Many
of the anecdotes 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 accuracy.
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, and 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. Previous 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.
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 Court on the 15th of June, was seized with an ague, and
expired on the 26th of the same month. [Footnote: According to the
inscription on his monument, he died on the SIXTEENTH of June; the
discrepancy arose from the difference in the style.]
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.
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