northern districts. On 12 Feb. 1716 a company of his men took possession of Gordon Castle, and to him Huntly capitulated. He was brought to Edinburgh in April and imprisoned in the castle, but no further proceedings were taken against him, and he, with some others, obtained pardon ‘in regard of having quitted the rebels in time.’
During his father's lifetime Huntly went abroad and visited several European courts, where he was cordially welcomed. He formed a special friendship with the king of Prussia and the Grand Duke of Tuscany. He married Lady Henrietta Mordaunt, second daughter of Charles, earl of Peterborough and Monmouth, and his eldest son was named Cosmo in honour of the grand duke. At the death of his father, George Gordon, first duke [q. v.], in 1716, the marquis became second Duke of Gordon, and afterwards took up his permanent residence at Gordon Castle. He continued to correspond with the king of Prussia and the Grand Duke of Tuscany. The king sent him a full-length portrait of himself in the Prussian dress. The grand duke sent his bust in white marble, and a silver font for the christening of his godson, the young Marquis of Huntly, together with a fine suit of steel armour gilt. Pope Clement XII sent his portrait, with other valuable presents. Gordon had also been honourably treated at the court of the Prince of Anspach, father of Queen Caroline, and for him the queen always had a great regard. The duke lived chiefly at home, maintaining a princely style. He was handsome in appearance, kindly in disposition, liberal to his tenants, and generous to the poor. He died on 28 Nov. 1728. The duchess died at Prestonhall, near Edinburgh, 11 Oct. 1760. Her family of four sons and seven daughters were trained by her in the protestant faith, for which in 1735 she had a pension of 1,000l. from the government. General Lord Adam Gordon, fourth son, is separately noticed.
[Douglas's Peerage, p. 654; Gordon's Hist. of the Family of Gordon, ii. 265; Gordon's Concise Hist. of the House of Gordon; Rae's Hist. of the Rebellion; Pennant's Tour in Scotland, pp. 142 143.]
GORDON, ALEXANDER (1692?–1754?), antiquary, is supposed to have been born at Aberdeen not later than 1692. After taking the degree of M.A. at the university of Aberdeen, where he distinguished himself by his classical attainments, he resided for a time in the city, eking out a living as a teacher of languages and music. He also painted portraits in oil. He afterwards visited the continent at first probably as a tutor, and returned home an excellent French and Italian scholar, and with a good knowledge of art and antiquities. He told Stukeley that when at Capua with Sir George Byng (afterwards Viscount Torrington) ‘they sav'd the fine amphitheatre there, the 3rd in the world, which the Germans were going to pull down to repair the fortifications, by speaking to the governor & viceroy at Naples’ (Stukeley, Diaries, 24 Jan. 1722–3, Surtees Soc., i. 68–9). He studied music in Italy, and when in London he occasionally sang in opera, and among his countrymen was known as ‘Singing Sandie’ (cf. Stukeley, loc. cit.; Mitchell, ‘Ode on the Power of Music,’ pp. xi–xii, prefixed to Alexander Malcolm's Treatise of Musick, 1721; Notes and Queries, 2nd ser. viii. 279). At one time he appears to have been an itinerant teacher of music, more especially while collecting the materials for his ‘Itinerarium,’ some time before 1720. In that year Stukeley, in his ‘Account of a Roman Temple [Arthur's Oon] and other antiquities near Graham's Dike in Scotland,’ expressed his wonder that no Scotsman had hitherto investigated the Roman antiquities of the country. ‘This,’ says Gordon, ‘was sufficient excitement for me to proceed still more vigorously in collecting what I had begun.’ During three successive years he visited different parts of Scotland and Northumberland, exploring, drawing, and measuring ancient remains, at much cost and some hardship. Liberal patrons, however, were not wanting, such as the Duke of Queensberry, to whom the work was subsequently dedicated, the Earls of Pembroke, of Findlater, and of Hertford, and Viscount Bateman, whose cabinets he was often enabled to enrich during his travels at home and abroad, Edward Chandler, then bishop of Lichfield, and Duncan Forbes of Culloden, at that time lord advocate. His great patron was Sir John Clerk [q. v.] of Penicuick, Edinburghshire. He was a frequent guest at Old Penicuick House, where he had access to a splendid museum of antiquities, and was accompanied by Clerk in his Northumbrian explorations, as well as in others nearer home. The work, which had been largely subscribed for, appeared as ‘Itinerarium Septentrionale; or, a Journey thro’ most of the Counties of Scotland, and those in the North of England.… Part 1. Containing an Account of all the Monuments of Roman Antiquity.… Part 2. An Account of the Danish Invasions on Scotland … With sixty-six copper-plates’ [and an appendix], 2 pts. fol., London, 1726 (with a new title-page 1727). In this laborious work Gordon proved himself an honest, painstaking antiquary. Though
