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42 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1661 misfortune
1661] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 33 sence of the King
1661] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 47 good earnest to consider how I might ridd myself of this countrey
1686] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 131 Htle way, and being four, wee hired a coach
1686] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 163 and equity which I had on my syde
1699] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 193 ' A number of Strelitzes were executed
1661] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 43 Wee rose early, and, towards eveniug, came to Kokenliausen
1692] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 179 Patrick Gordon of Cults
1686] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 141 Being invited to devotion and dinner, by my Lord Chancellour
1661] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 41 Captaine Fortes and Ensigne Martin
Summary
Passages from the diary of General Patrick Gordon of Auchleuchries : A.D. 1635-A.D. 1699"
1661] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 41
Captaine Fortes and Ensigne Martin. Wee crossed the river Niemcn at
Vilsk, where wee lodged all night ; and the next day to Kiadany. This
towne belongeth to the family of tlie Radzivills, where is the pubhck exer-
cize of tlie Protestant religion, and, because of that, many Scotsmen here
livcing, by one whereof wee lodged, and being welcomed by some of our
countreymen with a hearty cup of strong meade, it did so cnflame my blood,
that the same night a hott feaver seized me. The next day I caused blood
to be let. Towards night I gott ease, and slept indifferent well.
The next day, being Sunday, I went to church, where the feaver againe
seized me, so that I was not able to heare out the devotion, and with much
ado gott to my lodging. The feaver continued very violent, with a delirium.
On Tuesday, by the help of a glister, I gott ease. On Wednesday I kept
bed till noone, and then rose. On Thursday wee diued by Maior Karstares,
were very kindly entertained, and not pressed with drinking. On Fridday,
haveing bought akaless to sitt in, wee tooke jorney, and lodged in a village,
a mile and a halfe from Kiadany. Tn the morning Maior Karstares sent a
note with a long gunne to me, desireing to have my tent, which I sent to
him. We dined in a towne called Novymiasto, and the next day to Len-
kova, where was a market day. Wee dined, and, setting forward, came to
Gemelly, the best towns of Samogitia, where wee lodged ; and came the
next day to Bowsky, a towne belonging to "the Duke of Churland, where
findmg Dutch people and good beer, wee made merry, and took a guide to
show us over the river [Aa] without the towne. At the confluence of the
two rivers Mussa and [Niemen], is a castle well situate and fortifyed for a
siege. Wee lodged in a krue, where wee had of the same Bawskyes beer,
and made merry among ourselves.
The next day wee rose early, dined by the way, and crossing the river
Dwina came to Riga, and tooke up lodging in the suburb without the Sand
Port ; where hearing that the Generall Duglas was gone but two or three
[houres] befor towards Derpt, and that he was to lodge two miles from Riga,
being very desirous to have seen him, and to ask his advice concerning my
going to Kusseland, (for I was upon the repenting the whole way from Var-
schow, as Captaine Menezes also), so that, if he had but diswaded me (which
he was sure to do) I was resolved not to go further, unles it had been to put
Colonell Crawfuird in a sure place, and then returne. But, to my great
Gordon was brought up and remained a lifelong Roman Catholic, at a time when the Church was being persecuted in Scotland. At age of fifteen, he entered the Jesuit college at Braunsberg, East Prussia, then part of Poland. In 1661, after many years experiences as a soldier of fortune, he joined the Russian army under Tsar Aleksei I, and in 1665 was sent on a special mission to England. After his return, he distinguished himself in several wars against the Turks and Tatars in southern Russia. In recognition of his service he was promoted to major-general in 1678, was appointed to the high command at Kiev in 1679, and in 1683 was made lieutenant-general. In 1687 and 1689 he took part in expeditions against the Tatars in the Crimea, being made a full general. Later in 1689, a revolution broke out in Moscow, and with the troops under his command, Gordon virtually decided events in favor of Peter the Great against the Regent, Tsarevna Sophia Alekseyevna. Consequently, he was for the remainder of his life in high favor with the Tsar, who confided to him the command of his capital during his absence from Russia. In 1696, Gordon's design of a "moveable rampart" played a key role in helping the Russians take Azov. One of Gordon's convinced the Tsars to establish the first Roman Catholic church and school in Muscovy, of which he remained the main benefactor and headed the Catholic community in Russia until his death. For his services his second son James, brigadier of the Russian army, was created Count of the Holy Roman Empire in 1701. At the end of his life the Tsar, who had visited Gordon frequently during his illness, was with him when he died, and with his own hands closed his eyes. General Gordon left behind him a uniquely detailed diary of his life and times, written in English. This is preserved in manuscript in the Russian State Military Archive in Moscow. Passages from the Diary of General Patrick Gordon of Auchleuchries (1635–1699) was printed, under the editorship of Joseph Robertson, for the Spalding Club, at Aberdeen, Scotland, 1859.