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xxxlv CONTENTS. He is threatened with banishment to some remote part of the empire
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Passages from the diary of General Patrick Gordon of Auchleuchries : A.D. 1635-A.D. 1699"
xxxlv CONTENTS.
He is threatened with banishment to some remote part of the empire 159
He is ordered to be degraded to the rank of an Ensign. He consents to withdraw his
petition, and to crave pardon 160
His grief at the great injustice and wrong done to him 161
His petition for forgiveness, ' in as submissive terms as could be done to God Almighty,*
is received at the Kremlin in silence, ' all knowing it to be forced from him by
threats and compulsion' 161
Letter from the Earl of Middleton informing Gordon that King James II. had ap-
pointed him Envoy Extraordinary to the Czars 161
The Czars refuse their consent, but pardon Gordon's offence, and restore him to his
former rank. ' And so ended this stage play' 162
A.D. 1687— setat. 52.
War with the Tartarsof the Crimea. Gordon as Quarter-Master-General. Failure of
the expedition 164
A.D. 1688— aetat. 53.
He is made General. The Patriarch prophesies disaster to the Muscovite arms so long
as the best troops are commanded by a heretic 164
Beginning of Gordon's familiarity with the Czar Peter , 164
The Kevolution in England « 165
A.D. 1689— aetat. 54.
Marriage of the Czar Peter 165
Renewal of the war with the Crim Tartars. Second failure of the expedition. Gordon
receives the style of Patrick Ivanowitsch 166
Revolution in IMoscow. Flight of the Czar Peter from the Kremlin. He orders the
troops to follow him. Gordon obeys the order 166
The Czar Peter enters Moscow in triumph. The Princess Sophia sent to a convent... 167
A.D. 1690— aetat. 55.
Gordon dines at the Kremlin. He accompanies the Czar to a feast at the country
house of a boyar, and suifers from the debauch 167
Letter to the Earl of Aberdeen 168
Gordon in growing favour with the Czar. He sleeps at the Kremlin 168
His speech to the Czar on the birth of a son 168
The Patriarch refuses to dine at the Kremlin with Gordon. The Czar and Gordon
dine by themselves the next day 169
The Czar and his chief nobles sup with Gordon 169
Gordon writes to the Earl of Melfort that the Czar still owns King James II 169
The Czar visits Gordon, and prescribes for his colic 169
The Czar's midnight carousals 170
Marriage of Gordon's daughter 170
The Czar dines with Le Fort 170
Letter to the Duke of Gordon 170
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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