Pryse Lockhart Gordon (24 April 1762 – 2 September 1845), was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

writer of memoirs.

Life

Gordon was born 24 April 1762 at

Ardersier Ardersier ( gd, Àird nan Saor) is a small former fishing village in the Scottish Highlands on the Moray Firth near Fort George, between Inverness and Nairn. Its name may be an anglicisation of the Gaelic "Àird nan Saor", or "Headland of the ...

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Nis) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Covering much of the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county, though one of the smallest in populat ...

, where his father, the Rev. Harry Gordon, was minister of the parish. After his father's death (15 March 1764) his mother went to live with her father, the Revd Walter Morrison, in

Banffshire Banffshire ; sco, Coontie o Banffshire; gd, Siorrachd Bhanbh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. It borders the Mora ...

. Young Gordon was educated at the parish school of Banff, and subsequently at the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

, where he did not remain long, obtaining a commission in the marines at the age of fifteen. He was principally employed in recruiting, and seems to have seen no active service except a few cruises, which yielded him, he says, £17 in prize-money. In 1792 he obtained a commission in a regiment raised by the Duke of Gordon, and after five years' service in Scotland was allowed to accompany his friend Lord Montgomery, an invalid, to Italy, where he remained until 1801, returning to find his regiment disbanded. He obtained employment at

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...

; but as he was on the point of embarking, 'my good fortune threw in my way an amiable young widow', whom he married in autumn 1801. This rendered him independent of military service. After living at

Banff Castle Banff Castle is a ruined former royal castle near Banff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. History Built as a motte and bailey castle in the 12th century and held by the Comyns, Earl of Buchan. The castle was visited by King Edward I of England in 1296 a ...

and in Sloane Street, London, he went to

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

with Lord Montgomery in 1811, and remained there until 1813, when he was prostrated by a

sunstroke Heat stroke or heatstroke, also known as sun stroke, is a severe heat illness that results in a body temperature greater than , along with red skin, headache, dizziness, and confusion. Sweating is generally present in exertional heatstrok ...

. The following year, after the peace, he took up his residence at

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, where he remained until his death. He died in Cheltenham on 2 September 1845. His only son, George Huntly Gordon, died on 27 December 1868 at the age of 72.

Writings

In 1823 Gordon wrote a guide for travellers, entitled ''A Companion to Italy'', the success of which led to the appearance of his ''Personal Memoirs'' in 1830. This contained reminiscences of notable persons known to the author, including

Lady Hamilton Dame Emma Hamilton (born Amy Lyon; 26 April 176515 January 1815), generally known as Lady Hamilton, was an English maid, model, dancer and actress. She began her career in London's demi-monde, becoming the mistress of a series of wealthy m ...

George Brydges Rodney Admiral George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB ( bap. 13 February 1718 – 24 May 1792), was a British naval officer. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularly his victory over the French at t ...

Richard Porson Richard Porson (25 December 1759 – 25 September 1808) was an English classical scholar. He was the discoverer of Porson's Law. The Greek typeface '' Porson'' was based on his handwriting. Early life Richard Porson was born at East Ruston, n ...

Charles Burney Charles Burney (7 April 1726 – 12 April 1814) was an English music historian, composer and musician. He was the father of the writers Frances Burney and Sarah Burney, of the explorer James Burney, and of Charles Burney, a classicist ...

, and James Perry of the ''

Morning Chronicle ''The Morning Chronicle'' was a newspaper founded in 1769 in London. It was notable for having been the first steady employer of essayist William Hazlitt as a political reporter and the first steady employer of Charles Dickens as a journalist. It ...

''. It sketches picture and antiquity hunting, at a time when bargains were to be had, and connoisseurs were liable to be imposed upon. Gordon himself obtained for Burney the copy of

Constantine Lascaris Constantine Lascaris ( el, Κωνσταντῖνος Λάσκαρις ''Kostantinos Láskaris''; 1434 – 15 August 1501) was a Greek scholar and grammarian, one of the promoters of the revival of Greek learning in Italy during the Renaissance, ...

's ''Grammar'', the first Greek book printed, which went to the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...

. There is a description of the English at

on the eve of the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armies of the Seventh C ...

. His reminiscences of Rodney asserted that Rodney, upon his return to England, volunteered to Gordon an acknowledgement of his acquaintance with Clerk of Eldin's essay on

naval tactics Naval tactics and doctrine is the collective name for methods of engaging and defeating an enemy ship or fleet in battle at sea during naval warfare, the naval equivalent of military tactics on land. Naval tactics are distinct from naval str ...

, and his indebtedness to it. In 1834 Gordon published ''Holland and Belgium'', with notes on the

Belgian Revolution The Belgian Revolution (, ) was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. ...

and its causes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Pryse Lockhart 1762 births 1845 deaths 18th-century Scottish writers 19th-century Scottish writers People from Inverness People from Banff, Aberdeenshire Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Scottish memoirists