much in praise, as you may see, of Sir Henry Fanshawe's garden of Ware
Park, none excelling it in flowers, physic herbs, and fruit, in which
things he did greatly delight; also he was a great lover of music, and
kept many gentlemen that were perfectly well qualified both in that
and the Italian tongue, in which he spent some time. He likewise kept
several horses of manege, and rid them himself, which he delighted in,
and the Prince would say none did it better; he had great honour and
generosity in his nature, and to show you a little part of which I
will tell you this of him. He had a horse that the then Earl of Exeter
was much pleased with, and Sir Henry esteemed, because he deserved it.
My Lord, after some apology, desired Sir Henry to let him have his
horse and he would give him what he would; he replied, "My Lord, I
have no thoughts of selling him but to serve you; I bought him of such
a person, and gave so much for him, and that shall be my price to you
as I paid, being sixty pieces"; my Lord Exeter said, "That's too much,
but I will give you, Sir Henry, fifty," to which he made no answer;
next day my Lord sent a gentleman with sixty pieces, Sir Henry made
answer, "That was the price he paid and once had offered him, my Lord,
at, but not being accepted, his price now was eighty"; at the
receiving of this answer my Lord Exeter stormed, and sent his servant
back with seventy pieces. Sir Henry said, that "since my Lord would
not like him at eighty pieces, he would not sell him under a hundred
pieces, and if he returned with less he would not sell him at all";
upon which my Lord Exeter sent one hundred pieces, and had the horse.
His retinue was great, and that made him stretch his estate, which was
near if not full four thousand pounds a year; yet when he died, he
left no debt upon his estate. He departed this life at the age of
forty-eight years, and lies buried in the chancel, in a vault with his
father in the parish church of Ware; he was as handsome and as fine a
gentleman as England then had, a most excellent husband, father,