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1686] DIAHY OF PATRICK GORDON. 151 pleasure, wee shall heartily embrace it. And so wee pray God
Summary
Passages from the diary of General Patrick Gordon of Auchleuchries : A.D. 1635-A.D. 1699"
1686] DIAHY OF PATRICK GORDON. 151
pleasure, wee shall heartily embrace it. And so wee pray God to have your
Imperiall Majesties into His holy protection. Given at our Court at Windsor
the twenty ninth day of May, one thowsand six hundred eighty six yeares,
in the second year of our reigne.
Your affectionate brother,
Melfort. JAMES R.*
With the letters from the Duke of Gordon, was a letter from his Grace
to Kniaz Vasily Vasiliovits Golitzin, chieffe minister of state in Russia,
the copy whereof followeth :
lUustrissime ac Excellentissime Domine,
Diuulgata per orbem Excellentiae
tuae perillustris fama atque singularis omnium de tuls animi dotibus
existimatio, praecipue vero ilia tua praeclara gesta mihi a cognate meo
vice praefecto Gordon relata, amicitiae tuae me cupidissimum reddiderunt.
Dicti autem vice praefecti tanta ad Excellentiam tuam redeundi, atque
honoris et amicitiae, quam et diguatus es illi tribuere, fruendi cupido, quae
de tua Excellentia disseruerit, quam maxime confirraat. Cum itaque Regi
nostro Serenissimo notus atque ab illo in honore habitus sit, nee non ab aliis,
qui non mediocrem auimi illius magnitudinem integritatem atque fortitu-
dinem mirandum in modum suspiciunt, eundcm cognatum meum tutelae
tuae, fidei, amori et benevolentiae non verebor commendare. Si qua occasio
se oiferret praestandi in his borealibus mundi plagis, quod tuae Excellentiae
gratum acceptumque foret, avide arriperem. Dum interea temporis, Ex-
cellentissime Domine, tot ac tanta Imperii Russiae negotia tibi commissa
ai; demandata sustines, his successum maxime prosperum tuaeque Excel-
entiae summum honorem atque faellcitatem peroptat
Excellentiae vestrae,
Gordon Castle, GEO: DUX DE GORDON.
12 Julii, 1686.
Superscriptio :
Serenissiraorum Dei gratia Potentissimorum Dominorum Imperatorum
* [The letter is noted in the 'Abstract of Russia, desiring him to dismiss Lievtennant
Papers relatinfj to Scotland, which past his Oenerall I'atrick Gordon from his service, Hig
Majesty's hand, from 9th April, 1G8G, to 25th Majestie having occasion for him in Scotland.
February, IGSfi-T' (no. 108) :— Dated at Windsor, 2Uth May, 1G86.
'The Kings letter to the Emperour of Melfokt. JAMES R.']
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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