husband at Paris.
Charles the Second came to Combes, near Paris,
on a visit to his mother, in November 1659, where
Sr Richard and Lady Fanshawe had an interview
with him, and were received most graciously, with
promises of future protection. Sir Richard being
desired to follow his Majesty to Flanders, he went
thither in December, having previously sent his wife
to London for money, where she arrived with her
children in January 1660. Soon afterwards she
followed him to Newport, Bruges^ Ghent, and
Brussels, where the Royal family of England were
Digitized by
Google
1 6 Introductory Memoir
residing, by all of whom they were treated with
kindness. After staying three weeks at Brussels, Sir
Richard and Lady Fanshawe went to Breda, where
they heard of the Restoration, at which place, in
April, his Majesty is said to have conferred on him
the honour of Knighthood,* though the fact is not
mentioned in the Memoir.
On joining the King at the Hague, he promised
to reward Sir Richard's fidelity and suiFerings, by
appointing him Secretary of State ; but through the
machinations of ** that false man,*' as Lady Fanshawe
calls Lord Clarendon, the royal word was not ful-
filled. When his Majesty embarked for England,
Sir Richard was ordered to attend him in his own
ship; and a frigate was appointed to convey his
family. The morning after Charles's arrival at
Whitehall, Lady Fanshawe, with some other ladies,
waited upon him to oiFer their congratulations, on
which occasion he assured her of his favour, and
presented Sir Richard with his portrait set in
diamonds. To the Parliament summoned immedi-
ately after the restoration he was returned for the
University of Cambridge; and **had the good
fortune," his affectionate biographer says, "to be
the first chosen, and the first returned member of
the Commons House in Parliament, after the King
came home ; and this cost him no more than a letter
* Biographia Britannica.
Digitized by
Google
Introductory Memoir ly
of thanks, and two brace of bucks, and twenty broad
pieces of gold to buy them wine."
To the jealousy of Lord Clarendon, who was
ansdous to remove Sir Richard from about the King's
person. Lady Fanshawe imputes the circumstance of
his being sent to Portugal to negotiate the marriage
with the Princess Katharine, to whom he was charged
to present his Majesty's picture ; but this appoint-
ment is strong proof of the confidence which was
reposed in his discretion and abilities. He returned
to England in December, and during his absence
Lady Fanshawe remained in London, where she gave
birth to a daughter in January 1662. On the arrival
of the Queen at Portsmouth, Sir Richard Fanshawe
was sent to receive her, and was present at her
marriage, the description of which ceremony is
historically valuable.
Early in 1662 he was nominated a Privy Counsellor
of Ireland : in August he was again sent on an em-
bassy to Lisbon, and was accompanied by his wife and
children. Their journey to Plymouth, their voyage,
their arrival at Lisbon, their reception at Court, and
the city, are minutely described. After a year's resi-
dence in Portugal, Sir Richard was recalled : he re-
turned to London in September 1663, and proceeded
to wait on the King at Bath, who was pleased to raise
him to the rank of a Privy Counsellor. In January
1664, he was appointed Ambassador to the Court of
Digitized by
Google
1 8 Introductory Memoir
Madrid, and having embarked at Portsmouth, with
a numerous retinue, on board a squadron on the 31st
of that month, they arrived at Cadiz on the 23rd of
February.
Nearly the whole of the remainder of the Memoir
is filled with an account of their journey to Madrid,
of their splendid reception, of the manners of the
Spaniards, of various places, and of public events
and ceremonies. These descriptions display con-
siderable judgment and quickness of observation, and
contain some valuable information. Many of the anec-
dotes which occur are interesting, and like every other
part of the narrative, they are told with a simplicity
which renders it impossible to doubt their accxiracy.
At Madrid, Lady Fanshawe gave birth to her son
Richard ; and the prayer which she breathes for his
prosperity exhibits her piety and affection in lively
colours. Sir Richard Fanshawe went on a mission
to Lisbon in January 1664, ^^^ returned to Madrid
early in March following. On the 17th of December
1665, he signed a treaty with the Spanish minister,
but the King refused to ratify it, and he was recalled,
when the Earl of Sandwich was sent to replace him,
who arrived at Corunna in March following. Pre-
vious to this circumstance, Lady Fanshawe intended
to return to England to see her father, who was on the
verge of the grave ; but she then resolved to wait
for Sir Richard's departure.
Digitized by
Google
Introductory Memoir 19
She was now, however, destined to experience the
severest of all her trials, in the death of her husband,
who, after introducing Lord Sandwich at G)urt on
the 15th of June, was seized with an ague, and
expired on the 26th of the same month.*
No other language could convey an adequate idea
of Lady Fanshawe's feelings under her loss, than that
in which she has expressed them ; and her address to
the Almighty on her sufferings merits every possible
praise.
Some of Sir Richard Fanshawe's biographers have
imputed his death to a broken heart, in consequence
of his being recalled ; but this is a gratuitous asser-
tion, for nothing of the kind is hinted in the Memoir,
though the conduct of Lord Clarendon and others
towards him is severely commented upon. His letter
to the King on the occasion is preserved, from which
it is evident that he felt his recall deeply, but the
gracious communication by which it was accompanied
lessened the severity of the act, and he seems anxiously
to have looked forward to his arrival in England to
defend his conduct.
Lady Fanshawe resolved on accompanying her
husband's corpse to England ; but, previous to her
quitting Madrid, the Queen-Regent of Spain offered
* According to the inscription on his monument, he died on
the sixuenth of June ; the discrepancy arose from the difference
in the style.
Digitized by
Google
20 Introductory Memoir
her a pension, and promised to provide for her
children, if she and they would embrace the Roman
Catholic faith ; an offer, which it would be an insult
to her memory to attribute any merit to her for
refusing. Having disposed of her plate, fixrniturc,
and horses, she left the Siete Chimeneas, in a private
manner, on the 8th of July, and observes, ** Never
did any ambassador's family come into Spain so
gloriously, or went out so sad.'* She reached Bilboa
on the 2 1 St of July, where Sir Richard's corpse
awaited her arrival, and remained there until the
3rd of October. The mournful train then proceeded
towards England, by Bayonne and Paris, where they
arrived on the 30th of October. After an audience
of the Queen- Mother, Lady Fanshawe set out for
Calais ; and on the 2nd of November was conveyed
to the Tower Wharf in a French vessel-of-war. On
the 26th, the body of Sir Richard, attended by seven
of the gentlemen of his suite, was interred in All-
hallows Church, in Hertford, whence it was removed,
in May 1 671, to a vault in St. Mary's Chapel in
Ware Church, where his widow erected a handsome
monument, with the following inscription to his
memory : —
Digitized by
Google
Introductory Memoir 21
P. M. S.
In Hypogeo, juxta hoc monumentamy
jacet corpus nobilissimi viri
RICARDI FANSHAWE,
Equitis Aurati et Baronettl, ex antique iU^ famili^ de
Ware Parke, in comitatu Hertfordiae,
Henrici Fanshawe, Equitis Aurati, prolis decimae.
Uzorem duxit Annam filiam natu maximam Johannis
Harrison, Equitis Aurati, de Balls, in com. Hertfordiae ;
et ex ei suscepit sex filios et octo filias ; h quibus
supersunt Ricardus, Catherina, Margarita, Anna,
et Elizabetha.
Vir comitate morum, luce fidei, constantid,
praestantissimus,
qui olim (laetus exul) serenissimi regis Caroli Secundi
calamitates fortiter amplexus est,
in Rebus bellicis, ab eodem constitutus Secretarius,
posteaque (Regno ei feliciter restaurato)
libellorum supplicum Magister,
it Latinis epistolis, k sanctioribus Regis consiliis
tarn Angliae, tum Hibemiae factus ; pro Academic Cantabrigiensi
Burgensis ;
Necnon ejusdem serenissimi Regis ad utrasque Aulas
Portugal, et Hispan.
Legatns, in quarum proximd, dim pulcKerrim^ officio
suo functus esset, splendidissimam quamdiu egerat
Vitam com luctuos^ morte commutavit.
Monumentum hoc, cum Hypogeo, mcestissima conjux
pi^ posuit, quae etiam corpus Mariti sui ab urbe
Madrid hue per terras transtulit.
r^u•• xoj T •• /Dom. M.DCLXVI.
Obnti6 deJunii,anno| ^.^atis sua. LIX.*
• Clntterbuck's History of Hertfordshire^ vol. iii.page 311. The
following arms occur on the monument : Quarterly, ist and 4th,
Digitized by
Google
22 Introductory Memoir
Sir Richard Fanshawe was buried with much pomp;
and a full account of the ceremony occurs in his
funeral certificate in the College of Arms.
From the King, the Queen, the Court, and some
of the ministers. Lady Fanshawe received much sym-
pathy and kindness ; but, in common with every
other person who had pecuniary claims on the
Government, she experienced great difficulty in pro-
curing the arrears due to her husband, and it was
not until nearly three years that the whole was
paid ; by which delay, she says, she sustained a
loss of above two thousand pounds. At the in-
stigation of Lord Shaftesbury, of whom she speaks
with the utmost bitterness, she was obliged to pay
the same amount for the plate furnished to the
embassy.
Of the tardy manner in which Sir Richard Fan-
shawe*s allowance was paid, and the embarrassment
into which he was consequently thrown, he has left
ample proof in his letter to his brother-in-law Sir
Philip Warwick, dated a few weeks before his death;
Or, a chevron between three fleurs-de-lis Sable, Fanshawe ancient ;
2nd and 3rd, cheeky Argent and Azure, a cross Gules, Fanshawe
modern^ being an honourable augmentation granted in 1650: on
an escutcheon in the centre, the arms of Ulster. Impaling,
Cheeky, a cross, thereon five pheons' heads, pointing upwards.
Harrison, Crest, on a wreath. Or and Azure, a dragon's head
erased Or, vomiting fire. On a label under the arms these
mottos : " Dux vita ratio.*' ** In Christo victoria."
Digitized by
Google
Introductory Memoir 23
in which he tells him that he had been obliged to
pawn his plate for his subsistence.
Lady Fanshawe states in a very feeling manner the
situation in which she found herself after her hus-
band's death ; and it is scarcely possible to read her
allusions to his long and faithful services, and the
heavy sacrifices which he made, without admitting
the justice of the charge so often brought against
Charles, of being neglectful of his servants. It is,
however, more than possible that the fault was not
the monarch's alone. He was surrounded by greedy
and selfish courtiers, each eager to advance his own
interest, and possessed of similar claims on the ground
of services ; and as the spoils out of which they
sought to enrich themselves were limited, it was an
obvious point of policy to oppose the demands of
others. The few years which succeeded the Restora-
tion are among the most disgraceful in the annals of
this country ; and to the evidence which exists of
the want of principle which characterised the Court
of Charles the Second, these Memoirs are no slight
addition. The monarch was heartless and profligate ;
his ministers, with very few exceptions, were intent
alone on the promotion of their own interests ; and
services and sufiFerings were nothing in the balance
against the influence of the royal mistresses. In
such a state of things, merit availed but little ; and
with a host of other zealous adherents of the royal
Digitized by
Google
24 Introductory Memoir
family, at a time when fidelity was attended with the
fearful penalties attached to high treason, Sir Richard
Fanshawe, after thirty years* devotion to his master,
and spending a fortune in his cause, was sacrificed to
the intrigues of his enemies, and probably was only
spared by death from greater mortifications.
To this outline of the lives of Sir Richard and
Lady Fanshawe little remains to be added. The
Memoir, though continued to the year 1670, con-
tains very few facts after her return to England which
are deserving of notice. It is manifest that her
hopes were destroyed, and that her only happiness
consisted in reflecting on the past. Her first object
was to reduce her establishment according to her
altered fortune, and the second to educate her family.
In 1670 she lost her excellent father, whose death
added heavily to her misfortunes ; but she possessed
that resource against human woes which can only be
inspired by a reliance upon Him who never deserts
the widow and the fatherless. Her life had been
marked by extreme vicissitudes ; and at its conclusion
— dark and cheerless as it was — she wisely looked for
consolation where she had so frequently found it,
and where, it may be confidently said, it is never
sought in vain.
Of the conduct of Sir Richard Fanshawe, as a
servant of the Crown, and as a husband and a father,
sufiicient is said in the Memoir ; but it is desirable
Digitized by
Google
Introductory Memoir 25
to notice his literary labours, which are stated in the
Biographia Britannica to consist of —
1. An English translation, in rhyme, of the cele-
brated Italian pastoral, called ^^ II Pastor Fido, or,
the Faithful Shepherd," written originally by Battista
Guarini. Printed at London, 1646, 4to, and in
1664, 8vo.
2. Select parts of Horace translated into English,
1652, 8vo.
3. A translation from English into Latin verse, of
"The Faithful Shepherdess," a pastoral, written
originally by John Fletcher. London, 1658.
4. In the octavo edition of ** The Faithful Shep-
herdess," anno 1664, are inserted the following
poems by Sir Richard, viz. : i. An Ode upon occasion
of his Majesty's Proclamation in 1630, commanding
the gentry to reside upon their estates in the country.
2. A summary Discourse on the Civil Wars of
Rome, extracted from the best Latin writers in verse
and prose. 3. An English translation of the fourth
book of the -ffineid of Virgil or the Loves of Dido
and ^neas. 4. Two Odes out of Horace, relating
to the civil wars of Rome, against covetous rich
men.
5. He translated, from Portuguese, into English,
"The Luciad, or Portugal's Historical Poem";
written originally by Luis de Camoens. London,
1655, fol. From the many corrections in the Trans-
Digitized by
Google
26 Introductory Memoir
lator's copy, in the possession of the late Edm.
Turnor, Esq., it appears to have been very negli-
gently printed, which may in some degree account
for the remarks of Mr. Mickle on Sir Richard's
translation. After his decease, namely in 1671, two
of his posthumous pieces in 4to were published,
Querer per solo querer: "To love only for love's
sake,'* a dramatic piece, represented before the King
and Queen of Spain; and Fiestas de Aranjuez:
** Festivals at Aranjuez " ; both written originally
in Spanish, by Antonio de Mendoza ; upon occasion
of celebrating the birthday of King Philip IV. in
1 62 1, at Aranjuez. They were translated by Sir
Richard in 1654, during his confinement at Tan-
kersley Park, in Yorkshire ; which situation induced
him to write the following stanzas :
^ Time was, when I, a pilgrim of the seas,
When I, 'midst noise of camps and court's disease,
Purloin'd some hours, to charm rude cares with verse.
Which flame of £uthful shepherd did rehearse.
^ But now, restrained from sea, from camp, from court.
And by a tempest blown into a port,
I raise my thoughts to muse of higher things.
And echo arms and loves of queens and kings.
" Which queens (despising crowns and Hymen's band)
Would neither man obey, nor man command ;
Great pleasure from rough seas to see the shore ;
Or, from firm land, to see the billows roar."
Digitized by
Google
Introductory Memoir 27
Sir Richard, to whom Mr. Campbell assigns the
merit of having given " to our language some of its
earliest and most important translations from modern
literature/** wrote several other articles, which he
had not leisure to complete; and it is said that
" some of the before mentioned printed pieces have
not all the perfection which our ingenious author
could have given them, but that is not the case with
his excellent translation of Pastor Fido." t
That translation is highly complimented by
Denham, who observes,
** Such is our pride, or folly, or oar fate.
That few but such as cannot write translate ; "
and after censuring servile translators, he says —
^Secure of fiime, thou justly dost esteem
Less honour to create than to redeem ;
That servile path thou nobly dost decline,
Of tracing word by word, and line by line."
And,
**That master's hand, which to the life can trace
The air, the line, the features, of the face.
May with a free and bolder stroke express
A varied posture, or a flatt'ring dress ;
He could have made those like, who made the rest.
But that he knew hb own design was best."
Part of Sir Richard Fanshawe's official correspon-
dence, during his embassies in Spain and Portugal,
* Specimens of the Poets. t Biographia Britannica.
Digitized by
Google
28 Introductory Memoir
was published in 1701, from which many extracts
have been printed at the end of this volume ; but the
latest letter therein is dated 26th January 1665.
The rough copies of his correspondence from that
time until his death, are preserved in the Har-
leian MS. 7010, in the British Museum, the most
interesting parts of which are added to the other
extracts.
Lady Fanshawe wrote her Memoir in the year
1676, and died on the 20th January 1679-80, in
her fifty-fifth year. Her will is dated on the
30th October, 31st Car. II., 1679, in which she
desired that her body might be privately buried in
the Chapel of St. Mary in Ware Church, close to
her husband, in the vault which she had purchased
of the Bishop of London. She ordered her house
in Little Grove, in East Barnet, with all the jewels,
plate, and pictures therein, to be sold. To her son.
Sir Richard Fanshawe, she bequeathed the lease of
the manor of Faunton Hall, in Essex, which she
held of the Bishop of London, on condition that
when he possessed his ofilice in the Custom-House,
or any other employment of the value of 500/. a
year, he should pay to his eldest sister Katherine
1200/., or deliver up the said lease to her. She also
left him her own and her husband's picture set in
gold, his father's picture by Lilly, and her own by
Toiuars, with all her seals, particularly a gold ring.
Digitized by
Google
Introductory Memoir 29
with an onyx-stone, engraved, her purse of medals,
all the gold she had by her at the time of her death,
a Spanish towel, and comeing'<\oxhy together with all
the books, MSS., writings, &c., sticks, guns, swords,
and turning instruments, which belonged to her late
husband. To her daughter, Katherine Fanshawe,
she left 600/. of which sum 500/. were given her by
her grandfather. Sir John Harrison, at his decease, a
warrant for a Baronet, probably her husband's, and
all her jewels. To her daughters Anne Fanshawe
and Elizabeth Fanshawe 600/. each, of which sums
500/. were given to each of them by their said
grandfather. To her daughter Katherine she be-
queathed the Work written by herself ^ by her said
daughter Katherine^ or by her sisters. She requested
that her son Richard and her three daughters would
wear mourning for three years after her decease,
namely, mourning with plain linen, excepting
either of them married in the meantime ; and she
appointed her eldest daughter, Katherine, her sole
executrix, who proved her will on the 6th February
1679-80.
Of her numerous children, the following particu-
lars have been gleaned from her Memoir and other
sources.
I. Harrison, born in the parish of St. John's
Oxford, 22nd February 1644-5^ ^^d was there
buried in the same year.
Digitized by
Google
30 Introductory Memoir
2. Henry, born in Portugal Row, Lincoln's Inn
Fields, London, 30th July 1647, died on the 20th
October 1650, and was buried in the Protestant
burying-ground it Paris.
3. Richard, born 8th June 1648, died before
October 1650.
4. Henry, born in November 1657, and dying
in the same year, was buried in Bengy Church, in
Hertfordshire.
5. Richard, born at Lisbon, 26th June 1663;
he lived a few hours only, and was there buried in
the Esperanza.
6. Richard, born at Madrid, 6th August 1665,
to whom the Memoir was addressed. He succeeded
his father in 1666, and became the second Baronet.
He is said to have been deprived of his hearing, and
at length of his speech, in consequence of a fever,
and to have died unmarried about 1695,* when the
Baronetcy became extinct.
The daughters were :
1. Anne, born at Jersey, 7th June 1646 ; died at
Tankersley Park, in Yorkshire, 20th July 1654, and
was buried in the Parish Church of Tankersley.
2. Elizabeth, born at Madrid, 13th July 1649 I
died a few days afterwards, and was buried in the
Chapel of the French Hospital at Madrid.
3. Elizabeth, born 24th June 1650; died at
• Lc Neve*8 MSS. in the College of Anns.
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by
Google
Introductory Memoir 31
Foot's Cray, in Kent, in July 1656, and was there
buried.
4. Katherine, born 30th July 1652, and was
living, and unmarried, in May 1705.
5. Margaret, born at Tankersley Park, in York-
shire, 8th October 1653, married, before 1676,
Vincent Grantham, of Goltho, in Lincolnshire, Esq.
It is remarkable that she is not mentioned in her
mother's will. She was living, and the wife or widow
of Mr. Grantham, in May 1705.
6. Ann, born at Frog Pool, in Kent, 22nd Feb-
ruary 1654-5, unmarried October 1679 \ ^^^ after-
wards married Ryder, by whom she had a
daughter, Ann Lawrence, who, with her mother,
were living in May 1705.
7. Mary, born in London, 12th July 1656 ; died
in August 1660, and was buried in All Saints*
Church, Hertford.
8. Elizabeth, born 22nd February 1662, to
whom her mother bequeathed 600/. in her will in
1679, after which year nothing more of her has
been found.
Although some trouble has been taken to trace
the descendants of Sir Richard and Lady Fanshawe,
all which has been discovered is, that their daughters
became their co-heirs about 1695 J *hat Sir Edmund
Turnor, the husband of Lady Fanshawe's sister, in
his will, dated 15th May 1705, and proved in 1708,
Digitized by
Google
32 Introductory Memoir
mentions his nieces Fanshawe, Grantham, and niece
Ann Fanshawe, alias Ryder, and Anne Lawrence,
daughter of his niece Ryder ; and that the MS. from
which this volume is printed is said to have been
transcribed in 1766 by Lady Fanshawe's "great
granddaughter, Charlotte G)lman."
Digitized by
Google
MEMOIRS OF
LADY FANSHAWE
I HAVE thought it good to discourse to you, my most
dear and only son, the most remarkable actions and
accidents of your family, as well as those more emi-
nent ones of your father ; and my life and necessity,
not delight or revenge, hath made me insert some
passages which will reflect on their owners, as the
praises of others will be but just, which is my intent
in this narrative. I would not have you be a
stranger to it; because, by the example, you may
imitate what is applicable to your condition in the
world, and endeavour to avoid those misfortunes we
have passed through, if God pleases.
Endeavour to be innocent as a dove, but as wise
as a serpent ; and let this lesson direct you most in
the greatest extremes of fortune. Hate idleness,
and oirb all passions ; be true in all words and
actions ; unnecessarily deliver not your opinion ;
but when you do, let it be just, well-considered, and
plain. Be charitable in all thought, word and deed,
Digitized by
Google
34 Memoirs of Lady Fanshawe
and ever ready to forgive injuries done to yourself,
and be more pleased to do good than to receive good.
Be civil and obliging to all, dutiful where God
and nature command you ; but friend to one, and
that friendship keep sacred, as the greatest tie upon
earth, and be sure to ground it upon virtue ; for no
other is either happy or lasting.