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74 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1666 go from hence. So here wee lodged, and the next morning came to Dort
1666] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 79 I did writt to Sir John Hebden
1666] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 69 evening, wee sailed by it, and Bornholme
1667] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 95 After breakfast, I went to Greenwich, Sir John [Hebden]
1686] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 131 Htle way, and being four, wee hired a coach
76 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1666 the cart was ready
1686] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 141 Being invited to devotion and dinner, by my Lord Chancellour
1661] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 43 Wee rose early, and, towards eveniug, came to Kokenliausen
1667] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 97 storme, wee could not gett over to Embden
1666] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 73 Haveing breakfasted early, and given the postmaster
Summary
Passages from the diary of General Patrick Gordon of Auchleuchries : A.D. 1635-A.D. 1699"
1666] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 73
Haveing breakfasted early, and given the postmaster his morning draught, \ ngust 17.
and a reichs doller for his kindnes, I caused bring mj baggage to the boat
without beins: questioned. Wee went now by water, haveing the towne
Santen on our left hand, to Rees, four howres, where wee stayed about two
howres ; then went further in the sight of Cleve, the chiefFe towne of the
Dukedome of Olivia, in the possession of the Elector of Brandeburg, where
he also sometymes resideth. Towards evening we came to Emmerick three
howres, which, with the two former, are in the Dukedome of Cleve, and the
Hollanders have their garrisons in them. Here I lodged all night, and the
next morning went to the Jesuits church, and heard devotion. The Paters Aunuet «.
were but lately returned, haveing been forced to remove, when the warr
began with the Bishop of Munster.
Haveing breakfasted, wee sailed downe to Shenkenshants, two howres
where the Rhine divides, and wee stayed an howre ; in which tyme I went
a shore, and tooke a view of the fort, which, both by nature and art, is well
fortifycd. Towards evening wee w^ent downe the [Waal] and came to
Nimwegen, and lodged in the Toelass, being foure howres, which, in all the
Netherlands and Westphalen, they reckon being halfe a Dutch myle. A
lievtennant lodged with me, and, albeit vvee had nothing extraordinary, yet
wee had a pretty dear reckoning the next day.
About six aclock wee went to the boat, and sailed to Tiel, six howres Au-ust v).
where wee stayed about an howre, and refreshed our selves, where wee gott
another cavalier in company, and two yong wenches. Wee sailed bv the
fort Saint Andrewes, two howres, and to Bommel, two howres, where wee
stayed about halfe an howre, and then passing by the house of Lowenstein
and Workum, betwixt which the river Maes falleth into the Waal, in jjoing
by, I see Sir Georg Aiscue, one of the English admirals, who had been
taken prisoner in the engagement the beginning of June.* Wee came to
Gorkum, on the other side, being two howres from Brommell, where we
stayed but halfe an howre ; and, going two howres farther, the cavaliers,
who had bargained it seems with the wenches, haveing bribed or perswaded
the skipper to stay there all night, wee could not by any meapes gett him to
* [Sir Georcre Aysoue, knight, admiral of the off the coast of Sussex, on the first of June
white, had his flag on board of the Royal 166G, when his vessel, being di-^abled ran on
I'rnice, then reputed the finest ship in the the Galloper sand bank, and was burned him-
world. He sijniaJised himself in the sea-fight self and his crew being made prisoners ]
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.