19th Century Love Letter Holds Up

“When I started to work on the arm, I could see a small note, tightly folded up, about the size of a penny. When I opened it, to my amazement it was a note written in pencil, in old French.” What the restorer found in the antique chair was a letter — a 200-year-old love letter.

While historians can only estimate the age of the billet-doux, found in Gloucestershire, the language points to the early 1800’s. It was from a man, written to a woman. Here’s the translated text:

My dear small love, do not be worried, do you seriously believe I would tell anything to these people, who don’t understand anything about love?

If someone insists that I say something, it will be anything but the dear love acquired by you, which is the great treasure hidden in my heart.

I didn’t tell you to come yesterday because I didn’t have the opportunity, but do come every Tuesday around 5:30, and Fridays as well; I count/hope on you tomorrow.

At the moment I write this letter, I can hear my aunt yelling, who else annoys us all day long, today and tomorrow.

My dear, I cover you with kisses and caresses until… I need you in this moment of desire. I love you.

Doomed lover? Future spouses? Teenage passion? The answer’s lost in the mists of time. What’s for sure? It holds up.

200 Year Old Love Letter Found In Chair [How to be a Retronaut via Theocus Furniture]