Eton, Nov. 26. 1849.
_Letters of Mrs. Chiffinch._
The Chafins, of Chettle, in Dorsetshire, possessed at one time some
interesting family memorials. In the third volume of Hutchins's
_Dorset_, pp. 166, 167., are printed two or three letters of Thomas
Chafin on the battle of Sedgemoor. In a manuscript note, Hutchins
alludes to letters, written by a female member of the family, which
contain some notices of the court of Charles II. Can your Dorsetshire
correspondents inform me whether these letters exist? I suspect that the
lady was wife of the notorious Chiffinch; and she must have seen and
heard strange things. The letters may be worthless, and it is possible
that the family might object to a disclosure of their contents. The
manuscript memorandum is in Gough's copy of the _History of Dorset_ in
the Bodleian Library.