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42 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1661 misfortune
Summary
Passages from the diary of General Patrick Gordon of Auchleuchries : A.D. 1635-A.D. 1699"
42
DIARY OF PATEICK GORDON. [1661
raisfortuue I could not gett for any money horses to hire, and my owne be-
ing weary, all the horses being taken up for those who convoyed the Gene-
rail and who did not returne till evening ; so that being disappointed of such
an occasion of comeing of handsomely, I was very sorry, and so went into
the towne to looke out for acquaintance. Comeing to the market place, I
did meet with my old comerades and ffriends Alexander Landells and Walter
Airth, with whom 1 went to a taverne and tooke a glass of wine, to whom
I revealed my intentions. These being out of service themselves, haveing
been lately disbanded by the Sweds, were in a poor condition and willing to
engage any where, and told me that no service was to be had among the
Sweds, and besides, that it was so poore, they haveing but pittyfull allow-
ances, that it was not worth the seeking ; that they heard that the Mosko-
vites pay, though not great, was duly payed, and that officers were soone
advanced to high charges ; that many of our countreymen of great quality
were there, and some gone thither lately ; that they themselves, with many
others of our countreymen and strangers, were resolving to go thither, not
knowing how (in such a conjuncture of tyme when a generall peace was
concluded by most, and shortly exspected by others), to do better ; so that
the considerations of a certaiue (at least) lyvelyhood, preferment, good com-
pany, and my former promises and engagements confirmed me in my re-
solution to go to Mosko. So, "haveing promised to writt to them from the
first garrison of the Moskovites, wee parted.
Haveing conferred with Colonell Crawfuird about the engageing of some
good officers in the Tzaars service, I went the next day into the towne
againe ; and meeting with the same ffriends againe, at a hearty morning
draught, I engaged them further, promiseing each of them a degree of pre-
fennent, and that they should bespeake so many as they could of the
charges of captaines, leivtennants, and ensignies.
Haveing hired a fuirraan with two horses to Kokenhausen, more upon
the accorapt of showing us the way as of any need wee had of him, have-
ing horses of our owne enough to serve our turne, wee went from Riga
about noone, rideing along by the river Dwlna, and lodged in a village
about foure miles from Riga ; which Riga is distant from Revel fyfty miles,
from Derpt thirty, from Vilna forty, from Konigsberg in Prussia sixty
miles ; a strong and well fortify ed towne.
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.
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