Series 1 > Miscellany of the Scottish History Society (Second volume)

ERSKINE PAPERS
and regard. There is a tradition in his family that the
Czar employed him not only in a purely professional capacity,
but also in the diplomatic service. There yet remains in the
possession of one of its representatives a portion of a set of
richly embroidered crimson silk tent hangings, given him, it is
said, by one of the Tartar princes with whom he was sent to
treat.1 Possibly they were presented to him by the Ambassador
of Mehemet Bahadir, the Khan of Khiva, the ruler of the
Usbeck Tartars, who paid a visit to St. Petersburg in May
1714, to solicit Peter’s protection and support, bringing
with him as a present to the Czar great quantities of silks
and furs, and Chinese and Persian goods. 2
In his capacity as court physician, Erskine travelled con¬
stantly with the Czar on the occasions of his numerous
expeditions. In 1716 he accompanied Peter and his consort
Catherine, on their extended tour through Denmark, Germany,
Holland, and France. They left St. Petersburg on the 6th
of February, and, travelling by way of Riga, Libau, and
Memel, arrived at Dantzic on the 29th of that month, where
they remained for a period of three months. It was while
there that Peter, by the charter printed at p. 413 (No. XII.),
conferred upon Dr. Erskine the distinction of Counsellor of
State, a high rank in the Russian civil service, which con¬
ferred the title of Excellency, and hereditary nobility ; at the
same time confirming him in his appointment as Court
Physician and Archiator of the Imperial Dispensary. On
the 19th of April, the marriage of the Czar’s niece, the
Princess Catherine, the eldest daughter of his brother, the
1 ‘ Another Scotsman of the same name [Erskine], who represented Russia in
some of her Eastern negotiations, and had vast influence at the Court of the
Czar, has left still scantier traces in accessible sources of biographical informa¬
tion. He belonged to the family of Erskine of Alva, in Clackmannanshire, a
fact which I discovered one day by noticing the extreme richness of the crimson
silk window-curtains in the drawing-room of one of his descendants. These
were the hangings of a tent given him by one of the Tartar princes with whom
it was his function to treat.’—Burton’s Scot Abroad, p. 379.
2 Mottley, ii. 175.