddenham.l No n o t i c e of t h i s v a l u a b l e p i e c e of autobiography i s found i n Mr. P a r r y ' s volume. ^ Underneath t h i s i s the f o o t n o t e numbered 1, and t h i s g i v e s the l e t t e r i n q u e s t i o n . From Pa r r y , however, we f i n d t h a t G o l l a n c z quotes o n l y a s m a l l p a r t o f the l e t t e r , w h i l e P a r r y g i v e s the whole of i t , and numbers i t 28. He a l s o has a l o n g note on the l e t t e r which shows t h a t G o l l a n c z was not who l l y wrong i n t h i n k i n g i n t e r n a l evidence showed i t to belong to the year 1661. P a r r y produces, more e v i -dence however, to prove t h a t he i s c o r r e c t i n assuming the date to be J u l y , 1653. G o l l a n c z f o l l o w e d P a r r y ' s i d e a s of s p e l l i n g , and s t a t e d t h a t he t r i e d \" a c c u r a t e l y t o r e p r e s e n t the o r i g i n a l t e x t i n modern orthography.\" 2' While he gave t o P a r r y the c r e d i t and d i s t i n c t i o n o f having g i v e n to the world ttithe e d i t i o p r i n c e p a of these f a s c i n a t i n g l e t t e r s \" 3 he d i d not mention by name anywhere Mr.Longe's w i s t f u l d a u g h t e r - i n -law. Instead he reduces her to \"another admirer of Dorothy\" 5 who made ^ f a i t h f u l and l o v i n g c o p i e s o f the o r i g i n a l s \" . 1 G o l l a n c z , o p . c i t . , p . x v i i i . 2 I b i d . , p . x v i . 3 I b i d . , p . x i v . -26-P a r r y does not mention i n h i s autobiography the: book w r i t t e n by J u l i a G.Longe, daughter of Robert Longe of Spixworth Park, which waa p u b l i s h e d i n 1911 w i t h the t i t l e Martha Lady G i f f a r d , but he wrote a p r e f a c e f o r i t which i s worthy of mention. He s t a t e s t h a t the book has ge n e r a l i n t e r e s t ^ a l t o g e t h e r o u t s i d e i t s i l l u s t r a t i o n s of the l a t e r l i f e o f Lady Temple*, 1 but he f i n i s h e s h i s p r e f a c e w i t h the paragraphs I t i a because I know the enthusiasm t h a t many q u i e t r e a d e r s have f o r Dorothy Os-borne' a l e t t e r s t h a t I f e e l sure t h e r e w i l l be an eager d e s i r e to read t h i s l a t e r correspondence, and to t r a c e her i n f l u e n c e i n the a f f a i r s of her husband and f a m i l y through the long autumn of Dorothy's; l i f e t h a t f o l l o w e d the aummer days of the l o v e -l e t t e r s . 2 I t i s probable, however, t h a t many people w i l l agree w i t h *the daughter of the f i r s t L o r d T o r r i n g t o n * who found that the l e t t e r s w r i t t e n a f t e r Dorothy's marriage \"aoon grew tame and f l a t to what waa b e f o r e * . 3 The e n t e r p r i s i n g daughter-in-law of o l d Mr.Longe i s v i n d i c a t e d , i f o b l i q u e l y , i n t h i s p r e f a c e , by Pa r r y ' s paragraph concerning her n i e c e ' s work, which reads: Miss Longe has had the courage t o do what i s undoubtedly the r i g h t t h i n g i n p r i n t i n g 1 the l e t t e r s e x a c t l y a s they were s p e l l e d and w r i t t e n , and one can o n l y hope that a course that w i l l make the book more a t t r a c -t i v e to stu d e n t s and s c h o l a r s w i l l not be 1 2 3 J u l i a G.Longe, o p . c i t . , p.v. I b i d . , p . v i i . I b i d . , p.194. -27-found to r e p e l the g e n e r a l reader, who w i l l meet wi t h so much entertainment and: i n f o r m a t i o n i n i t s pages.1 Ob v i o u s l y Mr.Parry i s not w h o l l y convinced y e t as to the s p e l l i n g of \"bushoppea\". Undoubtedly there i s something of i n t e r e s t i n the Longe book f o r those i n t e r e s t e d i n the fortunes, of the Temple f a m i l y . Much of i t i s g o s s i p , but as V i r g i n i a Woolf says, \"Gossip which has s u r v i v e d i t s day i s never d e s p i c a b l e 1 \" . 2 I t i s u n f o r t u n a t e t h a t the book has many d i s c r e p a n c i e s i n i t s p r e s e n t a t i o n of \"Tacts\" 1. On page 5 Miss Longe t e l l s us t h a t W i l l i a m and Dorothy had seven c h i l d r e n i n a l l , and on the same page speaks of f i v e who are a l r e a d y dead and of the b i r t h of the s i x t h c h i l d , the only one who grew to m a t u r i t y , and who committed s u i c i d e twenty-six years, l a t e r . On page 52. she speaks of the b i r t h of a l i t t l e g i r l , the c h i l d who l i v e d f o u r t e e n y e a r s and whose l e t t e r Temple, kept w i t h the n o t a t i o n \"My D i \" . On page 60 we are t o l d of the b i r t h of another boy, who d i e d immediately a f t e r . The number of c h i l d r e n who d i e d i s perhaps, n o t important, b u t throughout the book there i s c o n t i n u a l evidence of f a u l t y p r o o f r e a d i n g , i f not of f a u l t y s c h o l a r s h i p . M i s s Longe s t a t e s on page 177 t h a t S w i f t wrote the verse which b e g i n s \" M i l d Dorothea\", and which i s quoted on page Z, of t h i s essay, on the o c c a s i o n 1 J u l i a G.Longe, o p . c i t . , p . v i . 2. V i r g i n i a . Woolf, The Common Reader, Harmondsworth, England, Penguin Books L t d . , 1925, p.133. -28-of the a u i c i d e of Jack, the Temple's o n l y son. But the v e r s e i s p a r t of a l o n g poem w r i t t e n on the o c c a s i o n of S i r W i l l i a m Temple's i l l n e s s , as S w i f t p l a i n l y t e l l s u s. Miss Longe makes another statement i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h the verse, which appears to have l i t t l e f o u n d a t i o n * \"Dorothy was never 'mild', as we use the word now - S w i f t would have s a i d ' g e n t l e ' i f he c o u l d have made h i s l i n e scan w i t h i t - * 1 In view of a l l t h i s , the w r i t e r has o n l y s l i g h t h e s i t a t i o n i n suggesting that M i s s Longe i s wrong i n her p l a c i n g of the l e t t e r s from Dorothy to her husband, as f a r as d a t e s are concerned. There appears to be i n -t e r n a l evidence, t a l k of Jane and Mrs.Goldsmith of the Ghicksands days, no mention o f Martha G i f f a r d e t c . which would date some of the l e t t e r s as h a v i n g been w r i t t e n d u r i n g the months Dorothy spent i n England immediately a f t e r her marriage, and b e f o r e going to I r e l a n d . How-ever, t h i s i s a matter of l i t t l e importance a t t h i s time. M i s s Longe's book g i v e s v a l u a b l e i n f o r m a t i o n regarding; the ownership of Dorothy's l e t t e r s up to the time we meet them i n Courtenay's book. There remains but one more e d i t i o n of the l e t t e r s to be examined, G.C.Moore Smith's e d i t i o n , to which P a r r y r e f e r s i n h i s autobiography. An i n t e r e s t i n g i t e m came 1 J u l i a G.Longe, o p . c i t . , p.178. -29-to l i g h t w h i le r e s e a r c h was b e i n g done on t h i s volume. S i n c e the book i t s e l f was not immediately a v a i l a b l e , book reviews were r e s o r t e d to, and the London Times L i t e r a r y Supplement, 1928, gave an e x c e l l e n t unsigned review, which was found to be a s l i g h t l y a b r i d g e d v e r -s i o n of V i r g i n i a Wbolf's essay, Dorothy OBborae'a ^Letters'*. The essay, as found i n the c o l l e c t i o n , The Second Common Reader, has a more e l a b o r a t e b e g i n n i n g than the review but t h a t i s the c h i e f d i f f e r e n c e . In i t V i r g i n i a Woolf r e p e a t s the e r r o r o f a c c r e d i t i n g to Henry Osborne the d e s c r i p t i o n of Temple, the \"proudest imper-i o u s i n s u l t i n g i l l - n a t u r e d man t h a t ever was'*,1 though when the Moore Smith volume came to hand, i t became-p e r f e c t l y c l e a r t h a t i t was one *J.B.*, a r e j e c t e d s u i t o r , who thus gave vent to h i s d i s l i k e of Temple.2 F o r the purposes of t h i s essays i t was u n f o r t u n a t e that Moore Smith's book was not a v a i l a b l e i n time to be used as the primary source book, s i n c e then the l e t t e r s c o u l d have been quoted i n t h e i r o r i g i n a l s p e l l i n g and pu n c t u a t i o n . The f i r s t p o i n t o f i n t e r e s t i s the t i t l e of t h i s e d i t i o n . Both. P a r r y and G o l l a n c z g i v e the t i t l e \" S i r * to W i l l i a m Temple, alt h o u g h when Dorothy wrote the l e t t e r s he was s t i l l merely \" W i l l i a m Temple11'. Moore 1 V i r g i n i a Woolf, The Second Common Reader, London, The Hogarth P r e s s , 1932, p.64. 2 G.C.Moore Smith, The L e t t e r s o f Dorothy Osborne to W i l l i a m Temple, Oxford, Clarendon P r e s s , 1928, p.158. -30-Smith c o r r e c t s t h i s , and c a l l s h i s e d i t i o n The L e t t e r s of Dorothy Osborne to W i l l i a m Temple. On the t i t l e page he s t a t e s ^ E d i t e d by p e r m i s s i o n of S i r Edward P a r r y and of h i s p u b l i s h e r s Messrs S h e r r a t t and Hughes, L t d . , and MaEssrs J.M.Dent and Sons, L t d . \" , and i n P a r r y ' s auto- • biography My Own Way P a r r y speaks of b e i n g asked to a s s i s t P r o f e s s o r Moore Smith i n the c o m p i l a t i o n of t h i s e d i t i o n . In view of a l l t h i s i t i s u n f o r t u n a t e that Moore Smith d i d not d i s c u s s w i t h P a r r y the seven l o v e l e t t e r s not s o l d to the Museum. He s t a t e s * \"For some reason, however, seven of the s e r i e s of l o v e - l e t t e r s were not s o l d , and these, a l o n g w i t h some l a t e r l e t t e r s of Dorothy w r i t t e n from Reading a f t e r h e r marriage...passed i n 1911 to ...Mr. F r a n c i s Bacon Longe t t l The reason why the l e t t e r s were not s o l d i s d i s c u s s e d f u l l y oh pages: 20 and 21 of this: essay. Moore Smith has, however, b e n e f i t t e d by much of the i n f o r m a t i o n c u l l e d by p r e v i o u s e d i t o r s . T h i s e d i t i o n b r i n g s us f u l l e r f o o t - n o t e s , and o c c a s i o n a l l y a sentence or two o f f r e s h m a t e r i a l , but i t i s i n t e r e s t i n g to note t h a t as c a r e f u l a s c h o l a r as Moore Smith has not taken the t r o u b l e to i n v e s t i g a t e Gibbon's c r i t i c i s m of S i r W i l l i a m Temple's notes on the famous Almanzor, but has reproduced P a r r y ' s n o t e 2 i n i t s e n t i r e t y . Any S p a n i s h 1 G.C.Moore Smith, The L e t t e r s of Dorothy Osborne, p . x l i v - x l v . 2. The L e t t e r s , p.61. -31-e n c y c l o p e d i a g i v e s the h i s t o r y of Almanzor and com-p l e t e l y v i n d i c a t e s Temple, but Gibbon's \"smile\"' a t S i r W i l l i a m ' s s i m p l i c i t y s t i l l s t a n d s . But even Moore Smith i s not a b l e t o c l e a r up en-t i r e l y the age of S i r W i l l i a m ' s son, Jack, when he d i e d . However he s u b s c r i b e s to the t h e o r y a l r e a d y put f o r t h by t h i s w r i t e r (see page 28 of this: essay) that, the l e t t e r s supposed by J u l i a Longe to have been w r i t t e n i n 1664 were r e a l l y w r i t t e n i n the years 1655-7 while Dorothy was s t i l l i n England a f t e r her marriage. With r e f e r e n c e to the c h i l d \"tfack* he says:: tt'Jack' i s not the J a c k born i n 1663-4, but the. e l d e r J a c k who was born i n Dec. 1655 and who d i e d w i t h i n a few y e a r s i n I r e l a n d . * 1 The volume has copious e n t r i e s . f r o m Henry Osborne's d i a r y , l e n t by S i r A l g e r n o n Osborn, Bt., and s t i l l pre-served a t Chicksanda P r i o r y . Henry's d i a r y , however, i s n o t i n t e r e s t i n g i n i t s e l f , but o n l y i n the a d d i t i o n a l f a c t s i t p r e s e n t s as c o n f i r m a t i o n i n d o u b t f u l m a t t e r s . The c a b i n e t i n which Temple kept Dorothy's l e t t e r s i s mentioned i n P a r r y ' s book My Own Way, when MrB.Longe writes, to t e l l Mm t h a t the l e t t e r s are s t i l l * l n t h e c a b i n e t i n which S i r W i l l i a m always kept them*. 2 The c a b i n e t i s mentioned a g a i n i n J u l i a Longe's: book, Martha 1 G.C.Moore. Smith, The L e t t e r s of Dorothy Osborne, p. 197. 2 Parry, My Own Way, p.130. Lady G i f f a r d , when she speaks of B a s i l Bacon who i n h e r i t e d \"many of the Temple t r e a s u r e s among them the. c a b i n e t con-t a i n i n g these p a p e r s ? 1 There i s a l s o i n t h i s book a photograph of a c a b i n e t w i t h the c a p t i o n \"The Temple cab-i n e t a t Spixworth P a r k * . 2 Moore Smith l i k e w i s e has some-t n i n g to say about the c a b i n e t : In M s l i f e t i m e S i r W i l l i a m Temple kept h i s w i f e ' s l o v e - l e t t e r s i n a c a b i n e t . 1 Mrs.Temple w r i t e s from Read-i n g 'you would have such l e t t e r s as I used to w r i t e before we were marryed, there; are a g r e a t many such i n y t c a b i n -e t t y t I can send you i f you p l e a s e ' . A f t e r h i s w i f e ' s death he probably destroyed h i s own l e t t e r s to her, but Dorothy's l e t t e r s . . . w e r e p r e s e r v e d and probably passed on h i s death i n 1698 w i t h t h e c a b i n e t to h i s granddaughter, E l i z a b e t h Temple...• 1 T h i s c a b i n e t i s now a t Chicksands, having been s o l d to S i r George Osborn by the l a t e Robert Bacon Longe, Esq,., o f Spixworth Park. 3 But no e d i t o r so f a r has commented on the c a b i n e t men- . t i o n e d i n Dorothy's l e t t e r , which might w e l l be the same c a b i n e t . She; i s thanking Temple f o r h i s presents I have the c a b i n e t , and ' t i s i n e a r n e s t a p r e t t y one; though you w i l l not own i t f o r a p r e s e n t . I ' l l keep i t a s one, and ' t i s l i k e to be y o u r s no more but a s ' t i s mine.4 1 Julia.GLonge, Martha Lady G i f f a r d , p.282.. a I b i d . , pj. .350. . 3 G.C.Moore Smith, The L e t t e r s of Dorothy Osborne, p . x l i v . 4 The L e t t e r s , p.209. -33-I t would be i n t e r e s t i n g to know i f t h i s i s the o r i g i n a l c a b i n e t , and i f i t now stands i n i t s o l d p l a c e a t C h i c k -sands. Moore Smith has f i f t y pages o f i n t r o d u c t i o n to h i s volume, as w e l l as almost 150 pages of n o t e s and appen-d i c e s . There is: l i t t l e t h a t i s new i n the i n t r o d u c t i o n , and indeed Moore Smith a t a l l times acknowledges h i s indebtedness to E.A.Parry f o r much of the m a t e r i a l he now uses. There is;, however, a new l i g h t shed on S i r John Temple. Moore Smith says* ...we may even now l e a r n something from the b e a u t i f u l f a m i l y l i f e o f the Temples, from S i r John's wise c o n s i d e r a t i o n f o r h i s son's wishes and W i l l i a m ' s d e l i c a c y about a s k i n g h e l p from his. f a t h e r , a d e l i -cacy i n which f o r once Dorothy compares w i t h him unfavourably, from the l i f e l o n g mutual a f f e c t i o n of W i l l i a m and h i s s i s t e r , and from the r e a d i n e s s w i t h which they a l l r e c e i v e d W i l l i a m ' s unknown b r i d e to t h e i r h e a r t s . 1 T h i s i s , indeed, a new S i r John Temple. I t might be claimed t h a t Moore Smith's i n t e r e s t i n Dorothy's l e t t e r s i s secondary to h i s i n t e r e s t i n the Temple f a m i l y . He has s i n c e produced h i s e x c e l l e n t e d i t i o n of. The E a r l y E s s a y s and Romances of S i r W i l l i a m Temple, B t . w i t h the L i f e and C h a r a c t e r of S i r W i l l i a m Temple by h i s s i s t e r Lady G i f f a r d , and t h e r e can be no doubt whatsoever t h a t he was a t r u e admirer of the Temple f a m i l y . N e v e r t h e l e s s 1 G.C.Moore Smith, The L e t t e r s of Dorothy Osborne, p . x l i i i . -34-i t ia: d i f f i c u l t to r e c o n c i l e \" S i r John's wise c o n s i d e r a -t i o n f o r h i s son's wishes*- w i t h the f a c t s as they appear i n The L e t t e r s . The f i r s t p i c t u r e we have of S i r John is~ o f h i s o r d e r i n g h i s son from St.Malo, b e i n g \" u n s a t t i s f i e d a t the long stay he made.'1'1 We remember t h a t the a c c i -dents o f . t h i s amour l a s t e d f o r seven years, and we have the l e t t e r s to t e l l us why the wooing continued so l o n g . WTe have Lady G i f f a r d ' 3 statement as to the \" d i s s a t i s f a c -2 t i o n \" of h i s f r i e n d s a t the c o u r t s h i p , and we have the many l a d i e s of f i n e f o r t u n e s who are presented to Temple by h i s f r i e n d s and f a m i l y i n the hope of weaning h i s a f f e c t i o n s from Dorothy. Has Moore Smith f o r g o t t e n S i r John's complete l a c k of d e l i c a c y - when he p r a i s e s t h a t of W i l l i a m and laments Dorothy's want o f i t - which made him t e l l people who knew Dorothy t h a t he had been f o r c e d to send f o r h i s son to come to London, and a g a i n t o send him to I r e l a n d to prevent h i s marrying D o r o t h y ? 3 A s f o r \"the r e a d i n e s s w i t h which they a l l r e c e i v e d W i l l i a m ' s unknown b r i d e * - s u r e l y t h i s i s an e x a g g e r a t i o n . The l e t t e r s would l e a d one to b e l i e v e W i l l i a m had threatened s u i c i d e and thoroughly f r i g h t e n e d h i s f a t h e r b e f o r e the l a t t e r would consent to the marriage. And s u r e l y Dorothy was h a r d l y \"unknown\"'. She' had sent l e t t e r s and p r e s e n t s 1 Lady G i f f a r d , o p . c i t . , p.6. 2 L a d y G i f f a r d , o p . c i t . , p.7. 3 The L e t t e r s , p.267. -35-to l i t t l e Martha G i f f a r d , but i t w i l l be seen t h a t a t an e a r l y age Martha d i s p l a y e d those t r a i t s o f j e a l o u s y l so unseemly i n Dorothy's b r o t h e r Henry. There i s a s l i g h t l y unpleasant, i f amusing, note i n the f o l l o w i n g e x t r a c t taken from one of Dorothy's l e t t e r s . Jane, (Dorothy's, companion), had sent Temple a p r e s e n t . What would I g i v e to know t h a t s i s t e r of yours, that i s /so good a t d i s c o v e r y ; sure she i s e x c e l l e n t company; she had reason, to laugh at you when you would have persuaded her the \"moss was sweet\"'. I remember Jane brought some of i t to me, to ask i f I thought i t had no i l l s m e l l , and whether she might venture to put i t i n the box or not. I t o l d her as I thought, she c o u l d not put a more innocent t h i n g there, f o r I d i d not f i n d t h a t i t had any s m e l l a t a l l . . . . M y n i e c e and I wandered through some s i x hundred a c r e s of wood i n s e a r c h of i t , to make r o c k s and strange t h i n g s that her head i s f u l l of, and she admires i t more than you d i d . I f ate': had known I had consented i t should have been used to f i l l up a box, she would have condemned me e x t r e m e l y . 2 But Dorothy f o r g i e s the s i s t e r - a f t e r a l l she i s o n l y f i f t e e n - and sends her a new song and two c a r r i a g e dogs and p r o b a b l y much more that we know n o t h i n g o f . There i s l i t t l e more to be s a i d about the Moore Smith e d i t i o n . I t might be of: i n t e r e s t to reproduce p a r t of a. l e t t e r as Dorothy wrote i t . F o r t h i s purpose the l e t t e r i n which Moore Smith finds, the \"-indelicacy\"', has . been chosen. I t w i l l be seen that Dorothy has a f i n e 1 The: L e t t e r s , p.74. 2 I b i d . , pp. 171-172.. 36-d i s r e g a r d f o r p u n c t u a t i o n , s p e l l i n g , c a p i t a l i z a t i o n and grammar. The e x t r a c t begins w i t h a new paragraph. i s i t i n E a r n e s t t h a t You say your being there keeps mee from the Towne? i f soe, t i s v e r y unkinde. noe i f I had gon i t had b i n to have wayted on my Neighbour, whoe has now a l t e r d her r e s o l u t i o n and goes not h e r s e l f , I have noe bui s n e s s e there, and am soe l i t t l e taken w i t h the p l a c e t h a t I c o u l d a i t t heer seven yeer without soe much as t h i n k i n g once of goeing to i t . T i s not l i k e l y as you say t h a t you s h o u l d much perswade your f a t h e r to what you doe not desyre hee should doe, but i t i s harde i f a l l the Testimony 1 a of my kindenesse ar33 n o t enough to s a t t i s f y e without my publishing, to the world t h a t I can f o r g e t t my f r i e n d s and a l l my i n t e r e s t to f f o l l o w my p a s s i o n ; though perhaps i t w i l l admitt of a good sence, t i s t h a t which nobody but you or I w i l l g i ve i t , and wee that a r e concerned i n t can o n l y say twas an a c t of g r e a t kindenesse and something Romance, but. must confease i t had n o t h i n g of prudence, d i s c r e t i o n , nor sober c o u n c e l l i n ' t . . . . 1 1 G.G.Moore Smith, The L e t t e r s o f Dorothy Osborne, p.136. -37-CRAPTER I I S o c i a l L i f e o f the P e r i o d as seen i n the L e t t e r s . Chlcksands P r i o r y s t i l l stands i n B e d f o r d s h i r e , forty-two m i l e s from London, and P a r r y d e s c r i b e s i t from an e t c h i n g i n Thomas F i s h e r ' s C o l l e c t i o n s of B e d f o r d s h i r e , dated December 26, 1816. S i n c e i t was from t h i s house t h a t Dorothy wrote most of the l e t t e r s , i t might be w e l l to quote the d e s c r i p t i o n * Chixon, Chikesonds, or Chicksands P r i o r y , B e d f o r d s h i r e , as i t now stands...was, i n the r e i g n of Edward I I I . , a nunnery, s i t -uated then, as now, on a s l i g h t eminence, w i t h g e n t l y r i s i n g h i l l s a t a s h o r t d i s -tance behind, and a brook r u n n i n g to j o i n the r i v e r I v e l , thence the German Ocean, along the v a l l e y i n f r o n t of the house. The P r i o r y i s a l o w - b u i l t s a c r o -s e c u l a r e d i f i c e , w e l l f i t t e d f o r i t s former s e r v i c e . . . . The v e r y e x t e r i o r of i t i s C a t h o l i c , u n p u r i t a n i c a l ; no methodism about the square windows, s e t here and there a t undecided i n t e r v a l s , wheresoever they may be wanted. S i x a t t i c windows j u t out from the l o w - t i l e d r o o f . A t the corner of the house i s a h i g h p i n n a c l e d b u t t r e s s r i s i n g the f u l l h e i g h t of the w a l l ; f i v e b u t t r e s s e s f l a n k the s i d e w a l l , b u i l t so t h a t they shade the lower windows from the morning sun - i n one p l a c e reach-i n g to the s i l l of an upper window. A t the f u r t h e r end of the w a l l are two G o t h i c windows, c l a u s t r a l remnants, l i g h t i n g now perhaps the d i n i n g - h a l l where c o u s i n M o l l e and Dorothy sat i n s t a t e , or the s a l o o n where the l a t t e r r e c e i v e d her s e r v a n t s . There are s t i l l c l o i s t e r s a t t a c h e d to the house, a t the other s i d e o f i t maybe. 1 1 The L e t t e r s , pp.16-17. -38-A. bare enough d e s c r i p t i o n , but i t must s u f f i c e , s i n c e Dorothy t e l l s us n o t h i n g more. F o r t u n a t e l y S i r W i l l i a m Temple resembled a l l l o v e r s i n t h a t too d e t a i l connected wi t h h i s beloved was too s m a l l to be unimportant. He asks his. mis t r e s s how she spends he r days, and h e r r e -p l y not o n l y e n l i g h t e n e d him, b u t p r o v i d e s uar w i t h a wonderful p i c t u r e of a day i n the l i f e of a gentlewoman of England, i n the month of May, 1653. You ask me how I pass my time h e r e . I can g i v e you a p e r f e c t account not only of what I do f o r the present, but of what I am l i k e l y to do t h i s seven y e a r s i f I s t a y here so l o n g . I r i s e i n the morning reasonably e a r l y , and b e f o r e I am ready I go round the house t i l l I am weary of t h a t , and then i n t o the garden t i l l i t grows too hot f o r me. About ten o ' c l o c k I t h i n k of making me ready, and when t h a t ' s done I go i n t o my f a t h e r ' s , chamber, from thence to d i n n e r , where my c o u s i n M o l l e and I s i t i n g r e a t s t a t e i n a room and a t a t a b l e t h a t would h o l d a g r e a t many more. A f t e r d i n n e r we s i t and t a l k t i l l Mr.B.comes i n q u e s t i o n , and then I am gone. The heat o f the day i a spent i n r e a d i n g or working, and about s i x or seven o ' c l o c k I walk out: i n t o a common t h a t l i e s hard by the house, where a g r e a t many young wenches keep sheep and cows, and a i t i n the shade s i n g i n g o f b a l l a d s . I go to them and com-pare t h e i r v o i c e s and b e a u t i e s to some a n c i e n t shepherdesBes t h a t I have read of, and f i n d a v a s t d i f f e r e n c e there; But, t r u s t me, I t h i n k these a r e as innocent a s those could be. I t a l k to them, and f i n d t h a t they want nothi n g to make them the h a p p i e s t people i n the w o r l d but the know-ledge that they are so. Most commonly, when we are i n the midst of our d i s c o u r s e , one looka about her, and s p i e s her cows going i n t o the corn, and then away they a l l run a s i f they had wings a t t h e i r h e e l s . I, that am not so nimble, s t a y behind; and -39-when I see them d r i v i n g home t h e i r c a t t l e , I t h i n k ' t i s time f o r me to r e t i r e too. When I have supped, I go i n t o the garden, and so to the s i d e of a s m a l l r i v e r t h a t runs by i t , where I s i t down and wish you with me (you had b e s t say t h i s i s not k i n d n e i t h e r ) . In earnest, ' t i s a p l e a s a n t p l a c e , and would be much more so to me i f I had your company. I s i t t h e r e sometimes t i l l I am l o s t w i t h t h i n k i n g ; and were i t not f o r some c r u e l thoughts of the c r o s s n e s s of our f o r t u n e s t h a t w i l l n o t l e t me s l e e p there, I should f o r g e t that there were such a thing, to be done as going to b e d . 1 A d e t a i l e d examination of t h i s l e t t e r may be p r o f i t a b l e i n determining something of the s o c i a l l i f e o f the p e r i o d . **! r i s e i n the morning r e a s o n a b l y e a r l y * says Dorothy. But what was reasonably e a r l y ? H . D . T r a i l l i n h i s S o c i a l England t e l l s us t h a t merchants went to work about s i x or seven i n the morning, and mentions, f o r example, that Pepys was sometimes a t h i s desk by f o u r or f i v e A.M. 2 Dorothy seems to have been more i n d o l e n t . She w r i t e s : , b I am so great a l o v e r of my bed myself that I can e a s i l y apprehend the trouble; of r i s i n g a t f o u r o ' c l o c k these c o l d mornings.* 3 When one t h i n k s of the g r e a t , c o l d , draughty houses of the p e r i o d her appre-hensions are e a s i l y understood. However, she i s c o n s c i o u s of her duty here, as i n e v e r y t h i n g e l s e , and i t is; the duty of a woman to r i s e e a r l y . \"You are l i k e to have an e x c e l l e n t housewife of me,\" she says t e a s i n g l y to h e r l o v e r , 1 The L e t t e r s , pp.84-85. 2 H . D . T r a i l l , D.C.L. and J.S.Mann, e d . S o c i a l England, London, C a s s e l l & Co.Ltd. 1903, p.£69. 3 The L e t t e r s , p.42.. -40-*T am abed s t i l l and s l e p t so soundly, n o t h i n g but your l e t t e r c o u l d have waked me.*l Never was a woman who wrote l e s s about d o m e s t i c i t y . We know n o t h i n g whatsoever about the h o u s e w i f e l y d u t i e s which took Dorothy \"round the house\" 3. There must have been v a s t q u a n t i t i e s of baking and brewing and sewing done i n a house which s h e l t e r e d so many people. \"I have be:en c a l l e d away twenty times*, she says i n a l e t t e r , but a l a s , we know not what d u t i e s c a l l e d her. Wie know she i a m i s t r e s s of the house, s i n c e her mother d i e d b e f o r e the l e t t e r s begin, and i n the l e t t e r s we meet xmany 2 s e r v a n t s . \"T c h i d my. maid f o r waking me i n the morning\" and a g a i n * I dare not send my boy to meet you... nor any other of the s e r v a n t s , they are a l l too t a l k a -t i v e . * 3 There i s mention of \"my brother's', groom*, and. agai n '*my b r o t h e r ' s men\"'-. In a l e t t e r w r i t t e n d u r i n g a long, wakeful n i g h t by the bedside of her s i c k f a t h e r , she gives: us a p l e a s a n t p i c t u r e of the agreeable s i t u a t i o n which appeared to e x i s t between her and her s e r v a n t s . ...here do I a i t a l l n i g h t by a poor moped f e l l o w that serves my f a t h e r . . . My fellow, watchers have been a s l e e p too, t i l l j u s t now; they b e g i n to s t r e t c h and yawn; they are going to t r y i f e a t i n g and d r i n k i n g can keep them awake, and I am k i n d l y i n v i t e d to 1 The L e t t e r s , p.2.70. 2. I b i d . , p.T24. 3 I b i d . , p.213. -41-be of t h e i r company; my father's; man has; got one of the maids to t a l k nonsense to t o n i g h t , and they have got between them a b o t t l e o f a l e . I s h a l l l o s e my share i f I do not take them a t t h e i r f i r s t o f f e r . Your p a t i e n c e t i l l I have drunk, and then I am f o r you a g a i n . 1 Throughout the l e t t e r s , we f i n d a g r e a t concern f o r d i g n i t y , f o r convention and form, which makes the f o r e g o i n g d e s c r i p -t i o n a l l the more i n t e r e s t i n g . . Her r e l a t i o n s h i p with her companion, Jane, i s worthy o f mention. Jane's p o s i t i o n i n the house i s somewhat cur-i o u s . Temple: c a l l s her h i s \" f e l l o w servant\", a form of speech which Dorothy used a l s o , and although a p a i d compan-ion she appears to have exchanged l e t t e r s and p r e s e n t s w i t h him. Jane b i d s me t e l l you that, i f you l i k e d your marmalade of quince, she c o u l d send you more and she t h i n k s b e t t e r , t h a t has been made s i n c e . 2 and a g a i n : Jane pre s e n t s her humble s e r v i c e to you, and has sent you some t h i n g i n a box; ' t i s hard to imagine what she can f i n d here to p r e s e n t you w i t h a l , and I am much i n doubt whether you w i l l not pay too dear for i t i f you d i s c h a r g e the c a r r i a g e . ' T i s a. p r e t t y freedom she takes, but you may thank y o u r s e l f ; she t h i n k s because you c a l l her f e l l o w - s e r v a n t , she may use you a c c o r d i n g l y . I bred her b e t t e r , but you have s p o i l e d h e r . 3 1 The L e t t e r s , pp.80-81. 2. I b i d . , p.12.0. 3 I b i d . , p.144.. -42-Jane i a not i n continuous r e s i d e n c e a t Chicksands. A t one p o i n t she is; i n London, and meets Temple, to whom doubtless she c a r r i e s ; messages. Dorothy w r i t e s then: . . . I f your f e l l o w s e r v a n t hasbeen w i t h you, she has: t o l d you I p a r t w i t h her but f o r her advantage. That I s h a l l always be w i l l i n g to do; but whensoever she s h a l l t h i n k f i t to serve again, and i s not provid.ed of a b e t t e r ' m i s t r e s s , she knows, where t o f i n d 'me.l That Jane does not f i n d a b e t t e r m i s t r e s s becomes apparent when we meet her ag a i n i n the' l e t t e r s , always spoken o f w i t h a f f e c t i o n . But we know no more of Jane's employments than we know o f Dorothy's, s i n c e Dorothy w r i t e s d u r i n g one of Jane's absences: . . . J a n e . . . i s not y e t come down. On Tuesday I expect her; and i f she be not engaged, I s h a l l g i v e h er no cause here-a f t e r to b e l i e v e that she i a a burden 1to me, though I have no employment f o r her but t h a t of t a l k i n g to me when I am i n the humour of saying n o t h i h g . 2 P a r t of Jane's duty was. to a c t as chaperone, or duenna, though sometimes not even Jane was enough, and Dorothy was c o n s t r a i n e d to ask the v i c a r ' s , w i f e to be pr e s e n t . Once a s u i t o r whom she c a l l s \"my servant James*, and who brought her a pr e s e n t of c h a r c o a l , a commodity s c a r c e enough a t the time, came to c a l l . ...the other day he made me a v i s i t , and I, to prevent his. making d i s c o u r s e s to me, made Mrs.Goldsmith and Jane s i t by a l l the w h i l e . 3 1 The L e t t e r s , p.70. 2 ' I b i d . , p.223. 3 I b i d . , p.209. - 4 3 -Moore Smith, i n his. Appendix I I I , gives; h i s reasons as to why he ag r e e s w i t h P a r r y t h a t Jane and Mrs.GoIdsmith were s i s t e r s and ends h i s note w i t h I suggest t h a t Mary and Jane Wright were Thomas Wright's daughters taken i n t o the household o f S i r Peter and Lady Osborne, and that i n Mary the Rev. D a n i e l Goldsmith, son of the Rector o f Campton, found a w i f e * . 1 There i s l i t t l e more to be s a i d of the s e r v a n t s a t Chicksanda. How many cooks, chambermaids, s t a b l e boys or gardeners were kept we do not know. The garden was a good one: I c o u l d wish, too, th a t you would l a y your commands on me to f o r b e a r f r u i t ; here i s enough to k i l l 1,000 such as I am, and so e x c e l l e n t l y good... 2 and o b v i o u s l y l o c a l s q u i r e s were then as now, keen garden-e r s . Dorothy's neighbour, S i r Samuel Luke,shows another s i d e of h i s c h a r a c t e r than t h a t d e s c r i b e d by h i s s e c r e t a r y , Samuel B u t l e r , when the l a t t e r s a t i r i s e d h i s employer as \"Hudibras\". Dorothy s a y s : . . . S i r Sam has grown so ki n d as to send to me f o r some t h i n g s he d e s i r e d out o f h i s garden, and w i t h a l made the o f f e r of what was. i n h i s , which I had reason to take f o r a h i g h favour, f o r he i s a n i c e f l o r i s t . . . . 3 Dorothy perhaps p r i d e s h e r s e l f on being a l s o \"a n i c e f l o r i s t 1 \" . C e r t a i n l y she l o v e d her garden. 1 G.C.Moore Smith, The L e t t e r s of Dorothy Osborne, p.297. 2 T h e . L e t t e r s . . p . 112. 3 I b i d . , p.73. -44-L a s t n i g h t I was i n the garden t i l l 11 o ' c l o c k . I t was the sweetest n i g h t that e'er I saw. The garden looked so w e l l and the jasmine smelt beyond a l l perfume. 1 But not only i n the summer d i d she spend time i n the garden. Even i n Feb r u a r y she t a l k s of being up e a r l y and \"...going out to walk i n my n i g h t - c l o t h e s and n i g h t g o w i \" 2 . T h i s was o b v i o u s l y the custom, as she s t a t e s she does not make h e r s e l f \"ready* u n t i l ten o ' c l o c k . T h i s would appear l a t e , s i n c e the s o c i a l l i f e of the day began e a r l y . But perhaps s i n c e i t waa i n the country, formal v i s i t i n g d i d not begin e a r l y . Ihen Dorothy was: i n town she thought n o t h i n g of w r i t i n g to Temple, s a y i n g * \" T h i s i s to t e l l you t h a t you w i l l be expected to-morrow morning about n i n e o ' c l o c k . \" 3 To quote T r a i l l a g a i n : Even the. most f a s h i o n a b l e and d i s s i p a t e d kept v e r y e a r l y hours, and began a 'debauch' a t the. one o'c l o c k d i n n e r . . . . g u e s t s s t a y e d . . . t i l l seven or e i g h t o'clock, going to bed at sunset i n summer.4 She does not go i n t o her f a t h e r ' s chamber u n t i l she i s made \"ready*. T h i s i s i n keeping w i t h the ceremon-iousness o f the day. Here i s no i d l e running i n and out a t a l l hours, to see how he does. S i r P e t e r i s i l l , he does not leave his. room, and h i s devoted daughter takes the utmost care of him. She i s accustomed to i l l n e s s . People are always i l l - spleen, ague, sore eyes and c o l d s 1 The L e t t e r s , p.115. 2 I b i d . , p.215. 3 I b i d . , p.271. 4 T r a i l l , o p . c i t . , pp.668-669. -45-are the p e r p e t u a l companions of the time. Open the d i a r y of the Stev.Ralph J o s s e l i n a t any page and there w i l l he a n o t a t i o n about h i a wife's- sore eyes, h i s maid's c o l d , h i s c h i l d ' s v a r i o u s distempers, i n t e r s p e r s e d w i t h thanks to G-od f o r t h e i r various, recoveries, from d i v e r s e d i s e a s e s . 1 In The L e t t e r s we are e a r l y i n t r o d u c e d to the s t a t e of c h r o n i c i l l h e a l t h which i s p r e v a l e n t . In t h e t h i r d l e t t e r Dorothy s t a t e s t h a t she has been away from home d r i n k i n g m e d i c i n a l waters i n order to be r i d of \"a scurvey spleen\" 1. In the same l e t t e r she w r i t e s s ...how s o r r y I am you have-got such a c o l d . I am the more s e n s i b l e of your t r o u b l e by my own, f o r I have newly got one myself. But I w i l l send you t h a t which used to. cure me. ' T i s l i k e the r e s t of my medicines* i f i t do no good, ' t w i l l be sure to do no harm, and ' t w i l l be no g r e a t t r o u b l e to you to eat a l i t t l e on't now and then; f o r the t a s t e , as i t i s not e x c e l l e n t , so ' t i s n o t . v e r y i l l . 2 \"The r e s t of my medicines\" w r i t e s Dorothy, T h i s i s an age wherein gentlewomen knew the uses of h e r b s to make many homely remedies, and indeed i t i s a time when women took the p l a c e o f d o c t o r s . Dorothy t e l l s of her f r i e n d , Lady D i a n a R i c h , who comes to the country, and \" ' l i e s a t a gentlewoman's hard by me f o r sore eyes\"'. 3 U n f o r t u n a t e l y the gentlewoman was. not s u c c e s s f u l i n c u r i n g the Lady 1 Rev.Ralph J o s s e l i n , The D i a r y f o r 1616-1683, ed. f o r the Royal H i s t o r i c a l S o c i e t y by E , . H o c k l i f f e , London, Camden T h i r d S e r i e s , 1908, vol.15, p. 71. 2. The L e t t e r s , p.32.. 3 I b i d . , p.35. 46-D i a n a ' a sore eyes, nor were Dorothy's own remedies s u f f i c i e n t to cure her s p l e e n . She w r i t e s to her l o v e r s I d r i n k your h e a l t h every morning i n a drench that would p o i s o n a h o r s e I. b e l i e v e , and ' t i s ; the o n l y way I have to persuade myself to take i t . ' T i s the i n f u s i o n of s t e e l , and makes me so h o r r i b l y s i c k , t h a t every day a t ten o ' c l o c k I am making my w i l l and t a k i n g leave of a l l my f r i e n d s . 1 A. l i t t l e l a t e r she i s more s p e c i f i c about the remedy. .. . I am p a r t l y of your o p i n i o n t h a t ' t i s an i l l k i n d of p h y s i c . Yet I am c o n f i d e n t that I take i t the s a f e s t way, f o r I do not take the powder, a s many do, but o n l y l a y a p i e c e of s t e e l , i n white wine ove r n i g h t , and d r i n k the i n f u s i o n next morning, which one would t h i n k were n o t h i n g , and y e t ' t i s not • to b e imagined how s i c k i t makes me f o r an hour or two, and, which is, the misery, a l l that time one must be u s i n g some kindi of e x e r c i s e . Your f e l l o w s e r v a n t Jane has a b l e s s e d time on't. I make her p l a y a t s h u t t l e c o c k w i t h me, and she i s the v e r i e s t bungler a t i t ever you saw. Then I am ready to beat her w i t h the b a t t l e d o r e , and grow so p e e v i s h as I grow s i c k , t h a t I ' l l undertake she wishes there were no s t e e l i n E n g l a n d . 2 When she has an ague she i s no less, eloquent about the treatment meted out to h e r . She t e l l s Temple t h a t she has had two f i t s w i t h the ague which l e f t her ex-tremely weak, but she addai 1 The L e t t e r s , p.56 2 I b i d . , p.63. -47-. . . i t is. impossible t h a t I should keep i t long, f o r here i s my e l d e s t brother, and my c o u s i n M o l l e , and two or three more of them t h a t have g r e a t understanding i n agues, as people t h a t have been l o n g acquainted w i t h them, and they do so t u t o r and govern me, t h a t I am n e i t h e r to eat, d r i n k nor s l e e p without t h e i r l e a v e ; and, sure, my obedience deserves they should cure me, or e l s e they are g r e a t t y r a n t s to v e ry l i t t l e purpose.1 Cousin M o l l e knows a l l about agues, but Dorothy does not th i n k much of h i s judgment, and is. g l a d when he l e a v e s and she no l o n g e r has to s i t a t d i n n e r w i t h him ttin g r e a t s t a t e \" . ...I thank God an i m a g i n a t i o n took him one morning t h a t he was f a l l i n g i n t o a dropsy, and make f s i c ) him i n such haste to go back to Cambridge to h i s d o c t o r , t h a t he never rememb§red anything he had to ask of me, but the coach to c a r r y him away. 2 Cousin M o l l e had a reason, however, to l i n g e r a t Chicksands u n t i l h i s dropsy made him l e a v e , and t h i s reason caused Dorothy much unpleasantness. He was \" a g e n t 1 1 3 f o r a neighbouring s q u i r e who was making s u i t to Dorothy. T h i s s q u i r e was the \"Mr.B. , L who lfccame i n q u e s t i o n \" , a t which p o i n t Dorothy would l e a v e the room. I t was the custom to employ f r i e n d s or r e l a t i v e s as go-betweens. ...coming to town...I f e l l i n S i r Thomas's way and what humour took him I cannot imagine, but he made very formal addresses to me, and engaged h i s mother and my b r o t h e r to appear i n ' t . -1 The L e t t e r s , p.90. 2 I b i d . , p.105. 3 I b i d . , p.105. 4 I b i d . , p.31. -48-In the same l e t t e r appears another s u i t o r , a t my coming home I found that a gentleman (who has some e s t a t e i n t h i s country) had been t r e a t i n g w i t h my b r o t h e r . Dorothy has no l a c k o f f r i e n d s to perform this:., o f f i c e f o r her. She s u f f e r e d from a managing aunt, who would have her married whether she would or no, an o l d e r b r o t h e r who wanted her ma r r i e d w i t h the l e a s t p o s s i b l e inconvenience to h i m s e l f , a b r o t h e r - i n - l a w who thought she should be married, Cousin M o l i e and other f r i e n d s . They a l l brought o f f e r s from e l i g i b l e young men, and e l i g i b l e meant onl y one t h i n g , t o be possessed o f s u f f i c i e n t f o r t u n e . I t was a most mercenary age. Dorothy was not over-concerned about money, but c e r t a i n l y she would not marry without i t . L e t me assure you...that had you £20,000 a year I c o u l d l o v e you no more than I do.... But y e t , I would not be thought so i n c o n s i d e r a t e a person a s not (to) remember that i t i s expected from a l l people t h a t have sense that they should a c t w i t h reason, that to a l l persons some p r o p o r t i o n o f fortune is: necessary, a c c o r d i n g to t h e i r s e v e r a l q u a l i t i e s . . . . 2 A mercenary age, and a c y n i c a l one! .. . I p r e f e r a competency with one I esteem i n f i n i t e l y b e f o r e a v a s t e s t a t e i n o ther hands. ' T i s much e a s i e r , sure, to get a good f o r t u n e than a good husband; but whosoever m a r r i e s without any c o n s i d e r -a t i o n of f o r t u n e s h a l l never be allowed to do i t , out of so reasonable an apprehension 1 The L e t t e r s , p.43. 2, I b i d . , p.265. 49-the whole w o r l d (without any r e s e r v e ) s h a l l pronounce they d i d i t merely to s a t i s f y t h e i r g i ddy humour. 1 There was a c e r t a i n honesty, however, about the arrange-ments or marriage s e t t l e m e n t s . David C e c i l , i n h i s Two g u i e t L i v e s s a y s : L i k e everyone e l s e i n the seventeenth century, Dorothy accepted the view that marriage was. a s o c i a l i n s t i t u t i o n not n e c e s s a r i l y entered upon f o r s e n t i m e n t a l reasons. This meant t h a t i t had i t s own problems unconnected w i t h those of the heart.2 She w r i t e s v e r y c a l m l y of a s u i t o r , s a y i n g : . . . I guessed he expected a b e t t e r f o r t u n e than mine. And i t proved so. Yet he. p r o t e s t e d h e . l i k e d me so w e l l , that he ' was. very angry my f a t h e r would not he persuaded to g i v e a £1,000 more w i t h me; and I him so i l l , t h a t I vowed i f I had £1,000 l e s s I should have thought i t too much f o r him.3 There i s a modern note i n some o f Dorothy's o b s e r v a t i o n s on marriages My b r o t h e r would persuade me there i s \" no such t h i n g i n the world as a constant f r i e n d s h i p . People, he says, that marry w i t h g r e a t p a s s i o n f o r one another, as they think, come afterwards to l o s e i t they know not how, besides, the m u l t i t u d e of such as are f a l s e and mean i t . I cannot be of. h i s o p i n i o n , though I confess- -there are too many examples: on't.4 David C e c i l has an o b s e r v a t i o n t o make on this:. \"Tn marriages, as i n every other human i n s t i t u t i o n - so r a n 1 The L e t t e r s , pp.218-219. 2 D a v i d C e c i l , Two Q u i e t L i v e s , The Bobbs M e r r i l l Co.,, I n d i a n a p o l i s , 1947, p.58. '. 3 The L e t t e r s , p.30. 4 I b i d . , p.115. -50-B o r o t h y ' s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c c o n c l u s i o n - t h i n g s seemed l i k e l y to t u r n out badly\"*. 1 Another b i t t e r l i t t l e comment by Dorothy i s as f i t f o r 1948 as f o r 1653* What an age we do l i v e i n , where 1 t i a a m i r a c l e i f i n ten couple that are married, two of them l i v e so aa n o t to p u b l i s h to the world t h a t they cannot a g r e e . 2 In the same l e t t e r cornea a wise, p a t h e t i c o b s e r v a t i o n s \" . . . ' t i s a sad t h i n g when a l l one's happiness i s o n l y t h a t the world does n o t know you a r e miserable.\"' 3 There i s noth i n g modern, however, i n the power p a r e n t s had over t h e i r c h i l d r e n . I t amounted to d i v i n e a u t h o r i t y . Dorothy r e f e r s o f t e n to the o b l i g a t i o n s she has to her f a t h e r , and comments upon h i s kindness to her, as though i t were not common w i t h p a r e n t s to be k i n d . He [[Temple's f a t h e r , who opposed the. matchjmay be c o n f i d e n t I can never t h i n k of d i s p o s i n g myself without my f a t h e r ' s consent; and a l t h o u g h he has l e f t i t more i n my power than almost anybody l e a v e s a daughter, y e t c e r t a i n l y I were the worst natured person i n the w o r l d i f h i s kindness, were not a g r e a t e r t i e upon me than any advantage he c o u l d have r e s e r v e d . ^ And again i n the f o l l o w i n g sentence where a parent's word seems almost l i k e a d i v i n e commands \"Sure the whole world c o u l d never persuade me (unless a parent commanded i t ) to marry one t h a t I had no esteem f o r . . . . ^ I t i s c o m f o r t i n g to 1 C e c i l , o£.ci_t.p.24. 2 The L e t t e r s , p.170. 3 I b i d . , p.171. 4 The L e t t e r s , p.67. 5 I b i d . , p.T?2. -51-know, even a t t h i s d i s t a n c e , t h a t Dorothy's f a t h e r l a i d few commands: upon her. Her own r e l i g i o u s p r i n c i p l e s and deep c o n v i c t i o n of the va l u e o f s o c i a l laws, p l a c e d shackles enough upon h e r . Returning to the d e t a i l e d examination of the l e t t e r d e s c r i b i n g a t y p i c a l day i n her l i f e , we f i n d t h a t \"The heat of the day i s spent i n re a d i n g or working*. What d i d she read? The answer i s simple. She read l o v e s t o r i e s and^resumably^her B i b l e . The f i r s t we know, the second we guess from the ease w i t h which she quotes S c r i p t u r e . Her c h o i c e of l i t e r a t u r e was not s t r a n g e . Everyone, and everyone meant those people w i t h whom she a s s o c i a t e d , read the long Fr e n c h romances.. I have read your Reine M a r g u e r i t e , and w i l l r e t u r n i t when you p l e a s e ....Have you read Gleopatre? I have s i x tomeB. on't here that I can. l e n d you i f you have not; there a re some s.tories. i n ' t you w i l l l i k e I b e l i e v e . But what an ass am I to t h i n k you can be i d l e enough a t London to read romances! 1 Dorothy perhaps d i d her l o v e r too much c r e d i t . I t i s only two s h o r t y e a r s s i n c e he not o n l y read romances, but wrote some h i m s e l f . 2 We owe to E.A...Parry (how much to Mrs.Longe i s an u n s o l v a b l e question) a long d e s c r i p t i o n of these romances, or n o v e l s . 1 The L e t t e r s , pp.52.-53. 2 S i r Wm.Temple, E a r l y Essays and Romances of S i r W i l l i a m Tempjle B t . p.xx. 5 2 -C l e o p a t r e and Le Grand Cyrus appear to have been Dorothy's, l i t e r a r y compan-i o n s a t t h i s date. She would read these i n the o r i g i n a l French; and, as she t e l l s us somewhere, had a scorn of t r a n s l a t i o n s . . . . Le Grand Cyrus., the masterpiece of Mademoiselle Madeleine de S c u d e r i , i s contained i n no l e s s than t e n volumes, each of which i n i t s turn has many books; i t i s , i n f a c t , more a c o l l e c t i o n of romances than a s i n g l e romance. L a C l e o p a t r e , a s i m i l a r work, was o r i g i a l l y p u b l i s h e d i n twenty-three volumes of twelve p a r t s , each p a r t c o n t a i n i n g three or f o u r books. I t i s but a c o l l e c t i o n of s h o r t s t o r i e s . I t s author... G a u t h i e r de Costes. C h e v a l i e r Seigneur de l a C a l p r en ed e.. . p ublished C l e o p a t r e i n 1642 1 L i k e b e s t s e l l e r s o f to-day, the books were borrowed and sent around from f r i e n d to f r i e n d . You do not t e l l me whether you r e c e i v e d the books I sent you, but I hope you did\", because you say n o t h i n g to the c o n t r a r y . They a r e my dear Lady Diana's, and t h e r e f o r e I am much concerned that they should be s a f e . 2 A s a young woman of sentiment, Dorothy wept over the f a t e of h e r h e r o e s j ...Almanzor 3 i s as f r e s h i n my memory as i f I had v i s i t e d h i s tomb but y e s t e r d a y . . . . You w i l l b e l i e v e I had not been used to g r e a t a f f l i c t i o n s when I made h i s s t o r y such a one to me, as I c r i e d an hour together f o r him, and was so angry w i t h A l c i d i a n a t h a t f o r my l i f e I c o u l d never l o v e her a f t e r it..4 I t i s a. l i t t l e d i f f i c u l t to r e c o n c i l e Dorothy's u n c r i t i c a l a p p r a i s a l of most of t h e French n o v e l s w i t h her u n h e s i t a t i n g condemnation of Margaret Cavendish's l i t e r a r y e f f o r t s . \"You need not send me my Lady Kew-1 The L e t t e r s , p.49. 2. I b i d . , p.63. 3 See.note 2. i n Appendix. 4 The L e t t e r s , p.63. -53-c a s t l e ' a book a t a l l , f o r I have a'een i t , and am s a t i s f i e d t h a t there are soberer people i n Bedlam. n^ I t i s true t h a t Dorothy never r h a p s o d i s e s , she i s never absurd, and above a l l she i s never v u l g a r , while the Duchess i s g u i l t y o f a l l three f a u l t s . N e v e r t h e l e s s the Duchess wrote many pages worth the re a d i n g and many paragraphs worthy of Dorothy h e r s e l f . Dorothy's judgments, how.ever, are f o r t h r i g h t . I have no p a t i e n c e n e i t h e r f o r these t r a n s l a t o r s of romances. I met w i t h Polexander and L ' i l l u s t r e Bassa. both so d i s g u i s e d t h a t I, who am t h e i r o l d acquaintance, h a r d l y knew, them; b e s i d e s th a t , they were s t i l l so much French i n words and phrases t h a t 'twas impossible f o r one t h a t understood not French to make an y t h i n g of them. I f poor Prazimene be i n the same dre s s , I would not see her f o r the wo r i d . . . . I s i t not my good L o r d of Monmouth, or some s:uch honourable per-sonage, t h a t p r e s e n t s her to the E n g l i s h l a d i e s ? I have heard many people wonder how he spends h i s e s t a t e . I b e l i e v e he undoes- h i m s e l f w i t h p r i n t i n g h i s t r a n s l a -t i o n s . Nobody e l s e w i l l undergo the charge, because they never hope to s e l l enough of them to pay themselves w i t h a l . . . . My Lord B r o g h i l l , sure, w i l l g i v e us something worth the r e a d i n g . My L o r d Saye, I am t o l d , has w r i t a romance s i n c e his. r e t i r e m e n t i n the I s l e of Lundy, and Mr.Waller, they say,' is. making one of our wars:, which, i f he does: not mingle w i t h a grea t d e a l of p l e a s i n g f i c t i o n , cannot be ver y d i v e r t i n g , sure, the s u b j e c t i s so s a d . 2 Moore Smith has a note concerning Dorothy's knowledge of French, which i s of i n t e r e s t heres 1 The L e t t e r s , p.100. 2 I b i d . , p.158. -54-She had gained...hy the s o j o u r n a t S:t.Malo, that knowledge of F r e n c h which was to make the l o n g French romances, her f a v o u r i t e reading.1 . The standards by which she judges romances are s u f f i c i e n t l y i n t e r e s t i n g to be quoted a t l e n g t h . P a r t h e n i s a a is; a romance \"composed by the L o r d B r o g h i l l and d e d i c a t e d to the Lady Northumberland 1* 1. 2 . . . P a r t h e n i s a a i s now my company.... • T i s handsome language; you would know i t to be w r i t by a person of good q u a l i t y though you were not t o l d i t ; but, i n the whole, I am not very much taken w i t h i t . A l l the s t o r i e s have too near a resemblance w i t h those of other romances, there i s n o t h i n g of new or surprenant i n them; the l a d i e s are a l l so kind they make no s p o r t , and I meet onl y w i t h one t h a t took me by doing a handsome t h i n g of the k i n d . She was i n a beseiged town, and persuaded a l l those of her sex to go out w i t h her to the enemy...and d i e by t h e i r swords, t h a t the p r o v i s i o n of the town might l a s t the l o n g e r f o r such as were able to do s e r v i c e i n defending i t . But. how angry was I to see him s p o i l t h i s a g a i n by b r i n g i n g out a l e t t e r t h i s woman l e f t behind her f o r the governor of the town, where she d i s c o v e r s a p a s s i o n f o r him, and makes t h a t the reason why she d i d i t . I c o n f e s s I have no p a t i e n c e f o r our f a i s e u r s de Romance when they make women c o u r t . I t w i l l never e n t e r i n t o my head that ' t i s p o s s i b l e any woman can l o v e where she i s not f i r s t l o ved, and much l e s s t h a t i f they s h o u l d do t h a t , they c o u l d have the f a c e to own i t . Methinks he t h a t w r i t e s L ' i l l u s t r e Bassa says: w e l l i n h i a e p i s t l e that we are not to imagine h i s hero to be leBS t a k i n g than those o f other romances because the l a d i e s do not f a l l i n l o v e w i t h him whether he w i l l or not. 'Twould be an i n j u r y to the l a d i e s to suppose they c o u l d do so... .Another f a u l t I f i n d too, 1 G-.C.Moore. Smith, L e t t e r s of Dorothy Osborne, p.xv. 2 The L e t t e r s , p.206. -55-i n the s t y l e - ' t i s a f f e c t e d . Ambitioned i s a g r e a t word with him, and ignore; my concern, or of g r e a t concern, i s , i t seems, prope r e r than concernment: and though he makes, h i s people say f i n e handsome t h i n g s to one another, y e t they are not easy and n a i v e l i k e the French, and there i s a l i t t l e harshness i n most of the d i s c o u r s e s t h a t one would take to be the f a u l t of a t r a n s l a t o r r a t h e r than of an a u t h o r . l That i s a most r e v e a l i n g paragraph, and t e l l s much more than Dorothy's i d e a s of a ,t:goodtt; romance. But enough has been s a i d about her \"reading\" 2. Her \"working\" now comes i n q u e s t i o n . V i r g i n i a Woolf c a l l s , her \"indolent\"-. The charge may have been j u s t . I t i s obvious t h a t much e n t e r t a i n -i n g was done, even i n the country, which Dorothy c a l l s \" d u l l \" . An e a r l y l e t t e r gives, a glimpse of t h i s e n t e r -tainment. D e s p i t e the P u r i t a n i n f l u e n c e people s t i l l p l a y e d cards, and to t h i s entertainment Dorothy turned when she is. d i s a p p o i n t e d over the a r r i v a l of a l e t t e r : . The l o s s put. me hugely out of order, and you would have both p i t i e d and laughed a t me i f you could have seen how woodenly I e n t e r t a i n e d the widow, who came h i t h e r the day b e f o r e , and s u r p r i s e d me very much. Not being a b l e to say a n y t h i n g , I got her to cards, and t h e r e with a g r e a t d e a l of p a t i e n c e l o s t my money to her....3 In the same l e t t e r i s an i n t e r e s t i n g note c o n c e r n i n g s o c i a l h a b i t s * 1 The L e t t e r s , pp.207-208. 2. V i r g i n i a Woo I f The. Second Common Reader, p.62. 3 The Letters., p. 55. -56-My b r o t h e r i s gone to wait upon the widow, homeward.... She has so t i r e d me w i t h being here but two days, t h a t I do not think I s h a l l a c c e p t of the o f f e r she made me of l i v i n g w i t h h e r \" i n case my f a t h e r d i e s b e f o r e I have d i s p o s e d of myself.1 N a t u r a l l y the v i s i t s were returned!. Dorothy speaks of \"having been abroad a l l t h i s d a y \" . 2 A d e l i g h t f u l v i g n e t t e i s p resented when she t e l l s Temple of her meeting w i t h a c e r t a i n Mr.Luke, b i d d i n g him not be alarmed, t h a t her f r i e n d s h i p w i t h Luke i s v e r y s l i g h t . He l i v e s w i t h i n f o u r or f i v e m i l e s of me, and one day that I had been to v i s i t a l a d y t h a t i s nearer.him than me, as I came back I met a coach w i t h some company i n ' t t h a t I knew, and thought myself o b l i g e d t o . s a l u t e , l e a l l l i g h t e d and met, and I found more than I looked f o r by two damsels and t h e i r s q u i r e s . I was a f t e r w a r d s t o l d they were of the Lukes., and p o s s i b l y t h i s man might be t h e r e . . . . 3 ( i t may be remembered that i t was S i r Samuel Luke of t h i s f a m i l y who exchanged c u t t i n g s w i t h Borothy.) The l e t t e r s a r e f u l l of v i s i t o r s coming and g o i n g . \"Since I w r i t t h i s my company i a i n c r e a s e d by two, my brother Harry and a f a i r niece.\"4 T h i s b r o t h e r f i g u r e s so prominently i n the l e t t e r s ; and i n Dorothy's l i f e t h a t he r e q u i r e s a s e c t i o n to h i m s e l f . The \" f a i r n iece\" : d r i f t s \" i n t o the l e t t e r s now and a g a i n . She i s the daughter of S i r Thomas Peyton and B o r o t h y * s o l d e r s i s t e r E l i z a b e t h , not Anne as. mentioned by Parry, and now dead, and i s a 1 The L e t t e r s , p.57. 2 I b i d . , p.67. 3 I b i d . , p.73. 4 I b i d . , p.85. - 5 7 -k i n d r e d s p i r i t of her aunt. To r e t u r n to the v i s i t o r s , \"-I have had l a d i e s w i t h me a l l t h i s a f t e r n o o n t h a t are f o r London to-morrow*. 1 O c c a s i o n a l l y Dorothy i s more e x p l i c i t , f o r examples ..,1 was i n v i t e d t o dine a t a r i c h widow'a....We had a hugh din n e r , though the company was o n l y of her own k i n d r e d , that are i n the house w i t h her and what I brought; but she i s broke l o o s e from an o l d m i s e r a b l e husband t h a t l i v e d so long, she t h i n k s i f she does not make haste she s h a l l not have time to spend what he l e f t ....We c o u l d not eat i n q u i e t f o r the l e t t e r s and p r e s e n t s t h a t came i n from people t h a t would not have looked, upon h e r when they had met her i f she had been l e f t poor.2 Another e x t r a c t , s t i l l d e a l i n g w i t h v i s i t o r s , g i v e s an i n t e r e s t i n g s i d e l i g h t on Dorothy's views c o n c e r n i n g the behaviour of husbands: I made a v i s i t t ' o t h e r day to welcome a l a d y i n t o t h i s country whom her husband has newly brought down, and because I knew him, though n o t her, and she was a s t r a n g e r here, 'twas a c i v i l i t y I owed them. But you cannot imagine how I was s u r p r i s e d to see a man t h a t I had known so handsome, so capable of being: made a p r e t t y gentleman... transformed i n t o the d i r e c t shape of a g r e a t boy newly come from s c h o o l . To see him wholly taken up w i t h running on errands f o r h i s w i f e , and teaching her l i t t l e dog t r i c k s . ! 3 So much f o r l i f e i n the country. When she goes to London l i f e becomes so gay t h a t we wonder i f we a r e r e a l l y r e a d i n g about P u r i t a n England i n 1653. Her f a t h e r has d i e d and 1 The L e t t e r s , p.101. 2 I b i d . , pp.123-124. 3 I b i d . , p.130. -58-she must leave Chicksands. She w r i t e s to Temple of h e r p l a n s . From hence I must go i n t o Northampton-s h i r e to my Lady Ruthin, and so to London, where I s h a l l f i n d my aunt and my b r o t h e r Peyton [ b r o t h e r - i n - l a w ] , b e t w i x t whom I t h i n k to d i v i d e t h i s summer. 1 When ahe^ i s a t l a s t i n London, the c i t y i s gay. She w r i t e s of her l o d g i n g : ' T i s over a g a i n s t S a l i s b u r y House where I have the honour of s e e i n g my Lady M. Sandia every day u n l e s s some race or other c a r r y her out of town. 2 The season i s s h o r t l y over however, and the f a s h i o n a b l e world seeks the country a g a i n . I t i s now J u l y . . . . I am i n Kent, and i n a house so s t r a n g e l y crowded w i t h company t h a t I am weary as a dog a l r e a d y , though I have been here but three o r f o u r d a y s . . . . 3 There i s an amusing note here, when Dorothy complains t h a t her l o v e r i s more g u i l t y of w r i t i n g s h o r t l e t t e r s than she. I have n o t seen a. l e t t e r this, month t h a t has been above h a l f a sheet. Never t r u s t me i f I w r i t e more than you that l i v e i n a d e s o l a t e d country where you might f i n i s h a romance of t e n tomes, b e f o r e anybody i n t e r r u p t e d you -I that l i v e i n a house the most f i l l e d o f any s i n c e the Ark, and where I can a s s u r e (you) one has h a r d l y time f o r the most nec e s s a r y occasions.4 In t h i s same l e t t e r Dorothy speaks of p r i v a t e t h e a t r i c a l s i n which she t a k e s p a r t . Theatres may not yet be open, echoes of Prynne's. H i s t r i o - M a a t i x , that b l a s t a g a i n s t the stage, a l t h o u g h two decades away, s t i l l l i n g e r i n 1 The L e t t e r s , pp.2.31-2.. 2 I b i d . , p.239. 3 I b i d . , p.252. 4 . I b i d . , p.255. -59-P u r i t a n ears, (Prynne, a l a a , has. none) but the p l a y goes on, and Dorothy says, \"They w i l l have me a c t my p a r t i n a play , \"The L o s t Lady\" : i t i a , and I am she.*! A f t e r t hat the f o l l o w i n g d e s c r i p t i o n of l i f e i n a co u n t r y house cannot be too s u r p r i s i n g : The aun was up an hour before I went to bed to-day, and t h i s i s not the f i r s t time I have done t h i s s i n c e I came h i t h e r . ' T w i l l not be f o r your advantage that I should stay here l o n g ; f o r , i n earnest, I s h a l l be good f o r n o t h i n g i f I do. Ce go abroad a l l day and p l a y a l l n i g h t , and say our p r a y e r s when we have t i m e . 2 Dorothy never f o r g e t s the c i v i l i t i e s . A t the end of this, l e t t e r she says she i s sending a new song, \"not... to you, but to your s i s t e r . \" 3 The new song, what was. i t ? And d i d l i t t l e Martha Temple make a. new \"tune* f o r i t , as Dorothy suggested ? S i n c e she was only s i x t e e n a t the time t h i s would appear u n l i k e l y . There i s f u r t h e r d i s c o u r s e on l i f e , i n \"my b r o t h e r Peyton's* house. The n i e c e i s that * f a i r n i e c e * a l r e a d y menti oned. Of a l l the company t h i s p l a c e i s s t o r e d with, there i s but two persona whose c o n v e r s a t i o n i s a t a l l easy w i t h me; one i s my e l d e s t n i e c e , who, sure, was sent i n t o the world to show ' t i s p o s s i b l e f o r a woman to be s i l e n t ; the. other is. a gentleman whose mistress, d i e d j u s t when 1 The L e t t e r s , p.255. 2 I b i d . , p725*9. 3 I b i d . , p.260. -60 they should have m a r r i e d . . . .Methinks we three...do become t h i s house the worst that can be....What can you imagine we d i d t h i s l a s t week, when to our c o n s t a n t company there was. added a c o l o n e l and h i s lady, a son of h i s and two daughters, a maid of honour to the Queen o f Bohemia, and another c o l o n e l or major, I know no t which, besides, a l l the t r a i n they brought with them; the men the g r e a t e s t d r i n k e r s that ever I saw....1 F u r t h e r s i d e l i g h t s on the s o c i a l l i f e are p r o v i d e d i n the next e x t r a c t : Some company t h a t was here l a s t n i g h t kept us up t i l l three a c l o c k f s i c ] , and then we l a y three i n a bed, which was a l l one to me as i f we had not gone to bed a t a l l . S i n c e d i n n e r they a r e a l l gone, and our company w i t h them p a r t of the way.... 2 There are many a l l u s i o n s throughout the l e t t e r s to t r a v e l l i n g by coach, one of the more amusing being that c o n c e r n i n g the danger of coaches o v e r t u r n i n g . Dorothy speaks of her aunt: ...a v e r y good woman, but the most troublesome i n a coach t h a t ever was. We dare not l e t our tongues l i e more on one s i d e of our mouths than t ' o t h e r f o r f e a r of o v e r t u r n i n g i t . 3 The commonest method of t r a v e l l i n g was s t i l l t h a t o f Chaucer's p i l g r i m s . When the company went to wait, on the g u e s t s \"\"homeward11- they rode horseback. Dorothy a l s o used t h i s ne thod of t r a v e l l i n g , s i n c e she w r i t e s r e g a r d i n g 1 The L e t t e r s , pp.262-263. 2 I b i d . , pp.264-265. 3 I b i d . , p.256. -61-a c e r t a i n s a d d l e r ; . . . I bespoke a saddle of him once, y e t I waa so o f t e n w i t h him about i t - having much ado to make him understand how I would have i t , i t being o f a f a s h i o n he had never seen, though s i n c e i t be common....1 A d e t a i l e d examination of one l e t t e r haa l e d us to a di3cuasion of a score, and we have not y e t come to any of the many l i t t l e commissions e n t r u s t e d by Borothy to Temple. I t would appear t h a t t h e r e waa no t h i n g indecorous i n the g i v i n g and r e c e i v i n g o f presents, and Dorothy makes her r e q u e s t s f r e e l y . The f i r s t i s f o r a e a l s , which have l a t e l y come i n t o f a a h i o n . Her dear f r i e n d , Lady D i a n a R i c h , daughter of my L o r d of H o l l a n d , she who went to l i v e w i t h the gentlewoman f o r t h e c u r i n g of her sore eyes, haa brought news of t h i s f a s h i o n to the country, and even has some of the s e a l s to show, so that she s e t Dorothy a - l o n g i n g f o r some too. \"Tf such t h i n g s come your way, pray remember me..**** He does remember, and; sends aeala, but not b e f o r e Dorothy t e l l s him i n another l e t t e r t h a t she has s e n t to I t a l y f o r some h e r s e l f . She has heard of a l a d y who \"wears twenty s t r u n g upon a r i b b o n , l i k e the n u t s boys p l a y w i t h a l \" . 3 Temple r e t r i e v e s him-s e l f by sending so many t h a t she i s ab l e to h e l p her neighbours. Her next request i s a f r a g r a n t ones 1 The L e t t e r s , p.144. 2 I b i d . , p.39. 3 I b i d . , p.44. - 6 2 When you go i n t o the Exchange, pray c a l l a t the g r e a t shop above, \"The Flower Pott.\" 1 I spoke to Heama, the man of the shop, when I was i n town, f o r a quart of orange-flower water....Pray put him i n mind of i t , and l e t him show i t to you before he sends i t me...you see I make no s c r u p l e of g i v i n g you l i t t l e i d l e commissions, ' t i s a freedom you a l l o w me, and t h a t I should be g l a d you would takeJ. Her next request i s a l i t t l e more d i f f i c u l t o f f u l f i l l i n g * When your f a t h e r goes i n t o I r e l a n d , l a y your commands upon some of h i s servants to get you an I r i s h greyhound. I have one that was the General's; but ' t i s a b i t c h , and those are always much l e s s than the dogs....Henry Cromwell undertook to w r i t e to h i s b r o t h e r Fleetwood f o r another f o r me.; but I have l o s t my hopes t h e r e . Whom-soever i t i s that you employ, he w i l l need no other i n s t r u c t i o n s but to get the. b i g g e s t he can meet w i t h ; ' t i s a l l the beauty of those dogs, or of any indeed, I t h i n k . A masty ( m a s t i f f ) i s handsomer to me than the most exact l i t t l e dog t h a t ever l a d y p l a y e d w i t h a l . 2 She. i s shocked when she f i n d s t h a t Temple has put the commission i n h i s f a t h e r ' s hands* I g i v e you many thanks f o r your care of my I r i s h dog, but I am extremely out of .countenance your f a t h e r should be t r o u b l e d w i t h i t . . . . d o me the r i g h t as to l e t him know I am not so possessed w i t h i s as to consent he should he employed i n such a commission. 3 She was r e l i e v e d when she found t h a t she had not e n t i r e l y \" l o s t \" ' her \"hopes\" w i t h Henry Cromwell, i n t h a t she was 1 The L e t t e r s , p.70. 2 I b i d . , p.88. 3 I b i d . , p.129. -63-soon able to w r i t e : . . . I must t e l l you what a p r e s e n t I had made me to-day. Two o f the f i n e s t young I r i s h greyhounds t h a t ere I saw; a gentleman that s e r v e s the General sent them me. They a r e newly come over, and sen t f o r by Henry Cromwell, he t e l l s me, but not how he got them f o r me:. However, I am g l a d to have them, and much.the more because i t d i s p e n s e s w i t h a very u n f i t employment t h a t your f a t h e r , out of h i s kindness to you and h i s c i v i l i t y to me, was content to take upon him. 1 Mb l o v e r worthy of the name c o u l d l e t t h a t pass, and soon we have cause to b l u s h f o r Dorothy's, i n c o n s t a n c y : Your dog i s come too, and I have r e c e i v e d him with a l l kindness t h a t i s due. to any-t h i n g you send; have defended him from the envy and m a l i c e of a troop of greyhounds th a t used to be i n fav o u r w i t h me; and he i s so s e n s i b l e of my c a r e over him, that he i s p l e a s e d w i t h nobody e l s e , and f o l l o w s me as i f we had been of long a c q u a i n t a n c e . 2 He must have been a b i g dog, as she cared f o r no o t h e r s . Was he then a house pet? In Van Byck's p o r t r a i t of the c h i l d r e n o f C h a r l e s I, the a r t i s t shows the c h i l d r e n grouped around an enormous m a s t i f f . Prom what we know of Temple, Dorothy's dog may have resembled t h a t hugh animal. F o r outdoors there were b l a c k and white s p o t t e d dogs, an-c e s t o r s of the breed we s t i l l know as. c a r r i a g e dogs, though the c a r r i a g e s have disappeared. Dorothy w r i t e s about sending a g i f t to Martha Temple. \"She s h a l l have two \" s p o t s \" ( c a r r i a g e dogs) i f she p l e a s e ( f o r I had j u s t such another g i v e n me a f t e r you were g o n e ) . \" 3 (With r e f e r e n c e to the two 1 The L e t t e r s , p.159. 2 I b i d . , p.223. 3 I b i d . , p.268. -64-\" s p o t s \" Moore Smith has note on t h i s which says \"two s p o t t s . The O.E.B. g i v e s \"Spot* as a v a r i e t y of pigeon\" 1. 1 I t would appear to the w r i t e r , however, that P a r r y ' s i d e a of \"'spots\" being c a r r i a g e dogs i s much more l i k e l y to be t r u e . ) Remembering Dorothy's words, \" I t h a t am n o t so nimble\", and t h i n k i n g a l s o of the C l o t h e s of the p e r i o d , i t i s impossible to connect Dorothy w i t h any sport, save t h a t of the b a t t l e d o r e she p l a y s w i t h Jane when she i s t a k i n g i n f u s i o n o f s t e e l f o r her s p l e e n . We f i n d her, however, remonstrating w i t h Temple f o r ove r h e a t i n g h i m s e l f a t t e n n i s . I n v e s t i g a t i n g t h i s s p o r t f u r t h e r , one f i n d s an i n t e r e s t i n g note i n S t r u t t ' s - The S p o r t s and Pastimes of the People o f England: James I, i f not h i m s e l f a t e n n i s p l a y e r speaks of the pastime with commendation, and recommends i t to h i s son as a s p e c i e s of e x e r c i s e becoming a p r i n c e . C h a r l e s II f r e q u e n t l y d i v e r t e d h i m s e l f w i t h p l a y i n g a t t e n n i s , and had p a r t i c u l a r k i n d of d r e s s e s made f o r t h a t p u r p o s e . 2 The a r i s t o c r a t i c s o c i e t y which made up Dorothy's world was much concerned w i t h r e l i g i o n , and Dorothy l i s t e n e d to as many sermons as d i d her f r i e n d s . She was c r i t i c a l of the preaching she heard, though she does say that she b e l i e v e s i t \" b e t t e r to hear an i l l sermon than none\".'* The f o l l o w i n g i s an example of h e r discussion* 1 G.C.Moore Smith, The L e t t e r s o f Dorothy Osborne,p.291. 2 Joseph S t r u t t , The Sp o r t s and Pastimes, of the People of England, e d . W i l l i a m Hone, London, W i l l i a m Reeves, 1830, P.94. 3 The L e t t e r s , p.72. -65-of an \" i l l sermon\"'. Would you b e l i e v e t h a t I had the grace to go to hear a sermon upon a week day? In earnest, ' t i s t r u e ; and Mr .Marshall was. the man that preached....He i s so famed t h a t I expected r a r e t h i n g s of him...and what do you t h i n k he t o l d us,? Why, that i f there were no kings, no queens, no l o r d s , no l a d i e s , nor gentlemen, nor gentlewomen, i n the world,'twould be no l o s s a t a l l to God Almighty.... I cannot b e l i e v e h i s sermons w i l l do much towards the b r i n g i n g anybody to heaven more than by e x e r c i s i n g t h e i r p a t i e n c e . Yet, I ' l l say that f o r him, he stood s t o u t l y f o r t i t h e s , though, i n my o p i n i o n , few deserved them l e s s than he; and i t may be he would be b e t t e r without them.l The k i n d e s t t h i n g to be s a i d at t h i s p o i n t i s t h a t Dorothy was a c h i l d of her age. G e n e r a l l y the v i r t u e s she admires, are P u r i t a n v i r t u e s . Speaking of Lady Anne Wentworth, daughter of the E a r l of S t r a f f o r d , she says: In my judgment she is., without d i s p u t e , the f i n e s t l a d y I know (one always excepted); not t h a t she i s a t a l l hand-s.ome, but i n f i n i t e l y v i r t u o u s and d i s c r e e t , of a sob er and v e r y d i f f e r e n t humour from most of the young people of these times, but has as much w i t and i s as good company as anybody that ever I saw. 2 I t is. not p o s s i b l e , however, to f o r g e t that Dorothy's f a t h e r waa a R o y a l i s t , and that she grew up i n t h a t t r a d i t i o n . ' T i s strange to see the f o l l y t h a t p ossesses the young people of t h i s age, and the l i b e r t i e s they take to themselves. I have the c h a r i t y to 1 The L e t t e r s , p.143. 2 I b i d . , p.60. -66-b e l i e v e they appear v e r y much worse than they a r e , and t h a t the want of a Court to govern themselves by i s i n g r e a t p a r t the cause of t h e i r r u i n ; though t h a t was no p e r f e c t s c h o o l of v i r t u e , y e t V i c e there wore her mask, and appeared so u n l i k e h e r s e l f t h a t she gave no scandal.1 .Among the f o l l i e s o f the age, perhaps o f any age, was: an i n t e r e s t i n a s t r o l o g y , but Dorothy's; common sense was proof a g a i n s t t h i s manner of d e a l i n g w i t h the s t a r s . You l i t t l e t h i n k I have been with L i l l y ; i n earnest, I was....not... f o r any...occasion of my own; but w i t h a c o u s i n of mine t h a t had long-designed to make h e r s e l f s p o r t with him, and d i d not m i s s of her aim. I confess I always thought him an imposter, but I c o u l d never have imagined him so simple a one a s we found him. In my l i f e I never heard so r i d i c u l o u s a. d i s c o u r s e as he made us, and no o l d woman tha t passes f o r a. w i t c h could have been more to seek what to say to reasonable people than he was. He asked us- more questions than we d i d him, and caught a e v e r y t h i n g we s a i d without d i s c e r n i n g that we abused him and s a i d t h i n g s p u r p o s e l y to confound him; which we d i d so p e r f e c t l y that we made him c o n t r a d i c t h i m s e l f the s t r a n g e s t t h a t ever you h e a r d . 2 Only the statement about the o l d woman who passes f o r a w i t c h reminds us t h a t Dorothy's l e t t e r was not w r i t t e n l a s t week. In the l e t t e r s we f i n d c o n t i n u a l proof t h a t this, was an age of t r a n s i t i o n . As Bush s a i d : \"In 1600 the educated Englishman's mind and world were more than h a l f medieval; by 1600 they were more than h a l f modern.\"' 1 The L e t t e r s , p.207. 2 I b i d . , pp.259-2.60. 3 Douglas Bush., o p . c i t . , p . l . 67-Throughout the p r e v i o u s pages of t h i s essay the l e t t e r s have been p a r t i a l l y d i s s e c t e d , and many unimpor-tant matters have been uncovered, but no mention has been made of the e s s e n t i a l q u a l i t y o f the l e t t e r s , the ve r y h e a r t of them, as i t were. T h i s q u a l i t y l i e s i n the f a c t t h a t these were l o v e l e t t e r s . Apropos o f l o v e i n the seventeenth century, David C e c i l w r i t e s j I t ia. h a r d l y to be supposed t h a t the C a r o l i n e s f e l t the p a s s i o n of l o v e more i n t e n s e l y than we do; but c e r t a i n l y they thought about i t much more. Eour-f i f t h s of t h e i r p o e t r y i s l o v e - p o e t r y ; and t h e i r prose too i s l a r g e l y devoted to c e l e b r a t i n g i t s g l o r i e s , a n a l y s i n g i t s n a t u r e and c a t a l o g u i n g i t s v i r t u e s . 1 In the same essay he says,: *Ko one ever wrote b e t t e r l o v e - l e t t e r s than s t a t e l y D o r o t h y \" . 2 The next chapter of this: paper w i l l t a l k of the l o v e - a f f a i r which gave r i s e to such l o v e - l e t t e r s . 1 David C e c i l , o p . c i t . , p.22. 2 I b i d . , p.25. . . . -68-0HAPT2R I I I The Romance o f the L e t t e r s . \"Can t h e r e be a more romance s t o r y than ours would make i f the c o n c l u s i o n should prove happy?\" 1 I t i s s u r p r i s i n g that no h i s t o r i c a l n o v e l i s t has y e t answered Dorothy's q u e s t i o n and w r i t t e n the s t o r y of t h a t romance. Lo r d David C e c i l , an i n d e f a t i g a b l e i f i n e x a c t biographer, has spent a hundred pages i n Two Qu i e t L i v e s , h i s l a t e s t book, on one episode i n the c o u r t s h i p of Dorothy and Temple. 2 But s e v e r a l hundred pages co u l d be w r i t t e n mn the subj e c t . A l l the i n g r e d i e n t s f o r a true romance, i n Dorothy's own sense o f the word, are co n t a i n e d i n h e r l e t t e r s . But perhaps more d e l i g h t f u l l y than f o r a l o v e s t o r y , the l e t t e r s might he used by a Maxwell Anderson or John Drinkwater to make a m a g n i f i c e n t stage p l a y . They abound i n dramatic s i t u a t i o n s , and the l i s t of c h a r a c t e r s who d r i f t , or storm, through the pages promises drama and pathos enough. Many and v a r i e d a r e the m i s f o r t u n e s s u f f e r e d by the l o v e r s , \" a l l which an i n c o n s i d e r a t e p a s s i o n has occasioned\" 5. 3 What made i t i n c o n s i d e r a t e ? Only a l a c k of 1 The L e t t e r s , p.196. 2 Donald A..Stauffer, \"Two Q.uiet L i v e s * Dorothy Osborne Thomas Gray\", by Lord David C e c i l , a review, New York Times, February 15, 1948, p.4. 3 The L e t t e r s , p.181. -69-a u f f i c i e n t f o r t u n e . N e i t h e r Dorothy nor Temple had enough wealth to enable them to marry each other, and both f a m i l i e s were a g a i n s t the wooing. N e v e r t h e l e s s i t continued . . . a g a i n s t the consent of most of her f r i e n d s & d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n of some of : h i s , i t haveing occasion'd h i s r e f u a a l l of a v e r y g r e a t f o r t u n e when h i s Famely was most i n want of i t , as she had done of many c o n s i d e r a b l e o f f e r s of g r e a t E s t a t e s & Famelies.1 Lack of f o r t u n e was not the s o l e o b s t a c l e . There was the. b i t t e r j e a l o u s y o f Dorothy's strange b r o t h e r , f o r whose a c t i o n s motives could d o u b t l e s s be found, which perhaps not even the b r o t h e r h i m s e l f suspected. He . i n t e r c e p t e d the l e t t e r s of the l o v e r s and s u b j e c t e d Dorothy to a long p e r s e c u t i o n , b e l i e v i n g f i r m l y the statement made by a r e j e c t e d s u i t o r - and some biographers, would t e l l us, w i t h t r u t h , - that Temple was a t h e proudest imperious i n s u l t i n g i l l - n a t u r e d man t h a t ever was 1 1. 2 There was Dorothy's duty - and no one ever had a s t r o n g e r sense of duty ithan Dorothy Osborne -to her a i l i n g f a t h e r , which f r e q u e n t l y kept the l o v e r s from meeting. B e s i d e s a l l t h i s no less, a person than Henry Cromwell, son of the P r o t e c t o r , was a r i v a l f o r Dorothy's hand. Through a l l the v i c i s s i t u d e s she 1 Lady G i f f a r d , o p . c i t . , p.7. 2 The L e t t e r s , p.231. -70-remained a devoted, p a s s i o n a t e m i s t r e s s . We know t h a t her c r y r i n g s t r u e when she weeps, \"I am the most un f o r t u n a t e woman b r e a t h i n g , but I never was f a l s e * . 1 I t i s r e g r e t t a b l e that only one l e t t e r from Temple to Dorothy has s u r v i v e d . I t shows us a v a s t l y d i f f e r e n t Temple from the man d e s c r i b e d by Macaulay i n h i s C r i t i c a l Essays.. ...Temple i s - n o t a man to our t a s t e . A temper not n a t u r a l l y good, but under s t r i c t command; a cons t a n t r e g a r d to decorum; a r a r e c a u t i o n i n p l a y i n g that mixed game of s k i l l and hazard, human l i f e ; a d i s p o s i t i o n to be content w i t h s m a l l and c e r t a i n winnings r a t h e r than to go on d o u b l i n g the stake; these seem to us to be the most remarkable f e a t u r e s of h i s c h a r a c t e r . T h i s s o r t of moderation.. .may be p e r f e c t l y com-p a t i b l e w i t h l a x i t y o f p r i n c i p l e , w i t h c o l d n e s s of he a r t , and with the moat in t e n s e s e l f i s h n e s s . 2 He f a r e s l i t t l e b e t t e r a t t h e hands of modern w r i t e r s . In the review of Da v i d C e c i l ' s book , S t a u f f e r says, \"He l o o k s to us ve r y much l i k e a p r i g and a s t u f f e d s h i r t . But C e c i l sees him through Dorothy's e y e s \" . 3 Was. the c l e a r - s i g h t e d , l e v e l headed Dorothy deceived? From her r e p l i e s we can guess a t what he s a i d , and i n the one l e t t e r extant we may re a d : T h i s i s no a r t i f i c i a l h u m i l i t y . I am past a l l that w i t h you. I know w e l l enough t h a t I am as other people are, but a t t h a t r a t e methinks the world 1 The L e t t e r s , p . i 8 7 , 2 Macaulay, o p . c i t . , p.2. 3 S t a u f f e r , o p . c i t . , p.4. -71-goes, I can see n o t h i n g i n i t to put a v a l u e on b e s i d e s y o u . . . . l Nowhere does she r e p l y to a Temple who has c a u t i o n and decorum, who pleads, d e l a y s . I t i s Dorothy who w r i t e s : . . . I have s e r i o u s l y c o n s i d e r e d a l l our misfortunes:, and can see no end of them but by s u b m i t t i n g to that which we cannot a v o i d , and by y i e l d i n g to i t break the f o r c e of a blow which i f r e s i s t e d b r i n g s a c e r t a i n r u i n . 2 A\\t the beginning of the c o u r t s h i p the o b s t a c l e s were r a i s e d by S i r John Temple. Lady G i f f a r d , i n c o n t i n u i n g her account of the a f f a i r , s t a t e s that a f t e r t h e i r f i r s t meeting on the I s l e of l i g h t , where Dorothy proved h e r s e l f as i n t e l l i g e n t a s courageous, H i s Father, who was u n s a t t i s f i e d a t the l o n g s t a y he made a t Snt Haloes, & more a t the account that was sent, of the o c c a s i o n of i t , sent him o r d e r s to goe immediately to P a r i s , wch how unwelcome soever, were no sooner r e c e i v e d , then obeyed.§ I t i s o bvious t h a t the s e p a r a t i o n d i d not have the e f f e c t d e s i r e d by S;ir John. G.G.Moore Smith t e l l s us thavt S i r l i l l i a m ...remained i n France t i l l the end of 1650....though the times had t h e i r l e s s o n f o r the observant mind of the f u t u r e statesman, h i s p r i v a t e a n x i e t i e s , he t e l l s us, a f f e c t e d him more n e a r l y . H i s h e a r t was g i v e n to Dorothy Osborne -f o r the 'Madame' to whom the. s t o r i e s are addressed can only be she - and he *was 1 The L e t t e r s , p.233. 2 IMd., p.178. 3 Lady G i f f a r d , o p . c i t . , p.6. -72-f a i n by a l l d i v e r s i o n s to l e s s e n the occasions^ of t h i n k i n g on her i n absence. He found r e l i e f i n read i n g F r e n c h s t o r i e s of unhappy l o v e r s : ' w h i l s t I p i t t y e d o t hers I sometimes f o r g o t t how I deserved i t myself*. From the reading of these l o v e s t o r i e s came the impulse to t e l l them over a g a i n i n a new form and language, and i n e x p r e s s i n g the pas s i o n s of the d i f f e r e n t c h a r a c t e r s to f i n d a vent f o r h i s own. And so we have i n Temple's handwriting the group of s t o r i e s b e f o r e us - of which the; o u t l i n e s were borrowed from e a r l i e r t a l e s , but the p a s s i o n s d e p i c t e d were drawn s o l e l y from Temple's remembrances; of the l a d y of h i s l o v e . l The t a l e i s taken up a g a i n by Lady G i f f a r d , when she writes;: A f t e r two y e a r s pass'd i n theese eountrys he came home, l i v ' d two or three y e a r s about the Towne i n the u s u a l entertainment of young & I d l e men, but never without pass i n g a.great d e a l o f i t alone....Hee made many v i s i t t s i n t h i s time t o his; f r i e n d s i n the Country, p e r t i c u l a r l y to S r R i c h F r a n k l y n who l i v e d a t More Parke, a p l a c e his; i n c l i n a t i o n ^ to the Country had made him v e r y fond o f f , & more s r Ri c h a r d s haveing married a near R e l a t i o n of Mrs Osbornes; w i t h them he spent much of. h i s time.2 I t was d u r i n g these two or three y e a r s about the town that the l e t t e r s were w r i t t e n . They open p l e a s a n t l y w i t h a l e t t e r dated December \"ye 214th, w to which P a r r y ( o r Mrs. Longe) has a f f i x e d the a d d i t i o n a l date 1652. From t h i s l e t t e r we l e a r n t h a t i f the p a i r a re not f o r m a l l y b e t r o t h e d , a t l e a s t they have an understanding between them which amounts 1 S i r W i l l i a m Temple, E a r l y Essays, and Romances,p.xvii. 2 I^dy G i f f a r d , o p . c i t . , p.6. 73-to an engagement. There i s never the s l i g h t e s t doubt as to Dorothy's, modesty and decorum. She c o u l d never have w r i t t e n thus f r e e l y to any other than her confe s s e d \" f r i e n d \" . To f i n d t h a t you have overcome your long journey, and th a t you are w e l l and i n a p l a c e where i t i s p o s s i b l e f o r me to see you, i s such a s a t i s f a c t i o n as I, who have not been used to many, may be allowed to doubt o f . Y e t I w i l l hope my eyes do not d e c e i v e me, and th a t I have not f o r g o t to read; but i f you p l e a s e to c o n f i r m i t to me by another, you know how to d i r e c t i t , f o r I am where I was, s t i l l the same, and always, Your humble servant, D.Osborne. 1 A strange ending f o r a lov e l e t t e r ? Here i s David C e c i l on the subject:* The l o v e l e t t e r s of more s e l f - c o n s c i o u s ages make dep r e s s i n g r e a d i n g . T h e i r shame.-f aced slangy endearments sound \" b o t h f l a t and embarrassing. P a s s i o n needs the r e s t r a i n t of a f o r m a l i s e d mode of u t t e r a n c e , to g i v e i t shape and c r y s t a l l i s e i t s i n t e n s i t y . No one ever wrote b e t t e r l o v e - l e t t e r s than s t a t e l y Dorothy. There are few endearments i n them... 2 The l e t t e r s begin \" S i r s \" and end \"Adieu, I am, Yours\", or \" ' T i s enough to t e l l y.ou I am ever Yours.\" 5 The content of the l e t t e r s . , however, i s our concern a t the momen t . Mention h a s a l r e a d y been made of the melancholy of the age. 1 The L e t t e r s , p .23. 2 'David C e c i l , ' o p V c i t \" 4 ; Jp*. - 2-5; -74-I t i s not u n n a t u r a l that melancholy has been taken as a conspicuous, even a dominant c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f l a t e E l i z a b e t h a n and Jacobean l i t e r a t u r e . . . . causes...range from i n t r o s p e c t i o n to i n d i g e s t i o n , from P u r i t a n i s m to the p l a g u e . 1 In the f i r s t l e t t e r B o r o t h y speaks as i f any degree of happiness were not h e r l o t . In the: next l e t t e r we l e a r n some of her reasons f o r t h i s gloomy outlook. She speaks f i r s t of unimportant matters, i n c l u d i n g a s u i t o r who had plagued her, and then she says: \"...my mother d i e d , and I was l e f t a t l i b e r t y to mourn her l o s s awhile.\" 1 We know that her f a t h e r has been i n g r i e v o u s i l l - h e a l t h s i n c e he 1 f t St.Malo, and t h a t Dorothy has had to comfort him i n t h e i r common a f f l i c t i o n . But we have another c l u e to the melancholy when, i n the same l e t t e r , she t e l l s Temple of the spleen \" t h a t I had ever been s u b j e c t t o \" . F o r t u n a t e l y the spleen i s a d i s e a s e which comes and goes, and when Borothy i s w e l l she i s , i f not merry, a t l e a s t s p r i g h t l y . In these e a r l y l e t t e r s she i s not always unhappy. Her l o v e r i s i n England, i t i s p o s s i b l e to see him sometimes, and though she f i n d s the w a i t i n g t e d i o u s , and the outcome u n c e r t a i n , she makes l i t t l e j o k e s about. t h e i r i l l l u c k . . . . I do not know th a t ever I d e s i r e d a n y t h i n g e a r n e s t l y i n my l i f e , but 'twas denied me, and I am many times 1 Douglas Bush, o p . c i t . , p.3. 2: The L e t t e r s , p.30. -75-a f r a i d to w i s h a t h i n g merely l e s t my Fortune should take t h a t o c c a s i o n to use me i l l . She cannot see, and t h e r e f o r e I may venture to w r i t e t h a t I i n t e n d to be a t London i f i t be possible : on F r i d a y o r Saturday come sennig h t . Be sure you do not read i t aloud , l e s t she hear i t , and prevent me, or d r i v e you away b e f o r e I come.l . Her f o r e b o d i n g s came to naught, s i n c e P a r r y t e l l s us that i n the MS>. d i a r y of her b r o t h e r Henry, t h e r e o c c u r s the f o l l o w i n g entry, under the d a t e February 12, 165SJ \"My s i s t e r came to London w i t h my Lady D i a n a R i c h an& l a y a t my Aunt G-argraves by Ch a r i n g Cross, and I l a y a t Robin's 1 1. 2- Robin was a younger Osborne b r o t h e r , who d i e d the f o l l o w i n g y e a r . The next l e t t e r t e l l s of Dorothy's r e t u r n from London and of her weariness, a t the jou r n e y . I t i s c o m f o r t i n g to know that t h e l o v e r s d i d a t l e a s t have these s m a l l happinesses i n London, s i n c e Temple's f a t h e r i s not y e t r e s i g n e d to the marriage. He has another a l l i a n c e i n view, of which Temple has t o l d Dorothy, and she w r i t e s ? \" . . . I admire your f a t h e r ' s p a t i e n c e , that l e t s you r e s t w i t h so much i n d i f f e r e n c e when t h e r e i s such a f o r t u n e o f f e r e d . . . \" ^ But g o s s i p of the: v i s i t s reaches S i r John. I wonder how your f a t h e r came to know I was. i n town... .Pray, f o r my sake, be a v e r y obedient son; a l l your f a u l t s w i l l be l a i d to my charge e l s e , and a l a s ! I have too many of my own.4 1 The L e t t e r s , p.43. 2 I b i d . , p.45. 3 I b i d . , p.52. 4 I b i d . , p.52. -76-The o p p o s i t i o n o f S i r John, Temple and the j e a l o u s y of Henry Osborne now begin to take much of the l e t t e r s * D orothy t e l l s Temple of her b r o t h e r ' s admonitions. You are spoken of w i t h the reve r e n c e due to a person that I seem to l i k e , and f o r a s much a s they know of you, you do deserve a very good esteem; but your f o r t u n e and mine can never agree, and, i n p l a i n terms, we f o r f e i t our d i s c r e t i o n s and run w i l f u l l y upon our own r u i n s i f there be such a thought. To a l l t h i s I make no r e p l y , but th a t i f they w i l l needs have i t that I am n o t without kindness f o r you, they must conclude w i t h a l t h a t ' t i s no p a r t o f my i n t e n t i o n to r u i n you, and so the conference breaks up f o r that time. 1 She adds, \" A l l t h i s i s (from) my f r i e n d t h a t is. n o t yours*. She remains s t e a d f a s t , as i s obvious from the next paragraphs ...my own judgment would p r e s e r v e me from doing any (thing) that might be p r e j u d i c i a l to you or u n j u s t i f i a b l e to the world; but i f these may be secured, n o t h i n g can a l t e r the r e s o l u -t i o n I have taken of s e t t l i n g my whole st o c k of happiness upon the a f f e c t i o n of a person t h a t i s dear to me, whose kindness I s h a l l i n f i n i t e l y p r e f e r b e f o r e any other c o n s i d e r a t i o n whatsoever, and I s h a l l not b l u s h to t e l l you that you have made the: whole wor l d b e s i d e s so i n d i f f e r e n t to me that, i f I cannot be yours, they may d i s p o s e me. how they p l e a s e . 2 The next l e t t e r i s i n t e r e s t i n g i n the d e l i c a c y of i t s turn of phrase. 1 The L e t t e r s , p.64. 2 I b i d . , pp.64-65. 77-You have: reason to t h i n k your f a t h e r kin d , and I have reason to t h i n k him v e r y c i v i l ; a l l h i s s c r u p l e s a r e very j u s t ones, but such as times and a l i t t l e good fortune...might s a t i s f y . 1 There i s pathos i n the next l e t t e r . She had waited a l l day f o r a l e t t e r from her l o v e r , and then went out, a s was h e r h a b i t to meet the c a r r i e r . In t h i s case i t was her b r o t h e r ' s groom. He. had a l e t t e r , but had not bothered to b r i n g i t u n t i l he had swept up the s t a b l e . At l a s t I had i t , and, i n earnest, I know not whether an e n t i r e diamond o f the b i g n e s s on't would have p l e a s e d me. h a l f so w e l l ; i f i t would, i t must be only out o f t h i s c o n s i d e r a t i o n , t h a t such a jewel would' make me r i c h en ought to d i s p u t e you w i t h M r s . C l . , and perhaps make your f a t h e r l i k e me as w e l l . 2 P a r r y haB a note on \"Mrs.Cl.\"'. Temple's f a t h e r was a t t h i s time t r y i n g to arrange a match f o r him w i t h a c e r t a i n \" M r s . C l . \" Courtenay thought the l e t t e r s were \"Ch.,\" and supposed the l a d y to be an h e i r e s s named Mrs Chambers., who u l t i m a t e l y m a r ried John Temple, W i l l i a m ' s e l d e r b r o t h e r . 3 Gollancz. a l s o has a note: Mrs.Ch(ambers); a c c o r d i n g to Courtenay p r o b a b l y M i s t r e s s Chambers, u l t i m a t e l y the w i f e of. S i r W i l l i a m ' s b r o t h e r , Henry (not John, as P a r r y s t a t e s ) , who married a daughter of Dr John Hammond.4 D i s r e g a r d i n g the i d e n t i t y of Mrs.CI.what i s i n t e r e s t i n g i n the l e t t e r i s Dorothy's q u i e t acceptance of S i r 1 The L e t t e r s , p.67. 2 Ibid., p.69. 3 I b i d . , p.55. 4 Gollancz., o p . c i t . , pp.330-331. -78-John's: having the r i g h t to demand a f o r t u n e w i t h h i s son'a wife, and the e s t a b l i s h i n g moreover of Dorothy's b e l i e f t h a t i n r e l a t i o n to t h e i r l o v e she and Temple were on equal terms. There was n o t h i n g strange, i n her mind, i n s t a t i n g t h a t she and Mrs.CI.were r i v a l s . Modern frankness, i n such r e l a t i o n s h i p s , l a g s behind., The pathos l i e s i n the phrase \"and perhaps make your f a t h e r l i k e me as w e l l \" . There i s n o t h i n g c y n i c a l i n the statement. Dorothy is- not humble. She i s q u i t e 3ure she c o u l d make Temple happy, and persuaded t h a t she c o u l d p l e a s e h i s f a t h e r , o n l y e x c e p t i n g the. a c c i d e n t of not having a. s u f f i c i e n t f o r t u n e . As f o r t h a t a c c i d e n t , i n her next l e t t e r she says: \" T agree w i t h you, too, t h a t I do not see any g r e a t l i k e l i h o o d o f the change of our f o r t u n e s , and we have much more to wish than to hope f o r . . . . * l She ends the l e t t e r w i t h , I was born to be v e r y happy or v e r y m i s e r a b l e , I know not which, but I am c e r t a i n that as l o n g as I am a n y t h i n g I s h a l l be your most f a i t h f u l f r i e n d and s e r v a n t . 2 I t i s soon obvious, that f o r a time a t l e a s t , she i s to be v e r y m i s e r a b l e . She cannot g e t i n t o town to see her l o v e r , and she i a convinced t h a t he should not come to see h e r . But Temple does not a c c e p t these r e s t r i c t i o n s c a l m l y . I t may be remembered that Macaulay q u a r r e l l e d w i t h a. \" s o r t 1 The L e t t e r s , p.72. 2 I b i d . , p.75. -79-of moderation* which he found i n Temple's c h a r a c t e r , \"a c o n s t a n t regard f o r decorum; a r a r e c a u t i o n \" . I t r e q u i r e s hut. l i t t l e i m a g i n a t i o n to c o n j u r e up a v a s t l y d i f f e r e n t s o r t of person to whom the f o l l o w i n g l e t t e r was: w r i t t e n , a l e t t e r s u r e l y not w r i t t e n to a \" c a u t i o u s * man. S i r , - ' T i s most true t h a t I could not excuse i t to myself i f I should not w r i t e to you, and t h a t I owe i t to my own s a t i s f a c t i o n as w e l l as to yours, or r a t h e r ' t i s a p l e a s u r e to me because ' t i s a c c e p t a b l e to you. But I cannot t h i n k i t d e serves t h a t you should, q u i t a l l other entertainment and l e a v e y o u r s e l f n o t h i n g to be happy i n but t h a t which i a an e f f e c t of the absence you complain of, and that which, i f we were but a l i t t l e more happy, we should q u i c k l y d e s p i s e . A t the same time; t h a t my l e t t e r s t e l l you I am w e l l , and s t i l l your f r i e n d , they t e l l you too that I am where you cannot see me, and where I v a i n l y wish you....1 I t appears c e r t a i n that the g r e a t e s t obatacle: i n the way of a marriage i s the o p p o s i t i o n of Temple's f a t h e r . True, the Osbornes do not d e s i r e the match, but Dorothy's f a t h e r i a a very s i c k maim, too a i c k to be v i o l e n t i n anything, and o b v i o u s l y devoted to h i s daughter, who f o r her p a r t shows him the t e n d e r e s t c a r e . Had Temple's f a t h e r been w i l l i n g i t i s probable t h a t Dorothy c o u l d have brought her f a t h e r to agree. In the f o l l o w i n g l e t t e r she makes i t v e r y p l a i n t h at she would not permit 1 The L e t t e r s , p.96 -80-t h e o p p o s i t i o n of her b r o t h e r to a f f e c t her c ourse. She has q u a r r e l l e d w i t h him, and he has accused her of b e i n g i n t e r e s t e d o n l y i n Temple. This: is- true, but convention f o r b i d s t h a t she admit t h i s to anyone save Temple. •Twas one: reason more than I t o l d you why I r e s o l v ' d not to go to Epsom t h i s summer, because I knew he wouH imagine i t an agreement between us., and that something besides my s p l e e n c a r r i e d me t h i t h e r ; but whether you see me o r not you may be s a t i s f i e d I am s a f e enough, and you are i n no danger to l o s e your p r i s o n e r , s i n c e so great a v i o l e n c e as t h i s has n o t broke her chains.. 1 T h i s does not s a t i s f y Temple:. Dorothy may a c c e p t the d i c t a t e s of t h e i r r e l a t i v e s , he i s l e s s r e s i g n e d . She now r e p l i e s to him* \" A l a s ! how can you t a l k of d e f y i n g f o r t u n e ; nobody l i v e s , without, i t , and t h e r e f o r e why should you imagine you could?\"' 2 M a t t e r s do not improve, but a f a i n t ray of hope appears i n a l e t t e r w r i t t e n i n August, almost f i v e months a f t e r the f i r s t mention of the m y s t e r i o u s M r s . C l . Can your f a t h e r have so p e r f e c t l y f o r g i v e n a l r e a d y the i n j u r y I d i d him ( s i n c e you w i l l not a l l o w i t to be any to you), i n h i n d e r i n g ; y o u of M r s . C l . , as to remember me w i t h kindness? * T i s most c e r t a i n t h a t I am o b l i g e d to him, and, i n earnest, i f I c o u l d hope i1t might ever be i n my power to serve him I would promise something f o r m y s e l f . 3 1 The L e t t e r s , p.103. 2 I b i d . , p . l l l . 3 I b i d . , pp.136-137. - S i -I t was: no more than a ray, however, and i t q u i c k l y disappeared, to be f o l l o w e d by a p e r i o d of two ar. t h r e e months when the f o r t u n e s of B o r o t h y and Temple a r e a t t h e i r lowest ebb. Dorothy's younger b r o t h e r , Robin, has d i e d , her f a t h e r i s dying, h e r companion Jane i s s i c k , and she, i s i n B edford, kept p r i s o n e r by h e r duty to her f a t h e r , and goaded a l l the w h i l e by h e r j e a l o u s b r o t h e r . There i s l i t t l e hope of seeing Temple, and no p r o s p e c t o f t h e i r l o t b e i n g changed. Now i t i s that B o r o t h y w r i t e s t h a t they might w e l l g i v e up hope and submit q u i e t l y to the blows of f o r t u n e . L e t us; be f r i e n d s only, she begs. But i f , as we have not d i f f e r e d i n a n y t h i n g e l s e , we c o u l d agree i n t h i s too, and r e s o l v e upon a f r i e n d s h i p t h a t w i l l be much the p e r f e c t e r f o r having nothing of p a s s i o n i n i t , how happy might we be without so much as a f e a r of the change, that any a c c i d e n t could b r i n g . 1 A week l a t e r she i s even more despondent over t h e i r \"'inconsiderate passion\" 1. . . . i t has been the r u i n o f us both... Can I remember how i g n o r a n t l y and i n n o c e n t l y I s u f f e r e d i t to s t e a l upon me by degrees....Can I d i s c e r n that i t has made the t r o u b l e of your l i f e and c a s t a c l o u d upon mine, that w i l l h e l p to cover me i n my grave.... A h l i f you l o v e y o u r s e l f or me, you must confess t h a t I have reason to condemn t h i s s e n s e l e s s passion....2 1 The L e t t e r s , p.180. 2 Ibid . , p p 7 l 8*lTl82. -82-ffer despondency i s s e r i o u s . L i k e many a l o v e r b e f o r e her, she wishes she c o u l d d i e , \"but g r i e f alone w i l l not k i l l * . 1 I have no ends nor no designs, nor w i l l my h e a r t ever be capable of any; but l i k e a country wasted by a c i v i l war... ' t i s , r u i n e d and d e s o l a t e d by the l o n g s t r i f e w i t h i n i t to that degree as ' t w i l l be u s e f u l to none.... 2' She does not even d e s i r e to see her l o v e r . You would see me, you say? You may do so i f you p l e a s e , though I know not to what end. You d eceive y o u r s e l f i f you t h i n k i t would p r e v a i l upon me to a l t e r my i n t e n t i o n s . . . . 3 The long p e r i o d of dissembling b e f o r e other people i s over. She can pretend no more. ...besides, I can make no c o n t r i v a n c e s ; i t must be here, and I must endure the n o i s e i t w i l l make, and undergo the censures of a people that choose ever to g i v e the worst i n t e r p r e t a t i o n t h a t anything w i l l bear.4 A l a s , our knowledge of the a f f a i r ' i s incomplete. Dorothy now makes a statement which s u r p r i s e s us. ...never spare me:; c o n s i d e r y o u r s e l f only, and not me at a l l - ' t i s no more than I deserve f o r not a c c e p t i n g what you o f f e r e d me w h i l s t 'twas i n your porcer to make i t good, as you say i t then was. You were prepared, i t seems, but I was s u r p r i s e d , I confess i t . 5 The L e t t e r s , p .183. I b i d . , p.183. I b i d . , p.183. I b i d . , pp.183-184. I b i d . , p.184. 1 2 3 4 5 -83-There i s nothing; i n The L e t t e r s to g i v e any clue to t h i s statement. B o r o t h y says no more on the s u b j e c t , but goes on to t e l l Temple that i f he i n s i s t s upon s e e i n g her i t must be the l a s t of such i n t e r v i e w s . \"What can excuse me i f I should e n t e r t a i n any.person that i s known to pretend to me, when I can have no hope of ever m a r r y i n g h i m ? \" l Here i s \"'that c u r i o u s blend of n a i v e t e and ceremoniousness, which c h a r a c t e r i s e d her p e r i o d \" . 2 - Ho one had a n i c e r sense of her own d i g n i t y than Borothy. Our b e l i e f s are now confirmed that the r e a l o b s t a c l e to the marriage i s the o p p o s i t i o n of S i r John Temple. I f Temple marries; without his. f a t h e r ' s p e r m i s s i o n he must l o s e any share of h i s f a t h e r ' s f o r t u n e , and without f o r t u n e Borothy r e f u s e s to marry. T h i s , i t must be repeated, i s no mercenary t r a i t , but a b e l i e f bred i n her that she would, do i l l by Temple should she accede to h i s d e s i r e s to t r y to l i v e without the wealth n e c e s s a r y to t h e i r s t a t i o n i n l i f e . She t e l l s him once a g a i n t h a t the s i t u a t i o n i s hopeless. ...what hope can I have...when the fortune, t h a t can only make i t p o s s i b l e to me depends upon...your f a t h e r ' s l i f e or h i s success, h i s d i s p o s a l of h i m s e l f and then of h i s f o r t u n e . . . . 3 But Temple pl e a d s , and she; r e p l i e s s \" S i r , - I can say l i t t l e more than I d i d ! \" . 4 In the s h o r t l e t t e r she says the b i t t e r e s t t h i n g she has y e t u t t e r e d . 1 The L e t t e r s , p.184. 2 I b i d . , p.184. 3 I b i d . , p.185. 4\" I b i d . , p. 185. -84-. . • l e t ma t e l l you, t h a t i f I c o u l d h e l p i t , I would not l o v e you, and t h a t as l o n g as I l i v e I s h a l l s t r i v e a g a i n s t i t as. a g a i n s t that which has been my r u i n . But she reckoned without the temper of her l o v e r . He continues to w r i t e , he ple a d s , he importunes. I f we but knew what he says! Whatever i t i s , i t c a l l s f o r t h a f r i g h t e n e d l e t t e r from Dorothy, begging him to accede to one l a s t request, \" ' t i s to preserve, y o u r s e l f from the v i o l e n c e of your p a s s i o n . \" Has he threatened s u i c i d e , t h i s r e c k l e s s , moody l o v e r ? Dorothy begs t h a t he behave i n a r a t i o n a l manner, though s t i l l she r e f u s e s to a l l o w him to hope f o r a happy c o n c l u s i o n 'to t h e i r l o v e . . . . I would not g i v e you hopes of t h a t I cannot do. I f I l o v e d you l e s s I would a l l o w you t o be the same person . to me, and I would be the same to you as h e r e t o f o r e . But to d e a l f r e e l y w i t h you, that were to b e t r a y myself, and I f i n d that my p a s s i o n would q u i c k l y be my master again i f I gave i t any l i b e r t y . 3 A l a s , poor D o r o t h y i P a s s i o n does not l i e speechless y e t . She might say w i t h D r a y t o n : Now, i f thou wouldst, when a l l have g i v e n him over, From death to l i f e thou m i g h t ' s t him yet recover.4 s i n c e she says 8 I am not secure that i t would not make me do the most extravagant t h i n g s i n the world, and I s h a l l be f o r c e d to keep a. 1 The L e t t e r s , p.186. 2. I b i d . , p.187. 3 I b i d . , p.189. 4 M i c h a e l Drayton, The Works of M i c h a e l Drayton, ed. J.wTilliam Hebel, Oxford, B a s i l B l a c k w e l l , v o l 2 , p. 3 6 1 . - 8 5 -c o n t i n u a l war a l i v e w i t h i t as lo n g as there are any remainders of i t l e f t ; - I t h i n k I might as w e l l have s a i d a s lo n g as I l i v e d . Why should you g i v e y o u r s e l f over so unreasonably to i t ? Good God I no woman bre a t h i n g can deserve h a l f the t r o u b l e you g i v e y o u r s e l f . I f I were yo u r s from t h i s minute I c o u l d not recompense what you have s u f f e r e d from the v i o l e n c e o f your p a s s i o n though I were a l l t h a t you can imagine me, when, God knows, I am an i n c o n s i d e r a b l e person... . 1 But Temple has won. What eloquence must have flowed from his: pen to have ac h i e v e d such a v i c t o r y ? He has convinced h er th a t they must not g i v e each other up. He must have t o l d her th a t he w i l l never marry any. other woman, and she knows; t h a t i n this., a s i n a l l t h e i r d e a l i n g s , he speaks t r u t h , so now she g i v e s up the s t r u g g l e to put. an end to t h e i r f r i e n d s h i p . . . . i f I could have persuaded you to have q u i t t e d a p a s s i o n that i n j u r e s you, I had done an a c t of r e a l f r i e n d s h i p , and you might have l i v e d to thank me f o r i t , ; but s i n c e i t cannot be, I w i l l attempt i t no more....I never had the l e a s t hope of wearing out my p a s s i o n , nor, to say t r u t h , much d e s i r e . . . . H e r e , then, I d e c l a r e t h a t you s t i l l have the same power i n my h e a r t t h a t I gave you a t our l a s t p a r t i n g ; t h a t I w i l l never marry any other; and that i f our f o r t u n e s allow, us. to marry, you s h a l l d i s pose me as you p l e a s e ; but t h i s , to de a l f r e e l y w i t h you, I do not hope f o r . Fo; ' t i s too g r e a t a happiness...* She w r i t e s furthermore: . . . I ' l l never g i v e you any more alarms, by going about to persuade you a g a i n s t that, you have f o r me....the wealth of 1 The L e t t e r s , p.189. 2, I b i d . , pp. 190-191. -86-the whole world, by the Grace of God, s h a l l not tempt me to break my word w i t h you, nor the i m p o r t u n i t y of a l l the f r i e n d s I h a v e . l There are no more b i t t e r l y unhappy l e t t e r s . There i s now an exchange of r i n g s , and Temple sends a l o c k o f h i s h a i r which was begged f o r , and there are sad f a r e w e l l s , somewhat p r o t r a c t e d , i t i s t r u e , when he goes to j o i n h i s f a t h e r i n I r e l a n d . Oh, my h e a r t ! what a s i g h was there I I w i l l not t e l l you how many this, journey causes; nor the f e a r s and apprehensions I have f o r you.2-Apprehensions, yes, but a n t i c i p a t i o n a l s o . . . . I hope t h i s j o urney w i l l be of advantage to us; when your f a t h e r pressed your coming over, he t o l d you you needed n o t doubt e i t h e r h i s power or h i s w i l l . Have I done any-t h i n g s i n c e t h a t deserves, he should a l t e r h i s i n t e n t i o n s towards us? Or has any a c c i d e n t l e s s e n e d h i s power? I f n e i t h e r , we may hope to be happy, and the sooner f o r t h i s j o u r n e y . 3 F i t t i n g employment i s to be secured f o r Temple when he goes to I r e l a n d , but s t i l l the journey i s delayed, and there are more l e t t e r s , but a t l o n g l a s t he i s gone, and Dorothy w r i t e s * \"My h e a r t has f a i l e d me twenty times s i n c e you went, and, had you been w i t h i n my c a l l , I had brought you back as o f t e n . . . \" ^ I t i s d i f f i c u l t to ensure the s a f e passage of l e t t e r s now t h a t he has c r o s s e d the sea, but he has b i d her w r i t e every week, which she does;. 1 The L e t t e r s , p.192. 2, I b i d . , p.205. 3 I b i d . , p.213. 4 I b i d . , p.223. -87-Her l e t t e r s ; are f u l l of l o v i n g - k i n d n e s s and amusing; g o s s i p . She e v i d e n t l y does not t h i n k f a v o u r a b l y of Ireland$ I s h a l l be sending you a l l I hear; which, though i t cannot be much, l i v i n g a s I do, y e t i t may be more than v e n t u r e s i n t o I r e l a n d . I would have you d i v e r t e d w h i l s t you are there...but not enough to tempt you to stay one minute l o n g e r than your f a t h e r and your b u s i n e s s o b l i g e s you. A l a s l I have a l r e a d y repented a l l my share i n your journey, and b e g i n to f i n d I am not h a l f so v a l i a n t as I sometimes take myself to b e . l Soon she has more need than ever to be v a l i a n t . Her k i n d f a t h e r has d i e d a t l a s t , and w i t h him the only f r i e n d a b l e to p r o t e c t her from scheming aunts, complai-sant b r o t h e r , and the j e a l o u s Henry. The f i r s t two were no g r e a t danger as l o n g aa S i r P e t e r l i v e d , but now that he i s gone, and \"T am l e f t by h i s death i n the c o n d i t i o n . . . t h e most i n s u p p o r t a b l e to my nature, to depend upon k i n d r e d t h a t are not f r i e n d s . . . . I l 2 There i s o n l y one mere l e t t e r w r i t t e n from Chicksands, and then she l e a v e s her o l d home f o r e v e r , and goes to s t a y w i t h r e l a t i v e s u n t i l Temple r e t u r n s from I r e l a n d . The r e t u r n i s long delayed. A lthough Temple i s twenty-six, an age when young men of the time had l o n g s i n c e married, and a l t h o u g h his. f a t h e r had h e l d out hopes, s t i l l S i r John d e l a y s g i v i n g his. consent. The o n l y l e t t e r w r i t t e n 1 The L e t t e r s , p.226. 2 Ibid.., p.227. -88-by Temple i n the c o l l e c t i o n i s : t h a t sent a t t h i s time: from I r e l a n d . . . . I must ever be s u b j e c t to other people's occasions, and so never, I t h i n k , master of my own. T h i s i s too t r u e , both i n r e s p e c t o f t h i s fellow.'a p o s t t h a t i s bawling a t me f o r my l e t t e r , and of my f a t h e r ' s d e l a y s . They k i l l me;: but p a t i e n c e - would anybody but I be here I Y e t you may command me over a t one minute's warning. Had I not heard from you by t h i s l a s t , i n earnest I had r e s o l v e d to have gone w i t h this:, and g i v e n my f a t h e r the s l i p f o r a l l h i s c a u t i o n . He t e l l s me s t i l l of a l i t t l e time; but a l a s j who knows not what mischances and how g r e a t changes have; o f t e n happened i n a l i t t l e t i m e ? l I t goes hard w i t h S i r John to g i v e h i s consent to t h i s match,' i n h i s o p i n i o n so i l l - a d v i s e d and f o o l h a r d y . But he comes: round l i t t l e by. l i t t l e . He f i n d Dorothy w r i t i n g from London; • Whensoever you come you need not. doubt your welcome....But I would not have you attempt i t t i l l your f a t h e r i s ready f o r the journey too. Ho, r e a l l y he d e s e r v e s t h a t a l l y o u r o c c a s i o n s should wait on h i s . . . .2-There i s another d e l a y wheal S i r John f a l l s i l l , but he grows, w e l l again, and s t i l l Temple does not come. Hope i s the o n l y medicine, f o r the m i s e r a b l e , but Dorothy b e g i n s to f i n d hope i s d e f e r r e d too l o n g . ...there was never any one t h i n g so much d e s i r e d and apprehended a t the same time a s your r e t u r n i s by me; i t w i l l - c e r t a i n l y , ' I t h i n k , conclude me a v e r y happy or a most 1 The L e t t e r s , p.235. 2 I b i d . , p.238. -89-u n f o r t u n a t e person. Sometimes, methinks, I would f a i n know my doom whatever i t he....1 And so the long summer passes. Temple went to I r e l a n d i n March and i t i s September before Dorothy l e a r n s that he is: coming back. But he b r i n g s w i t h him such good news that the d e l a y s are almost f o r g o t t e n . His. f a t h e r i s ready to t r e a t w i t h Dorothy's r e l a t i v e s on the s u b j e c t of t h e i r marriage, and haa made c e r t a i n p r o p o s a l s * W i l l D orothy's f a m i l y meet them? A l a s , the d i f f i c u l t i e s are not y e t over. S i r John w i l l not e n t e r t a i n the thought o f n e g o t i a t i n g w i t h Henry Osborne, the b r o t h e r who a l l along has been as opposed to the match as S i r John h i m s e l f . But Dorothy has too g r e a t a sense of her f a m i l y ' s honour to permit. t h i s s l i g h t to her b r o t h e r . I f ever t h i s comes to a t r e a t y , I s h a l l d e c l a r e t h a t i n my own c h o i c e I p r e f e r you much b e f o r e any other person i n the world, and a l l t h a t t h i s i n c l i n a t i o n i n me ( i n the judgments o f any persona of honour and d i s c r e t i o n ) w i l l bear, I s h a l l d e s i r e may be l a i d upon i t to the uttermost o f what they can a l l o w . And i f your f a t h e r p l e a s e to make up the r e s t , I know n o t h i n g t h a t is: l i k e , to h i n d e r me from b e i n g y o u r s . But i f your f a t h e r , out of humour, s h a l l r e f u s e to t r e a t w i t h such f r i e n d s as I have, l e t them be what.they w i l l , i t must end t h e r e ; f o r though I was content, f o r your sake, to l o s e them, and a l l the r e s p e c t they had f o r me, yet, now I have done that, I ' l l never l e t them see th a t I have so l i t t l e i n t e r e s t i n you and 1 The Letters., p.255. - 9 0 -yours aa not to p r e v a i l t h a t my b r o t h e r may be admitted, to t r e a t f o r me:. Sure, when a t h i n g of courae, and ao 'much reason as that ( u n l e s s I did. d e c l a r e to a l l the: world he ixere my enemy), i t must be expected whensoever I di s p o s e o f my s e l f xhe should be made no s t r a n g e r t o i t . When that s h a l l be r e f u s e d me, I may be j u s t l y reproached t h a t I deceived myself when I expected to be a t a l l v a lued i n a f a m i l y t h a t I am a s t r a n g e r to, or that I should be c o n s i d e r e d w i t h any r e s p e c t because I had a kindness f o r you, t h a t made me not value, my own i n t e r e s t s . 1 I t is: impossible, to admire the p a r t S i r John Temple played i n a l l this?, and d o u b t l e s s h i s son i s a l s o d e s e r v i n g of censure, but Bo r o t h y has none for. him. What co u l d be more disarming than the f o l l o w i n g : I f your f a t h e r would but i n aome measure s a t i s f y my f r i e n d s t h at I might but do i t i n any j u s t i f i a b l e manner, you sho u l d dispose me as. you p l e a s e d , c a r r y me whither you would, a l l p l a c e s of the world would be a l i k e to me where you were, and I should not d e s p a i r of c a r r y i n g .myself so towards him a s might deserve a b e t t e r o p i n i o n from h i m . 2 But we do not want too much o f t h i s . I t i s time t h a t Dorothy showed more of t h a t s p i r i t we have grown to expect from h e r . In the next l e t t e r i t i s p o s s i b l e to rea d that matters have been s e t t l e d , and i t i s e s t a b l i s h e d t h a t Dorothy has no unseasonable h u m i l i t y . I do not pretend to any share i n your father's, kindness, as having n o t h i n g i n me to m e r i t i t ; but as much a s t r a n g e r as. I am to him, I should have taken i t very i l l i f I had d e s i r e d i t of him, and he had r e f u s e d i t me. I do not b e l i e v e my b r o t h e r has. a a i d anything to his. p r e j u d i c e , unless* i t were i n h i a pe r s u a s i o n s 1 2 The L e t t e r s , pp.265-266. I b i d . , pp.266-267. -91-to me, and there i t d i d not i n j u r e him a t a l l . I f he takes i t i l l t h a t my b r o t h e r appears so very a v e r s e to the match, I may do so too, that he was the same; and n o t h i n g l e s s than my kindness, f o r you could have, made me take so p a t i e n t l y as I d i d h i s s a y i n g to some- that knew me a t York that he was f o r c e d to b r i n g you t h i t h e r and afterwards, send, you over to I r e l a n d l e s t you should have married me. T h i s was not much to my advantage nor h a r d l y c i v i l , I t h i n k , to any woman; yet I never as much as took the l e a s t n o t i c e on't, nor had not. now, but f o r this, o c c a s i o n ; yet, sure, i t concerns me to be a t l e a s t as n i c e as he i n p o i n t of honour.1 But that once s a i d , a l l the l o v i n g kindness she has f o r Temple- brims, over: I t h i n k H i s . best f o r me to end here l e s t my anger should make me l o s e that r e s p e c t I would always have f o r your f a t h e r , and 'twere not amiss, I t h i n k , t h a t I d i v e r t e d i t a l l towards you f o r being so i d l e as to run out of your bed to c a t c h such a c o l d . 2 And now we have one l a s t l e t t e r w r i t t e n b e f o r e B o r o t h y becomes Mrs.Temple, i f we except a few. l i t t l e n o tes w r i t t e n when the lovers'- were both i n London p r e p a r i n g f o r t h e i r marriage. I t i s an i n t e r e s t i n g l e t t e r , and g i v e s r i s e to s e v e r a l c o n j e c t u r e s . In i t , Borothy i s r p l a i n l y a r r a n g i n g a, rendezvous? A f t e r a long debate w i t h myself how to s a t i s f y you and remove t h a t r o c k (a s you. c a l l i t ) , which i n your apprehensions is; of so g r e a t danger, I. am a t l a s t r e s o l v e d to l e t you see t h a t I value, your a f f e c t i o n s f o r me a t as h i g h a r a t e a s you y o u r s e l f can se t i t , and that you cannot have more of 1 2 The L e t t e r s , pp.267-268. I b i d . , p.268. -92-tenderness far: me and my i n t e r e s t s : than I s h a l l ever have f o r y o u r s . The p a r t i -c u l a r s how I inte n d to make t h i s good you s h a l l know when I see you....pray come h i t h e r and t r y whether you s h a l l be welcome or not! \"In sober earnest now I must speak wi t h you; and to that end i f your' o c c a s i o n s w i l l g i v e you leave as soon a s you have r e c e i v e d t h i s come down to Canterbury. Send someone when you are there, and you s h a l l have f u r t h e r d i r e c t i o n s . You must be contented not to s t a y here above two or three hours.- I s h a l l t e l l you my reason when you come .. I w i l l not h i n d e r your coming away so much as.the making t h i s l e t t e r a. l i t t l e l o n g e r might take away from your time i n readin g i t . ' l i s , enough to t e l l you I am ever Yours. 1 B i d Dorothy make good her promise, and d i d she remove the rock of his: apprehensions? I t wound: appear so. But from now on Dorothy has l i t t l e to say. Martha G i f f a r d g i v e s us; some i n f o r m a t i o n , and there are e n t r i e s i n Henry Osborne's d i a r y which perhaps ha.ve a p l a c e i n t h i s h i s t o r y . Lady G i f f a r d f i r s t * But the. m i s f o r t u n e s of t h i s amour were not yet ended. The week before they were to be marryedi she f e l l soe d e s p e r a t e l y i l l t h e r e was l i t t l e hopes of her l i f e & n o t h i n g the D o c t o r s s a i d but i t s prooveing the s m a l l pox c o u l d have sav'd her. He was happy when he saw y t secure h i s kindness haveing g r e a t e r t y e s then ( s i c . ) that of her beauty, though t h a t Loss, was- too g r e a t to l e a v e him wholy i n s e n s i b l e . He: saw her c o n s t a n t l y while she was i l l , & m a r r i e d h e r soon a f t e r . And now Henry Osborne, a c c o r d i n g to Parrys 1 The L e t t e r s , pp.268-269. 2. Lady G i f f a r d , o p . c i t . p.7. - 9 3 -Ubvember 9th, 1654, **My s i s t e r being i l l of the small-pox, I removed to her l o d g i n g i n Queen S t r e e t , and then my Lady Peyton and her company removed next day i n t o K e n t . * 1 What can one t h i n k , a t t h i s date, of the feelinga of the two men? Eenry Osborne, r e l i n q u i s h e d his. c l a i m upon h i s s i s t e r slowly, and w i t h p a i n to them both. As shown i n the chapter d e a l i n g with him there were s t i l l more misunderstandings when d i s p u t e s arose over her marriage p o r t i o n , buU i t would appear t h a t a t some time they must have been r e c o n c i l e d . To continue w i t h Lady G i f f a r d 'a s t o r y : ...they made a v i s i t t to h i s F a t h e r & Famely, y t were then i n I r e l a n d . . . . h e pass'd f i v e y e a r s t h e r e w i t h g r e a t s a . t t i s f a e t i o n . . .almost wholy i n the c o n v e r s a t i o n o f h i s famely & f r i e n d s ; where there waa alwayes y t p e r f e c t agreement, as w e l l as kindness & Con-f i d e n c e wch haa b i n soe o f t e n taken n o t i c e o f f & t h a t I beleeve few o t h e r ' s have b i n soe happy i n . to wch there, was t h i s a d d i t i o n so unusual i n other Famelys, that h i s l a d y f e l l i n t o a s n a t u r a l l y , a s i f she had b i n borne there.2 And there we should l e a v e her. A l l e l s e , a t t h i s w r i t i n g , i s mere c o n j e c t u r e . B i d they, when t h e i r p assions burned out, or were e x t i n g u i s h e d , a c c o r d i n g to S i r W i l l i a m ' s *owne r u l e s , t h a t no body should make l o v e a f t e r f o r t y * ^ remain the p e r f e c t f r i e n d s B o r o t h y had hoped they would be? She does not t e l l us. 1 The: L e t t e r s , p.2.74. 2 Lady G i f f a r d , o p . c i t . p . 7 . 3 Lady G i f f a r d , o p . c i t . p . 2 9 . - 9 4 -One c o u l d take Swiftss l i n e s , w r i t t e n d u r i n g S i r W i l l i a m Temple's i l l n e s s , a t t h e i r f a c e value, You that would g r i e f d e s c r i b e , come here and t r a c e I t s watery f o o t s t e p s i n B o r i n d a ' s faces G r i e f from B o r i n d a ' s f a c e does ne'er d e p a r t F a r t h e r than i t s own p a l a c e i n her hearts Ah, s i n c e our f e a r s are f l e d , t h i s i n s o l e n t expel, At l e a s t confine: the t y r a n t to h i s c e l l . And i f so b l a c k the c l o u d t h a t Heaven's b r i g h t queen Shrouds her s t i l l beams! how should the s t a r s be; seen? Thus when B o r i n d a wept, j o y every f a c e f o r s o o k . And g r i e f f l u n g s a b l e s on each menial, l o o k . . . . 1 and we would know, then t h a t she l o v e d her \" f r i e n d * s t i l l . L e t t h i s content us. 1 S w i f t , The Poems, op . c i t . p . 3 2 . -95-CHAPTER IV An A s p e c t of the l e t t e r s concerning Henry Osborne In h i s review of Two Qu i e t Lives-, by L o r d D a v i d C e c i l , B o nald A\\.Stauffer says: In the end her u n d e v i a t i n g w i l l conquered an i n v a l i d f a t h e r , an a r r a n g i n g aunt, a b r o t h e r who c o u l d not stand unpleasantness, another b r o t h e r almost abnormally p o s s e s s i v e , as w e l l as a l l the opposing h o s t s . 1 There i s some l a c k of p e r s p e c t i v e i n that l i s t , i f i t i s intended to convey t h a t the o p p o s i t i o n o f , say, the arra n g i n g aunt, was. on a par wit h the o p p o s i t i o n of the abnormally p o s s e s s i v e b r o t h e r . But the reviewer i s not alone i n h i s misapprehension. Hone of Dorothy's b i o g r a p h e r s to date appear to have r e a l i z e d the magnitude of Henry Osborne's obsession f o r h i s s i s t e r . I t i s t r u e t h a t t h i s o b s e s s i o n was not a bar to the marriage, but only because B o r o t h y would not permit t h a t i t should a f f e c t her to t h a t extent. As has been shown i n Chapter IV the r e a l o p p o s i t i o n to the marriage came from S i r John Temple. But t h i s does not minimise the p a r t Henry Osborne p l a y e d i n the events in h i s s i s t e r ' s l i f e i n 1653 and 1654. 1 Donald A . S t a u f f e r , \"Two Quiet L i v e s , Dorothy Osborne, Thomas Gray\", by L o r d D a v i d C e c i l , a review, Hew York Times, Feb.15, 1948, p.4. -96-Th e s t o r y i s bes t t o l d e x a c t l y as i t appears i n the l e t t e r s . There i s l i t t l e need f o r a m p l i f i c a t i o n or e x p l a n a t i o n . The f i r s t e xcerpt o f importance comes from an e a r l y l e t t e r , to which P a r r y g i v e s the date A p r i l 10, 1653. T h i s l e t t e r is. w r i t i n g r e a t haste, as you may see; ' t i s , my b r o t h e r ' s s i c k day, and I'm not w i l l i n g to leave him long a l o n e . I f o r g o t to t e l l you i n my l a s t t h a t he was come h i t h e r to t r y i f he can l o s e an ague here t h a t he got i n G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e . He asked me f o r you v e r y k i n d l y , and. i f he knew I w r i t to you I should have something to say frpm him besi d e s what I should say f o r m yself i f I had room.l The f o r e g o i n g e x t r a c t i s doubly i n t e r e s t i n g , i n t h a t i t i s the l a s t time Borothy speaks o f her b r o t h e r and Temple as being on f r i e n d l y terms. Prom now on she r e c o g n i s e s t h e i r complete l a c k of a f f i n i t y . How much e l s e she r e c o g n i s e s we do not know. But the f o l l o w i n g l e t t e r , w r i t t e n a week l a t e r , seems p l a i n enough. You a r e a l t o g e t h e r i n the r i g h t t h a t my b r o t h e r w i l l never be at q u i e t t i l l he sees me disposed of, but he does not mean to l o s e me by i t ; he knows t h a t i f I were married a t t h i s p r e s e n t , I should not be persuaded to l e a v e my f a t h e r a s long a s he l i v e s ; and when t h i s house breaks up, he i s r e s o l v e d to f o l l o w me. i f he can, which he t h i n k s he might b e t t e r do to a house where I had some power than where I am but upon c o u r t e s y myself. B e s i d e s t h a t , he t h i n k s i t would be to my advantage to be w e l l bestowed, and by that he understands r i c h l y . 2 1 2 The L e t t e r s , pp.70-71. I b i d . , p.74. - 9 7 -An i r r e l e v a n t , but i n t e r e s t i n g , comment on the f o l l o w i n g excerpt i s th a t a t the time i t was: w r i t t e n Martha Temple was f i f t e e n y e a r s o l d , a l t h o u g h Dorothy speaks o f h e r as though she were a d u l t . (Henry Osborne was t h i r t y - f o u r ) . He i s much of your s i s t e r ' s humour, and many times wishes me a husband that l o v e d me as w e l l as he does (though he seems to doubt the p o s s i -b i l i t y o n ' t ) , but never d e s i r e s t h a t I should l o v e that husband w i t h any pa s s i o n , and p l a i n l y t e l l s me so. He says i t would not be so w e l l f o r him, nor perhaps for. me, that I should; f o r he is; o f o p i n i o n that a l l p a s s i o n s have more of t r o u b l e than s a t i s f a c t i o n i n them, and t h e r e f o r e they a r e h a p p i e s t t h a t have l e a s t o f them. You t h i n k him k i n d from a l e t t e r t h a t you met w i t h of h i s ; sure, there was v e r y l i t t l e o f anything i n that, or e l s e I should not have employed i t to wrap a book up. But, s e r i o u s l y , I many times r e c e i v e l e t t e r s from him, that were they seen without any address to me or h i s name, nobody would b e l i e v e they were from a b r o t h e r ; and I cannot but t e l l him sometimes t h a t , sure, he mistakes and sends me l e t t e r s t h a t were meant to h i s m i s t r e s s , t i l l he swears to me that he has none. Hext week my p e r s e c u t i o n . b e g i n s again; he comes down, and my c o u s i n M o l l e i s a l r e a d y cured • of his: imaginary dropsy, and means, to meet here. I s h a l l be b a i t e d most sweetly, but sure they w i l l not e a s i l y make me consent to make my l i f e unhappy to s a t i s f y t h e i r importunity.1 I t i s now& May and Dorothy w r i t e s of her shepherdesses and the p l e a s u r e s o f coun t r y l i f e . Her b r o t h e r has come from town and i s w i t h h e r . 1 The L e t t e r s , pp. 74.-75. -98-Iffy b r o t h e r saya not a word of you, nor your s e r v i c e , nor do I expect he should; i f I co u l d f o r g e t you he woull not h e l p my memory. You would laugh sure, i f I could t e l l you how many s e r v a n t s s u i t o r s he has o f f e r e d me s i n c e he came down; but one above a l l the r e s t I t h i n k he i s i n l o v e w i t h h i m s e l f , and may marry him too i f he pl e a s e s , I s h a l l not h i n d e r him. ' T i s one T a l b o t , the f i n e s t gentleman he has seen t h i s seven year...he swears he begins to t h i n k one might bate £500 a year f o r such a husband. I t e l l him I am g l a d to hear i t ; and i f I were as much taken (as he) w i t h Mr. T a l b o t , I should not be less, g a l l a n t . . . . 1 Temple- begins to be d i s t u r b e d by Henry's i n t e r f e r e n c e , and B o r o t h y w r i t e s to r e a s s u r e hims ... I cannot agree with you t h a t my b r o t h e r ' s kindness to me has a n y t h i n g of t r o u b l e i n ' t ; noy sure, I may be j u s t to you and him both, and to be a kind s i s t e r w i l l take n o t h i n g from my being a p e r f e c t f r i e n d . 2 However not long a f t e r Borothy has changed h e r mind a l i t t l e as to the t r o u b l e her b r o t h e r can cause. She w r i t e s to Temple t e l l i n g him t h a t she has d i s c o v e r e d t h a t she i s \"a v a l i a n t l a d y \" and had a r e a l argument. In earnest, we have had such a s k i r m i s h , and upon so f o o l i s h an o c c a s i o n , as I cannot t e l l which i s s t r a n g e s t . The Emperor3 and h i s p r o p o s a l s began i t ; I t a l k e d m e r r i l y . o n ' t t i l l I saw my b r o t h e r put on h i s sober f a c e , and c o u l d h a r d l y then b e l i e v e he was i n e a r n e s t . I t seems he was, f o r when I had spoke f r e e l y my meaning, i t wrought so w i t h him as to f e t c h up a l l t h a t l a y upon h i s stomach. A l l the people that I had 1 The L e t t e r s , pp.87-88. 2 I b i d . , p.95. 3 See note 4 i n appendix. -99-ever i n my l i f e r e f u s e d were brought a g a i n upon the stage...and a l l the kindness h i s d i s c o v e r i e s could make I had f o r you was l a i d to my charge . . . . I was allowed to have w i t and understanding and d i s c r e t i o n i n other t h i n g s , t h a t i t might appear I had none i n t h i s . Well, 'twas a p r e t t y l e c t u r e , and I grew warm with i t aft e r , a w h i l e ; i n s h o r t , we came so near an a b s o l u t e f a l l i n g p u t , t h a t 'twas time to g i v e over, and we s a i d so much then t h a t we have h a r d l y spoken a word together s i n c e . But ' t i s wonderful to see what c u r t s e y s and l e g s pass, between us; and as b e f o r e we were thought the k i n d e s t b r o t h e r and s i s t e r , we a r e c e r t a i n l y now the most complimental couple i n England.1 On J u l y 3 however there i s another disagreement* We have had another debate, but much more c a l m l y . 'Twas j u s t upon h i s going up to town, and perhaps he thought i t not f i t to p a r t i n anger. Not to wrong him, he never s a i d to me (whate'er he thought) a word i n p r e j u d i c e o f you i n your own person, and I never heard him accuse anything but your f o r t u n e and my i n d i s c r e t i o n . And whereas I d i d expect t h a t ...he should have s a i d we had been a couple of f o o l s w e l l met, he says by h i s tro.th he does not blame you, but b i d s me not deceive myself to t h i n k you have any g r e a t p a s s i o n f o r me.2 Now i n earnest t h i n g s grow d i f f i c u l t . B o r o t h y ' s b r o t h e r t r i e s to i n t e r c e p t her l e t t e r s , and on J u l y 10 (assumed date) she w r i t e s to Temple t e l l i n g how her b r o t h e r had wa y l a i d the c a r r i e r and t r i e d to g e t from him Temple's l e t t e r , \"\"...my b r o t h e r . . . i n some anger threatened the poor f e l l o w , who would not be f r i g h t e d out o f h i s l e t t e r . . 1 The l e t t e r s , p. 102.. 2 I b i d . , p.111. 3 I b i d . , p.114. -100-She t e l l s Temple he must now send h i s l e t t e r s , to the house of a neighbouring clergyman, the Rev.Gibson, who is; her f r i e n d . T h i s seems to be f a i r l y s a t i s f a c t o r y as on August.7 (assumed date) she w r i t e s ; Your l a s t came sa f e , and I s h a l l f o l l o w your d i r e c t i o n f o r the address of t h i s , though, as you say, I cannot imagine what should tempt anybody to so severe a s e a r c h for' them, u n l e s s i t be t h a t he i s not y e t f u l l y s a t i s f i e d to what degree our f r i e n d s h i p i s grown, and th i n k s he may bes t inform h i m s e l f from them....he haa no more the h e a r t to ask me d i r e c t l y what he would so f a i n know, than a j e a l o u s man has to ask (one t h a t might t e l l him) whether he were a cuckold or not, f o r f e a r of being r e s o l v e d of t h a t which i s y e t a doubt to h i m . l On September 22 (assumed date) she sends Temple some v e r s e s w r i t t e n by L o r d B r o g h i l l , w i t h the f o l l o w i n g comments My b r o t h e r urged them the v e r s e s a g a i n s t me one day i n a di a p u t e , where he would needs make me c o n f e s s that no p a s s i o n c o u l d be l o n g l i v e d , and t h a t such as were most i n lov e f o r g o t t h a t ever they had been so w i t h i n a twelvemonth after, they were' married....I waa f a i n to b r i n g out these p i t i f u l v e r s e s of my L o r d B i r o n to h i s wife...and he q u i c k l y laughed me out of countenance w i t h saying they were j u s t such as a married man*a flame would produce and a wife i n 8 p i r e . 2 The d a t e on the next l e t t e r which mentions her b r o t h e r 1 The L e t t e r s , p.126. 2 I b i d . , p.162. -101-has been assumed to be November 20. I am extremely s o r r y t h a t your l e t t e r m i s c a r r i e d , but I am c o n f i d e n t my b r o t h e r has i t not. JLa cunning as he i s , he c o u l d not h i d e i t ao from me, but t h a t I should d i s c o v e r i t some way or o t h e r . No; he was here, and bot h h i s men, when t h i s l e t t e r should have come, and not one of them s t i r r e d out th a t day; indeed the next they a l l went to London.1 The assumed date of the next l e t t e r i a January 22:, 1654. ' T i s but an hour s i n c e you went, and I am w r i t i n g to you a l r e a d y ; i a not t h i s kind? How do you a f t e r your journey....Well, God f o r g i v e me, and you too, you made me t e l l a g r e a t l i e . I waa f a i n to say you came o n l y to take your l e a v e before you went abroad; and a l l t h i s not only to keep q u i e t , but to keep him from p l a y i n g the madman; f o r when he has the. l e a s t a u a p i c i o n , he c a r r i e s i t so s t r a n g e l y t h a t a l l the world takes n o t i c e on't, and ao o f t e n gueaa a t the reason, or e l s e he t e l l s : i t . . . . a . sadness t h a t he d i s c o v e r e d a t your going away i n c l i n e d him to b e l i e v e you were i l l s a t i s f i e d , and made him c r e d i t what I s a i d . He i s k i n d now. i n extremity, and I would, be g l a d to keep him ao t i l l a d i s c o v e r y i a a b s o l u t e l y necessary.2 The next l e t t e r c o n t i n u e s the t r a i n of thought aroused by the f i r s t . The assumed date i a January 29, 1654. You are mistaken i f you t h i n k I atand i n awe of my b r o t h e r . No, I f e a r nobody'a anger. I am proof a g a i n s t a l l v i o l e n c e ; but when people haunt me w i t h reasonings and e n t r e a t i e s , when they l o o k s a d l y and pretend kindness, when they beg upon t h a t score, ' t i s a strange p a i n to me to deny. 1 2 The L e t t e r s , p.181. I b i d . , p.195. -102-When he r a n t s and renounces me, I can d e s p i s e him; but when he; asks my pardon, w i t h t e a r s pleads- to me the long and constant f r i e n d s h i p between us, and c a l l s heaven to witness t h a t nothing upon e a r t h i s dear to him i n comparison of me, then, I con f e s s , I f e e l a strange unquietness w i t h i n me, and I would do a n y t h i n g to a v o i d h i s im p o r t u n i t y . 1 The assumed date of the next l e t t e r i s February 19, 1654. Would you saw what l e t t e r s my br o t h e r w r i t e s me; you are not h a l f so k i n d . Well, he i s always: i n the extremes; s i n c e our l a s t q u a r r e l he has c o u r t e d me more than ever he d i d i n h i s l i f e , and made me more p r e s e n t s , which, c o n s i d e r i n g h i s humour, i s as g r e a t a testimony of h i s kin d n e s s a s 'twas of Mr.Smith's to my Lady Sunderland.... He sent me one t h i s week which, i n earnest, i s as p r e t t y a t h i n g as I have seen, a China trunk, and the f i n e s t of the k i n d t h a t e'er I saw. 2 In the next l e t t e r , assumed date March 5 , Dorothy speaks. of the f o l l y of marrying without a f o r t u n e , A l l t h i s I can say to you; but when my b r o t h e r disputes. I t w i t h me I have other arguments f o r him, and I drove him up so c l o s e t ' o t h e r n i g h t t h a t f o r want of a b e t t e r gap to get out a t he was f a i n to say t h a t he f e a r e d as much your having a f o r t u n e a s your h a v i n g none....I f o r g o t a l l my d i s g u i s e , and we t a l k e d ourselves, weary; he renounced me again, and I d e f i e d him, but both i n as c i v i l language as i t would permit, and parted i n g r e a t anger w i t h the u s u a l ceremony of a l e g and a courtesy, t h a t you would have d i e d w i t h l a u g h i n g to have seen us. The next day I, not b e i n g a t dinn e r , saw him not t i l l n i g h t ; then, he 1 The L e t t e r s , p.199. 2 I b i d . , pp.213-23:4. • -103-came i n t o my chamber, where I supped but he d i d not* A f t e r w a r d s Mr.Gibson and he and I t a l k e d of i n d i f f e r e n t t h i n g s t i l l a l l but we two went to bed. Then he s a t h a l f - a n - h o u r and s a i d n o t one word, nor I to him. A t l a s t , i n a p i t i f u l tone, \" S i s t e r \" , •says, he, \" I have heard you say t h a t when anything t r o u b l e s you, of a l l t h i n g s you apprehend going to bed, because there i t increases: upon you, and you l i e a t the mercy of a l l your sad thoughts....1 am a t that pass now. I vow to God I would not endure another n i g h t l i k e the l a s t to g a i n a crown.* I, who r e s o l v e d to take no n o t i c e what a i l e d him, s a i d 'twas a knowledge I had r a i s e d from my spleen only, and so f e l l i n t o a discourse, of melancholy.. .and... i n t o r e l i g i o n ; and we t a l k e d so l o n g of i t and ao devoutly, that i t l a i d a l l our anger....He asked my pardon and I h i s , and he has promised me never to speak of i t to me. w h i l s t he l i v e s , b ut l e a v e the event to God Almighty; and t i l l he sees i t done, he w i l l be always the same to me t h a t he. i s ; then he s h a l l leave me, he says, not out of want of k i n d n e s s to me, but because he cannot see the r u i n of a person t h a t he l o v e s so p a s s i o n a t e l y , and i n whose happiness he had l a i d up a l l h i s . These are the terms we a r e a t , and I am c o n f i d e n t he w i l l keep his. word w i t h me... .1 But he does not keep h i s word, and o n l y two weeks l a t e r , i n the l e t t e r dated March 18 when Dorothy w r i t e s to t e l l Temple the sad news- of her f a t h e r ' s death she begins by 2 s a y i n g that \"a m i s f o r t u n e never comes; s i n g l e . \" , and then goes; on to complain of how b a d l y her b r o t h e r i s behaving. Her e l d e s t b r o t h e r has not y e t a r r i v e d to t e l l her what she must do now t h a t S i r P e t e r i s dead, and Henry i s p e r s e c u t i n g her s t r a n g e l y : 1 The L e t t e r s , pp.219-220. 2. I b i d . , p.22.7. -104-I take i t k i n d l y t h a t you used a r t s to c onceal our s t o r y and s a t i s f y my n i c e apprehensions., but I ' l l n ot impose that c o n s t r a i n t upon you any l o n g e r , f o r I f i n d my k i n d b r o t h e r p u b l i s h e s i t with more earnestness than ever I s t r o v e to c o n c e a l i t ; and w i t h more disadvantage than anybody e l s e would. Now he has t r i e d a l l ways to what he d e s i r e s , and f i n d s i t i s i n v a i n , he r e s o l v e s to revenge h i m s e l f upon me, by r e p r e s e n t i n g t h i s a c t i o n i n such c o l o u r s as w i l l amaze a l l people t h a t know me, and do not know him enough to d i s c e r n h i s m a l i c e to me....I am a f r a i d I s h a l l never l o o k upon him as a b r o t h e r more.l There i s nothing, more i n the l e t t e r s c oncerning Henry's unkindness.. A few months, l a t e r when the wedding s e t t l e -ments are being d i s c u s s e d Dorothy asks t h a t he be p e r m i t t e d to \"'treat' 1 2' f o r h e r . P a r r y g i v e s a few notes from Henry Osborne's d i a r y . There was a continued u n f o r t u n a t e misunderstanding between Dorothy and her b r o t h e r about the marriage^ p o r t i o n . On December 22nd 1654 they \" u t t e r l y f e l l out about i t , 1 * and on the 28th we r e a d : \"Temple and my s i s t e r w r i t to me to d e l i v e r up the writings, of her p o r t i o n . * The t r o u b l e r e s u l t e d i n a law s u i t . . . .Dorothy was undoubtedly r e c o n c i l e d to her b r o t h e r Henry, f o r under date May, 1656, he w r i t e s : \"My s i s t e r went from Campton f o r I r e l a n d , \" which suggests t h a t she was s t a y i n g w i t h him a t the time.3 1 2 3 The L e t t e r s , p.228. I b i d . , p.266. I b i d . , p.274. - 1 0 5 -CHAPTER V E v a l u a t i o n of the l e t t e r s : An e v a l u a t i o n of. the l e t t e r s must be. undertaken from s e v e r a l p o i n t s of view. They must fee d i s c u s s e d as l o v e l e t t e r s , as a s o c i a l document and a a l i t e r a t u r e . S i n c e they were w r i t t e n as. l o v e l e t t e r s i t might be expected t h a t they would be worthy of p r a i s e i n t h i s c ategory. T h i s , however, was not, the view o f Macaulay, who di s m i s s e d t h i s , aspect of the l e t t e r s w i t h a k i n d l y , i f p a t r o n i s i n g , word, \"nor are h e r l e t t e r s a t a l l the worse f o r some passages i n which r a i l l e r y and tenderness are mixed w i t h a very engaging namby-pamby.1*'1 P a r r y comes to the rescue a t t h i s p o i n t s .. .Macaulay h a r d l y appears to be s u f f i c i e n t l y aware of the sympathetic ' womanly nature of Dorothy, and the d i g n i t y of her d i s p o s i t i o n ; so that he i s persuaded to speak of her too c o n s t a n t l y from the p o s i t i o n of a man of the w o r l d p r a i s i n g w i t h p a t r o n i s i n g emphasis: the p r e t t y q u a l i t i e s of a s c h o o l - g i r l . 2 He has enthusiasm c e r t a i n l y , but there i s more acumen i n the o p i n i o n s expressed by E.L.Lucas. There are no more d e l i g h t f u l l e t t e r s i n E n g l i s h . L o v e - l e t t e r s . . . a r e a pro v i n c e of l i t e r a t u r e f o r which no... 1 2 Macaulay, o p . c i t . , pp. 10.-11. The L e t t e r s , pp.11-12:. -106-A r i s t o t l e has y e t l a i d down the laws. ...The w r i t i n g of l e t t e r s i s an a p p l i e d a r t which t u r n s i n t o a pure one, when they l o s e t h e i r o r i -g i n a l purpose; the read e r s f o r whom they a r e w r i t t e n come to d i e , the matter they express grows o b s o l e t e and immaterial, and y e t hy charm o f manner alone they may s t i l l e n t h r a l an eavesdropping p u b l i c f o r which they were never meant.1 S i r Walter R a l e i g h d i s m i s s e d the l e t t e r s ' completely, without even a s i n g l e comment on t h e i r q u a l i t y a s l o v e l e t t e r s . We have no one i n E n g l i s h to compare w i t h Madame de Sevigne f o r the combin-a t i o n of w i t and tenderness. B o r o t h y Osborne was an exce e d i n g l y amiable and admirable lady, f u l l of sound sense, but i f you take away from her l e t t e r s t h a t f l a v o u r of a n t i q u i t y t h a t g i v e s a heightened i n t e r e s t to a l l her a l l u s i o n s and to her d e s c r i p t i o n s of the l i f e of the time, you would have to admit that there a r e a thousand w r i t e r s of l e t t e r s a l i v e today who equal or e x c e l her.2 Amiable l a d y indeedI F u l l o f sound senseI We t u r n from such judgments to Borothy'e l a t e s t biographer, L o r d B a v i d C e c i l , whose much p r a i s e d and reviewed \"Two Q u i e t L i v e s i s a t l a s t to hand. S i n c e this: i s the most r e c e n t p u b l i c a t i o n on Bor o t h y ' s l i f e , and s i n c e , a l s o , i t i s w r i t t e n by an 1 F.L.Lucas, \"The P e r f e c t L e t t e r W r i t e r \" , S t u d i e s French and E n g l i s h , London, C a s s e l l & Co., 1934, p.155. 2 S i r Walter R a l e i g h , On W r i t i n g and W r i t e r s , ed\". George Gordon, London, E.Arnold & Co., 1927, p.62.. -107-author whom the reviewers c a l l \"the f i n e s t a r t i s t among biographers now l i v i n g , * ! much was expected of i t . \" T h i s volume i s both an e d u c a t i o n and a d e l i g h t \" , 2 i n s i s t s . S t a u f f e r . The t r u t h of the l a t t e r a s s e r t i o n makes a l l the more r e g r e t t a b l e the very obvious e r r o r s and d i s c r e p a n c i e s ; i n C e c i l ' s essay. S i n c e C e c i l wrote h i s book i n B r i t a i n he d o u b t l e s s had access to the l e t t e r s , now r e p o s i n g i n the B r i t i s h Museum, i n which case t h e r e i s no excuse f o r h i s many grave e r r o r s . However, although he i s not to be t r u s t e d as a b i o g r a p h e r , 3 he has. exemplary q u a l i t i e s as a c r i t i c of the l e t t e r s as l o v e - l e t t e r s . D e s c r i b i n g Doro thy, he says* In Dorothy Osborne, the s.ociety, of which she was a c h i l d , put f o r t h i t s l a s t f i n e f l o w e r . To something of her f a t h e r ' s g a l l a n t n o b i l i t y of temper, she j o i n e d a d e l i c a t e H e r r i c k -l i k e . s e n s i b i l i t y . . . .her h e a r t was i m a g i n a t i v e ; a p p r e c i a t i v e of every shade of i n t i m a c y and a f f e c t i o n , and i d e n t i f y i n g i t s e l f so s e n s i t i v e l y w i t h other people's f e e l i n g s t h a t i t was almost impossible f o r her to r e s i s t an appeal from anyone she l o v e d . Yet , there was n o t h i n g extravagant about her . Her t a s t e was chastened by a. v i g i l a n t sense of thevalue of d i g n i t y and r e s t r a i n t . 4 A l l of these q u a l i t i e s Dorothy showed i n her l e t t e r s . 1 S t a u f f e r , o p . c i t . , p.4. 2. I b i d . , p. 4. . 3 See Note 5 i n appendix. 4 David C e c i l , o p . c i t . , pp.2.4-25. -108-Turning a g a i n to C e c i l ' s essay, we f i n d he sayss ...her own p e r s o n a l i t y i s r e v e a l e d i n i n t i m a t e d e t a i l , and d u r i n g the course of the supreme c r i s i s of her l i f e . So t h a t the correspondence does not g i v e us a f e e l i n g of incompleteness. By a f r e a k o f f o r t u n e thi s , s l e n d e r chance-kept bundle of l e t t e r s has composed i t s e l f i n t o a b r i e f drams that has the u n i t y and c o n c e n t r a t i o n and harmony of a conscious work of a r t . l In t h a t l a s t sentence; C e c i l haa perhaps d e s c r i b e d the c h i e f reason why the l e t t e r s have so much charm f o r us. -they compose a b r i e f drama which has u n i t y and harmony. Each l e t t e r by i t s e l f i s not so v e r y remarkable; i n an age when many women wrote w e l l , and when extravagant and. charming expressions, of a f f e c t i o n were not uncommon. The f o l l o w i n g i s an example of the beginning of a l e t t e r ; I am i n f i n i t e l y o v e rjoyed to heare of your s a f e A r r i v a l l and now my deare f r i e n d I thinke i t w i l l not be improper a f t e r the promises you maide me a t our p a r t i n g , to put you i n minde of s e e i n g me heare, to purchasse which happynesse I would doe anythinge i n the woride, so p a s s i o n a t e l y I owne my j o y , b e i n g a s e l f e l o v e r . 2 Par from being w r i t t e n by a l o v e r to h i s m i s t r e s s , I t was w r i t t e n by Lady C h e s t e r f i e l d to her dear f r i e n d . Lady G-iffard. Dorothy's l e t t e r s , however, p r o v i d e a c o n t i n u i t y . They c a r r y us al o n g w i t h them. And, a s 1 D a v i d C e c i l , o p . c i t . , p.14. 2. J u l i a G.Longe, o p . c i t . , p.9. -109-y i r g i n i a - Woolf says* ...our glimpse of the s o c i e t y of B e d f o r d s h i r e i n the seventeenth c e n t u r y i s the more i n t r i g u i n g f o r i t s i n t e r m i t t e n c y . In they come and out they go - S i r J u s t i n i a n and Lady Diana, Mr Smith and h i s countess - and. we never know when or whether we s h a l l hear of them a g a i n . 1 We may not hear o f the countess, but B o r o t h y 1 a s t o r y i a w o n d e r f u l l y u n f o l d e d , a l l the more w o n d e r f u l l y s i n c e u n c o n s c i o u s l y , and w i t h a l w i t h the harmony of a conscious work of a r t . But a l o v e l e t t e r does not p u r p o r t to be a work of a r t . A l o v e l e t t e r has o n l y one purpose, and t h a t i s to t e l l the r e c i p i e n t t h a t he i s beloved. T h i s , then, i s what Dorothy's l e t t e r s do to p e r f e c t i o n . She and Temple were parted f o r months a t a time, but h i s p a s s i o n never f l a g g e d - her l e t t e r s kept i t a l i v e and b u r n i n g . Yet, as C e c i l says;: There are few endearments i n them, and no r h a p s o d i e s . But even when she i s t e l l i n g the news., or a s k i n g Temple to do some commission f o r her, the emotion that f i l l e d her h e a r t v i b r a t e s through every modulation of h e r v o i c e ; and now i t gleams out i n an enchanting p l a y f u l n e s s ; and now, as a wave of p a s s i o n a t e l o n g i n g f o r Temple f l o o d s over her, i t f l o w s f o r t h i n a s t r a i n of tenderness., a l l the more poignant f o r the d e l i c a t e r e t i c e n c e w i t h which i t i s expressed. 1 V i r g i n i a WooIf, The Second Common Reader, p.62. 2. David C e c i l , o p . c i t . , p.62. -110-But r e t i c e n c e i s h a r d l y the word. B o r o t h y was not r e t i c e n t w i t h her l o v e r , indeed she scorned to he. There i s no r e t i c e n c e i n the f o l l o w i n g ; Beare, s h a l l wee ever bee soe happy, t h i n k you? Ah I dare not hope i t , y e t t i s not want^of l o v e g i v e s mee these f e a r ' s , now, i n 'Earnest, I think, (nay I am sure) I l o v e you more than Ever, and t i s t h a t only gives, mee these d i s p a i r e i n g thoughts, When I c o n s i d e r how s m a l l a p r o p o r t i o n of happiness i s allowed i n this, worlds, and how. g r e a t mine would he i n a. person f o r whome I have a p a s s i o n a t e Kindnesse and whoe has the same f o r mee; As i t is. i n f i n i t l y above what I can .deserve, and more then God A l m i g h t y u s u a l l y a l l o t t s . to the b e s t People, I can f i n d s n o t h i n g i n reason but seems to bee a g a i n s t mee, and mee t h i n k s t i s as vaine i n mee to Expect i t as, twould bee. to hope I might bee a Queen....1 Nor i n another e x t r a c t , a l s o taken from Moore Smith's e d i t i o n i n the o r i g i n a l s p e l l i n g and p u n c t u a t i o n . Temple has sent the l o c k o f h a i r which Borothy r e q u e s t e d . T w i l l bee p l e a s i n g e r to you I am sure, to t e l l you how fond I am of your Lock; w e l l i n E a r n e s t now and s e t t i n g as.ide a l l complement, I never saw f i n e r h a i r e nor of a b e t t e r Couler, but c u t t noe more on't, I would not have i t s p o y l e d f o r the world, i f you l o v e mee bee c a r e f u l l on't. I am combing and C u r l i n g and k i s s i n g t h i s Lock a l l day, and dreaming ont a l l n i g h t . 2 S u r e l y no l o v e r c o u l d ask f o r more ardour I T h i s may not be l i t e r a t u r e , but i t i s indeed a l o v e l e t t e r . 1 G.C.Moore Smith, The L e t t e r s of Borothy Osborne:, p.141. 2. I b i d . , p. 146. -111-To e v a l u a t e the l e t t e r s : as a s o c i a l document, one need o n l y ask what other i n f o r m a t i o n comparable do we have of the time? True, the l e t t e r s do not t r e a t of the matters- which have made the D i a r y of the Rev.Ralph J o s s e l i n (1616-1683) important, t h a t i s , the p r i c e o f land, the s t a t e of the weather, the wages of s e r v a n t s , the: s a l a r y of a schoolmaster, the e x c i s e duty on hops, the p r i c e of cows, p i g s , cheese and b u t t e r , but they t r e a t of. the everyday comings and goings of people i n our h i s t o r i c a l r e c o r d s . They t e l l of the l i f e of a s o l i t a r y g i r l i n the depths of the country, who l i v e d a t a time when the d a i l y round was conducted w i t h such ceremoniousness t h a t she s a t down to d i n n e r each day i n as much s t a t e as i f twenty people were being enter-t a i n e d . They t e l l of l i f e i n other country houses where the men c o n t i n u a l l y d r i n k too much, and where e n t e r t a i n i n g goes on n i g h t and day, and so many v i s i t o r s a r r i v e t h a t they s l e e p t h r e e i n a bed. We hear of the a r r i v a l o f new books, and f i n d t h a t the broadshot desseminated the news. We f i n d t h a t there i s l i t t l e or no d i s c u s s i o n o f f a s h i o n or food, but t h a t sermons are not o n l y l i s t e n e d to, they are d i s c u s s e d afterwards:, by p e o p l e whose onl y other t o p i c s of c o n v e r s a t i o n a r e l o v e and g o s s i p . Perhaps indeed i t i s because the l e t t e r s , t e l l us these things, t h a t Sherburn i n A. L i t e r a r y H i s t o r y of England: -In-s t a t e s t h a t \"'The l e t t e r s , o f Dorothy Osborne to Temple form one of the most famous R e s t o r a t i o n correspondences.\"I To evaluate the l e t t e r s as l i t e r a t u r e i t might be enough to take. C e c i l ' s statement t h a t Dorothy's, bundle of l e t t e r s has \"the u n i t y and c o n c e n t r a t i o n and harmony of a conscious work of a r t . \" But what V i r g i n i a Woolf has: to say i s always worth r e p e a t i n g * ...with a l l t h i s haphazardry, the L e t t e r s , l i k e the l e t t e r s o f a l l born l e t t e r -w r i t e r s , p r o v i d e t h e i r own c o n t i n u i t y . They make u s f e e l t h a t we have our s e a t i n the depths of D o r o t h y ' s mind., a t the h e a r t of the pageant which u n f o l d s i t s e l f page by page a s we read. For she possesses i n d i s p u t a b l y the g i f t which counts f o r more i n l e t t e r - w r i t i n g than w i t or b r i l l i a n c e or t r a f f i c w i t h g r e a t p e o p l e . By b e i n g h e r s e l f without e f f o r t o r emphasis, she envelops a l l these odds and ends i n the f l o w of her own p e r s o n a l i t y . 3 A dozen i n s t a n c e s c o u l d be c i t e d to prove t h a t C e c i l was wrong when he s a i d \"Spontaneous though she wanted her l e t t e r s to appear, i n f a c t Dorothy s e l e c t e d and arranged her m a t t e r \" . 4 Only one glance a t the quick-f l o w i n g w r i t i n g , w i t h no change or erasures, shows us what we a l r e a d y know from t h e i r content. Here i s no emotion r e c o l l e c t e d i n t r a n q u i l l i t y , but emotion a t 1 George Sherburn, A L i t e r a r y H i s t o r y o f England, e d . A l b e r t C.Baugh, George Sherburn and o t h e r s , Hew York, A p p l e t o n - C e n t u r y - C r o f t a l h c . , 1948,p.808. 2 David C e c i l , o p . c i t . , p.14. 3 V i r g i n i a Woolf, Second Common Reader, p.62. 4 David C e c i l , o p . c i t . , p.61. 113-f i r s t hand, spontaneous and f r e e , and i f the r e s u l t i s a work of a r t , i t i s because o f t h i s s p o n t a n e i t y and not i n s p i t e of i t . - 11A -APPENDIX Note 1 \"Matchless Orinda\". The following information concerning the \"Matchless Orinda\" was taken from the Dictionary of National Biography and G.C. Moore Smith's The Early Essays and Romances of Sir William Temple. Bt. Katherine Philips, 1631-1664, was the daughter of a merchant of London. At the age of eight she was sent to a fashionable boarding school at Hackney. She became a verse writer and a friend of Jeremy Taylor. She married James Philips. Her earliestverses were prefixed to the poems of Henry Yaughan in 1651, and she became known as \"Orinda?. A letter from Orinda, dated January 22, 166A, addressed to Dorothy Osborne, i s published i n Jul i a Longe*s Martha Lady Giffard. A collection of her verses appeared about this time, under the t i t l e Poems. By the Incomparable Mrs.K.P. and were prefaced by poems by Cowley and H.A. Sir William Temple wrote an elegy on her death entitled A Troop of Mourners i n deep Elegie. The Dictionary of National Biography says, \"Orinda's fame as a poet, always considerably in excess of her merits, did not long survive her\". \"Mad Madge of Newcastle\". • Tha following note was taken from the Dictionary of National Biography. Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle, 162A(?)-167A... .Mr. CH. Firth edited a new edition of both lives [The Lives of William Cavendishe, Duke of Newcastle, and of his wife, Margaret, Duchess of Newcastle] i n 1886. In these works so much of the l i t e r a r y baggage of the duchess as time w i l l care to burden i t s e l f with i s preserved. \"Temple's sweet sister\". The following information concerning Temple's sister, Lady Giffard, was taken from the Dictionary of National Biography and from G.C. Moore Smith's The Early Essays and Romances of Sir William Temple. Bt. with the Life and Character of Sir William Temple by his sister lady Giffard. Martha Giffard was an indefatigable letter writer. She was also her brother's ardent admirer, and wrote, for posterity, his Life and Character, which was not published during her lifetime. Thomas Seccombe In the Dictionary of National Biography refers to her as the \"clever and managing sister-in-law, Lady Giffard\". \"Incomparable Astrea\". The following information concerning Aphra Behn, the f i r s t Englishwoman to earn money by her pen, was taken from the Dictionary of National Biography. -115-Her genius and v i v a c i t y were undoubted; her p l a y s a r e very coarse, but v e r y l i v e l y and humourous, while she possessed an i n d i s p u t a b l e touch of l y r i c genius. Her prose works are d e c i d e d l y l e s s m e r i t o r i o u s than her dramas and the b e s t o f her poems. Note 2 E.A. P a r r y brought out the Everyman E d i t i o n o f The L e t t e r s i n 191A, w i t h a long i n t r o d u c t i o n . But he had i n 1911 w r i t t e n a p r e f a c e f o r J u l i a L o nge Ts Martha Lady G i f f a r d y t h e r e f o r e i t must be assumed t h a t , u n l e s s he wrote the p r e f a c e without having read the book, i n 191A he was cognisant o f the b i o g r a p h i c a l f a c t s o f the Temple daughters. Note 3 The names Almanzor and A l c i d i a n a . not important In themselves, are i n t e r e s t i n g i n the i n f o r m a t i o n they uncover. N e i t h e r P a r r y nor Moore Smith i n v e s t i g a t e d q u i t e t h o r o u g h l y enough the Almanzor mentioned by S i r W i l l i a m Temple, but accepted the c r i t i c i s m o f Gibbon. I t remains now to v i n d i c a t e Temple 1s r e p u t a t i o n i n t h i s s m a l l matter. P a r r y s t a t e s : Almanzor and A l c i d i a n a are p r o b a b l y c h a r a c t e r s i n some Spanish romance. I t i s c u r i o u s t h a t i n a f t e r y e ars S i r W i l l i a m Temple speaks o f Almanzor i n h i s essay on\"Heroic V i r t u e \" as an i l l u s t r i o u s and renowned hero o f the A r a b i a n branch o f the Saracen Empire, and he devotes the best p a r t o f a page t o h i s c a r e e r . Upon t h i s Mr. Gibbon i n h i s M i s c e l l a n e o u s Works. V., 5 5 5 , says: \"I pass over s e v e r a l o t h e r mistakes o f S i r W i l l i a m Temple 1s t h a t I may not seem to t r e a t a p o l i t e s c h o l a r w i t h the c r i t i c a l s e v e r i t y which he j u s t l y enough complained o f ; but I can scarce r e f r a i n from s m i l i n g a t h i s Almanzor, the most accomplished o f the western G a l i p h s who r e i g n e d over A r a b i a , Egypt, A f r i c a , and Spain; but i n f a c t a n imaginary hero o f an imaginary empire. S i r W i l l i a m Temple was d e c e i v e d by some Spanish romances which he took f o r A r a b i a n H i s t o r y . \" C e r t a i n l y a t t h i s date Dorothy seems -116-to w r i t e o f Almanzor, as though he were o n l y a romance hero. Moore Smith's note i s a s f o l l o w s : Temple's knowledge o f Almanzor (the hero o f Dryden's Conquest o f Granada) was, as Dr. Thomas[of the B r i t i s h Museum] f u r t h e r suggests, probably d e r i v e d from Robert A s h l e y ' s Almansor the Learned (1672), a t r a n s l a t i o n o f a Spanish romance by a pretended A r a b i a n author, A l i A b e n c u f i a n . I n h i s Essay Of H e r o i c k V i r t u e . S e c t , v, Temple t r e a t s Almanzor as h i s t o r i c a l : 'The A r a b i a n branch o f the Saracen Empire, a f t e r a long and mighty growth i n Egypt and A r a b i a , seems t o have been a t i t a h e i g h t under the g r e a t Alamnzor^ who was the i l l u s t r i o u s and renowned Heroe o f t h i s Race, and must be al l o w e d to have as much e x c e l l e d , and as eminently, I n L e a r n i n g , V i r t u e , P i e t y , and N a t i v e Goodness, as I n Power, i n V a l o u r , and i n Empire: Y e t t h i s was extended from A r a b i a through Egypt and a l l the No r t h e r n T r a c t s o f A f r i c a , as f a r as the Western Ocean, and over a l l the c o n s i d e r a b l e P r o v i n c e s of Sp a i n . F o r i t was I n h i s time, and by h i s V i c t o r i o u s E n s i g n s , t h a t the G o t h i c k Kingdom i n Spain was conquered, and the Race o f those famous P r i n c e s ended i n Rodrigo...I do not r e -member ever to have read a g r e a t e r and n o b l e r C h a r a c t e r o f any P r i n c e than o f t h i s g r e a t Alamnzor, i n some Spanish Authors o r T r a n s l a t o r s o f h i s S t o r y out o f the A r a b i a n tongue.' Courtenay (ii .264.) quotes Gibbon's comment on t h i s passage from h i s M i s c e l l a n e o u s Works. V.p.554: Moore Smith then quotes Gibbon's comment, which has been g i v e n a l r e a d y here i n the P a r r y q u o t a t i o n . The famous Spanish e n c y c l o p e d i a , E n c l c l o p e d i a U n i v e r s a l I l u s t r a d a . however, f i n d s Temple's Almanzor worthy o f three long columns, from which the f o l l o w i n g was taken: Almanzor....Es e l mis c e l e b r e y popular de l o s c a u d i l l o s de l a Espana arabe....Muy joven t o d a v f a f u ^ i Cdrdoba para hacer sus e s t u d i o s , d i s t l n g u i e n d o s e especialmente en l a p o e s i a . Con 1 The L e t t e r s , p. 61. 2 Moore Smith, The L e t t e r s o f Dorothy Osborne, pp. 310-311. -117-su talento y gentileza se granejo e l aprecio de Alhakem III...y...de l a sultana... que hizo de ^1 su secretario, su mayordomo mas tarde, y a l morir Alhakem le encargo' e l gohierno del Estado eon e l t i t u l o de .primer hagib para que lo ejerciese en nombre de Hescham (Hixem II) quien a l a saz6n s6lo tenia diez anos de edad.... Gran guerrero, llevd a cabo en veintis^is anos 52 expedieiones contra los cristianos; pero antes tuvo que apaciguar algunos disturbios interiores del pais, lo cual logrd* empleando l a astucia para atraerse las voluntades de todos, lisonjeando A cada uno segun su pasio'n y necesidad, aliviando de tributos a los bajos, tratando a los grandes y ricos como iguales, alentando a los estudiosos y premiandoles no pocas veces... .Fue' este caudillo, segun escribe Lafuente, «politico profundo, ministro s£Io, guerrero insigne, e l Alejandro, e l Anibal, el Cedar de los musulmanes espanoles^... ..no fu^ tan s6lo...un gran caudillo, sino que anadia a esta cualidad un gusto y una aficid'n decidida por las letras y por aquellos que las cultivaban, y asi se le ve rodearse, durante e l tiempo que pasaba en Cordoba, de poetas, sabios, y literatos: su palacio era una academia abierta constantemente para los sabios de todos los paises; durante su gobierno continuaron en muy floreciente estado, no s6lo las letras, sino las ciencias, en especial l a medicina y demas ciencias positivas.... llevado de esta aficio'n por los estudios, estableci<5 Almanzor una especie de universidad, en que s6lo enseiiaban los hombres doetos y reconocidos como sabios, y ^1 en persona visitaba las escuelas... sentandose entre los alumnos, sin permitir que se interrumpiera l a leccio'n, y dando premios k maestros y discipulos que los mereciesen*)1 As far as Dorothy's Almanzor i s concerned, Moore Smith has a note which might be of interest: ...Apparently Dorothy's memory was not as good as she thought. I am indebted to Dr. H. Thomas, of the British Museum, for the suggestion that Dorothy was not thinking of Almanzor at a l l , but of Amaran (in the English translation of A. Munday, g 'Amarano'), a character i n Palmerin de Oliva (1511)* 1 Enciclopedla Universal Ilustrada - Europeo-Americana, Madrid, Espasa-Calpe, S.A., 1907(?)-1930, Appendices and Supplements to 1937, vol. X, pp.801-802. 2 Moore Smith, The Letters of Dorothy Osborne, p. 222. -118-S l n c e a thorough search o f the best known a u t h o r i t a t i v e works on Spanish l i t e r a t u r e (both i n Spanish and i n E n g l i s h ) In tie l a s t f o u r hundred y e a r s , has f a i l e d to r e v e a l any t r a c e o f Almanzor and A l c i d i a n a , perhaps Dr. Thomas's suggestion might be ac c e p t e d as f a r as the Almanzor o f Dorothy's romances i s concerned. But i t would appear t h a t Dr. Thomas a l s o was unaware o f the i n f o r m a t i o n contained i n the Spanish E n c y c l o p e d i a which c l e a r s up the matter o f Temple's Almanzor. Note A \"The Emperor\" was Dorothy's nickname f o r a - c e r t a i n baronet, o f whom P a r r y has the f o l l o w i n g to say: The e l d e r l y man who proposed to Dorothy was S i r J u s t i n i a n Isham, B a r t . , o f Lamport, i n Northamptonshire. He h i m s e l f was ahout forty-two years o f age a t t h i s time, and had, i n 1638, l o s t h i s f i r s t w i f e Jane, daughter o f S i r John G e r r a r d , by whom he had one son and f o u r daughters. The Rev. W. Betham, w i t h t h a t optimism which i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f compilers o f peerages, t h i n k s \" t h a t he was esteemed one o f the most accomplished persons o f the time, being a gentleman, not o n l y o f f i n e l e a r n -i n g , but famed f o r h i s p i e t y and exemplary l i f e . \" Dorothy t h i n k s otherwise, and w r i t e s o f him as \"the v a i n e s t , i m p e r t i n e n t , s e l f - c o n c e i t e d l e a r n e d coxcomb t h a t ever, y e t I saw.\" 1 1 The L e t t e r s , p. 26 Note 5 -119-Describing Dorothy 1s stay i n her brother-in-law* s house i n Kent, Cecil says: The only people i n the house with whom Dorothy f e l t easy were a lady, grown misanthropic as the result of a quarrel with her husband, and a gentleman whose heart had been broken early in l i f e by the death of his bride to be. These two at least were quiet. 1 However the letter from which he took his information i s given both by Parry and Moore Smith as: Of a l l the company this place i s stored with, there i s but two persons whose conversation i s at a l l easy to me; one i s my eldest niece, who, sure, was sent into the world to show * t i s possible for a woman to he silent; the other i s a gentleman whose mistress died just when they should have married....Methinks we three (that i s , my niece, and he and I) do become this house the worst that can be....2 This same niece is mentioned throughout the letters. Always Dorothy gives praise to her silence, but a husband i s never mentioned. Instead we read: ...my company i s increased by two, my brother Harry and a fair niece....She i s so much a woman that I am almost ashamed to say I am her aunt; and so pretty, that, i f I had^any design to gain a servant, I should not like her company; hut I have none, and therefore shall endeavour, to keep her here as long as I can-persuade her father to spare her, for she w i l l easily consent to i t , having so much of my humour (though i t be tie worst thing i n her) as to like a melancholy place and l i t t l e company.3 Another careless error made by Cecil has perhaps a somewhat humourous aspect i n view of Temple1s remarks on making love.after forty. -Cecil quotes a letter written after Dorothy's marriage in which she makes refeiaice to her baby, \"indeed my heart ' t i s the quietest best l i t t l e boy 1 David Cecil, op. c i t . . p. 98. 2 The Letters .fx 262. 3 Ibid^ rW--85.fr\"-x -120-that ever was borne.\" On the next page Cecil says: Of the six children Dorothy bore to Temple, only one lived to grow up; and he - the l i t t l e Jack of whom she speaks so lovingly i n her last letters - drowned himself in a f i t of madness when he was twenty-one. On the occasion of his death we are permitted, after forty years silence, once more to hear Dorothy's voice. She Is answer-ing a letter of condolence from a nephew.* A simple sum in arithmetic shows that since Dorothy was twenty-seven when she married Temple, forty years later she would be sixty-seven, and Temple would be sixty-six. But the son, Jack, says Cecil,was twenty-one. Cecil, then, was wrong on several counts. It has been made clear in this lessay that there were two sons called Jack; One, as Cecil correctly states, was born a year or so after the marriage, but he died a few years later i n Ireland. The son Jack who committed suicide was born i n 1663 or I 6 6 4 . His age now comes in question. The date on the letter of condolence was 1689, and Lady Giffard states that i n the year 1685 \"his son CJack Temple] was married in France & some months after brough(t) his Wife over great with child to Sheen.\" -> This would make him seventeen or less when he married, which i s erroneous. As for the \"six children\", Lady Giffard says on two occasions that the Temples had nine children. One quotation w i l l suffice: He f s i r William Temple] very l i t t l e encreas'd his estate hy his imployments had nine children of wch only two Daughters of his eldest son survived him.-^ The forty years silence i s also a careless statement. J u l i a G. Longe and Moore Smith give half a dozen letters written to Temple i n the f i r s t fifteen years of Cbrotfeife married l i f e . 1 David Cecil, op_. c i t . . p. 101. 2 Ibid., pp. 102-103. 3 Lady Giffard, op,, c i t . p. 23. 4 I old.. p. x i . -121-BIBLIOGRAPHY EDITIONS OF THE LETTERS Gollancz, Israel, The Love Letters of Dorothy Osborne to Sir William Temple, ed. from the original MS., London, de La More Press, 1903. Moore Smith, G.C, The Letters of Dorothy Osborne to William Temple. ed. by permission of Sir Edward Parry and his publishers, Sherratt & Hughes Ltd., Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1928. Parry, E.A., The L-.e-.tte.rs f r o m Dorothy Osborne to Sir William Temple. Everyman's Library, London, J.M. Dent & Sons, Ltd., 1914. GENERAL WORKS Baugh, Albert C , George Sherburn and others, A Literary History of England. New York, Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., 194-8. Bush, Douglas, English Literature i n the Earlier Seventeenth Century. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1945. Cavendish, Margaret, The Lives of William Cavendishe. Duke of Newcastle and \"of his wife. Margaret Duchess of New- castle, ed. M.A. Lower, London, John Russell Smith, 1872. Cecil, Lord David, Two Quiet Lives. \"Dorothy Osborne\",The Bobbs-Merrill Co., Indianapolis, 1947, pp. 13-103. Drayton, Michael, The Works of Michael Drayton, ed. J. William Hebel, Oxford, Shakespeare head press, 1932, 5 vols. Giffard, Lady, The L i f e and Character of Sir William Temple, ed. G.C. Moore Smith, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1930. (See Sir William Temple, The Early Essays and Romances.) Josselin, The Rev. Ralph, Diary. (1616-1683) ed. for Royal Historical Society by E. Hockliffe, M.A., Camden Third Series, London, 1908. Longe, J u l i a G.« Martha Lady Giffard. London, George Allan 6 Sons, 1911. -122-Lucas, F.L., Studies French and English. \"The Perfect L e t t e r Writer\", London, C a s s e l l & Co., Ltd., 1934, pp.151-174. Macaulay, Thomas Batington, C r i t i c a l and H i s t o r i c a l Essays. contributed to the Edinburgh Review, \" S i r William Temple\", October, 1833, London, Longman, Brown, Green & Longman, 1854-Parkes, Joan, Travel i n England i n the Seventeenth Century. London, Humphrey M i l f o r d , Oxford U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1925. Parry, His Honour S i r Edward, My Own Way. London, C a s s e l l & Co., Ltd., 1932. Raleigh, S i r Walter Alexander, On writing and writers. \"On Letters and Lett e r Writing\", ed. George Gordon, London, E. Arnold & Co., Ltd., 1927, pp. 35-102. Shepard, 0. and Wood, Paul Spencer, English Prose and Poetry. Cambridge, Riverside Press, Houghton M i f f l i n Co., 1934. Spingarn, J.E., S i r William Temple's Essays on Ancient and Modern Learning and on Poetry. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1909. S t r u t t , Joseph, The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England, ed. William Hone, Ikmdon, William Reeves, 1<830. Swift, Jonathan, The Poems, ed. William Ernst Browning, London, G. B e l l & Sons, Ltd., 1910, 2 vo l s . Temple, S i r William, Bt., The Works of S i r William Temple. Bt.. London, J . Clark and others, 1757, 4 vol s . Temple, S i r William, Bt., The Ea r l y Essays and Romances of S i r William Temple Bt. with the L i f e and Character of S i r William Temple by h i s s i s t e r Lady G i f f a r d . ed. G.C. Moore Smith, Oxford^ Clarendon Press, 1930. T r a i l l , H.D. and Mann, J.S., S o c i a l England. C a s s e l l & Co., Ltd., London, 1903, 6 v o l s . Woolf, V i r g i n i a , The Common Reader. Harmondsworth, England, Penguin Books, Ltd., 1925. Woolf, V i r g i n i a , The Second Common Reader. \"Dorothy Osborne^s; Letters\", New York, Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1932, pp.59-66. -123-MAGAZINE ARTICLES S t a u f f e r , Donald A., \"Two Quiet L i v e s \" by Lord David C e c i l , reviewed New Yoifc Times. February 18, 1948. ENCYCLOPEDIAS Drury, G. Thorn, \"Katherine P h i l i p s \" , D i c t i o n a r y o f N a t i o n a l Biography, ed. Sidney Lee and L e s l i e Stephen, London, Smith, E l d e r & Co., 1908, v o l . 1 5 V P P . 1063-1064. F i r t h , C E . , \"Lucy Hutchinson\", D i c t i o n a r y o f National Biography, ed. Sidney Lee and L e s l i e Stephen, London, Smith, E l d e r & Co., 1908, v o l . 10.,pp.339-341. Gosse, Edmund, \"Aphra Behn\", D i c t i o n a r y o f N a t i o n a l Biography, ed. Sidney Lee and L e s l i e Stephen, London, Smith, E l d e r & Co., 1908, v o l . 2 . ,pp. 129-131. K n i g h t , Joseph, \"Margaret Cavendish\", D i c t i o n a r y o f N a t i o n a l Biography, ed. Sidney Lee and L e s l i e Stephen, London, Smith, E l d e r & Co., 1908, v o l . 3. ,pp.1264-1266. Seccombe, Thomas, \" S i r W i l l i a m Temple\", D i c t i o n a r y o f N a t i o n a l Biogrgfay. ed. Sidney Lee and -Leslie Stephen, London, Smith, E l d e r & Co., 1908, v o l . 19. ,pp.522-531. E n c i c l o p e d i a U n i v e r s a l I l u s t r a d a - Europeo-Americana, Madrid, Espasa-Calpe, S.A., 1907(?)-1930, 70 v o l s . , Appendices and Supplements to 1937, 14 v o l s . , v o l . 4.,pp.801-802. "@en ; edm:hasType "Thesis/Dissertation"@en ; edm:isShownAt "10.14288/1.0106702"@en ; dcterms:language "eng"@en ; ns0:degreeDiscipline "English"@en ; edm:provider "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en ; dcterms:publisher "University of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:rights "For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use."@en ; ns0:scholarLevel "Graduate"@en ; dcterms:title "A study of the life and times of Dorothy Osborne as found in her letters"@en ; dcterms:type "Text"@en ; ns0:identifierURI "http://hdl.handle.net/2429/41570"@en .