166 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1669 The renewal of the war against the Crim Tartars

Passages from the diary of General Patrick Gordon of Auchleuchries : A.D. 1635-A.D. 1699"

166 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1669

The renewal of the war against the Crim Tartars was now resolved upon ; and, in February',
Gordon received orders to hold himself in readiness. But he was required first to furnish plans
for the militaiy lines of defence on the Dnieper, and to make some other arrangements. All
these havin<T been performed to the great satisfaction of the court, Gordon set out with the
army, acting as before in the capacity of quartermaster-general. By the end of May, he had
conducted it as far as Perekop, when the enterprise being thought too hazardous, the troops were
a»ain ordered back. Rewards were once more distributed among the officers, but not without
strong opposition from the younger Czar. Besides a share in such common gifts as a piece of
velvet, and a glass of brandy from the Emperor's hand, Gordon had the special privilege
accorded to him of being addressed for the future in the third person, whether in speech or in
writing, and of being styled Ivanowitsch, that is, the son of John (his ftither s name.)

He notes, in his Diary, on the twenty- fourth of July, that the younger Czar refused for a
time to sanction what he considered the excessive rewards given to the officers. Three days
afterwards he was persuaded to give his consent, but he would not receive the officers when
they went to Preobraschenskoje to thank him. They had thus, as Gordon expresses it in his
country's proverb, ' to take the bitt and the buffet with it.' Every body saw that a storm was
brewing at court.

On the sixth of August, there were 'rumours unsafe to be uttered.'

The next day, the tempest broke. At midnight, tidings reached the Czar Peter that
the Strelitzes and soldiers of the guard had received orders from the Kremlin to march
upon Preobraschenskoje, and to put certain persons to death. He instantly sprang from
his bed, and without waiting to pull on his boots, ran to the stables, and flinging himself upon a
horse, galloped to the nearest wood. Here he remained till his clothes were brought him,
when, accompanied by a few attendants, he renewed his flight, and riding in hot haste, reached
the monastery of Troitzka (the Holy Trinity,) about forty miles from the capital, by six o'clock
in the morning. Throwing himself upon a bed, he burst into tears, and telling what had
happened, besought the protection and help of the abbot.

It was now an open struggle between the young Czar and the Princess Sophia. Peter
summoned the Strelitzes and other troops in Moscow to join him at Troitzka. The Princess for-
bade their march. The Czar renewed his command in a written order, addressed to the foreign
officers, stating that there was a conspiracy against his life. Gordon undertook to show the
writing to Golizyn, and to ask what was to be done. The minister tried to dissemble his alarm,
and said he would consult the elder Czar and the Princess Sophia. Gordon answered that if he
and his brother officers were to disobey, their heads would be in danger. Golizyn assured him
that he should have an answer before night, and desired that Gordon's son-io-law, Colonel
Strasburg, might be left behind to carrj' it. This seems to have decided Gordon. He went
liome, and immediately began to prepare for marching. When the other officers came to him,
he told them that, whatever order might come from the Kremlin, he had resolved to set out for
Troitzka that night. They avowed themselves ready to follow his example, and the next day
saw them all at the gates of the monastery. The young Czar was at his mid-day dinner when