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186 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1697 put out the white flag
42 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1661 misfortune
1689] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 165 memory, the younger Czar
1699] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 193 ' A number of Strelitzes were executed
110 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1686 I gave up my petition
24 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1656 in driving cattle was such
150 DIAEY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1686 Nethermuir. I went thereafter to the Links
126 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1686 religion* At night wee cast anchor
168 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1690 The twenty-eiglith of January
Summary
Passages from the diary of General Patrick Gordon of Auchleuchries : A.D. 1635-A.D. 1699"
168 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1690
The twenty-eiglith of January was spent in writing to Scotland, to his son John, to the Earl
of Erroll, and to the Earl of Aberdeen. This last letter follows :
TO THE EARLE OF ABEEDEEN.
Mosco, 28 January, 1690.
May it please your Lordship,
I doubt not but myne of the fyrst February last yeare is
come to your hands, for I had notice of the receit thereof at London. I am
perplexed that I have heard nothing from thence in two yeares, for which I
blame the negligence of my soune very much ; for albeit by the troubles
there, the passage by the way of London might have been uncertain, yet I
doubt not but ships have come from Aberdeen to Dantzick, by which he
might have written.
I am very much grieved for the troubles, divisions, and the distracted
condition of that our poor country. I pray God to grant peace and quiet-
ness, for there is nothing more, as to my owne particular, which I desire in
this world, as to come home and end my lyfe, where I received it, in
tranquilUty. I have written to Nethermuir, and my sonne, concerning the
particulars of my affaires, so that I only most earnestly recommend to your
Lordship's care and protection my sonne and effaires there. So takeing leave,
I remaine
Your Lordship's most humble and devoted servant,
P. GORDON.
inuary 31.
ebruary 4, 5.
ebruary 19.
ebruary 23.
On the thirty-first of January, the Czar gave orders that Gordon's wine and other things
should pass free of duty.
On the fourth and fifth of February, he was in the city, and had long conversations with the
Czar. This is an entry which now falls to be frequently repeated.
On the nineteenth of February, he was in the city. 'When the Czar returned from church,
he gave Gordon a glass of brandy with his own hand. Gordon was again summoned to the
Kremlin in the evening, and had to stay there all night.
On the twenty-third of February, the troops repaired to the Kremlin to congratulate the
Czar on the birth of a son. Gordon, in name of the regiments which he commanded, made the
following speech :— * God grant that thou, Great Czar, and Grand Duke Peter Alexeiewitsch,
Autocrat ot all Great, Little, and White Russia, and Lord, Heir, and Ruler, though father and
grandfather, of many lordships and lands in east, west, and north, with your Majesty's new
bom heir and our lord the most Serene Prince and Grand Duke Alexei Petrowitsch, of Great,
Little, and White Russia, may be preserved in health many years.' Gordon then drew up his
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.