52 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1661 The Boyar Elia Danielovits Miloslawskj

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

52 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1661

The Boyar Elia Danielovits Miloslawskj mustered our regiment, and
p-ave six hundred of them to a Golova,* ncnvly created, to be Streltsees.
The Golova was called Nikifor Kolobuf. The sojours grieved exceedinuly
hereat, and many of them rann away.

My landlord continuing his solliciting to be freed of me out of his house,
a writer very well accoutred, and attended by twenty fellowes called Trub-
nikes, such as are called by us catchpoles, came of the court office, haveinu-
a written order in his hand to remove me out of my quarters to another.
I bein"- at dinner, and he, admitted into the roome, began very uncivilly
to command me to be gone. I desireing him to shew his order, he
told me he would not entrust me with it, because I had kept or torne the
two former ; and I telling him, I would not be gone except he shew me the
order he commanded some of the catchpoles, who were gott into the roome
with him, to carry out my trunkes ; and he himself layd hold of one of the
rewiment coUours, which were on the wall, to bring it out, which incensed
me so being heated befor by his uncivill behaviour, that getting up, by the
help of two officers (who were at dinner with me) and my servants, I drove
him and his rude attendants out of the roome, and downe staires, where
they rallying with these below, essayed to ascend the staires againe by
force. But wee, being on the toppe of the staires, easily repulsed them,
they haveing no weapons but staves and sticks, and wee the staffes of the
collours, which at the driveing of them out wee had laid hold on. But
some sojours by this noise being come together, and seeing this, needed no
watchword or command to fall on ; for, immediatly, with their fists, and such
clubs or cudgels as they could gett, they so exercized these rude guests, that
they were glad to take them to their heeles, and ran downe the street ; the
sojours convoying them to the Yaus bridge, and basting them soundly,
takeing from them their caps, and from the writer his with pearles, and a
necklace of pearle, in worth sixty rubles according as he complained after-
wards. This had bred me great trouble, if there had not been at that tyme
a great dissension betwixt Fiodor Michaelowitz Artistow, who had charge
of the court office, and our Boyar, whereby, after some formall inquisition,
the business was slighted. Yet, by perswasion of some officiers, who under-
stood the fashion of the countrey better as I, I removed to another quarter.

* [That is, as (Jordon explains in the next page, a colonel.]