xxxii CONTENTS. i Departure from Moscow. Affair with the customs' officers at Novgorod
Summary
Passages from the diary of General Patrick Gordon of Auchleuchries : A.D. 1635-A.D. 1699"
xxxii CONTENTS.
i
Departure from Moscow. Affair with the customs' officers at Novgorod 110
Arrival at Eiga 113
Journey from Riga to Memel. Amber 114
Gordon takes his son from the Jesuits' College, because he had been there infected
with Calvinism 116
Dantzic. Nieustadt. Lauenberg 117
Berlin. The waggon to Hamburg 120
Execution for murder at Hamburg 121
Bremen. Oldenburg 123
Groningen. Dokkum. Leuwarden 12l!
Amsterdam. Haarlem. Leyden. The Hague, Delft. Rotterdam 125
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. French refugees 123
Voyage from the Briell to Margate 125
Arrival in London. The IMitre Tavern. A gazette for a penny 126
A suit of clothes, and the prices 126
First interview with King James II 127
Lodgings in Pall Mall at eleven shillings a-week 128
Convoy of the Duke of Hamilton, General Drummond, and Sir George Lockhart to
Barnet 128
The King and Sir Robert Gordon's pump 128
Westminster Abbey. St. George's Day 128
Gordon accompanies the King to Tilbury Fort, Sheerness, and Chatham. The Dutch
in the Thames 129
Lady Melfort. Mr. Marr, otherwise Father James Forbes 131
A visit to Chertsey 132
The Scots Battalion in London. Hamlet acted at Whitehall 132
Proceedings of the Scottish Parliament regarding the Roman Catholics 133
Mass at St. James's. The King touches for the Evil 134
Windsor. The King presses Gordon to leave the Russian service, and to make haste
back to England 135
The Queen. Prince George of Denmark 136
Viscount Melfort. Earl of Middleton. Sir Robert Gordon 136
Gordon takes journey to Scotland in company with Sir Evan Cameron of Lochiel 136
Camden's Britannia. Ware. Huntingdon. Godmanchester 137
Stamford. Grantham. Newark. Sherwood Forest. Robin Hood. Doncaster. The
York coach. The Roman causeway 138
Burroughbridge. Northallerton. Darlington. Durham. Morpeth. Wooler. The
Scots Border. Kelso. The Merse. Lauder 139
Channelkirk. Soltra. Fala. Dalkeith 140
Arrival at Edinburgh. The King's Arms at the foot of the Canongate... 140
The Duke of Gordon. Earl of Murray. Earl of Perth. Earl of Aberdeen. Honest
Tom Gordon Hq
Drinking the King's health at the Cross 140
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.