E>A 1890 THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES Textausgaben franzosischer und englischer Schriftsteller fiir den Schulgebrauch. TALES OF A GRANDFATHER BY SIR WALTER SCOTT, Bart. Ausgewahlt von Dr. O. Schulze, Oberlehrer am Realgymnasium zu Gera (R. j. L.). €,-:—--■-, , ^4»4-a»4^ ; •-•-J '.i •• • t •• •••■•.■ ■..'.*,. .... GERA Dr. Herm. Schlutters Verlag 1890. ,',••.. .• . . . « • • • • 76] VORWORT. Fiir den Text der folgenden Erzahlungen habe ich zwei Redaktionen verglichen, eine Ausgabe vom Jahre 1833: Tales of a Grandfather with Stories taken from Scottish History. Humbly inscribed to Hugh Littlejohn, Esq. First Series. Paris, Baudry's European Library, und die Edinburger von Adam and Charles Black, wie sie mir in den Ausgaben von Pfundheller und Friedrich vorlag. Die Abweichungen beider Redaktionen sind bis auf einige Stellen von nicht grofsem Belang. Als sehr interessant hebe ich folgende hervor. hi der Schlacht am River Forth wird als Befehlshaber der Englander mehreremal J^o/in de Ware?ine, Earl of Surrey, genannt (S. 31, Z. 19, 31, 32, S. 32, Z. 1). Uberraschen mufs es deshalb, wenn plotzlich ohne alle Erklarung es S. 32, Z. 7 heifst: Their leader. Sir Richard Lundin, a Scottish knight, who had gone over to the enemy at Irvine, hesitated. Die Pariser Ausgabe kennt diesen neuen Befehlshaber nicht und setzt ganz mit Recht ^The Earl of Surrey hesitated ». Offenbar haben wir es hier mit zwei Versionen zu thun, die von Walter Scott herriihren, die aber in der jetzigen Form in der Black Edition ganz unvermittelt neben einander stehen. Auffallig sind auch die Worte « at Irvine », die sich doch nur auf die Stadt Irvine beziehen konnen und in Scotti- scher Manier auf eine Schlacht oder Belagerung hin- weisen, die mit keiner Silbe vorher erwahnt wird. IV Vorwort. Selbstverstandlich konnten aus dem umfangreichen Werke Scotts nur einzelne Erzahlungen ausgewahlt werden. Auch empfahl es sich nach dem Vorbilde anderer Herausgeber — ich habe Pfundheller und be- sonders Friedrich beriicksichtigt — alle an den kleinen Enkel gerichteten Bemerkungen, sowie unnotige Wieder- holungen und einzelne iiberfliissige Bemerkungen weg- zulassen. An ein paar Stellen bin ich noch einen Schritt waiter gegangen. In einem fiir die ersten Jahre des englischen Unterrichts bestimmten Buche erschien es mir durchaus angebracht jetzt ungewohnliche oder gerade- zu als falsch geltende Konstruktionen zu andern. So ist, um einige Beispiele anzufiihren, S. ii, Z. 20 So Macbeth, having come into the room, he took two dirks und S. 58, Z. 36 So John of Lorn, seeing . . . ., he gave up the chase, he gestrichen worden. S. 13, Z. 24 they answered to him mufste to nach jetzigem Sprach- gebrauche fallen. S. 51, Z. 36 he began to skirmish so successfully, as obliged the Lord Percy to quit Carrick, ist as to oblige gesetzt worden. S. 54, Z. 27 hat in der Stelle he quartered his troop on the side of a deep and swift-running river, that had very steep and rocky banks, that einem which weichen miissen. S. 64, Z. 25 wurde bei'den Worten their cavalry, which were much better armed than that of the Scots, were in was verwandelt u. a. Im Worterbuche, bei dessen Ausarbeitung das von Friedrich zu Rate gezogen wurde, habe ich jedem Worte eine phonetische Transskription beigefiigt. Ich hoffe da- durch den Wiinschen aller derjenigen entgegenzukommen, welche wie ich der Meinung sind, dass nur auf diese Weise eine kon-ekte Aussprache herbeigefuhrt werden kann. TALES OF A GRANDFATHER. CHAPTER I. How Scotland and England came to be separate Kingdoms. England is the southern, and Scotland is the northern part of the celebrated island called Great Britain. England is greatly larger than Scotland, and the land is much richer, and produces better crops. There are also a great many more men in England, and both the 5 gentlemen and the country people are more wealthy, and have better food and clothing there than in Scot- land. The towns, also, are much more numerous, and more populous. Scotland, on the contrary, is full of hills, and huge lo moors and wildernesses, which bear no corn, and afford but little food for flocks of sheep or herds of cattle. But the level ground that lies along the great rivers is more fertile, and produces good crops. The natives of Scotland are accustomed to live more hardily in general 15 than those of England. The cities and towns are fewer, smaller, and less full of inhabitants than in England. But as Scotland possesses great quarries of stone, the houses are commonly built of that material, which is more lasting, and has a grander effect to the eye than 20 the bricks used in England. Now, as these two nations live in the different Scott, Tales of a Grandfather. I 2 I. England and Scotland. ends of the same island, and are separated by large and stormy seas from all other parts of the world, it seems natural that they should have been friendly to each other, and that they should have lived as one 5 people, under the same government. Accordingly, about two hundred years ago, the King of Scotland becoming King of England, the two nations have ever since then been joined in one great kingdom, which is called Great Britain. lo But, before this happy union of England and Scot- land, there were many long, cruel, and bloody wars between the two nations; and, far from helping or assisting each other, as became good neighbours and friends, they did each other all the harm and injury 15 that they possibly could, by invading each other's terri- tories, killing their subjects, burning their towns, and taking their wives and children prisoners. This lasted for many many hundred years; and I am about to tell you the reason why the land was so divided. 20 A long time since, eighteen hundred years ago and more, there was a brave and warlike people, called the Romans, who undertook to conquer the whole world, and subdue all countries, so as to make their own city of Rome the head of all the nations upon the face of 25 the earth. And, after conquering far and near, at last they came to Britain, and made a great war upon the inhabitants, called the British, or Britons, whom they found living there. The Romans, who were a very brave people, and well armed, beat the British, and took 30 possession of almost all the flat part of the island, which is now called England, and also of a part of the south of Scotland. But they could not make their way into the high northern mountains of Scotland, where they could hardly get any thing to feed their soldiers, 35 and where they met with much opposition from the inhabitants. The Romans, therefore, gave up all attempts to subdue this impenetrable countr5^ and resolved to I. England and Scotland. j remain satisfied with that level ground, of which they had already possessed themselves. Then the wild people of Scotland, whom the Ro- mans had not been able to subdue, began to come down from their mountains, and make inroads upon 5 that part of the country which had been conquered by the Romans. These people of the northern parts of Scotland were not one nation, but divided in two, called the Scots and the Picts; they often fought against each 10 other, but they always joined together against the Romans, and the Britons who had been subdued by them. At length, the Romans thought they would prevent these Picts and Scots from coming into the southern part of Britain, and laying it waste. For this 15 purpose, they built a very long wall between the one side of the island and the other, so that none of the Scots or Picts should come into the country on the south side of the wall; and they made towers on the wall, and camps, with soldiers, from place to place; so 20 that, at the least alarm, the soldiers might hasten to defend any part of the wall which was attacked. This first Roman wall was built between the two great Friths of the Clyde and the Forth, just where the island of Britain is at the narrowest, and some parts of it are 25 to be seen at this day. You can see it on the map. This wall defended the Britons for a time, and the Scots and Picts were shut out from the fine rich land, and enclosed within their own mountains. But they were very much displeased with this, and assembled 3° themselves in great numbers, and climbed over the wall, in spite of all that the Romans could do to oppose them. A man, named Grahame, is said to have been the first soldier who got over; and the common people still call the remains of the wall Grahame's Dike. 35 Now the Romans, finding that this first wall could not keep out the Barbarians (for so they termed the A I- England and Scotland. Picts and the Scots), thought they would give up a large portion of the country to them, and perhaps it might make them quiet. So they built a new wall, and a much stronger one than the first, sixty miles farther 5 back from the Picts and Scots. Yet the Barbarians made as many furious attacks to get over this second wall, as ever they had done to break through the former. But the Roman soldiers defended the second wall so well, that the Scots and Picts could not break lo through it, though they often came round the end of the wall by sea, in boats made of ox hides stretched upon hoops, landed on the other side, and did ver>' much mischief. In the meantime, the poor Britons led a very unhappy life; for the Romans, when they sub- 15 dued their country, having taken away all their arms, they lost the habit of using them, or of defending themselves, and trusted entirely to the protection of their conquerors. But at this time great quarrels, and confusion, and 20 civil wars, took place at Rome. So the Roman Emperor sent to the soldiers whom he had maintained in Britain, and ordered that they should immediately return to their own country, and leave the Britons to defend their wall as well as they could, against their unruly and 25 warlike neighbours, the Picts and Scots. The Roman soldiers were very sorry for the poor Britons, but they could do no more to help them than by repairing the wall of defence. They therefore built it all up, and made it as strong as if it were quite new. And then 30 they took to their ships, and left the island. After the departure of the Romans, the Britons were quite unable to protect the wall against the Bar- barians; for, since their conquest by the Romans, they had become a weak and cowardly people. So the 35 Picts and the Scots broke through the wall at several points, wasted and destroyed the country, and took away the boys and girls to be slaves, seized upon the I. England and Scotland. 5 sheep, and upon the cattle, and burnt the houses, and did the inhabitants every sort of mischief. Thus at last the Britons, finding themselves no longer able to resist these barbarous people, invited into Britain to their assistance a number of men from the north of Germany, 5 who were called Anglo-Saxons. Now, these were a very brave and warlike people, and they came in their ships from Germany, and landed in the south part of Britain, and helped the Britons to fight with the Scots and Picts [a. d. 449], and drove these nations again into lo the hills and fastnesses of their own country, to the north of the wall which the Romans built; and they were never afterwards so troublesome to their neighbours. But the Britons were not much the better for the defeat of their northern enemies; for the Saxons, when 15 they had come into Britain, and saw what a beautiful rich country it was, and that the people were not able to defend it, resolved to take the land to themselves, and to make the Britons their slaves and servants. The Britons were very unwilling to have their country taken 20 from them by the people they had called in to help them, and so strove to oppose them; but the Saxons were stronger and more warlike than they, and defeated them so often, that they at last got possession of all the level and flat land in the south part of Britain. 25 However^ the bravest part of the Britons fled into a very hilly part of the country, which is called Wales, and there they defended themselves against the Saxons for a great many years; and their descendants still speak the ancient British language, called Welsh. In 30 the meantime , the Anglo - Saxons spread themselves throughout all the south part of Britain, and the name of the country was changed, and it was no longer called Britain, but England; which means the land of the Anglo-Saxons who had conquered it. 35 While the Saxons and Britons were thus fighting together, the Scots and the Picts, after they had been 6 I. England and Scotland. driven back behind the Roman wall, also quarrelled and fought between themselves; and at last, after a great many battles, the Scots got completely the better of the Picts. The common people say that the Scots 5 destroyed them entirely; but I think it is not likely that they could kill such great numbers of people. Yet it is certain they must have slain many, and driven others out of the country, and made the rest their servants and slaves; at least the Picts were never heard of in lo history after these great defeats, and the Scots gave their own name to the north part of Britain, as the Angles, or Anglo-Saxons, did to the south part; and so came the name of Scotland, the land of the Scots; and England, the land of the English. The two kingdoms 15 were divided from each other, on the east by the river Tweed; then, as you proceed westward, by a great range of hills and wildernesses, and at length by a branch of the sea called the Frith of Solway. The division is not very far from the old Roman wall. The wall itself has 20 been long suffered to go to ruins; but, as I have already said, there are some parts of it still standing, and it is curious to see how it runs as straight as an arrow over high liills, and through great bogs and morasses. You see, therefore, that Britain was divided between 25 three different nations, who were enemies to each other. — There was England, which was the richest and best part of the island, and which was inhabited by the Enghsh. Then there was Scotland, full of hills and great lakes, and difficult and dangerous precipices, wild heaths, 30 and great morasses. This country was inhabited by the Scots, or Scottish men. And there was Wales, also a very wild and mountainous country, whither the remains of the ancient Britons had fled, to obtain safety from the Saxons. 35 The Welsh defended their country for a long time, and lived under their own government and laws; yet the English got possession of it at last. But they were n. Macbeth. 7 not able to become masters of Scotland, though they tried it frequently. The two countries were under different kings, who fought together very often and very desperately; and thus you see the reason why England and Scotland, though making parts of the same island, 5 were for a long time great enemies to each other. The English are very fond of their fine country; they call it «01d England, » and « Merry England,* and think it the finest land that the sun shines upon. And the Scots are also very proud of their own country, 10 with its great lakes and mountains; and in the old language of the country, they call it «The land of the lakes and mountains; and of the brave men;» and often, also, «The Land of Cakes, » because the people live a good deal upon cakes made of oatmeal, instead of 15 wheaten bread. But both England and Scotland are now parts of the same kingdom, and there is no use in asking which is the best country, or has the bravest men. CHAPTER II. The Story of Macbeth. (A. D. 1033— 1056.) Soon after the Scots and Picts had become one people, as I told you before, there was a King of Scot- 20 land called Duncan, a very good old man. He had two sons; one was called Malcolm, and the other Donaldbane. But King Duncan was too old to lead out his army to battle, and his sons were too young to help him. 25 At this time Scotland, and indeed France and England, and all the other countries of Europe, were much harassed by the Danes. These were a very fierce, warlike people, who sailed from one place to another, and landed their armies on the coast, burning and 30 destroying every thing wherever they came. They were 8 II. Macbeth. heathens, and did not believe in the Bible, but thought of nothing but battle and slaughter, and making plunder. When they came to countries where the inhabitants were cowardly, they took possession of the land, as I 5 told you the Saxons took possession of Britain. At other times, they landed with their soldiers, took what spoil they could find, burned the houses, and then got on board, hoisted sails, and away again. They did so much mischief, that people put up prayers to God in lo the churches, to deliver them from the rage of the Danes. Now, it happened in King Duncan's time, that a great fleet of these Danes came to Scotland and landed their men in Fife, and threatened to take possession of 15 that province. So a numerous Scottish army was levied to go to fight against them. The King, as I told you, was too old to command his army, and his sons were too young. He therefore sent out one of his near rela- tions, who was called Macbeth; he was son of Finel, 20 who was Thane, as it was called, of Glamis. The governors of provinces were at that time, in Scotland, called Thanes; they were afterwards termed Earls. This Macbeth, who was a brave soldier, put himself at the head of the Scottish army, and marched against 25 the Danes. And he carried with him a relation of his own, called Banquo, who was Thane of Lochaber, and was also a very brave man. So there was a great battle fought between the Danes and the Scots; and Macbeth and Banquo, the Scottish generals, defeated 30 the Danes, and drove them back to their ships, leaving a great many of their soldiers both killed and wounded. Then Macbeth and his army marched back to a town in the north of Scotland, called Forres, rejoicing on account of their victory. 35 Now, there lived at this time three old women in the town of Forres, whom people looked upon as witches, and supposed they could tell what was to come to pass. II. Macbeth. Q Nobody would believe such folly now-a-days, except low and ignorant creatures, such as those who consult gipsies in order to have their fortunes told; but in those early times the people were much more ignorant, and even great men, like Macbeth, believed that such persons 5 as these witches of Forres could tell what was to come to pass afterwards, and listened to the nonsense they told them, as if the old women had really been prophet- esses. The old women saw that they were respected and feared, so that they were tempted to impose upon lo people, by pretending to tell what was to happen to them; and they got presents for doing so. So the three old women went and stood by the wayside, in a great moor or heath near Forres, and waited till Macbeth came up. And then, stepping before '5 him as he was marching at the head of his soldiers, the first woman said, «A11 hail, Macbeth — hail to thee, Thane ofGlamis.» The second said, « All hail, Macbeth — hail to thee. Thane of Cawdor. » Then the third, wishing to pay him a higher compliment than the other 20 two, said, «A11 hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King of Scotland. » Macbeth was very much surprised to hear them give him these titles; and while he was wondering what they could mean, Banquo stepped forward, and asked them whether they had nothing to tell about him 25 as well as about Macbeth. And they said that he should not be so great as Macbeth, but that, though he himself should never be a king, yet his children should succeed to the throne of Scotland, and be kings for a great number of years. 30 Before Macbeth had recovered from his surprise, there came a messenger to tell him that his father was dead, so that he had become Thane of Glamis by inheritance. And there came a second messenger, from the King, to thank Macbeth for the great victory over 35 the Danes, and tell him that the Thane of Cawdor had rebelled against the King, and that the King had taken lO II. Macbeth. his office from him, and had sent to make Macbeth Thane of Cawdor as well as of Glamis. Thus the two first old women seemed to be right in giving him those two titles. I dare say they knew something of the 5 death of Macbeth's father, and that the government of Cawdor was intended for Macbeth, though he had not heard of it. However, Macbeth, seeing a part of their words come to be true, began to think how he was to bring lo the rest to pass, and make himself King, as well as Thane of Glamis and Cawdor. Now Macbeth had a wife, who was a very ambitious, wicked woman, and when she found out that her husband thought of raising himself up to be King of Scotland, she encouraged him 15 in his wicked purpose, by all the means in her power, and persuaded him that the only way to get possession of the crown was to kill the good old King Duncan. Macbeth was very unwilling to commit so great a crime, for he knew what a good sovereign Duncan had been; 20 and he recollected that he was his relation, and had been always very kind to him, and had intrusted him with the command of his army, and had bestowed on him the government or Thanedom of Cawdor. But his wife continued telling him what a foolish, cowardly 25 thing it was in him not to take the opportunity of making himself King, when it was in his power to gain what the witches promised him. So the wicked advice of his wife, and the prophecy of these wretched old women, at last brought Macbeth to think of murdering 30 his king and friend. The way in which he accomplished his crime, made it still more abominable. Macbeth invited Duncan to come to visit him, at a great castle near Inverness; and the good King, who had no suspicions of his kinsman, accepted the invitation 35 very willingly. Macbeth and his lady received the King and all his retinue with much appearance of joy, and made a great feast, as a subject would do to make his II. Macbeth. j j King welcome. About the middle of the night, the King desired to go to his apartment, and Macbeth con- ducted him to a fine room, which had been prepared for him. Now, it was the custom, in those barbarous times, that wherever the King slept, two armed men 5 slept in the same chamber, in order to defend his person in case he should be attacked by any one during the night. But the wicked Lady Macbeth had made these two watchmen drink a great deal of wine, and had besides put some drugs into the Uquor; so that when 10 they went to the King's apartment they both fell asleep, and slept so soundly, that nothing could awaken them. Then the cruel Macbeth came into King Duncan's bedroom about two in the morning. It was a terrible stormy night; but the noise of the wind and of the 15 thunder did not awaken the King, for he was old, and weary with his journey; neither could it awaken the two sentinels, who were stupified with the liquor and the drugs they had swallowed. They all slept soundly. So Macbeth, having come into the room, and stepped 20 gently over the floor, took the two dirks which belonged to the sentinels, and stabbed poor old King Duncan to the heart, and that so effectually, that he died without giving even a groan. Then Macbeth put the bloody daggers into the hands of the sentinels, and 25 daubed their faces over with blood, that it might appear as if they had committed the murder. Macbeth was, however, greatly frightened at what he had done, but his wife made him wash his hands and go to bed. Early in the morning, the nobles and gentlemen 30 who attended on the King assembled in the great hall of the castle, and there they began to talk of what a dreadful storm it had been the night before. But Mac- beth could scarcely understand what they said, for he was thinking on something much worse and more 35 frightful than the storm, and was wondering what would be said when they heard of the murder. They waited 12 II. Macbeth. for some time, but finding the King did not come from his apartment, one of the noblemen went to see whether he was well or not. But when he came into the room, he found poor King Duncan lying stiff, and cold, and 5 bloody, and the two sentinels both fast asleep, with their dirks or daggers, covered with blood. As soon as the Scottish nobles saw this terrible sight, they were greatly astonished and enraged; and Macbeth made believe as if he were more enraged than any of them, lo and, drawing his sword, before any one could prevent him, he killed the two attendants of the King who slept in the bedchamber, pretending to think they had been guilty of murdering King Duncan. When Malcolm and Donaldbane, the two sons of IS the good King, saw their father slain in this strange manner within Macbeth's castle, they became afraid that they might be put to death likewise, and fled away out of Scotland; for, notwithstanding all the excuses which he could make, they still believed that Macbeth 20 had killed their father. Donaldbane fled into some distant islands, but Malcolm, the eldest son of Duncan, went to the Court of England, where he begged for assistance from the English King, to place him on the throne of Scotland as his father's successor. 25 In the meantime, Macbeth took possession of the kingdom of Scotland, and thus all his wicked wishes seemed to be fulfilled. But he was not happy. He began to reflect how wicked he had been in killing his friend and benefactor, and how some other person, as 30 ambitious as he was himself, might do the same thing to him. He remembered, too, that the old women had said that the children of Banquo should succeed to the throne after his death, and therefore he concluded that Banquo might be tempted to conspire against him, as 35 he had himself done against King Duncan. The wicked always think other people are as bad as themselves. In order to prevent this supposed danger, Macbeth hired II. Macbeth. 13 ruffians to watch in a wood, where Banquo and his son Fleance sometimes used to walk in the evening, with instructions to attack them, and kill both father and son. The villains did as they were ordered by Macbeth; but while they were killing Banquo, the boy Fleance 5 made his escape from their wicked hands, and fled from Scotland into Wales. And it is said that long after- wards his children came to possess the Scottish crown. Macbeth was not the more happy that he had slain his brave friend and cousin, Banquo. He knew that 10 men began to suspect the wicked deeds which he had done, and he was constantly afraid that some one would put him to death as he had done his old sovereign, or that Malcolm would obtain assistance from the King of England, and come to make war against him, and 15 take from him the Scottish kingdom. So, in this great perplexity of mind, he thought he would go to the old women, whose words had first put into his mind the desire of becoming a king. It is to be supposed that he offered them presents, and that they were cunning 20 enough to study how to give him some answer, which should make him continue in the belief that they could prophesy what was to happen in future times. So they answered him that he should not be conquered, or lose the crown of Scotland, until a great forest, called 25 Birnam Wood, should come to attack a strong castle situated on a high hill called Dunsinnane, in which castle Macbeth commonly resided. Now, the hill of Dunsinnane is upon the one side of a great valley, and the forest of Birnam is upon the other. There are twelve miles 30 distance betwixt them; and besides that, Macbeth thought it was impossible that the trees could ever come to the assault of the castle. He therefore resolved to fortify his castle on the hill of Dunsinnane very strongly, as being a place in which he would always be sure to be 35 safe. For this purpose he caused all his great nobility and Thanes to send in stones, and wood, and other H II. Macbeth. things wanted in building, and to drag them with oxen up to the top of the steep hill where he was building the castle. Now, among other nobles who were obliged to 5 send oxen, and horses, and materials to this laborious work, was one called Macduff, the Thane of Fife. Mac- beth was afraid of this Thane, for he was very powerful, and was accounted both brave and wise; and Macbeth thought he would most probably join with Prince Mal- lo colm, if ever he should come from England with an army. The King, therefore, had a private hatred against the Thane of Fife, which he kept concealed from all men, until he should have some opportunity of putting him to death, as he had done Duncan and Banquo 15 Macduff, on his part, kept upon his guard, and went to the King's court as seldom as he could, thinking himself never safe unless while in his own castle of Kennoway, which is on the coast of Fife, near to the mouth of the Firth of Forth. 20 It happened, however, that the King had summoned several of his nobles, and Macduff, the Thane of Fife, amongst others, to attend him at his new castle of Dunsinnane; and they were all obliged to come — none dared stay behind. Now, the King was to give the 25 nobles a great entertainment, and preparations were made for it. In the meantime, Macbeth rode out with a few attendants, to see the oxen drag the wood and the stones up the hill, for enlarging and strengthening the castle. So they saw most of the oxen trudging 30 up the hill with great difficulty, for the ascent is ver>^ steep, and the burdens were heavy, and the weather was extremely hot. At length Macbeth saw a pair of. oxen so tired that they could go no farther up the hill, but fell down under their load. Then the King was 35 very angr}', and demanded to know who it was among his Thanes that had sent oxen so weak and so unfit for labour, when he had so much work for them to do. II. Macbeth. 15 Some one replied that the oxen belonged to Macduff, the Thane of Fife. «Then,» said the King, in great anger, « since the Thane of Fife sends such worthless cattle as these to do my labour, I will put his own neck into the yoke, and make him drag the burdens 5 himself. » There was a friend of Macduff who heard these angry expressions of the King, and hastened to communi- cate them to the Thane of Fife, who was walking in the hall of the King's castle while dinner was preparing. 10 The instant that Macduff heard what the King had said, he knew he had no time to lose in making his escape; for whenever Macbeth threatened to do mischief to any one, he was sure to keep his word. So Macduff snatched up from the table a loaf of 15 bread, called for his horses and his servants, and was galloping back to his own province of Fife, before Macbeth and the rest of the nobility were returned to the castle. The first question which the King asked was, what had become of Macduff, and being informed 20 that he had fled from Dunsinnane, he ordered a body of his guards to attend him, and mounted on horseback himself to pursue the Thane, with the purpose of putting him to death, Macduff, in the meantime, fled as fast as horses' 25 feet could carry him; but he was so ill provided with money for his expenses, that, when he came to the great ferry over the river Tay, he had nothing to give to the boatmen who took him across, excepting the loaf of bread which he had taken from the King's table. 30 The place was called, for a long time afterwards, the Ferry of the Loaf. When Macduff got into his province of Fife, which is on the other side of the Tay, he rode on faster than before towards his own castle of Kennoway, which, as 35 I told you, stands close by the sea-side; and when he reached it, the King and his guards were not far behind 1 6 II- Macbeth, him. Macduff ordered his wife to shut the gates of the castle, draw up the drawbridge, and on no account to permit the King or any of his soldiers to enter. In the meantime, he went to the small harbour belonging to 5 the castle, and caused a ship which was lying there to be fitted out for sea in all haste, and got on board himself, in order to escape from Macbeth. In the meantime, Macbeth summoned the lady to surrender the castle, and to deliver up her husband. lo But Lady Macduff, who was a wise and brave woman, made many excuses and delays, until she knew that her husband was safely on board the ship, and had sailed from the harbour. Then she spoke boldly from the wall of the castle to the King, who was standing 15 before the gate still demanding entrance, with many threats of what he would do if Macduff was not given up to him. «Do you see,» she said, «yon white sail upon the sea? Yonder goes Macduff to the Court of England. 20 You will never see him again till he comes back with young Prince Malcolm, to pull you down from the throne, and to put you to death. You will never be able to put your yoke, as you threatened, on the Thane of Fife's neck.» 25 Some say that Macbeth was so much incensed at this bold answer, that he and his guards attacked the castle and took it, killing the brave lady, and all whom they found there. But others say, and I believe more truly, that the King, seeing that the fortress of Kenno- 30 way was very strong, and that Macduff had escaped from him, and w^as embarked for England, departed back to Dunsinnane without attempting to take the castle. The ruins are still to be seen, and arc called the Thane's Castle. 35 There reigned at that time in England a very good King, called Edward the Confessor. I told you that Prince Malcolm, the son of Duncan, was at his court. II. Macbeth. 17 soliciting assistance to recover the Scottish throne. The arrival of Macduff greatly aided the success of his petition; for the English King knew that Macduff was a brave and wise man. As he assured Edward that the Scots were tired of the cruel Macbeth, and would 5 join Prince Malcolm if he were to return to his country at the head of an army, the King ordered a great war- rior, called Siward, Earl of Northumberland, to enter Scotland with a large force [A. D, 1054], and assist Prince Malcolm in the recovery of his father's crown. 10 Then it happened just as Macduff had said; for the Scottish Thanes and nobles would not fight for Mac- beth, but joined Prince Malcolm and Macduff against him; so that at length he shut himself up in his castle of Dunsinnane, where he thought himself safe, according 1 5 to the old women's prophecy, until Birnam Wood should come against him. He boasted of this to his followers, and encouraged them to make a valiant defence, assuring them of certain victory. At this time Malcolm and Mac- duff were come as far as Birnam Wood, and lay en- 20 camped there with their army. The next morning, when they were to march across the broad valley to attack the castle of Dunsinnane, Macduff advised that every soldier should cut down a bough of a tree, and carry it in his hand, that the enemy might not be able to 2$ see how many men were coming against them. Now, the sentinel who stood on Macbeth's castle- wall, when he saw all these branches, which the soldiers of Prince Malcolm carried, ran to the King, and informed him that the wood of Birnam was moving towards the 30 castle of Dunsinnane. The King at first called him a liar, and threatened to put him to death; but when he looked from the walls himself, and saw the appearance of a forest approaching from Birnam, he knew the hour of his destruction was come. His followers, too, began 35 to be disheartened, and to fly from the castle, seeing their master had lost all hopes, Scott, Tales of a Grandfather. 2 ^S ID. The Feudal System, Macbeth, however, recollected his own bravery, and sallied desperately out at the head of the few followers who remained faithful to him. He was killed, after a furious resistance, fighting hand to hand with Macduff, 5 in the thick of the battle. Prince Malcolm mounted the throne of Scotland, and reigned long and prosperously. He rewarded Mac- duff by declaring that his descendants should lead the vanguard of the Scottish army in battle, and place the 10 crown on the King's head at the ceremony of coronation. King Malcolm also created the thanes of Scotland earls, after the title of dignity adopted in the court of England. CHAPTER III. The Feudal System, and the Norman Conquest. The conduct of Edward the Confessor, King of England, in the story of Macbeth, was very generous 15 and noble. He sent a large army and his general Siward to assist in dethroning the tyrant Macbeth, and placing Malcolm, the son of the murdered King Duncan, upon the throne; and we have seen how, with the assistance of Macduff, they fortunately succeeded. But King Edward 20 never thought of taking any part of Scotland to himself in the confusion occasioned by the invasion; for he was a good man, and was not ambitious or covetous of what did not belong to him. It had been well both for Eng- land and Scotland that there had been more such good 25 and moderate kings, as it would have prevented many great quarrels, long wars, and terrible bloodshed. But good King Edward the Confessor did not leave any children to succeed him on the throne. He was succeeded by a king called Harold, who was the last 30 monarch of the Saxon race that ever reigned in Eng- III. The Feudal System. jq land. The Saxons, you recollect, had conquered the Britons, and now there came a new enemy to attack the Saxons. These were the Normans, a people who came from France, but were not originally Frenchmen. Their forefathers were a colony of those northern pirates 5 whom we mentioned before as plundering all the sea- coasts which promised them any booty. They were frequently called Northmen or Normans, as they came from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and the other northern regions. A large body of them landed on the north 10 part of France, and compelled the king of that country to yield up to them the possession of a large territory, or province, called Neustria, the name of which was changed to Normandy, when it became the property of these Northmen, or Normans. This province was 15 governed by the Norman chief, who was called a duke, from a Latin word signifying a general. He exercised all the powers of a king within his dominions of Nor- mandy, but, in consideration of his being possessed of a part of the territories of France, he acknowledged the 20 king of that country for his sovereign, and became what was called his vassal. This connexion of a king as sovereign, with his princes and great men as vassals, must be attended to and understood, in order that you may comprehend 25 the history which follows. A great king, or sovereign prince, gave large provinces, or grants of land, to his dukes, earls, and noblemen; and each of these possessed nearly as much power, within his own district, as the king did in the rest of his dominions. But then the 30 vassal, whether duke, earl, or lord, or whatever he was, was obliged to come with a certain number of men to assist the sovereign, when he was engaged in war; and in time of peace, he was bound to attend on his court when summoned, and do homage to him — that is, 35 acknowledge that he was his master and liege lord. In like manner, the vassals of the crown, as they were 20 III- The Feudal System. called, divided the lands which the king had given them into estates, which they bestowed on knights and gentlemen, w^hom they thought fitted to follow them in war, and to attend them in peace; for they, too, held courts, and ad- 5 ministered justice, each in his own province. Then the knights and gentlemen, who had these estates from the great nobles, distributed the property among an inferior class of proprietors, some of whom cultivated the land themselves, and others by means of husbandmen and peasants, who 10 were treated as a sort of slaves, being bought and sold like brute beasts, along with the farms which they laboured. Thus, when a great king, like that of France or England, went to war, he summoned all his crown-vassals to attend him, with the number of armed men corre- 15 sponding to his Fief, as it was called; that is, the terri- tory which had been granted to each of them. The prince, duke, or earl, in order to obey the summons, called upon all the gentlemen to whom he had given estates, to attend his standard with their followers in 20 arms. The gentlemen, in their turn, called on the franklins, a lower order of gentry, and upon the peasants; and thus the whole force of the kingdom was assembled in one array. This system of holding lands for military service, that is, for fighting for the sovereign when called 25 upon, was called the FEUDAL SYSTEM. It was general throughout all Europe for a great many ages. But as many of these great crown- vassals, as for example, the Dukes of Normandy, became extremely powerful, they were in the custom of making peace 30 and war at their own hand, without the knowledge or consent of the King of France, their sovereign. In the same manner, the vassals of those great dukes and princes frequently made war on each other, for war was the business of every one; while the poor bonds- 35 man, who cultivated the ground, was subjected to the greatest hardships, and plundered and ill-treated by whichever side had the better. The nobles and gentle- III. The Feudal System. 21 men fought on horseback, arrayed in armour of steel, richly ornamented with gold and silver, and were called knights or squires. They used long lances, with which they rode fiercely against each other, and heavy swords, or clubs or maces, to fight hand to hand, when the 5 lance was broken. Inferior persons fought on foot, and were armed with bows and arrows, which, according to their form, were called long-bows, or cross-bows, and served to kill men at a distance, instead of g^ns and cannon, which were not then invented. The poor 10 husbandmen were obliged to come to the field of battle with such arms as they had, and it was no uncommon thing to see a few of these knights and squires ride over and put to flight many hundreds of them; for the gentry were clothed in complete armour, so that 15 they could receive little hurt, and the poor peasants had scarce clothes sufficient to cover them. It was not a very happy time this, when there was scarcely any law, but the strong took every thing from the weak at their pleasure; for as almost all the inhabitants 20 of the country were obliged to be soldiers, it naturally followed that they were engaged in continual fighting. The great crown -vassals, in particular, made con- stant war upon one another, and sometimes upon the sovereign himself, though to do so was to incur the 25 forfeiture of their fiefs, or the territories which he had bestowed upon them, and which he was enabled by law to recall when they became his enemies. But they took the opportunity, when they were tolerably certain that their prince would not have strength sufficient to 30 punish them. In short, no one could maintain his right longer than he had the power of defending it; and this induced the more poor and helpless to throw themselves under the protection of the brave and powerful, acknowledge themselves their vassals and subjects, and 35 do homage to them, in order that they might obtain their safeguard and patronage. 22 III. The Norman Conquest. While things were in this state, William, the Duke of Normandy, and the leader of that valiant people whose ancestors had conquered that province, began, upon the death of good King Edward the Confessor, 5 to consider the time as favourable for an attempt to conquer the wealthy kingdom of England. He pretended King Edward had named him his heir; but his surest reliance was upon a strong body of his brave Normans, to whom were joined many knights and squires from lo distant countries, who hoped, by assisting this Duke William in his proposed conquest, to obtain from him good English estates, under the regulations which I have described. The Duke of Normandy landed in Sussex, in the IS year one thousand and sixty-six, after the birth of our blessed Saviour. He had an army of sixty thousand chosen men, for accomplishing his bold enterprise. Many gallant knights, who were not his subjects, joined him, in the hope of obtaining fame in arms, and estates, if 20 his enterprise should prosper. Harold, who had succeeded Edward the Confessor on the throne of England, had been just engaged in repelling an attack upon England by the Norwegians, and was now called upon to oppose this new and more formidable invasion. He was, there- 25 fore, taken at considerable disadvantasre. The armies of England and Normandy engaged in a desperate battle near Hastings, and the victory was long obstinately contested. The Normans had a great advantage, from having amongst them large bands of 30 archers, who used the long-bow, and greatly annoyed the English, who had but few bow-men to oppose them, and only short darts called javelins, which they threw from their hands, and which could do little hurt at a distance. Yet the victory remained doubtful, though 35 the battle had lasted from nine in the morning until the close of the day, when an arrow pierced through King Harold's head, and he fell dead on the spot. The III. The Norman Conquest. 2^ English then retreated from the field, and Duke William used his advantage with so much skill and dexterity, that he made himself master of all England, and reigned there under the title of William the Conqueror. He divided great part of the rich country of England among 5 his Norman followers, who held lands of him for mili- tary service, according to the rules of the feudal system, of which I gave you some account. The Anglo-Saxons, you may well suppose, were angry at this, and attempt- ed several times to rise against King William, and drive 10 him and his soldiers back to Normandy. But they were always defeated; and so King William became more severe towards these Anglo-Saxons, and took away their lands, and their high rank and appointments, until he left scarce any of them in possession of great estates, 15 or offices of rank, but put his Normans above them, as masters, in every situation. Thus the Saxons, who had conquered the British, as you have before read, were in their turn conquered by the Normans, deprived of their property, and redu- 20 ced to be the servants of those proud foreigners. To this day, though several of the ancient nobility of Eng- land claim to be descended from the Normans, there is scarcely a nobleman, and very few of the gentry, who can show that they are descended of the Saxon 25 blood; William the Conqueror took so much care to deprive the conquered people of all power and import- ance. It must have been a sad state of matters in Eng- land, when the Normans were turning the Saxons out 30 of their estates and habitations, and degrading them from being freemen into slaves. But good came out of it in the end; for these Normans were not only one of the bravest peoples that ever lived, but they were possessed of more learning and skill in the arts than 35 the Saxons. They brought with them the art of build- ing large and beautiful castles and churches composed 24 IV. Death of Alexander III. of stone, whereas the Saxons had only miserable houses made of wood. The Normans introduced the use of the long-bow also, which became so general, that the English were accounted the best archers in the world, 5 and gained many battles by their superiority in that military art. Besides these advantages, the Normans lived in a more civilized manner than the Saxons, and observed among each other the rules of civility and good-breeding, of which the Saxons were ignorant. The lo Norman barons were also great friends to national liberty, and would not allow their kings to do any thing con- trary to their privileges, but resisted them whenever they attempted any thing beyond the power which was given to them by law. Schools were set up in various 15 places by the Norman princes, and learning was en- couraged. Large towns were founded in different places of the kingdom, and received favour from the Norman kings, who desired to have the assistance of the towns- men, in case of any dispute with their nobility. Thus the Norman Conquest, though a most un- happy and disastrous event at the time it took place, rendered England, in the end, a more wise, more civilized, and more powerful country than it had been before. 20 CHAPTER IV. Death of Alexander III. — Margaret of Norway. — Usurpation of Edward I. of England. — The Story of Sir \A^illiam Wallace. (1263— 1305.) Seven kings of Scotland, omitting one or two 25 temporary occupants of the throne, reigned in succession, after Malcolm Canmore, the son of Duncan, who reco- vered the kingdom from Macbeth. Their reigns occupied a period of nearly two hundred years. Some of them IV. Margaret of Norway. 2? were very able men ; all of them were well - disposed, good sovereigns, and inclined to discharge their duty towards their subjects. They made good laws; and, considering the barbarous and ignorant times they lived in, they appear to have been men as deserving of praise 5 as any race of kings who reigned in Europe during that period. Alexander, the third of that name, and the last of these seven princes, was an excellent sovereign. He married Margaret, daughter of Henry III. of England; but unhappily all the children who were bom of that lo marriage died before their father. After the death of Queen Margaret, Alexander married another wife; but he did not live to have any family by her. As he was riding in the dusk of the evening, along the sea-coast of Fife, he approached too near the brink of the preci- 15 pice, and, his horse starting or stumbling, he was thrown over the rock, and killed on the spot. The full consequences of the evil were not visible at first; for, although all Alexander's children had died before him, yet one of them, who had been married 20 to Eric, King of Norway, had left a daughter named Margaret, upon whom, as the grand-daughter and nearest heir of the deceased prince, the crown of Scotland devolved. The young princess, called by our historians the Maid of Norway, was residing at her father's court. 25 While the crown of Scotland thus passed to a young girl, the King of England began to consider by what means he could so avail himself of circumstances, as to unite it with his own. This king was Edward, called the First, because he was the first of the Norman 30 line of princes so named. He was a very brave man, and a good soldier, — wise, skilful, and prudent, but unhappily very ambitious, and desirous of extending his royal authority, without caring much whether he did so by right means or by those which were unjust. And 35 although it is a great sin to covet that which does not belong to you, and a still greater to endeavour to 25 IV. Margaret of Norway. possess yourself of it by any unfair practices, yet his desire of adding the kingdom of Scotland to that of England was so great, that Edward was unable to resist it. 5 The mode by which the English King at first endeavoured to accomplish his object was a very just one. He proposed a marriage betwixt the Maiden of Norway, the young Queen of Scotland, and his own eldest son, called Edward after himself. A treaty was lo entered into for this purpose; and had the marriage been effected, and been followed by children, the union of England and Scotland might have taken place more than three hundred years sooner than it did, and an immeasurable quantity of money and bloodshed would 15 probably have been saved. But it was not the will of Heaven that this desirable union should be accomplished till many long years of war and distress had afflicted both these nations. The young Queen of Scotland sickened and died, and the treaty for the marriage was 20 ended with her life. After her death Edward I. of England reduced Scotland almost entirely to the condition of a conquered country, although he obtained possession of the kingdom less by his bravery than by cunningly taking advantage 25 of the disputes and divisions that followed amongst the Scots themselves after the death of Alexander III. The English governed the country with much rigour. The Lord High Justice Ormesby called all men to account, who would not take the oath of allegiance 30 to King Edward. Many of the Scots refused this, as what the English King had no right to demand from them. Such persons were called into the courts of justice, fined, deprived of their estates, and otherwise severely punished. Then Hugh Cressingham, the English 35 Treasurer, tormented the Scottish nation, by collecting money from them under various pretexts. The Scots were always a poor people, and their native kings had IV. Sir William Wallace. 27 treated them with much kindness, and seldom required them to pay any taxes. They were, therefore, extremely enraged at finding themselves obliged to pay to the English treasurer much larger sums of money than their own good kings had ever demanded from them; and 5 they became exceedingly dissatisfied. Besides these modes of oppression, the English soldiers, who had been placed in garrison in the differ- ent castles of Scotland, thought themselves masters of the country, treated the Scots with great contempt, 10 took from them by main force whatever they had a fancy to, and if the owners offered to resist, abused them, beat, and wounded, and sometimes killed them; for which acts of violence the English officers did not check or punish their soldiers. Scotland was, therefore, 15 in great distress, and the inhabitants, exceedingly en- raged, only wanted some leader to command them, to rise up in a body against the English, or Southern men, as they called them, and recover the liberty and independence of their country, which had been destroyed 20 by Edward the First. Such a leader arose in the person of William Wallace, whose name is still so often mentioned in Scotland. It is a great pity we do not know exactly the history of this brave man; for, at the time when he 25 lived, every one was so busy fighting, that there was no person to write down the history of what took place; and afterwards, when there was more leisure for com- position, the truths that were collected were greatly mingled with falsehood. What I shall tell you of him, 30 is generally believed to be true. William Wallace was none of the high nobles of Scotland, but the son of a private gentleman, called Wallace of EUerslie, in Renfrewshire, near Paisley. He was very tall and handsome, and one of the strongest 35 and bravest men that ever lived. He had a very fine countenance, with a quantity of fair hair, and was 28 IV. Sir William Wallace, particularly dexterous in the use of all weapons which were then employed in battle. Wallace, like all Scots- men of high spirit, had looked with great indignation upon the usurpation of the crown by Edward, and upon 5 the insolences which the English soldiers committed on his countrymen. It is said that, when he was very young, he went a -fishing for sport in the river Irvine, near Ayr. He had caught a good many trouts, which were carried by a boy, who attended him with a fishing- lo basket, as is usual with anglers. Two or three English soldiers, who belonged to the garrison of Ayr, came up to Wallace, and insisted, with their usual insolence, on taking the fish from the boy. Wallace was contented to allow them a part of the trouts, but he refused to 15 part with the whole basketful. The soldiers insisted, and from words came to blows. Wallace had no better weapon than the but-end of his fishing-rod; but he struck the foremost of the Englishmen so hard under the ear with it, that he killed him on the spot; and 20 getting possession of the slain man's sword, he fought with so much fury that he put the others to flight, and brought home his fish safe and sound. The English governor of Ayr sought for him, to punish him with death for this action; but Wallace lay concealed among 25 the hills and great woods till the matter was forgotten, and then appeared in another part of the country. He is said to have had other adventures of the same kind, in which he gallantly defended himself, sometimes when alone, sometimes with very few companions, against 30 superior numbers of the English, until at last his name became generally known as a terror to them. But the action which occasioned his finally rising in arms, is believed to have happened in the town of Lanark. Wallace was at this time married to a lady 35 of that place, and residing there with his wife. It chanced, as he walked in the market-place, dressed in a green garment, with a rich dagger by his side, that IV. Sir William Wallace. 2Q an Englishman came up and insulted him on account of his finery, saying a Scotsman had no business to wear so gay a dress, or carry so handsome a weapon. It soon came to a quarrel, as on many former occasions; and Wallace, having killed the Englishman, fled to his 5 own house, which was speedily assaulted by all the English soldiers. While they were endeavouring to force their way in at the front of the house, Wallace escaped by a backdoor, and got in safety to a rugged and rocky glen, near Lanark, called the Cartland crags, all lo covered with bushes and trees, and full of high preci- pices, where he knew he should be safe from the pursuit of the English soldiers. In the meantime, the governor of Lanark, whose name was Hazelrigg, burned Wallace's house, and put his wife and servants to death; and by 15 committing this cruelty increased to the highest pitch, as you may well believe, the hatred which the cham- pion had always borne against the English usurper. Hazelrigg also proclaimed Wallace an outlaw, and offer- ed a reward to any one who should bring him to an 20 English garrison, alive or dead. On the other hand, Wallace soon collected a body of men, outlawed like himself, or willing to become so, rather than any longer endure the oppression of the English. One of his earliest expeditions was directed 25 against Hazelrigg, whom he killed, and thus avenged the death of his wife. He fought skirmishes with the soldiers who were sent against him, and often defeated them; and in time became so well known and so formid- able, that multitudes began to resort to his standard, 30 until at length he was at the head of a considerable army, with which he proposed to restore his country to independence. About this time is said to have taken place a memorable event, which the Scottish people called the 35 Barns of Ayr. It is alleged that the English governor of Ayr had invited the greater part of the Scottish 30 rV. Sir William Wallace. nobility and gentry in the western parts, to meet him at some large buildings called the barns of Ayr, for the purpose of friendly conference upon the affairs of the nation. But the English earl entertained the 5 treacherous purpose of putting the Scottish gentlemen to death. The English soldiers had halters with running nooses ready prepared, and hung upon the beams which supported the roof; and as the Scottish gentlemen were admitted by two and two at a time, the nooses were lo thrown over their heads, and they were pulled up by the neck, and thus hanged or strangled to death. Among those who were slain in this base and treacherous manner, was, it is said. Sir Reginald Crawford, Sheriff of the county of Ayr, and uncle to William Wallace. 15 When Wallace heard what had befallen, he was dreadfully enraged, and, collecting his men in a wood near the town of Ayr, he resolved to be revenged on the authors of this great crime. The English in the meanwhile made much feasting, and when they had 20 eaten and drunk plentifully, they lay down to sleep in the same large barns in which they had murdered the Scottish gentlemen. But Wallace, learning that they kept no guard or watch, not suspecting there were any enemies so near them, directed a woman who knew 25 the place to mark with chalk the doors of the lodgings where the Englishmen lay. Then he sent a party of men, who, with strong ropes, made all the doors so fast on the outside, that those within could not open them. On the outside the Scots had prepared heaps of straw, 30 to which they set fire, and the bams of Ayr, being themselves made of wood, were soon burning in a bright flame. Then the English were awakened, and endeavoured to get out to save their lives. But the doors, as I told you, were secured on the outside, and 35 bound fast with ropes; and, besides, the blazing houses were surrounded by the Scots, who forced those who got out to run back into the fire, or else put them to IV. Sir William Wallace. 3 1 death on the spot; and thus great numbers perished miserably. Many of the English were lodged in a con- vent, but they had no better fortune than the others; for the prior of the convent caused all the friars to arm themselves, and, attacking the English guests, they 5 put most of them to the sword. This was called the « Friar of Ayr's Blessing ». We cannot tell if this story of the Barns of Ayr be exactly true; but it is probable there is some foundation for it, as it is universally believed in that country. lo Thus Wallace's party grew daily stronger and stronger, and many of the Scottish nobles joined with him. Among these was Sir William Douglas, the Lord of Douglasdale, and the head of a great family often mentioned in Scottish history. There was also Sir 15 John the Grahame, who became Wallace's bosom friend and greatest confident. Many of these great noblemen, however, deserted the cause of the country on the approach of John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, the English governor, at the head of a numerous and well- 20 appointed army. They thought that Wallace would be unable to withstand the attack of so many disciplined soldiers, and hastened to submit themselves to the English, for fear of losing their estates. Wallace, however, remained undismayed, and at the head of a considerable 25 army. He had taken up his camp upon the northern side of the river Forth, near the town of Stirling. The river was there crossed by a long wooden bridge, about a mile above the spot where the present bridge is situated. 3° The English general approached the banks of the river on the southern side. He sent two clergymen to offer a pardon to Wallace and his followers, on condition that they should lay down their arms. But such was not the purpose of the high-minded champion 35 of Scotland. 32 IV. Sir William Wallace. «Go back to Warenne,^ said Wallace, «and tell him we value not the pardon of the King of England. We are not here for the purpose of treating of peace, but of abiding battle, and restoring freedom to our 5 country. Let the English come on; — we defy them to their very beards!* The English, upon hearing this haughty answer, called loudly to be led to the attack. Their leader, the Earl of Surrey, hesitated, for he was a skilful lo soldier, and he saw that, to approach the Scottish army, his troops must pass over the long, narrow wooden bridge; so that those who should get over first might be attacked by Wallace with all his forces, before those who remained behind could possibly come to their 15 assistance. He therefore inclined to delay the battle. But Cressingham, the treasurer, who was ignorant and presumptuous, insisted that it was their duty to fight, and put an end to the war at once; and Surrey gave way to his opinion, although Cressingham, being a 20 churchman, could not be so good a judge of what was fitting as he himself, an experienced officer. The English army began to cross the bridge, Cressingham leading the van, or foremost division of the army; for, in those military days, even clergymen 25 wore armour and fought in battle. That took place which the Earl of Surrey had foreseen. Wallace suffer- ed a considerable part of the English army to pass the bridge, without offering any opposition; but when about one half were over, and the bridge was crowded 30 with those who were following, he charged those who had crossed with his whole strength, slew a very great number, and drove the rest into the river Forth, where the greater part were drowned. The remainder of the English army, who were left on the southern bank of 35 the river, fled in great confusion, having first set fire to the wooden bridge, that the Scots might not pursue them. Cressingham was killed in the very beginning IV, Sir William Wallace. 33 of the battle; and the Scots detested him so much, that they flayed the skin from his dead body, and kept pieces of it, in memory of the revenge they had taken upon the English treasurer. Some say they made saddle- girths of this same skin, a purpose for which I do not 5 think it could be very fit. It must be owned to have been a dishonourable thing of the Scots to insult thus the dead body of their enemy, and shows that they must have been then a ferocious and barbarous people. The remains of Surrey's great army fled out of 10 Scotland after this defeat; and the Scots, taking arms on all sides, attacked the castles in which the English soldiers continued to shelter themselves, and took most of them by force or stratagem. Wallace defeated the English in several combats, chased them almost entirely 15 out of Scotland, regained the towns and castles of which they had possessed themselves, and recovered for a time the complete freedom of the country. He even marched into England, and laid Cumberland and Northumberland waste, where the Scottish soldiers, in 20 revenge for the mischief which the English had done in their country, committed great cruelties. Wallace did not approve of their 1-dlling the people who were not in arms, and he endeavoured to protect the clergymen and others, who were not able to defend themselves. 25 « Remain with me,» he said to the priests of Hexham, a large town in Northumberland, «for I cannot protect you from my soldiers when you are out of my presence.* The troops who followed Wallace received no pay, because he had no money to give them; and that was 30 one great reason why he could not keep them under restraint, or prevent their doing much harm to the defenceless country people. He remained in England more than three weeks, and did a great deal of mischief to the country. 35 Indeed, it appears that, though Wallace disapproved of slaying priests, women, and children, he partook of Scott, Tales of a Grandfather. 3 34 IV. Sir William Wallace. the ferocity of the times so much , as to put to death without quarter all whom he found in arms. In the north of Scotland, the English had placed a garrison in the strong castle of Dunnottar, which, built on a 5 large and precipitous rock, overhangs the raging sea. Though the place is almost inaccessible, Wallace and his followers found their way into the castle, while the garrison in great terror fled into the church or chapel, which w^as built on the very verge of the precipice. lo This did not save them, for Wallace caused the church to be set on fire. The terrified garrison, involved in the flames, ran some of them upon the points of the Scottish swords, while others threw themselves from the precipice into the sea, and swam along the cliffs, 15 where they hung like sea-fowl, screaming in vain for mercy and assistance. The followers of Wallace were frightened at this dreadful scene, and falling on their knees before the priests who chanced to be in the army, they asked 20 forgiveness for having committed so much slaughter, within the limits of a church dedicated to the service of God. But Wallace had so deep a sense of the injuries which the English had done to his countrj', that he only laughed at the contrition of his soldiers. 25 — «I will absolve you all, myself, » he said. «Are you Scottish soldiers, and do you repent for a trifle like this, which is not half what the invaders deserved at our hands ?» So deep-seated was Wallace's feeling of national resentment, that it seems to have overcome, 30 in such instances, the scruples of a temper which was naturally humane. Edward I. was in Flanders when all these events took place. You may suppose he was very angry when he learned that Scotland, which he thought completely 35 subdued, had risen into a great insurrection against him, defeated his armies, killed his treasurer, chased his sol- diers out of their country, and invaded England with IV. Sir William Wallace. 35 a great force. He came back from Flanders in a mighty rage, and determined not to leave that rebellious country until it was finally conquered; for which purpose he assembled a very fine army, and marched into Scotland. In the meantime the Scots prepared to defend 5 themselves, and chose Wallace to be Governor, or Protector of the kingdom, because they had no king at the time. He was now titled Sir William Wallace, Protector, or Governor, of the Scottish nation. But although Wallace, as we have seen, was the best soldier 10 and bravest man in Scotland, and therefore the most fit to be placed in command at this critical period, when the King of England was coming against them with such great forces, yet the nobles of Scotland envied him this important situation, because he was not a man 15 bom in high rank, or enjoying a large estate. So great was their jealousy of Sir William Wallace, that many of these great barons did not seem very willing to bring forward their forces, or fight against the English, because they would not have a man of inferior condition 20 to be general. Yet, notwithstanding this unwillingness of the great nobility to support him, Wallace assembled a large army; for the middling, but especially the lower classes, were very much attached to him. He marched boldly against the King of England, and met him near 25 the town of Falkirk. Most of the Scottish army were on foot, because, as I already told you, in those days only the nobility and great men of Scotland fought on horseback. The English king, on the contrary, had a very large body of the finest cavalry in the world, 30 Normans and English, all clothed in complete armour. He had also the celebrated archers of England, each of whom was said to carry twelve Scotsmen's lives under his girdle, because every archer had twelve arrows stuck in his belt, and was expected to kill a man with 35 every arrow. The Scots had some good archers from the Forest 3* 36 IV. Sir William Wallace. of Ettrick, who fought under Sir John Stewart of Bonkill, but they were not nearly equal in number to the English. The greater part of the Scottish army were on foot, armed with long spears; they were placed 5 thick and close together, and laid all their spears so close, point over point, that it seemed as difficult to break through them, as through the wall of a strong castle. When the two armies were drawn up facing each other, Wallace said to his soldiers, ' said Bruce, «why, then, did you make the signal ?» «Alas,» replied Cuthbert, «the fire was not made by me, but by some other person, for what purpose I 20 know not; but as soon as I saw it burning, I knew that you would come over, thinking it my signal, and therefore I came down to wait for you on the beach, to tell you how the matter stood. » King Robert's first idea was to return to Arran 25 after this disappointment; but his brother Edward refused to go back. He was, as I have told you, a man daring even to rashness. «I will not leave my native land,» he said, «now that I am so unexpectedly restored to it. I will give freedom to Scotland, or leave my carcass 30 on the surface of the land which gave me birth. » Bruce, also, after some hesitation, determined that since he had been thus brought to the mainland of Scotland, he would remain there, and take such ad- venture and fortune as Heaven should send him. 35 Accordingly, he began to skirmish with the English so successfully, as to oblige the Lord Percy to quit Carrick. 4* 52 V. Robert the Bruce. Bruce then dispersed his men upon various adventures against the enemy, in which they were generally success- ful. But then, on the other hand, the King, being left with small attendance, or sometimes almost alone, ran 5 great risk of losing his life by treachery, or by open violence. Several of these incidents are very interesting. I will tell you some of them. At one time a near relation of Bruce's, in whom he entirely confided, was induced by the bribes of the lo English to attempt to put him to death. This villain, with his two sons, watched the King one morning, till he saw him separated from all his men, excepting a little boy, who waited on him as a page. The father had a sword in his hand, one of the sons had a sword 15 and a spear, the other had a sword and a battle-axe. Now, when the King saw them so well armed, when there were no enemies near, he began to call to mind some hints which had been given to him, that these men intended to murder him. He had no weapons 20 excepting his sword; but his page had a bow and arrow. He took them both from the little boy, and bade him stand at a distance; «for», said the King, «if I overcome these traitors, thou shalt have enough of weapons; but if I am slain by them, you may make 25 your escape, and tell Douglas and my brother to revenge my death. >^ The boy was very sorry, for he loved his master; but he was obliged to do as he was bidden. In the meantime the traitors came forward upon Bruce, that they might assault him at once. The King 30 called out to them, and commanded them to come no nearer, upon peril of their lives ; but the father answered with flattering words, pretending great kindness, and still continuing to approach his person. Then the King again called to them to stand. « Traitors,* said he, 35 «ye have sold my Hfe for English gold; but you shall die if you come one foot nearer to me.» With that he bent the page's bow; and as the old conspirator continued Robert the Bruce. 53 to advance, he let the arrow fly at him. Bruce was an excellent archer; he aimed his arrow so well, that it hit the father in the eye, and penetrated from that into his brain, so that he fell down dead. Then the two sons rushed on the King, One of them fetched a blow 5 at him with an axe, but missed his stroke, and stum- bled, so that the King with his great sword cut him down before he could recover his feet. The remaining traitor ran on Bruce with his spear; but the King, with a sweep of his sword, cut the steel head off the villain's 'o weapon, and then killed him before he had time to draw his sword. Then the little page came running, very joyful of his master's victory; and the King wiped his bloody sword, and, looking upon the dead bodies, said, «These might have been reputed three gallant men, ^5 if they could have resisted the temptation of covetous- ness.» In the present day, it is not necessary that gene- rals, or great officers, should fight with their own hand, because it is only their duty to direct the movements 20 and exertions of their followers. The artillery and the soldiers shoot at the enemy; and men seldom mingle together, and fight hand to hand. But in ancient times, kings, and great lords were obliged to put themselves into the very front of the battle, and fight like ordinary 25 men, with the lance and other weapons. It was, there- fore, of great consequence that they should be strong men, and dexterous in the use of their arms. Robert Bruce was so remarkably active and powerful, that he came through a great many personal dangers, in which 30 he must otherwise have been slain. I will tell you another of his adventures, which I think will amuse you. After the death of these three traitors, Robert the Bruce continued to keep himself concealed in his own earldom of Carrick, and in the neighbouring country 35 of Galloway, until he should have matters ready for a general attack upon the English. He was obliged, in 54 V. Robert the Bruce. the meantime, to keep very few men with him, both for the sake of secrecy, and from the difficulty of find- ing provisions. Now, many of the people of Galloway were unfriendly to Bruce. They lived under the govem- 5 ment of one M'Dougal, related to the Lord of Lorn, who, as I before told you, had defeated Bruce at Dairy, and very nearly killed or made him prisoner. These Galloway men had heard that Bruce was in their country, having no more than sixty men with him; so they lo resolved to attack him by surprise, and for this purpose they got two hundred men together, and brought with them two or three bloodhounds. These animals were trained to chase a man by the scent of his footsteps, as foxhounds chase a fox, or as beagles and harriers 15 chase a hare. Although the dog does not see the per- son whose trace he is put upon, he follows him over every step he has taken. At that time these blood- hounds were used for the purpose of pursuing great criminals. The men of Galloway thought themselves 20 secure that, if they missed taking Bruce, or killing him at the first onset, and if he should escape into the woods, they would find him out by means of these bloodhounds. The good King Robert Bruce, who was always 25 watchful and vigilant, had received some information of the intention of this party to come upon him suddenly and by night. Accordingly, he quartered his little troop of sixty men on the side of a deep and swift -running river, which had very steep and rocky banks. There 30 was but one ford by which this river could be crossed in that neighbourhood, and that ford was deep and narrow, so that two men could scarcely get through abreast; the ground on which they were to land on the side where the King was, was steep, and the path 35 which led upwards from the ,water's edge to the top of the bank, extremely narrow and difficult. Bruce caused his men to lie down to take some sleep, V. Robert the Bruce. 55 at a place about half a mile distant from the river, while he himself, with two attendants, went down to watch the ford through which the enemy must needs pass before they could come to the place where King Robert's men were lying. He stood for some time 5 looking at the ford, and thinking how easily the enemy might be kept from passing there, providing it was bravely defended, when he heard at a distance the baying of a hound, which was always coming nearer and nearer. This was the bloodhound which was tracing 10 the King's steps to the ford where he had crossed, and the two hundred Galloway men were along with the animal, and guided by it. Bruce at first thought of going back to awaken his men; but then he reflected that it might be only some shepherd's dog. «My men,» 15 he said, « are sorely tired ; I will not disturb their sleep for the yelping of a cur, till I know something more of the matter. » So he stood and listened; and by and by, as the cry of the hound came nearer, he began to hear a trampling of horses, and the voices of men, and the 20 ringing and clattering of armour, and then he was sure the enemy were coming to the river side. Then the King thought, «If I go back to give my men the alarm, these Galloway men will get through the ford without opposition; and that would be a pity, since it is a place 25 so advantageous to make defence against them.» So he looked again at the steep path, and the deep river, and he thought that they gave him so much advantage, that he himself could defend the passage with his own hand, until his men came to assist him. His armour 30 was so good and strong, that he had no fear of arrows, and therefore the combat was not so very unequal as it must have otherwise been. He therefore sent his followers to waken his men, and remained alone by the bank of the river. 35 In the meanwhile, the noise and trampling of the horses increased; and the moon being bright, Bruce 56 Robert the Bruce. beheld the glancing arms of about two hundred men, who came down to the opposite bank of the river. The men of Galloway, on their part, saw but one soli- tary figure, guarding the ford, and the foremost of 5 them plunged into the river without minding him. But, as they could only pass the ford one by one, the Bruce, who stood high above them on the bank where they were to land, killed the foremost man with a thrust of his long spear, and with a second thrust stabbed the lo horse, which fell down, kicking and plunging in his agonies, on the narrow path, and so prevented the others who were following from getting out of the river. Bruce had thus an opportunity of dealing his blows at pleasure among them, while they could not strike at 15 him again. In the confusion, five or six of the enemy were slain, or, having been borne down the current, were drowned in the river. The rest were terrified, and drew back. But when the Galloway men looked again, and 20 saw that they were opposed by only one man, they themselves being so many, they cried out that their honour would be lost for ever if they did not force their way; and encouraged each other, with loud cries, to plunge through, and assault him. But by this time, 25 the King's soldiers came up to his assistance, and the Galloway men retreated, and gave up their enterprise. I will tell you another stor}^ of this brave Robert Bruce during his wanderings. His adventures are as curious and entertaining as those which men invent for 30 story books, with this advantage, that they are all true. About the time when the Bruce was yet at the head of but few men, Sir Aymer de Valence, who was Earl of Pembroke, together with John of Lorn, came into Galloway, each of them being at the head of a 35 large body of men. John of Lorn had a bloodhound with him, which, it was said, had formerly belonged to Robert Bruce himself; and having been fed by the V. Robert the Bruce. 57 King with his own hands, it became attached to him, and would follow his footsteps anywhere, as dogs are well known to trace their master's steps, whether they be bloodhounds or not. By means of this hound, John of Lorn thought he should certainly find out Bruce, 5 and take revenge on him for the death of his relation Comyn. When these two armies advanced upon King Robert, he at first thought of fighting with the English earl; but becoming aware that John of Lorn was moving 10 round with another large body to attack him in the rear, he resolved to avoid fighting at that time, lest he should be oppressed by numbers. For this purpose, the King divided the men he had with him into three bodies, and commanded them to retreat by three differ- 15 ent ways, thinking the enemy would not know which party to pursue. He also appointed a place at which they were to assemble again. But when John of Lorn came to the place where the army of Bruce had been thus divided, the bloodhound took his course after one 20 of these divisions, neglecting the other two, and then John of Lorn knew that the King must be in that party; so he also made no pursuit after the two other divisions of the Scots, but followed that which the dog pointed out, with all his men. 25 The King again saw that he was followed by a large body, and being determined to escape from them, if possible, he made all the people who were with him disperse themselves different ways, thinking thus that the enemy must needs lose trace of him. He kept only 30 one man along with him, and that was his own foster- brother, or the son of his nurse. When John of Lorn came to the place where Bruce's companions had dis- persed themselves, the bloodhound, after it had snuffed up and down for a little, quitted the footsteps of all 35 the other fugitives, and ran barking upon the track of 58 Robert the Bruce. two men out of the whole number. Then John of Lorn knew that one of these two must needs be King Robert. Accordingly, he commanded five of his men that were speedy of foot to chase after him, and either 5 make him prisoner or slay him. The Highlanders started off accordingly, and ran so fast, that they gained sight of Robert and his foster-brother. The King asked his companion what help he could give him, and his foster- brother answered he was ready to do his best. So lo these two turned on the five men of John of Lorn, and killed them all. It is to be supposed they were better armed than the others were, as well as stronger and more desperate. But by this time Bruce was very much fatigued, 15 and yet they dared not sit down to take any rest; for whenever they stopped for an instant, they heard the cr>' of the bloodhound behind them, and knew by that, that their enemies were coming up fast after them. At length, they came to a wood, through which ran a 20 small river. Then Bruce said to his foster-brother, «Let us wade down this stream for a great way, instead of going straight across, and so this unhappy hound will lose the scent; for if we were once clear of him, I should not be afraid of getting away from the pursuers. » 25 Accordingly the King and his attendant walked a great way down the stream, taking care to keep their feet in the water, which could not retain any scent where they had stepped. Then they came ashore on the further side from the enemy, and went deep into the 30 wood before they stopped to rest themselves. In the meanwhile, the hound led John of Lorn straight to the place where the King went into the water, but there the dog began to be puzzled, not knowing where to go next; for you are well aware that the running water 35 could not retain the scent of a man's foot, like that which remains on turf. So John of Loni, seeing the dog was at fault, as it is called, that is, had lost the V. Robert the Bruce. eg track of that which he pursued, gave up the chase, and returned to join with Aymer de Valence. But King Robert's adventures were not yet ended. His foster-brother and he had rested themselves in the wood, but they had got no food, and were become 5 extremely hungry. They walked on, however, in hopes of coming to some habitation. At length, in the midst of the forest, they met with three men who looked like thieves or ruffians. They were well armed, and one of them bore a sheep on his back, which it seemed as if lo they had just stolen. They saluted the King civilly; and he, replying to their salutation, asked them where they were going. The men answered they were seeking for Robert Bruce, for they intended to join with him. The King answered that, if they would go with 15 him, he would conduct them where they would find the Scottish King. Then the man who had spoken, changed countenance, and Bruce, who looked sharply at him, began to suspect that the ruffian guessed who he was, and that he and his companions had some 20 design against his person, in order to gain the reward which had been offered for his life. So he said to them, «My good friends, as we are not well acquainted with each other, you must go before us, and we will follow near to you.» 25 «You have no occasion to suspect any harm from us,» answered the man. € Neither do I suspect any,» said Bruce; «but this is the way in which I choose to travel. » The men did as he commanded, and thus they 30 travelled till they came together to a waste and ruinous cottage, where the men proposed to dress some part of the sheep, which their companion was carrying. The King was glad to hear of food; but he insisted that there should be two fires kindled, one for himself and 35 his foster-brother at one end of the house, the other at the other end for their three companions. The men 5o ^^' Robert the liruce. did as he desired. They broiled a quarter of mutton for themselves, and gave another to the King and his attendant. They were obliged to eat it without bread or salt; but as they were veiy hungry, they were glad 5 to get food in any shape, and partook of it very heartily. Then so heavy a drowsiness fell on King Robert, that, for all the danger he was in, he could not resist an inclination to sleep. But first he desired his foster- brother to watch while he slept, for he had great sus- lo picion of their new acquaintances. His foster-brother promised to keep awake, and did his best to keep his word. But the King had not been long asleep ere his foster-brother fell into a deep slumber also, for he had undergone as much fatigue as the King. When the 15 three villains saw the King and his attendant asleep, they made signs to each other, and rising up at once, drew their swords with the purpose to kill them both. But the King slept but lightly, and for as little noise as the traitors made in rising, he was awakened by it, 20 and starting up, drew his sword, and went to meet them. At the same moment he pushed his foster- brother with his foot, to awaken him, and he got on his feet; but ere he got his eyes cleared to see what was about to happen, one of the ruffians that were 25 advancing to slay the King, killed him with a stroke of his sword. The King was now alone, one man against three, and in the greatest danger of his life; but his amazing strength, and the good armour which he wore, freed him once more from this great peril, and he killed 30 the three men, one after another. He then left the cottage, very sorrowful for the death of his faithful foster-brother, and took his direction towards the place where he had appointed his men to assemble after their dispersion. It was now near night, and the place of 35 meeting being a farm-house, he went boldly into it, where he found the mistress, an old true-hearted Scots- woman, sitting alone. Upon seeing a stranger enter, V. Robert the Bruce. 6l she asked him who and what he was. The King an- swered that he was a traveller, who was journeying through the country. «A11 travellers,)) answered the good woman, «are welcome here, for the sake of one.)> 5 «And who is that one,)> said the King, «for whose sake you make all travellers welcome ?» «It is our rightful king, Robert the Bruce, » answered the mistress, «who is the lawful lord of this country; and although he is now pursued and hunted after with lo hounds and horns, I hope to live to see him king over all Scotland. » « Since you love him so well, dame)>, said the King, «know that you see him before you. I am Robert the Bruce. » le «Youl» said the good woman, in great surprise; «and wherefore are you thus alone? — where are all your men?» «I have none with me at this moment, » answered Bruce, «and therefore I must travel alone. » 20 «But that shall not be,)> said the brave old dame, cfor I have two stout sons, gallant and trusty men, who shall be your servants for life and death. » So she brought her two sons, and though she well knew the dangers to which she exposed them, she 25 made them swear fidelity to the King; and they after- wards became high officers in his service. Now, the loyal old woman was getting every thing ready for the King's supper, when suddenly there was a great trampling of horses heard round the house. 30 They thought it must be some of the English, or John of Lom's men, and the good wife called upon her sons to fight to the last for King Robert. But shortly after, they heard the voice of the good Lord James of Douglas, and of Edward Bruce, the King's brother, who had 35 come with a hundred and fifty horsemen to this farm- 52 V. Robert the Bruce. house, according to the instructions that the King had left with them at parting. Robert the Bruce was right joyful to meet his brother, and his faithful friend Lord James, and had no 5 sooner found himself once more at the head of such a considerable body of followers^, than, forgetting hunger and weariness, he began to inquire where the enemy who had pursued them so long had taken up their abode for the night; «for,» said he, «as they must sup- lo pose us totally scattered and fled, it is likely that they will think themselves quite secure, and disperse them- selves into distant quarters, and keep careless watch. » «That is very true,» answered James of Douglas, «for I passed a village where there are two hundred 15 of them quartered, who had placed no sentinels; and if you have a mind to make haste, we may surprise them this very night, and do them more mischief than they have been able to do us during all this day's chase. » Then there was nothing but mount and ride; and 20 as the Scots came by surprise on the body of English whom Douglas had mentioned, and rushed suddenly into the village where they were quartered, they easily dispersed and cut them to pieces; thus, as Douglas had said, doing their pursuers more injury than they them- 25 selves had received during the long and severe pursuit of the preceding day. The consequence of these successes of King Robert was, that soldiers came to join him on all sides, and that he obtained several victories both over Sir Aymer 30 de Valence, Lord Clifford, and other English commanders; until at length the English were afraid to venture into the open country as formerly, unless when they could assemble themselves in considerable bodies. They thought it safer to lie still in the towns and castles which they had 35 garrisoned, and wait till the King of England should once more come to their assistance with a powerful army. VI. Battle of Bannockburn. 63 CHAPTER VI. The Battle of Bannockburn. (>3i4-) Edward the Second was neither so brave nor so wise as his father; on the contrary, he was a weak prince, fond of idle amusements, and worthless favour- ites. It was lucky for Scotland that such was his disposition. He marched a little way into Scotland 5 with the large army which Edward the First had col- lected, but went back again without fighting; which gave great encouragement to Bruce's party. Several of the Scottish nobility took arms in different parts of the country, declared for King Robert, and fought against 10 the English troops and garrisons. The English soon possessed scarcely any place of importance in Scotland, excepting Stirling. This town was besieged, or rather blockaded, by Edward Bruce, the King's brother, till Sir Philip Mowbray, who com- '5 manded the castle, finding that he was like to be reduced to extremity for want of provisions, made an agreement with Edward Bruce that he would surrender the place, providing he were not relieved by the King of Eng- land before midsummer. Sir Edward agreed to these 20 terms, and allowed Mowbray to go to London, to tell KinsT Edward of the conditions he had made. When Sir Philip Mowbray came to London, and told that Stirling was to be surrendered if it were not relieved by force of arms before midsummer, then all 25 the English nobles called out, it would be a sin and shame to permit the fair conquest which Edward I. had made, to be forfeited to the Scots for want of fighting. It was, therefore, resolved that the King should go himself to Scotland, with as great forces as he could 30 possibly muster. King Edward the Second, therefore, assembled one of the greatest armies which a King of England 64 ^'^' ^^attle of Bannockburn. ever commanded. There were troops brought from all his dominions. Many brave soldiers from the French provinces which the King of England possessed in France, — many Irish, many Welsh, — and all the 5 great English nobles and barons, with their followers, were assembled in one great army. The number was not less than one hundred thousand men. King Robert the Bruce summoned all his nobles and barons to join him, when he heard of the great 10 preparation which the King of England was making. They were not so numerous as the English by many thousand men. In fact, his whole army did not very much exceed thirty thousand, and they were much worse armed than the wealthy Englishmen; but then, 15 Robert, who was at their head, was one of the most expert generals of the time; and the officers he had under him, were his brother Edward, his nephew Ran- dolph, his faithful follower the Douglas, and other brave and experienced leaders, who commanded the same 20 men that had been accustomed to fight and gain victories under every disadvantage of situation and numbers. The King, on his part, studied how he might supply, by address and stratagem, what he wanted in numbers and strength. He knew the superiority of the 25 English, both in their heavy-armed cavalry, which was much better mounted and armed than that of the Scots, and in their archers, who were better trained than any others in the world. Both these advantages he resolved to provide against. With this purpose, he led his army 30 down into a plain near StirHng, called the Park, near which, and beneath it, the English army must needs pass through a boggy country, broken with water-courses, while the Scots occupied hard dry ground. He then caused all the ground upon the front of his line of 35 battle, where cavalry were likely to act, to be dug full of holes, about as deep as a man's knee. They were filled with light brushwood, and the turf was laid on VI. Battle of Bannockburn. Qt the top, SO that it appeared a plain field, while in reality it was all full of these pits as a honeycomb is of holes. He also, it is said, caused steel spikes, called calthrops, to be scattered up and down in the plain, where the English cavalry were most likely to advance, trusting 5 in that manner to lame and destroy their horses. When the Scottish army was drawn up, the line stretched north and south. On the south, it was termi- nated by the banks of the brook called Bannockburn, which are so rocky, that no troops could attack them lo there. On the left, the Scottish line extended near to the town of Stirling. Bruce reviewed his troops very carefully; all the useless servants, drivers of carts, and such like, of whom there were very many, he ordered to go behind a height, afterwards, in memory of the 15 event, called the Gillies* Hill, that is, the Servants' Hill. He then spoke to the soldiers, and expressed his determi- nation to gain the victory, or to lose his life on the field of battle. He desired that all those who did not propose to fight to the last should leave the field be- 20 fore the battle began, and that none should remain ex- cept those who were determined to take the issue of victory or death, as God should send it. When the main body of his army was thus placed in order, the King posted Randolph, with a body of 25 horse, near to the church of St. Ninians, commanding him to use the utmost diligence to prevent any suc- cours from being thrown into Stirling Castle. He then despatched James of Douglas, and Sir Robert Keith, the Mareschal of the Scottish army, in order that they 30 might survey, as nearly as they could, the English force, which was now approaching from Falkirk. They return- ed with information that the approach of that vast host was one of the most beautiful and terrible sights which could be seen — that the whole country seemed covered 35 with men-at-arms on horse and foot — that the number of standards, banners, and pennons (all flags of different Scott, Tales of a Grandfather. C 56 ^1- Battle of Bannockbuin. kinds), made so gallant a show, that the bravest and most numerous host in Christendom might be alarmed to see King Edward moving against them. It was upon the 23d of June (13 14) the King of 5 Scotland heard the news that the English army were approaching Stirling. He drew out his army, therefore, in the order which he had before resolved on. After a short time, Bruce, who was looking out anxiously for the enemy, saw a body of English cavalry trying to 10 get into Stirling from the eastward. This was the Lord Clifford, who, with a chosen body of eight hundred horse, had been detached to reUeve the castle. «See, Randolph, » said the King to his nephew, «there is a rose fallen from your chaplet.» By this he 1 5 meant that Randolph had lost some honour, by suffering the enemy to pass where he had been stationed to hinder them. Randolph made no reply, but rushed against Clifford with little more than half his number. The Scots were on foot. The English turned to charge 20 them with their lances, and Randolph drew up his men in close order to receive the onset. He seemed to be in so much danger, that Douglas asked leave of the King to go and assist him. The King refused him per- mission. 25 «Let Randolph,* he said, «redeem his own fault; I cannot break the order of battle for his sake.» Still the danger appeared greater, and the EngHsh horse seemed entirely to encompass the small handful of Scottish infantry. «So please you,» said Douglas to the 30 King, «my heart will not suffer me to stand idle and ' see Randolph perish — I must go to his assistance. » He rode off accordingly; but long before they had reached the place of combat, they saw the English horses galloping off, many with empty saddles. 35 «Haltl> said Douglas to his men, « Randolph has gained the day; since we were not soon enough to help him in the battle, do not let us lessen his glory VI. Battle of Bannockburn. 5? by approaching the field. » Now, that was nobly done — especially as Douglas and Randolph were always contending which should rise highest in the good opinion of the King and the nation. The van of the English army now came in sight, 5 and a number of their bravest knights drew near to see what the Scots were doing. They saw King Ro- bert dressed in his armour, and distinguished by a gold crown, which he wore over his helmet. He was not mounted on his great war-horse, because he did not lo expect to fight that evening. But he rode on a little pony up and down the ranks of his army, putting his men in order, and carried in his hand a sort of battle- axe made of steel. When the King saw the English horsemen draw near, he advanced a little before his 15 own men, that he might look at them more nearly. There was a knight among the English, called Sir Henry de Bohun, who thought this would be a good opportunity to gain great fame to himself, and put an end to the war, by killing King Robert. The King 20 being poorly mounted, and having no lance, Bohun galloped on him suddenly and furiously, thinking, with his long spear, and his tall powerful horse, easily to bear him down to the ground. King Robert saw him, and permitted him to come very near, then suddenly 25 turned his pony a little to one side, so that Sir Henry missed him with the lance-point, and was in the act of being carried past him by the career of his horse. But as he passed. King Robert rose up in his stirrups, and struck Sir Henry on the head with his battle - axe so 30 terrible a blow, that it broke to pieces his iron helmet as if it had been a nut-shell, and hurled him from his saddle. He was dead before he reached the ground. This gallant action was blamed by the Scottish leaders, who thought Bruce ought not to have exposed himself 3s to so much danger when the safety of the whole army depended on him. The King only kept looking at his 5* 68 ^^- Battle of Bannockburn. weapon, which was injured by the force of the blow, and said, «I have broken my good battle-axe. » The next morning, being the 24th June, at break of day, the battle began in terrible earnest. The Eng- 5 lish, as they advanced, saw the Scots getting into line. The Abbot of Inchafifray walked through their ranks barefooted, and exhorted them to fight for their freedom. They kneeled down as he passed, and prayed to Heaven for victory. King Edward, who saw this, called out, 10 «They kneel down — they are asking forgiveness. » — «Yes,» said a celebrated English baron, called Ingelram de Umphraville, «but they ask it from God, not from us — these men will conquer or die upon the field.* The English King ordered his men to begin the 15 battle. The archers then bent their bows, and began to shoot so closely together, that the arrows fell Hke flakes of snow on a Christmas day. They killed many of the Scots, and might, as at Falkirk, and other places, have decided the victory; but Bruce, as I told you be- 20 fore, was prepared for them. He had in readiness a body of men-at-arms, well-mounted^ who rode at full gallop among the archers, and as they had no weapons save their bows and arrows, which they could not use when they were attacked hand to hand, they were cut 25 down in great numbers by the Scottish horsemen, and thrown into total confusion. The fine English cavalry then advanced to sup- port their archers, and to attack the Scottish line. But coming over the ground which was dug full of pits, 30 the horses fell into these holes, and the riders lay tumbling about, without any means of defence, and unable to rise from the weight of their armour. The linglishmen began to fall into general disorder, and the Scottish King, bringing up more of his forces, attacked 35 and pressed them still more closely. On a sudden, while the battle was obstinately maintained on both sides, an event happened which VI. Battle of Bannockburn. 69 decided the victory. The servants and attendants on the Scottish camp had, as I told you, been sent behind the army to a place afterwards called the Gillies' Hill. But when they saw that their masters were likely to gain the day, they rushed from their place of conceal- 5 ment with such weapons as they could get, that they might have their share in the victory and in the spoil. The English, seeing them come suddenly over the hill, mistook this disorderly rabble for a new army coming up to sustain the Scots, and, losing all heart, began to to shift every man for himself. Edward himself left the field as fast as he could ride. A valiant knight. Sir Giles de Argentine, much renowned in the wars of Pa- lestine, attended the King till he got him out of the press of the combat. But he would retreat no farther. 15 «It is not my custom, » he said, «to fly.» With that he took leave of the King, set spurs to his horse, and calling out his war-cry of Argentine! Argentine! he rushed into the thickest of the Scottish ranks, and was killed. 20 The young Earl of Gloucester was also slain, fight- ing valiantly. The Scots would have saved him, but as he had not put on his armorial bearings, they did not know him, and he was cut to pieces. Edward first fled to Stirling castle, and entreated 25 admittance, but Sir Philip Mowbray, the governor, reminded the fugitive Sovereign that he was obliged to surrender the castle next day; so Edward was fain to fly through the Torwood, closely pursued by Douglas with a body of cavalry. An odd circumstance happen- 30 ed during the chase, which showed how loosely the Scottish barons of that day held their political opinions: As Douglas was riding furiously after Edward, he met a Scottish knight Sir Laurence Abernethy, with twenty horse. Sir Laurence had hitherto owned the English 35 interest, and was bringing this band of followers to serve King Edward's army. But learning from Douglas, r-Q VI. Battle of Bannockburn. that the l^^nglish king was entirely defeated, he changed sides on the spot, and was easily prevailed upon to join Douglas in pursuing the unfortunate Edward with the very followers whom he had been leading to join 5 his standard. Douglas and Abernethy continued the chase, not giving King Edward time to alight from horseback, even for an instant, and followed him as far as Dunbar, where the English had still a friend in the governor, lo Patrick, Earl of March. The earl received Edward in his forlorn condition, and furnished him with a fishing- skiff, or small ship, in which he escaped to England, having entirely lost his fine army, and a great number of his bravest nobles. 15 The English never before or afterwards, whether in France or Scotland, lost so dreadful a battle as that of Bannockburn, nor did the Scots ever gain one of the same importance. Many of the best and bravest of the English nobility and gentry, as I have said, lay 20 dead on the field; a great many more were made pri- soners, and the whole of King Edward's immense army was dispersed or destroyed. The English, after this great defeat, were no longer in a condition to support their pretensions to be masters 25 of Scotland, or to continue, as they had done for nearly twenty years, to send armies into that country to over- come it. On the contrary, they became for a time scarce able to defend their own frontiers against King Robert and his soldiers. 30 There were several battles fought within England itself, in which the English had greatly the worst. One of these took place near Mitton, in Yorkshire. So many priests took part in the fight, that the Scots called it the Chapter of Mitton, — a meeting of the 35 clergymen belonging to a cathedral being called a Chapter. There was a great slaughter in and after the action. The Scots laid waste the country of England VI. Battle of Bannockburn. 71 as far as the gates of York, and enjoyed a consider- able superiority over their ancient enemies, who had so lately threatened to make them subjects of England. Thus did Robert Bruce arise from the condition of an exile, hunted with bloodhounds like a stag or beast 5 of prey, to the rank of an independent sovereign, uni- versally acknowledged to be one of the wisest and bravest kings who then lived. The nation of Scotland was also raised once more from the situation of a distressed and conquered province to that of a free and 10 independent state, governed by its own laws, and sub- ject to its own princes; and although the country was, after the Bruce's death, often subjected to great loss and distress, both by the hostility of the English, and by the unhappy civil wars among the Scots themselves, 15 yet they never afterwards lost the freedom for which Wallace had laid down his life, and which King Robert had recovered, not less by his wisdom than by his weapons. And therefore most just it is that, while the country of Scotland retains any recollection of its histor>^ 20 the memory of those brave warriors and faithful patriots should be remembered with honour and gratitude. Druck von Th. Hofmann in Gera. 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