dear heart

plural dear hearts

1. Term of affection; sweetheart.

1. archaicExpressing surprise or emphasis.

   “Dead — aye, sure enough he’s dead and gone below,” said the fellow with the bandage; “but if ever sperrit walked, it would be Flint’s. Dear heart, but he died bad, did Flint!”

   1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC

   1 more example

   "Dear heart!" exclaimed Mrs. Plummer soon after, as something rolled over the bare white boards from the folds of a dress she was vigorously shaking, before replacing it in the drawer, "how did she come by pearls?"

   1891, Maxwell Gray, In the Heart of the Storm, volume 2, page 119