December the 17th, 1665, my husband, upon the part of our King his master, and the Duke de Medina de las Torres, on the part of his Catholic Majesty, did conclude and signed together the peace between England and Spain, and the articles for the adjustment between Spain and Portugal, which articles were cavilled at by the Lord Chancellor Clarendon and his party, that they might have an opportunity to send the Earl of Sandwich out of the way from the Parliament, which then sat, and who, as he and his friends feared, would be severely punished for his cowardice in the Dutch fight. He neither understood the customs of the Court, nor the language, nor indeed any thing but a vicious life; and thus was he shuffled into your father's employment to reap the benefit of his five years' negotiation of the peace between England, Spain, and Portugal: and after above thirty years studying state affairs, and many of them in the Spanish Court: so much are Ambassadors slaves to the public ministers at home, who often, through envy or ignorance, ruin them!
December the 23rd, I went to give the Queen the parabien of her anos, whereof she had completed thirty-one. I likewise gave joy to the Empress and the King, who were both then present.
The 6th of January, 1666, twelfth-day, stilo novo, my husband sent Mr. John Price, one of his secretaries, to Lisbon, to advertise that King, by the Conde de Castel Melhor, of his intended journey the week following. On the 14th of this present January, the Duke of Medina de las Torres wrote a letter to my husband, by the command of her Catholic Majesty, which said, that for the great kindness and pains he had and did take for the accommodating a peace between England and Spain, and procuring a truce for thirty years between the crowns of Spain and Portugal, that, on the day of the ratification thereof, her Majesty did give him [Footnote: These gratifications were never paid, because my Lord Sandwich was sent to receive what advantage he could make. But the body of the peace being concluded before by my husband, he received very small advantage thereby; but had my husband lived, he would, through their justice and kindness to him, for his great wisdom and indefatigable pains in procuring a triple peace between the three crowns of England, Spain, and Portugal, have received a sum.] an hundred thousand pieces-of-eight, and likewise for a further expression of her Majesty's kindness, to me fifty thousand pieces-of- eight.
The 16th of January, 1666, being twelfth-day, English account, my husband began his journey from Madrid to Portugal. The day before he went, her Catholic Majesty sent the Marquis Aytona to offer a set of her Majesty's machos to carry his litter, and another set for his coach, but my husband refused both, with many humble thanks to her Majesty for so great grace and honour done him, which he refused upon no other score but the consideration of the length of the journey, and the badness of the way, which the time of the year caused, which would expose the beasts to that hazard, as he could not satisfy himself to put them in; and although my husband was next day pressed again to receive this favour, yet he refused it with much respect to her Majesty, for the forenamed reasons. Likewise the Duke de Medina de las Torres sent two sets of very brave machos to convey my husband to Portugal, which he refused with many thanks to his Excellency, upon the same account he had done those formerly to her Majesty. My husband carried none of his own horses or mules, but hired all he used for himself or his retinue. He went in his own litter, and carried one of his own coaches with him, and five sumpters, covered with his own sumpter cloths. His retinue were:—Mr. Fanshawe, Chief Secretary; Mr. Price, gone before to Lisbon; Mr. Cooper, Gentleman of the Horse; Mr. Bagshawe, Chaplain; Mr. Ashburnham, Mr. Parry, Mr. Creighton, Mr. Eyres, Steward; Mr. Weeden, Mr. Jemmet, Mr. Bumstead, Pages; Mr. Hellow, Butler; William, a Cook; Francis, a Groom; Frances, a Laundress, and four Spanish footmen.
To every five mules went a moco, and a sobrestante over all. Her Majesty sent an alguazil of the court with my husband through Spain, to provide him lodgings, and to assist him in all other occasions belonging to his journey. I accompanied my husband a league out of town in our coach of state; then he entered his litter, and so began his journey.
Within an hour after I was returned to my house, the Duke and Duchess de Medina de las Torres sent each of them a gentleman with very kind messages to me on the part of their Excellencies.
The 17th, came the Master of the Ceremonies to see me, and offered the services of this Court, with high compliments and much kindness; the 18th, came the Duke of Aveyro to see me, and afterwards the Marquis of Trucifal; the 19th, came to see me the Baron of L'Isola's lady; the 20th of January, I received a letter from my husband at Toledo; the 26th, the Marquis de Liche came to visit me; the 28th, the Duchess de Aveyro sent a gentleman to me, to excuse her not coming to see me, by reason of her being with child, and not having stirred out of her chamber from the time she had conceived with child; the 29th I received a letter from my husband, from Frexenal.
The 2nd of February, the Duke de Medina de las Torres sent to me Don Nicolas Navas, with letters from her Catholic Majesty herself to my husband, and putting up the packet here before me, inclosed my letters therein, I giving a cover, and sealing it with my seal, and a passport to the post that carried it, to come and go: all which was required of me by his Excellency, who was pleased to continue this for me every post that he sent during my husband's stay in Portugal.
The 12th of February, the Duchess of Albuquerque sent a gentleman to excuse her not visiting me, her Excellency being sick of a fever. This night likewise the Duke sent a second post to my husband as before. The 13th, Father Patricio came to visit me, from the Duke; the 17th died the Queen-mother of Portugal; the 20th, the Duke despatched a third post to my husband. The 23rd, the Duke and his Duchess came to visit me in very great state, having six coaches and two sedans to wait on them, and above a hundred gentlemen and attendants. The 27th, one of the three posts returned from my husband; another on the 2nd of March; the third on the 10th.
On the 8th of March, 1666, stilo novo, my husband returned from Lisbon to this Court, with all his family in very good health, God be praised! I went with my children two leagues out of town, to Ricon, to meet him. He brought in his company Sir Robert Southwell, an enviado from our King to Portugal and Spain, if need so required. My husband entertained him at his house three weeks and odd days.