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Gordon prefaces his Journal with a short explanation of its plan and purpose.
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Passages from the diary of General Patrick Gordon of Auchleuchries : A.D. 1635-A.D. 1699"
REFACE.
XV
Gordon prefaces his Journal with a short explanation of its
plan and purpose. But he forgets to tell us when it was that he
began thus 'to write the story of his own life.' We may con-
jecture, however, that it was not until after he had been some time
at Moscow— perhaps in 1662 or 1663, when he had completed his
twenty-eighth year, had gained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and,
after much meditation, had made up his mind to marry All that
is written before this time bears sufficient evidence of being written
after the event ; '^ and it is here that the author is seen to most
advantage. When his Diary really becomes such, when the inci-
dents of each day are recorded as it passes, he too often proves
lamentably tedious. It is not merely that his page is filled with
trifles— dry, interminable lists of rivers crossed or stages passed,
letters received and answered, visits made, or bills paid. But even
when historical figures appear upon the scene, it is for the most
part only to provoke expectation which is left unsatisfied. We
have seldom more than a bare, bald, note of their names. Thus
we are told of meetings at London in 1666, with Prince Rupert,
with Clarendon, and with Lauderdale ; but nearly all that we learn
of them is that the first was very sick, that the second was con-
fined by the gout to Berkshire House, and that the third gave Sunday
dinners at his house at Highgate, and one evening kept the author
waiting half-an-hour, and did not see him after all.'^ So, of a con-
'" Traces of foreign idiom show them- (p. 3.) ' I was put to lodge and dyet by a
selves in the very first lines of the .Journal. vviddow' — (p. 4.) ' Here wee tooke up our
We have « as' used in the sense of ' than,' lodging bxj Mr. Menczes'— (p. 7.) ' My
' by' for ' with,' and the like. Thus, ' 1 have mother came foure dayes thereafter, of whom
mentioned no more of publick efFaires as I received the benediction and tooke my
came to my knowledge'— (p. 3.") « I cannot leave'— (p. 5.) ' I was very astonished' —
tell you a better or truer reason for writing (p. 8.)
this, at that it is to please my owne fancy' — '" Pp. 82-90.
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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