A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography/Legge, Elizabeth

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LEGGE, ELIZABETH,

Eldest daughter of Edward Legge, an ancestor of the Earl of Dartmouth, was born in 1580. She was particularly noted for her faculty of acquiring languages, having studied thoroughly the Latin, French, Spanish, and Irish tongues, besides cultivating her poetical genius. Unfortunately, these acquisitions soon proved nearly useless, as she lost her sight, indeed became totally blind, in consequence of severe study and midnight readings. She was never married, lived chiefly in Ireland, and died at the great age of 105.