^lUyAMjtltf^ 
 
 i~t
 
 THE 
 
 SCOTTISH CHIEFS, 
 
 A ROMANCE. 
 
 IN FIVE VOLUMES, 
 
 AUTHOR OF THADDEUS OF WARSAW, AND REMARKS 
 ON SIDNEY'S APHORISMS. 
 
 There comes a voice that awakes my soul. It is the voice of 
 years that are gone ; they roll before me with all their 
 deeds. OSSIAN- 
 
 VOL. V. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR LONGMAN, HURST, REES, AND ORME, 
 
 . 
 
 PATERNOSTER-ROW. 
 1810.
 
 J. M'CREERY, Printer, 
 Black-Horse-Court, Fleet-Strt
 
 ft to 
 
 V.5- 
 
 SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 iHE day after the departure of He 
 len, Wallace, to indulge the impa 
 tience of his royal companion, set forth 
 to meet the returning steps of Ruthven 
 with his gathered legions. Having passed 
 along the romantic borders of Invermay, 
 the friends descended to the more preci 
 pitous banks of the Earn at the foot of 
 the Grampians, and wound amongst the 
 depths of those green labyrinths, till Bruce, 
 who had never been in such mountainous 
 wilds before, exclaimed, that they must 
 VOL. v. B 
 
 469420
 
 4 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 time of floods ; but where its blue head 
 mingled with the clouds, a stream of 
 brightness issued that seemed to promise 
 the dispersion of its vapours, and conse 
 quently a more secure path for Wallace 
 to lead his friend over its perilous 
 heights. 
 
 This appearance did not deceive. The 
 whole mantle of clouds with which the 
 tops of all the mountains had been obscur 
 ed, rolled away towards the west, and dis 
 covered to the eye of Wallace that this 
 line of light which he had discerned 
 through the mist, was the host of Ruthven 
 descending Benvorlich in defiles. From 
 the nature of the path, they were obliged 
 to move in a winding direction ; and as 
 the sun now shone full upon their arms, 
 and their lengthened lines gradually ex 
 tended from the summit of the mountain 
 to its base, no sight could contain more of 
 the sublime ; none of truer grandeur, to 
 the enraptured mind of Bruce. He for-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. S 
 
 got his horror of the wastes he had passed 
 over, in the joy of beholding so noble an 
 army of his countrymen thus approaching 
 to place him upon the throne of his 
 ancestors. " Wallace," cried he, " these 
 brave hearts deserve a more cheerful 
 home! My sceptre must turn this Scotia 
 deserta into Scotia felix, and so I shall re 
 ward the service they this day bring me." 
 " They are happy in these wilds," return 
 ed Wallace : ' their flocks browse on 
 the hills, their herds in the vallies. The 
 soil yields sufficient increase to support 
 its sons ; and their greatest luxuries are a 
 minstrel's song and the lip of their brides. 
 Their ambition is satisfied with following 
 their chief to the field ; and their honour 
 lies in serving their God, and maintaining 
 the freedom of their country. Be\vare 
 then, my dear prince, of changing the 
 simple habits of those virtuous moun 
 taineers. Introduce the luxurious culti 
 vation of France into these tracts, you 
 will infect them with artificial wants ;
 
 6' THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS 
 
 and with every want you put a link to a 
 chain which will fasten them in bondage 
 whenever a tyrant chooses to grasp it. 
 Leave them then their rocks as you find 
 them, and you will ever have a hardy race 
 ready to perish in their defence, or to meet 
 death for the royal guardian of their liber 
 ties." 
 
 Lord Ruthven no sooner reached the 
 banks of Loch-earn, than he espied the 
 prince and Wallace. He joined them ; 
 and marshalling his men in a wide tract of 
 land at the head of that vast body of wa 
 ter, he placed himself, with the two sup 
 posed De Longuevilles, in the van, and 
 marched through the vallies of Strathmore 
 and Strathallan, into Stirlingshire. The 
 Earl of Fife had the government of the 
 castle and town of Stirling ; and as he 
 was a man much in the interest of the late 
 Lord Badenoch the violent enemy of 
 Wallace, Bruce negatived Rulhven's 
 proposal to send in a messenger for the 
 carl's division of troops : " No, my lord/
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 7 
 
 said he, " like my friend Wallace, I will 
 have no lake-warm hearts near me ; all 
 must be earnest in my cause, or be entirely 
 out of the contest. I am content with the 
 brave men I see around me." 
 
 After rapid marches and short haltings 
 they arrived safe and without any impe 
 diment atLinlithgow, where Wallace pro 
 posed staying a night to refresh the troops, 
 which were now joined by Sir Alexander 
 Ramsay at the head of a thousand of his 
 clan. While the men took rest, their 
 chiefs waked to think for them. And 
 Wallace, with Bruce and Ruthven and 
 the brave Ramsay, (to whom Wallace had 
 revealed himself, but still kept Bruce un 
 known) were in deep consultation respect 
 ing the consequences of having put so 
 efficient a power as that of Regent into 
 the hands of any of the race of Cummin, 
 when Grimsby entered to inform his mas 
 ter that a young knight desired to speak 
 with Sir Guy de Longuevilie. " What is 
 his name ?" demanded Wallace. " He
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 refused to tell it," replied Grimsby. " He 
 is splendidly armed ; but as the wears his 
 beaver shut, it is impossible for me to say 
 any thing of his countenance." Wallace 
 looked round with a glance that inquired 
 whether the stranger should be admitted* 
 " Certainly," said Bruce, " but first put 
 on your mask." Wallace closed his visor ; 
 and the moment after, Grimsby re-entered 
 with a knight of a very majestic mien, and 
 habited in a suit of green armour studded 
 with gold. He wore a helmet from 
 which streamed a long feather of the same 
 hue. Wallace rose at his entrance ; the 
 stranger advanced to him. " You are 
 he whom I seek. I am a Scot, and a man 
 of few words. Accept my services; al 
 low me to attend you in this war, never to 
 be separated from your side, and I will 
 serve you faithfully." Wallace replied, 
 " And who is the brave knight to whom 
 Sir Guy de Longueville will owe so great 
 an obligation." " My name," answered 
 the stranger, " shall not be revealed till
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 9 
 
 he who now wears that of the Reaver 
 whom he slew, proclaims his own in the 
 day of victory. I know you, sir, but your 
 secret is as safe with me as in your own 
 breast. Allow me to fight by your side, 
 and I am yours for ever." 
 
 Wallace was surprised, but not con 
 founded, by this speech. " I have only 
 one question to ask you, noble stranger," 
 replied he, " before I confide any part of 
 a cause dearer to me than my own life, in 
 your integrity; tell me whether the infor 
 mation you have gained with respect to 
 myself, was revealed to you by any fol 
 lower of my own ? Or how did you be 
 come master of a secret which I believed 
 out of the power of even treachery to be 
 tray ?" " To one of your questions I will 
 answer. No follower of yours has betray 
 ed your secret to me. I came by my in 
 formation in the most honourable manner; 
 but the means I shall never reveal till I 
 see the proper time to declare my name ; 
 and that may perhaps be in the same mo- 
 B3
 
 10 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 ment in which the assumed brother of that 
 young Frenchman," added the stranger, 
 turning to Bruce, " again appears pub- 
 lickly in Scotland as Sir William Wal 
 lace." 
 
 " I am satisfied," replied he; well- 
 pleased that, whoever this knight might 
 be, Bruce yet remained undiscovered ; 
 " I grant your request. This brave youth, 
 whose name I share, forgives me the suc 
 cess of my sword ; I slew the Red Reaver, 
 and therefore make myself a brother to 
 Thomas de Longueville. He fights on 
 my right hand. You shall be stationed at 
 my left." " At the side next your heart, 
 noble chief!" exclaimed the stranger, " let 
 that ever be my post, there to guard the 
 bulwark of Scotland, the life of the bra 
 vest of men." 
 
 This enthusiasm did not surprise any 
 present; for it was the usual language of 
 all who approached Sir William Wallace. 
 And Bruce, particularly pleased with the 
 heart-felt energy with which it was uttered,
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 11 
 
 forgot his disguise in the amiable fervour 
 of approbation, and half-rose to welcome 
 him to his cause ; but a look from Wal 
 lace, (who, on being known, had uncover 
 ed his face) arrested the motion, and he 
 sat down again, thankful for so timely a 
 check on his precipitancy. 
 
 In crossing the Pentland-hills next 
 day into Midlothian, they were met by 
 Edwin, who had crossed from the north by 
 the Frith of Forth, and having heard no 
 tidings of the Scottish army in the neigh 
 bourhood of Edinburgh, had proceeded on 
 the road he knew it must take. Wallace 
 introduced him to the knight of the green 
 plume: for that was the appellation by 
 which the stranger desired to be known: 
 And Edwin answered the mingled in 
 quiries of his father and Wallace after 
 how Helen bore her journey to Mar: 
 " Pretty well there," replied he, " but 
 much better back again." He then ex 
 plained, that on his arrival with Helen at 
 Braemar, neither Lady Mar nor his mo-
 
 12 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 ther would consent to remain so far from 
 the spot where Wallace was again to 
 contend for the safety of their country. 
 Helen did not say any thing in opposition 
 to their wishes : and at last Edwin yield 
 ed to the tears of his mother, anxious for 
 her husband ; and to the entreaties of 
 Lady Mar, to bring them wrrere they 
 might at least not long endure the misery 
 of suspense. Having once consented, 
 without an hour's delay he set forth with 
 the ladies to re-trace his steps to Hunt 
 ing-tower; and there he left them under a 
 guard of three hundred men whom he 
 brought from Mar for that purpose. 
 Wallace much reoretted the additional 
 
 o 
 
 fatigue which the tender frame of Lady 
 Helen had thus been compelled to under 
 go ; but as Edwin had provided for the 
 security of Hunting-tower, both he and 
 Ruthven were reconciled to their being 
 so much the nearer news of (what they 
 trusted would be) the happy issue of their 
 arms. Bruce, whose real name had not
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 13 
 
 been revealed to the other ladies of Ruth- 
 ven's family, in a lowered voice asked 
 Edwin some questions relative to the 
 spirits in which Helen had parted with 
 him. " In losing her," added he, " my 
 friend and I feel but as part of what we 
 were. Her presence seemed to amelio 
 rate the fierceness of our war-councils ; 
 and ever reminded me of the guardian 
 angel by whom heaven points our way." 
 " I left her with looks like the angel you 
 speak of," answered Edwin ; " she bade 
 me fare we I upon the platform of the east 
 ern tower of the castle. \Vhen I gave 
 her the parting embrace, she raised her 
 self from my breast, and stretching her 
 arms to heaven, while her pure soul shone 
 in her eyes she exclaimed, " Bless him, 
 gracious God; bless him and his noble 
 commander ; may they ever, with the 
 prince they love, be thine especial care !" 
 I knelt by her, my dear friend, as she ut 
 tered these words, and touching the hem 
 of her garments as some holy thing, hur-
 
 14 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 ried from the spot. When mounted on 
 my horse, and turning down by St. Con- 
 Gal's well, I looked back, and there she 
 still stood ! She waved her scarf towards 
 me, till entering the wood I lost her 
 from my view." " Her prayers," said 
 Wallace, " will fight for Scotland. Such 
 arms are well befitting the virgins of 
 Scotland to use against its foes ; and with 
 out such urrction the warrior may draw 
 his steel in vain." 
 
 The stranger knight, the moment after 
 his introduction to Edwin, had engaged 
 himself in conversation with Ramsay. 
 But Lord Ruthven, turning from the mi 
 nuter inquiries of his friends respecting 
 the fair inhabitants of Hunting-tower, in- 
 
 3 ' 
 
 terrupted the diicourse between the two 
 knights, by asking Ramsay some questions 
 relative to the military positions on the 
 banks of either Eske. Sir Alexander be 
 ing the grandson of the Lord of Roslyn, 
 and having passed his youth in its neigh 
 bourhood, was well qualified to answer
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 15 
 
 these questions ; and Wallace draw 
 ing towards the discussion, Bruce and 
 Edwin followed his example ; and in 
 such discourse they marched along till, 
 passing before the lofty ridge of the Cor- 
 storphine hills, they were met by several 
 groups of peasantry, flying as if from an 
 enemy. At sight of the Scottish banners 
 they stopped, and informed their armed 
 countrymen, that the new Regent John 
 f Badenoch, had. in opposition to the 
 advice of Sir Simon Fraser, attacked the 
 Southron army on its vantage ground 
 near Borthwick Castle, and was conse 
 quently beaten. His shattered troops had 
 fallen back towards Edinburgh, hoping 
 to cross the Forth and elude their pur 
 suers. The country people, dismayed, 
 fled on all sides ; and these peasants, who 
 came from Hawthorndean, magnified by 
 their report the number of the enemy to 
 an incredible amount. 
 
 Wallace knew how much to believe ;
 
 
 16 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 but determining, whether great or small the 
 power of his adversary, to intercept him 
 atRoslyn, he sent to Cummin and to Fraser 
 to rendezvous on the banks of the Eske. 
 The brave troops which he led, ignorant 
 of their real commander, obeyed his direc 
 tions while they thought that LordRuth- 
 ven was their leader. As they passed 
 along, every village and solitary cot seem 
 ed recently deserted ; and through an 
 awful solitude they took their rapid way 
 till the towers of Roslyn Castle hailed 
 them as a beacon from amidst the wood 
 ed heights of the north Eske. " There," 
 cried Ramsay, pointing to the embattled 
 rock, " stands the fortress of my forefa 
 thers !,. It shall this day be made famous 
 for the actions performed before its 
 walls '" 
 
 Wallace, whose knowledge of this part 
 of the country was not quite so familiar as 
 that of Ramsay's, had learnt sufficient from 
 him to decide at once which would be the
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 1? 
 
 most favourable position for a small and 
 resolute band to assume against a large and 
 conquering army ; and accordingly dis 
 posing his troops, which did not amount 
 to more than eight thousand ; he dis 
 patched about a thousand of them under 
 the command of Ramsay to occupy the 
 numerous caves in the southern banks of 
 the Eske, whence he was to issue in vari 
 ous divisions and with shouts, on the first 
 appearance of any confusion in the ene 
 my's ranks. ( a ) 
 
 Ruthven, meanwhile, went for a few 
 minutes into the castle to embrace his 
 niece, and to assure the venerable Lord of 
 Roslyn, then almost a prisoner within 
 his walls, of the determination of the 
 commanders who were his coadjutors, 
 either to drive the Southrons again beyond 
 the borders, or themselves to perish be 
 neath the waters of the Eske. 
 
 Edwin, who with Grimsby had volun 
 teered the dangerous service of re-con-
 
 18 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 noitering the enemy, returned in an hour, 
 bringing in a straggler from the English 
 camp. When they seized him, Edwin 
 promised him his life on condition that he 
 should tell them the strength of the advanc 
 ing army. The terrified wretch did not he 
 sitate ; and from him they learnt that it was 
 commanded by Sir John Segrave, and 
 Ralph Confrey, a mun whom Edward had 
 intended should succeed the detestable 
 Cressingham as treasurer of Scotland ; 
 and that deeming the country entirely 
 subdued by the issue of the two last battles 
 against the black and red Cummins, ( b ) 
 the English commanders were laying 
 schemes for a general plundering; and to 
 sweep the land at once, Segrave had divid 
 ed his army into three divisions, which, 
 on their arrival at some certain spot, were 
 to separate, and scatter themselves over 
 the country to gather in the spoil. To 
 be assured of this information being the 
 truth, while Grimsby remained to guard
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 19 
 
 the prisoner, Edwin went alone into the 
 path he ^Yas told the Southrons were ap 
 proaching, and from a height he discover 
 ed about ten thousand of them winding 
 along the valley. With this confirmation 
 of the man's account, he brought him to 
 
 o 
 
 the Scottish lines ; and Wallace, who 
 well knew how to reap advantage from 
 the errors of his enemies, being joined 
 by Fraser and the discomfited Regent, 
 made the concerted signal to Ruthven. 
 
 That nobleman immediately pointed 
 
 out to his men the waving colours of 
 the Southrons, as they approached be 
 neath the over-hanging woods of Maw- 
 thorndean. He exhorted them by their 
 fathers, wives, and children, to breast 
 the enemy at this spot, and grapple with 
 him till he fell. " Scotland," cried he, 
 " is lost or won this day. You are free 
 men or slaves ; your families are your 
 own, or the property of tyrants t Fight 
 stoutly, and God will yield you an invisi 
 ble support"
 
 20 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 The Scots answered their general by a 
 shout, and calling on him to lead them 
 forward, Ruthven placed himself with 
 the Regent and Fraser in the van, and 
 led the charge. The Southrons, little ex 
 pecting an assault from an adversary they 
 had so lately driven off the field, were 
 taken by surprise, but they fought well ; 
 and resolutely stood their ground, till 
 Wallace and Bruce, who commanded the 
 two flanking divisions, closed in upon 
 them with an impetuosity that drove Con- 
 frey himself into the river, where an ar 
 row from Sir Alexander Ramsay, who 
 now rushed from concealment, finished 
 his career and threw him a breathless 
 corse amongst the plunging feet of his 
 dismayed squadrons. As the ambuscade 
 of Ramsay poured from his caves, the 
 earth seemed teeming with mailed war 
 riors ; and the Southrons seeing the sur 
 rounding heights and the green defiles 
 filled with the same terrific appearances, 
 gave way on all sides, and almost believ-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 21 
 
 ing that the wizard power of the Sage of 
 Ercildoun, whom they knew was in the 
 castle, had conjured up this host to their 
 destruction, they fled with precipita 
 tion towards their second division which 
 lay a few miles southward. Thither 
 the conquering squadrons of the Scots 
 followed them. The fugitives leaping 
 the trenches of the encampment, call 
 ed aloud to their comrades, " Arm ! 
 
 arm ! hell is in league against us !" 
 
 Segrave was in a moment at the head of 
 his legions, and a battle more desperate 
 than the first blazed over the field. 
 The flying troops of Confrey rallying 
 around the standard of their general-in- 
 chief, fought with the spirit of revenge ; 
 and being now a body of nearly twenty 
 thousand men against eight thousand 
 Scots, the conflict became tremendous, and 
 in several points the Southrons gained so 
 greatly the advantage, that Wallace and 
 Bruce leaving their respective stations to 
 Edwin and the green knight, threw them-
 
 i2a THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 selves successively into those parts where 
 the enemy seemed to prevail, and by ex 
 hortations, example and prowess, a thou 
 sand times turned the fate of the day, and 
 appeared as they shot from rank to rank, 
 to be two comets of fire sent before the 
 troops to consume all who opposed them. 
 Segrave was taken, and forty brave Eng 
 lish knights besides. The green surface 
 of the ground was dyed red with South 
 ron blood, and the men were on all sides 
 calling for quarter, when the cry of 
 " Havoc and St. George !" issued from 
 the adjoining hill. A band of Mid-Lo- 
 thianers, who, for the sake of plunder 
 had stolen into that part of the desert 
 ed English camp which occupied the 
 rear of the height, seeing from its top 
 the advancing troops of the third di 
 vision of the enemy, like guilty cow 
 ards rushed down amongst their com 
 rades, echoing the war cry of England, 
 and exclaiming, " We are lost ; a host.
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 23 
 
 reaching; to the horizon, is just upon 
 us !" Terror struck to almost every Scot 
 tish heart. The Southrons who lately 
 cried for mercy leaped upon their feet. 
 The fight recommenced with redoubled 
 fury. Lord Robert Neville at the head 
 of the new reinforcement, charged into 
 the centre of the Scottish legions. The 
 rescue of Segrave was his object. Bruce 
 and Edwin threw themselves into the 
 breach, which his impetuous valour had 
 made in that part of their line, and fight 
 ing man to man, would have taken Neville 
 also, had not a follower of that nobleman, 
 wielding a ponderous mace, struck Bruce 
 so terrible a blow as to fracture his helmet 
 in twain and cast him from his horse to 
 the ground. The fall of so active a leader 
 excited as much dismay in the surround 
 ing Scots, as it encouraged the reviving 
 spirits of the enemy. Edwin's only hope 
 was now to preserve his prince from be 
 ing trampled on, and while he fought to 
 that purpose, and afterwards sent the
 
 24 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 senseless body off the field toRoslyn Cas- 
 lle, Neville retook Segrave and the 
 knights with him. Ruthven now con 
 tended with a feeble arm. Fatigued with 
 the two preceding conflicts, covered with 
 wounds, and perceiving indeed a host 
 pouring upon them on all sides, (for the 
 whole of Segrave's original army of thir 
 ty thousand men, excepting those who 
 had fallen in the preceding engagements, 
 were now assailing them) the Scots ex 
 hausted and in despair gave ground ; and 
 some throwing away their arms to fly the 
 more unencumbered, spread the confusion, 
 and by exposing themselves panic-struck 
 the swords of their enemies, occasioned 
 so general a havoc,' that the day must have 
 ended in the universal destruction of 
 every Scot in the field, had not Wallace 
 perceived the crisis, and that as Guy de 
 Longueville. he shed his blood in vain. 
 In vain his terrified countrymen saw him 
 rush into the thickest of the carnage: in 
 vain he called to them by all that was sa-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 25 
 
 creel to man to stand to the last. He was 
 a foreigner, and they had no confidence 
 in his exhortations, death was before them, 
 and they turned to fly. The fate of his 
 country hung on an instant. The last 
 rays of the setting sun shone full on the 
 rocky promontory of the hill which pro 
 jected over the field of combat. He took 
 his resolution, and spurring his steed up 
 the steep ascent, stood on the summit 
 where he would be seen by the whole ar 
 my and taking off his helmet he waved 
 it in the air with a shout, and having 
 drawn all eyes upon him suddenly ex 
 claimed " Scots ! you have this day van 
 quished the Southrons twice ! If you be 
 men, remember Canibuskenneth and fol 
 low William Wallace to a third victory !" 
 The cry which issued from the amazed 
 troops was that of a people who beheld 
 the angel of their deliverance. " Wal 
 lace!" was the charge-word of every 
 heart. The hero's courage seemed in- 
 VOL. v. e
 
 26 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 stantaneously diffused through every 
 breast, and with braced arms and deter 
 mined spirits forming at once into the 
 phalanx his thundering voice dictated, 
 the Southrons again felt the weight of 
 the Scottish steel ; and a battle ensued 
 which made the bright Eske run purple 
 to the sea, and covered the pastoral glades 
 of Hawthorndean with the bodies of their 
 invaders. 
 
 Sir John Segrave and Neville were 
 both taken. And ere night closed in 
 upon the carnage Wallace granted quar 
 ter to those who sued for it, and receiv 
 ing their arms, left them to repose in their 
 before depopulated camp.( c )
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 WALLACE, having planted Fraser and 
 Ramsay with an adequate force in charge 
 of the prisoners, went to the tent of the 
 two Southron commanders to pay them 
 the courtesy due to their bravery and 
 rank before he retired with his victorious 
 followers towards Roslyn Castle. He 
 entered alone, and at sis;ht of the war- 
 
 o 
 
 rior who had given them so signal a de- 
 feat the generals rose. Neville who had 
 
 o 
 
 received a slight wound in one of his arms, 
 stretched out the other to Wallace in 
 answer to a compliment which that chief 
 tain paid to his military conduct. " Sir 
 William Wallace," said he, " that you 
 were obliged to declare a name so deserv 
 edly renowned, before the troops I led 
 c 2
 
 28 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 could be made to relinquish one step of 
 their hard-earned advantage, was an ac 
 knowledgment in ray favour almost equi 
 valent to a victory." 
 
 Sir John Segrave, who stood leaning 
 on his sword with a disturbed countenance, 
 interrupted him : " The fate of this day 
 cannot be attributed to any earthly name 
 or hand. I believe my sovereign will al 
 low the zeal with which I have ever served 
 him, and yet thirty thousand as brave men 
 as ever crossed the marches, have fallen 
 before a handful of Scots. Three vic 
 tories won over Edward's troops in one 
 day, are not events of a common nature. 
 God alone has been our vanquisher." " I 
 acknowledge it," cried Wallace, " and 
 that he is on the side of justice let the 
 return of St. Matthias's day ever remind 
 your countrymen !" 
 
 Segrave, when he gave the victory to 
 the Lord of Hosts, did it more from jea 
 lousy of what might be Edward's opinion 
 of jhis conduct when compared with
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 29 
 
 Neville's, than from any intention to im 
 ply that the cause of Scotland was justly 
 heaven-defended. Such are the impious 
 inconsistencies of unprincipled men ! He 
 frowned at the reply of Wallace, and 
 turned gloomily away. Neville returned 
 a respectful answer, and their conqueror 
 soon after left them. 
 
 Edwin, with the Knight of the Green 
 Plume, who had indeed approved his va 
 lour by many a brave deed performed at 
 his commander's side, awaited his return 
 from the tent. Ruthven came up at the 
 instant that Wallace joined them, and he 
 heard from him that Bruce was safe under 
 the care of the Sage of Ercildoun, and 
 that the Regent, who had been wounded 
 in the beginning of the day. was also in 
 Roslyn Castle. All other of the sur 
 vivors who had suffered in these three 
 desperate battles were collected from 
 amongst the slain and carried by Wal 
 lace's orders into the neighbouring castles 
 of Hawthorndean, Brunston, and Dal-
 
 30 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 keith. The rest of the soldiers were 
 rdered to repose themselves on their 
 arms. These duties performed, Wallace 
 thought of satisfying the anxieties of 
 friendship as well as loyalty, and of going 
 to see how Bruce fared. 
 
 The moon shone brightly as the party 
 rode forward. The river rushing along 
 its shelving bed glittered in her beams, 
 and -pouring over the shattered frag 
 ments of many a time-precipitated cliff, 
 fled in hoarse murmurs from the perpen 
 dicular sides of the blood-stained heights 
 which imprisoned its struggling waters. 
 As Wallace ascended the steep acclivity 
 on which Roslyn Castle stands, arid in 
 crossing the draw-bridge which divides its 
 rocky peninsula from the main land, he 
 looked around and sighed. The scene 
 reminded him of Ellerslie. A deep 
 shadow lay on the woods beneath ; and 
 the pensile branches of the now leafless 
 trees hanging down to meet the flood, 
 seemed mourning the deaths which now
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 31 
 
 polluted its stream. The water lay in 
 profound repose at the base of these beau 
 tiful craigs, as if peace longed to become 
 an inhabitant of so lovely a scene. 
 
 At the o;ate of the castle its aeed master 
 
 O C3 
 
 the Lord Sinclair met Wallace to bid 
 him welcome. " Blessed be the saint of 
 this day," exclaimed he, " for thus bring 
 ing our best defender, even as by a mira 
 cle, to snatch us as a brand from the fire! 
 My gates, like my heart, open to receive 
 the true Regent of Scotland." " I have 
 only done a Scotsman's duty, venerable 
 Sinclair," replied Wallace, as he entered 
 the house, " and must not arrogate a title 
 to myself which heaven has transferred 
 to other hands." " Not heaven, but the 
 base envy of man," replied the old chief 
 tain. " It was rebellion against the su 
 preme wish of the nation, that invested 
 the black Cummin with the regency ; and 
 some infatuation has bestowed the same 
 title on his brother. What did he not
 
 32 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 lose till you, Scotland's true champion., 
 re-appeared to rescue her again from sla 
 very?" " The present Lord Badenoch is 
 an honest and a brave man," replied 
 Wallace ; " and as I obey the power 
 which gave him his authority, I am ready, 
 by fidelity to him, to serve Scotland with 
 as vigorous a zeal as ever ; so, noble 
 Sinclair, when our rulers cast not tram 
 mels on our virtues let us obey them as 
 the vicegerents of heaven." 
 
 Wallace then asked to be conducted 
 to his wounded friend Sir Thomas de 
 Longueville, (for Sinclair was ignorant of 
 the real rank of his guest,) and his re 
 joicing host, eager to oblige him, imme 
 diately led him through a gallery and 
 opening; the door of an apartment disco 
 vered Bruce lying extended on a couch, 
 and an old man, whose silver beard and 
 sweeping robes announced to be the 
 Sage of Ercildoun, bathing his head with 
 balsams. A young creature, beautiful as
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 33 
 
 the creation of genius, hung over the 
 prostrate chief. She held a golden cas 
 ket in her hand, out of which the sage 
 drew the unctions he applied. And 
 Bruce himself, as he lay under the heal 
 ing ministration, never withdrew his eyes 
 from the angelic being which seemed 
 to hover near him. At the sound of 
 Wallace's voice, who spoke in a low tone 
 to Ruthven as he entered the chamber, 
 the wounded prince for a moment forgot 
 both his pain and admiration of female 
 loveliness, and starting on his arm stretch 
 ed out his hand to his friend, bnt he as in 
 stantly fell back again. Wallace hastened 
 forward with an agony of fear that perhaps 
 Bruce was in greater danger than he had 
 believed. He knelt down by him. Bruce 
 recovered a little from the swoon into 
 which the suddenness of his attempt 
 to rise had occasioned. Feeling a hand 
 grasping his, he guessed to whom it, be 
 longed, and gently pressing it, smiled; 
 c 3
 
 34 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 and in a moment afterwards opening 
 his eyes, in a low voice articulated 
 " My dear Wallace ! you are victorious ?" 
 " Completely so, my prince and king," 
 returned he in the same tone ; " all is 
 now plain before you; speak but the word, 
 and render Scotland happy !" " Not 
 yet, O ! not yet," whispered he. " My 
 more than brother, allow Bruce to be 
 himself again before he is known in 
 the land of his fathers ! I have but yet 
 began my probation. Not a Southron 
 must taint our native lands when my name 
 is proclaimed in Scotland." 
 
 Wallace saw that his prince was not in 
 a state to bear farther argument; and as 
 all had retired far from the conch when 
 he approached it, in gratitude for this 
 propriety (for it had left him and his 
 friend free to converse unobserved,) he 
 turned towards the other inmates of the 
 chamber. The sage advanced to him ; 
 and recognising in his now manly form
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 35 
 
 the fine youth he had seen \vith Sir 
 Ronald Crawford at the claiming of the 
 crown ; he saluted him with a paternal 
 affection which tempered the sublime feel 
 ings with which he approached the re 
 sistless champion of his country: and 
 then beckoning the beautiful girl who 
 had so rivetted the attention of Bruce, 
 she drew near the sage. He took her 
 hand: " Sir William Wallace," said he, 
 " this sweet child is a daughter of the 
 brave Mar who died in the field of glory 
 on the Carron. Her grandfather Jell a 
 few weeks ago, defending his castle ; and 
 I am almost all that is left to her." Isa 
 bella, for it was she, covered her face to 
 conceal her emotions. " Dear lady," said 
 Wallace, " these venerable heroes were 
 both known and beloved by me. And now 
 that heaven has resumed them to itself, as 
 the last act of friendship that I am perhaps 
 fated to pay their offspring, I shall convey
 
 36 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 you to a sister whose matchless heart 
 yearns to receive so dear a consolation." 
 To disenorasLe Isabella's thoughts from 
 
 C.7 O O 
 
 the afflicting remembrances which were 
 bathing her cheeks with tears, Ercildoim 
 put a cup of the mingled juice of herbs 
 into her hand and commissioned her to 
 give it to their invalid. Wallace now 
 learnt that his friend's principal wound 
 was in the head, accompanied by so 
 severe a concussion of the brain, that it 
 would be many days before he could re 
 move from off his bed without danger. 
 Anxious to release him from even the 
 scarcely-breathed whispers of his martial 
 companions who stood at some distance 
 from his couch, Wallace immediately 
 proposed leaving him to repose ; and 
 beckoning Edwin, who was bending 
 in affectionate silence over his prince, 
 he withdrew ; leaving none others than 
 the good sage and the tender Isabella, 
 whose soft attentions seemed to beguile
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 3? 
 
 Bruce of every pain, to administer to his 
 comfort. 
 
 Wallace then accompanied Sinclair to 
 the apartment of the Regent; and finding 
 him in a fair way of recovery, after sitting 
 an hour with him he bade his friends adieu 
 for the night, and retired to his own re 
 pose. 
 
 Next morning he was aroused at day 
 break by the abrupt entrance of Andrew 
 Lord Bothwell into his chamber. The 
 well-known sounds of his voice made 
 Wallace start from his pillow and extend 
 his arms to receive him. " Murray ! my 
 brave, invaluable Murray!" cried he, 
 " thou art welcome once more to the side 
 of thy brother in arms. Thee and thine 
 must ever be first in my heart!" The 
 young Lord Bothwell for some time re 
 turned his warm embrace in eloquent 
 silence ; at last, silting down by Wal 
 lace's bed, as he grasped his hand he 
 said, pressing it to his breast, " I feel
 
 38 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 a happiness here, which I have never 
 known since the day of Falkirk. You 
 quitted us, Wallace, and all good seem 
 ed gone with you, or buried in my 
 father's grave. But you return ! you 
 bring conquest and peace with you ; you 
 restore our Helen to her family ; you 
 bless us with yourself! And shall you 
 not again see the gay Andrew Murray ? 
 It must be so, my friend, melancholy is 
 not my climate ; and I shall now live in 
 your beams." " Dear Murray !" re 
 turned Wallace, " this generous enthu 
 siasm can only be equalled by my joy in 
 all that makes you and Scotland happy." 
 He then proceeded to impart to him, 
 in confidence, all that related to Bruce ; 
 and to describe the minutiae of those plans 
 for his establishment, which had only 
 been hinted in his letters from France. 
 Bothwell entered with ardour into these 
 loyal designs, and regretted that the 
 difficulty he found in persuading the
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 39 
 
 Lanarkers to follow him to any field 
 where they did not expect to find their 
 beloved Wallace, had deprived him of 
 the participation he wished in the late 
 danger and new glory of his friend. 
 " To compensate for that privation," 
 replied Wallace, " while our prince is 
 disabled from in person pursuing his vic 
 tories, we must not allow our present 
 advantages to lose their expected effects. 
 You shall accompany me through the 
 Lowlands, where we must recover the 
 places which the ill-fortune of James 
 Cummin has lost." 
 
 Murray gladly embraced this opportu 
 nity of again sharing the field with Wal 
 lace. And when the chiefs joined Bruce, 
 (where Douglas was already seated by his 
 couch ,) after Bothwell was presented to 
 his young sovereign, they entered into 
 discourse relative to their future different 
 posts of duty. Wallace suggested to his 
 royal friend that, as his restoration to 
 health could not be so speedy as the cause
 
 4K) THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 required, it would be necessary not to 
 await the event, but immediately begin 
 the recovery of the border counties before 
 Edward could reinforce their Southron 
 garrisbns. Bruce sighed, but with a 
 generous glow suffusing his pale face, 
 he said " Go, my friend ! Bless Scot 
 land what way you will, and let my 
 ready acquiescence convince future ages 
 that I love my country beyond my own 
 fame : for its sake I relinquish to you 
 the whole glory of delivering it out of 
 the hands of the tyrant who has so 
 long usurped my rights. Men may say 
 when they hear this, that I do not merit 
 the crown you will put upon my head ; 
 that I have lain on a couch while you 
 fought for me ; but I will bear all obloquy, 
 rather than deserve its slightest charge by 
 withholding you an hour from the great 
 
 work of Scotland's peace." " It is not 
 
 for the breath of men, my dear prince," 
 returned Wallace, " that either you or I 
 act. It is sufficient for us that we effect
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 41 
 
 their good ; and whether the agent be 
 one or the other, the end is the same. 
 Our deeds and intentions have one great 
 judge ; and he will award the only true 
 glory." 
 
 Such were the principles which filled 
 the hearts of these two friends, worthy of 
 each other and alike honourable to the 
 country that gave them birth. 
 
 Though the wounded John Cummin 
 remained possessed of the title of Regent, 
 Wallace was virtually endowed with the 
 authority. Whatever he suggested was 
 acted upon as by a decree: all eyes looked 
 up to him as to the cynosure by which 
 every order of men in Scotland were to 
 shape their course. The jealousies which 
 had driven him from his former supreme 
 seat, seemed to have died with their prime 
 instigator the late regent; and no chief of 
 any consequence, excepting Soulis and 
 Athol, who retired in disgusts to their 
 different castles, breathed a word in oppo 
 sition to the general gratitude.
 
 42 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 Wallace, having sent back his prisoners 
 to their country on the same terms which 
 he formerly dictated, commenced his 
 march farther into the Lowlands, where 
 the fame of his victories seconded by the 
 enthusiasm of the people and the deter 
 mination of his troops, soon made him 
 master of all the fortresses. His own 
 valiant band, headed by Scrymgeour, had 
 recognised their beloved leader with rap 
 turous joy, and followed his standard 
 with a zeal that rendered each individual 
 a host in himself. Hardly three weeks 
 were consumed in these conquests, and 
 not a rood of land remainded south of the 
 Tay in the possession of England, ex 
 cepting Berwick. Before that often dis 
 puted strong hold, Wallace drew up his 
 forces to commence a regular siege : and 
 the governor, intimidated by the power 
 ful works which he saw the Scottish chief 
 forming against the town, dispatched a 
 messenger to Edward with the tidings ; 
 and to tell him, that if he would not
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 4S 
 
 grant the peace for which the Scots fought, 
 or immediately send succours to Berwick, 
 he would find it necessary to begin the 
 conquest of the kingdom anew. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 WHILE Wallace, accompanied by his 
 brave friends, was thus carrying all before 
 him from the Grampian to the Cheviot 
 hills, Bruce was rapidly recovering. His 
 eager wishes seemed to heal his wounds; 
 and on the tenth day after the departure 
 of Wallace, he left that couch which had 
 been beguiled of its irksomeness by the 
 smiling attentions of the tender Isabella. 
 The ensuing sabbath beheld him restored 
 to full vigor; and having imparted his
 
 44 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 intentions to the Lords Ruthven and 
 Douglas, who were both with him. the 
 next morning he joyfully buckled on his 
 armour. Isabella, when she saw him thus 
 clad, started, and the roses left her cheek. 
 " I am armed to be your guide to Hunt 
 ing-tower," said he, with a look that 
 shewed he read her thoughts. He then 
 called for pen and ink to write to Wal 
 lace. The now re-assured Isabella, re 
 joicing in the glad beams of his brighten 
 ing eyes, held thestandish. As he dipped 
 his pen, he looked up at her with smiles and 
 a grateful tenderness that thrilled to her 
 soul, and made her bend her blushing face 
 to hide emotions which whispered bliss in 
 every beat of her happy heart. Thus, with 
 a spirit which wrapt him in felicity; for 
 victory hailed him from without, and love 
 seemed to woo him to the dearest trans 
 ports within ; he wrote the following let 
 ter to Wallace : 
 
 " I am now well, my best friend ! This
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 45 
 
 day I attend my lovely nurse, with her 
 venerable guardian, to Hunting-tower. 
 Eastward of Perth almost every castle of 
 consequence is yet filled by the Southrons, 
 whom the folly of James Cummin allow 
 ed to re-occupy the places whence you 
 had so lately driven them. I go to root 
 them out, to emulate in the north what 
 you are now doing in the south ! You shall 
 see me again when the banks of the Spey 
 are as free as you have made the Forth. 
 In all this I am yet Thomas de Longue- 
 ville. Isabella, the sweet soother of my 
 hours, knows me as no other, for would 
 she not despise the unfamed Bruce ? To 
 deserve and win her love as De Longue- 
 ville, and to marry her as King of Scot 
 land, is the fond hope of your friend and 
 brother Robert " 
 
 " P. S. I shall send you dispatches of 
 my proceedings. " 
 
 Wallace had just made a successful 
 attack upon the outworks of Berwick 
 when this letter was put into his hand.
 
 46 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 He was surrounded by his chieftains, and 
 having read it, he informed them that Sir 
 Thomas de Longueville was going to 
 Hunting-tower, whence he intended to 
 make excursions to rid the neighbouring 
 castles of the enemy. 
 
 " The hopes of his enterprising spirit," 
 continued Wallace, " are so seconded by 
 his determination that what he promises 
 he will perform, and we may soon ex 
 pect to hear that we have no enemies in 
 the Highlands." 
 
 But in this he was disappointed. Day 
 after day passed away, and no tidings ar 
 rived from the north. Wallace became 
 anxious, and Bothwell and Edwin began 
 to share his uneasiness. Continued suc 
 cesses against Berwick had assured him of 
 a speedy surrender, when a Southron re 
 inforcement being thrown in by sea the 
 confidence of the garrison was re-excited, 
 and the ramparts being doubly manned, 
 Wallace saw the only alternative was to 
 attempt the possession of their ships and
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 47 
 
 turn the siege into a blockade. Should 
 
 ^3 
 
 Bruce be prosperous in the Highlands, 
 he would have full leisure to await the 
 fall of Berwick upon this plan, and much 
 blood might be spared. Intent and exe 
 cution were twin-born in the breast of 
 Wallace. By a masterly stroke he ef 
 fected his design on the shipping; and 
 having closed the Southrons within their 
 walls, he dispatched Lord Bothwell to 
 Hunting-tower to see Ruthven, to learn 
 the state of military operations there, and 
 above all, he hoped to bring back good 
 tidings of the prince. 
 
 On the evening of the very day in 
 which Murray left Berwick a desperate 
 sally was made by the garrison, but they 
 were beaten back with great slaughter, 
 and with such effect that Wallace gained 
 
 O 
 
 possession of one of their most command 
 ing towers. The contest did not end till 
 night ; and after passing some time in the 
 council-tent listening to the suggestions 
 of his friends relative to the use that might
 
 48 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 be made of the new acquisition, he retired 
 to his own quarters at a late hour. At 
 these momentous periods he never seemed 
 to need sleep : and seated at his table, 
 settling the dispositions for the succeeding 
 day, he marked not the time till the. flame 
 of his exhausted lamp expired in the 
 socket. He replenished it ; and had 
 again resumed his military labours, when 
 the curtain which covered the door 
 of his tent was drawn aside and an armed 
 man entered. Wallace loolced up ; and 
 seeing that it was the knight of the green 
 plume, asked if any thing had occurred 
 from the town. 
 
 " Nothing," replied the knight, in an 
 agitated voice, and seating himself beside 
 Wallace. " Any evil tidings from my 
 friends in Perthshire?" demanded Wal 
 lace, who now hardly doubted that ill 
 news had arrived of Bruce. " None," was 
 the knight's reply, " but I am come to 
 fulfil my promise to you ; to unite myself 
 for ever, heart and soul, to your destiny ;
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEF?. 49 
 
 or you behold me this night for the last 
 time." Wallace, surprised at this ad 
 dress and at the emotion which shook the 
 frame of the unknown warrior, answered 
 him with expressions of esteem, and 
 added: k ' If it depends on me to unite so 
 brave a man to my friendship for ever, 
 only speak the word, declare your name, 
 and I am ready to seal the compact." 
 " My name," returned the knight, " will 
 indeed put these protestations to the proof. 
 I have fought by your side, Sir William 
 Wallace. I would have died at any mo 
 ment to have spared that breast n wound ; 
 and yet I dread to raise this visor, to shew 
 you who I am. A look will make me live, 
 or blast me." " Your luno-uno-e confounds 
 
 O O 
 
 me, noble knight," replied Wallace, " I 
 know of no man living, saving either of 
 the base violators of Lady Helen Mar's 
 liberty, who need tremble before my eyes. 
 It is not possible that either of these men 
 is before me ; and whoever you are, what 
 ever you may have been, brave chieftain, 
 VOL. v. D
 
 50 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 your deeds have proved you worthy of a 
 soldier's friendship, and I pledge you 
 mine." 
 
 The knight was silent. He took Wal 
 lace's hand he grasped it ; the arms 
 that held it did indeed tremble. Wallace 
 again spoke. " What is the meaning of 
 this? I am no tyrant, no monarch, to 
 excite these dreads. I have a power to 
 benefit, but none to injure." " To bene 
 fit and to injure I" cried the knight in a 
 transport of emotion; " you have my life 
 in your hands. Oh ! grant it, as you va 
 lue your own happiness and honour ! 
 Look on me, and say whether I am to live 
 or die." As the warrior spoke, he cast 
 himself impetuously on his knees, and 
 threw open his visor. Wallace saw a fine 
 but flushed face. It was much oversha 
 dowed by the helmet. " My brave 
 friend," said he, attempting to raise 
 him by the hand which clasped his ; 
 " your words are mysteries to me ; and 
 so little right can I have to the power
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 51 
 
 you ascribe to me, that, although it 
 seems to me as if I had seen your fea 
 tures before, yet " " You forget me," 
 
 cried the knight starting on his feet and 
 throwing off his helmet to the ground ; 
 " Again look on this face, and stab me at 
 once by a second declaration that I am 
 remembered no more !" 
 
 The countenance of Wallace novr 
 shewed that he too well remembered it. 
 He was pale 'and aghast. " Lady Mar," 
 cried he, " not expecting to see you under 
 a warrior's casque, you will pardon me 
 that when so apparelled I should not im 
 mediately recognise the widow of my 
 friend." " Ingrate ! ingrate !" cried she, 
 turning pale as himself ; " and is it thus 
 you answer the sacrifices I have made for 
 you ? For you I have committed an out 
 rage on my nature ; I have put on me 
 this abhorrent steel ; I have braved the 
 dangers of many a hard-fought day ; rand 
 all to guard your life ; to convince you of 
 x love unexampled in woman ! and thui 
 D 2
 
 52 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 you recognise her who has risked honour 
 and life for you, with coldness and re 
 proach!" "With neither, Lady Mar," 
 returned he, " I am grateful for the ge 
 nerous motives of your conduct ; but for 
 the sake of the fair fame you confess you 
 have endangered,; in respect to the me 
 mory of him whose name you bear ; I can 
 not but wish that so hazardous an instance 
 of interest in me had been left undone." 
 " If that is all," returned Lady Mar, draw 
 ing towards him ; " it is in your power to 
 ward from me every stigma ! Who will 
 dare to cast one reflection on my lair fame 
 when you bear testimony to my purity ? 
 Who will asperse the name of Mar, when 
 you displace it with that of Wallace ? 
 Make me yours, dearest of men," cried 
 she clasping his hands, " and you will 
 receive one to your heart who never knew 
 how to love before : who will be to you 
 what woman never yet was ; and who 
 will bring you territories, if not more, yet 
 nearly equal to those of the King of Scot-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 53 
 
 land. My father, who held them during 
 Lord Mar's life, is no more ; and now, 
 Countess of Strathearn and Princess of the 
 Orkneys, I have it in my power to bring a 
 sovereignty to your head and the fondest 
 of wives to your bosom." As she vehe 
 mently spoke, and clung to Wallace as 
 if she had already a right to seek comfort 
 within his arms, her tears and violent agi 
 tation so disconcerted him that for & 
 few moments he could not find a reply. 
 This short endurance of her passion 
 aroused her almost drooping hopes ; and 
 intoxicated with so rapturous an illusion 
 she threw off the little restraint in which 
 her awe of Wallace's coldness had confin 
 ed her, and flinging herself on his breast, 
 poured forth all her love and fond ambi 
 tions for him. In vain he attempted to 
 interrupt her, to raise her with gentleness 
 from her indecorous situation ; she had 
 no perception but for the idea which had 
 now taken possession of her heart, and 
 whispering to him softly, she said, " Be
 
 54 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 but my husband, Wallace, and all rights 
 shall perish before my love and your ag 
 grandizement. In these arms you shall 
 bless the day you first saw Joanna Stra- 
 thearn !" 
 
 The prowess of the knight of the green 
 plume, the respect he owed to the widow 
 of the Earl of Mar, the tenderness he ever 
 felt for all of woman-kind, were all for 
 gotten in the disgusting blandishments of 
 this determined wanton. She wooed to 
 be his wife ; but not with the chaste appeal 
 of the widow of Mahlon. " Let me find 
 favour in thy sight, for thou hast comfort 
 ed me !" said the fair Moabitess, who in 
 a strange land cast herself at the feet of 
 her deceased husband's friend; "Spread 
 thy garment over me, and let me be thy 
 wife !" She was answered, "I will do all that 
 thou requirest, for thou art a virtuous 
 woman!" But neither the actions nor the 
 words of Lady Mar bore witness that she 
 deserved this appellation. They were the 
 dictates of a passion as impure as it was
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 55 
 
 intemperate. Blinded by its fumes she 
 forgot the nature of the heart she sought 
 to pervert to sympathy with hers. She 
 saw not that every look and movement on 
 her part filled Wallace with aversion; 
 and not until he forcibly broke from her 
 did she doubt the success of her fond 
 caresses. 
 
 " Lady Mar," said he, " I must repeat 
 that I am not ungrateful for the proofs of 
 regard you have bestowed on me ; but 
 such excess of attachment is lavished upon 
 a man that is a bankrupt in love. I am 
 cold as monumental marble to every touch 
 of that passion to which I was once but too 
 entirely devoted. Bereaved of the object, 
 I am punished; thus is my heart doomed 
 to solitude on earth, for having made 
 an idol of the angel that was sent to cheer 
 and guide me in the path to heaven." 
 Wallace said even more than this. He 
 remonstrated with her in the gentlest 
 manner, on the shipwreck she was making 
 of her own happiness in adhering thus
 
 $6 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 tenaciously to a man who could only re 
 gard her with the general sentiment of 
 esteem. He urged her beauty and yet 
 youthful years. How many would be eager 
 to win her love and to marry her with 
 honour ; when, under the circumstances 
 into which she had thrown herself with 
 him, should she persist, nothing could ac 
 crue but disappointment and disgrace. 
 While he continued to speak to her with 
 the tender consideiation of a brother, she, 
 who knew no gradations in the affections 
 of the heart, doubted his words and be 
 lieved that a latent fire glowed in his 
 breast which her art might still blow into 
 a flame. She threw herself upon her 
 knees, she wept, she implored his pity, 
 she wound her arms around his and bath 
 ed his hands with her tears ; but still he 
 continued to urge her by every argument 
 of female delicacy to relinquish her ill- 
 directed love, and to return to her domains 
 before her absence could be generally 
 known She looked up to read his coun-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 5? 
 
 tenance : a friend's anxiety, nay, authori 
 ty, was there, but no glow of passion ; all 
 was calm and determined. Her beauty 
 then had been shewn to a man without 
 eyes ; her tender eloquence poured on an 
 ear that was deaf; and her blandishments 
 lavished on a block of marble ! In a 
 paroxysm of despair she dashed the hand 
 which she held far from her, and stand 
 ing proudly on her feet. " Hear me, 
 thou man of stone !" cried she, " and an 
 swer me on your life and honour, for both 
 depend on your reply, Is Joanna Stra- 
 thearn to be your wife or not ?" 
 
 " Cease to urge me, unhappy lady," re 
 turned Wallace ; " on what you already 
 know the decision of this ever widowed 
 heart." Lady Mar looked stedfastly at 
 him : " Then receive my last determina 
 tion !" cried she, and drawing near him 
 with a desperate and portentous expres 
 sion in her countenance, as if she meant to 
 whisper in his ear, she on a sudden pluck 
 ed St. Louis's dagger from his girdle and 
 D 3
 
 58 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 struck it into his breast. Before it could 
 penetrate to a mortal depth he caught the 
 hand which grasped the hilt. Her 
 eyes glared with the fury of a maniac, and 
 with a horrid laugh she exclaimed, " I 
 have slain thee, insolent triumpher in my 
 love and agonies 1 Thou shalt not now 
 deride me in the arms of thy minion: for 
 I know that it is not for the dead Marion 
 you have trampled on my heart, but for 
 the living Helen !" As she spoke, he 
 moved her hold from the dagger s and 
 drew the weapon from the wound. A 
 torrent of blood flowed over his vest and 
 stained the hand that grasped hers. She 
 turned of a deadly paleness, but a demo 
 niac joy still gleamed in her eyes. " Lady 
 Mar," cried he, " I pardon this outrage. 
 Go in peace, and I shall never breathe to 
 man or woman the occurrences of this 
 night. Only remember, that with regard 
 to Lady Helen, my wishes are as pure as 
 her own virgin innocence." " So they may 
 be now, vainly-boasting, immaculate Wai-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 59 
 
 lace !" answered she, with bitter deri 
 sion, " men are saints, when their passions 
 are satisfied. Think not to impose on 
 her who knows how this vestal Helen fol 
 lowed you in page's attire, and without one 
 stigma being cast on her maiden deli 
 cacy ! I am not to learn the days and 
 nights she passed alone with you in the 
 woods of Normandy ! Did you not fol 
 low her to France ? Did you not tear her 
 from the arms of Lord Aymer de Valence? 
 And now, relinquishing her yourself, you 
 leave a dishonoured bride to cheat the 
 vows of some honester man ! Wallace, I 
 now know you : and as I have been fool 
 enough to love you beyond all woman's 
 love, I swear by the powers of heaven and 
 hell, to make you feel the weight of wo 
 man's hatred!" 
 
 Her denunciations had no effect on 
 Wallace: but her slander against her un- 
 
 C3 
 
 offending daughter-in-law agitated him 
 with an indignation that almost dispossess 
 ed him of himself. In few but hurried and
 
 60 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 vehement words, he denied all that she 
 had alledged against Helen, and appealed 
 to the whole court of France to bear wit 
 ness to her spotless innocence. Lady 
 Mar exulted in this emotion, though 
 every sentence, by the interest it displayed 
 in its object, seemed to establish the truth 
 of that suspicion which she had only ut 
 tered as the mere ebullition of her spleen. 
 Triumphing in the belief that he had 
 found another as frail as herself, and yet 
 maddened that that other should have 
 been preferred before her, her jealous 
 pride took fresh flame. " Swear," cried 
 she, " till I see the blood of that false 
 heart forced to my feet to ratify the oath, 
 and still I shall believe the base daughter 
 
 O 
 
 of Mar a wanton. I go, not to proclaim 
 her dishonour to the world, but to deprive 
 her of her lover ; to yield the rebel Wal 
 lace into the hands of justice ! When on 
 the scaffold, proud exulter in those now 
 detested beauties, remember that it was 
 Joanna Strathearnwho laid thy head upon
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 6l 
 
 the block ; who consigned those limbs, of 
 heaven's own statuary, to decorate the 
 spires of Scotland ! Remember that my 
 curse pursues you here and hereafter!" 
 A livid fire seemed to dart from her eyes; 
 her countenance was torn as by some in 
 ternal fiend ; and with the last malediction 
 thundering from her tongue she darted 
 from his sight. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 THE next morning Wallace was re 
 called from the confusion into which his 
 nocturnal visitor had thrown his mind, by 
 the entrance of Ker, who came as usual 
 with the repyrts of the night and to re 
 ceive his orders for the day. In the course 
 of their conversation, Ker mentioned that
 
 62 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 about three hours after sun-rise the knight 
 of the green plume had left the camp with 
 his dispatches for Stirling. Wallace was 
 scarcely surprised at this ready falsehood 
 of Lady Mar's ; and not intending to be 
 tray her, he merely said ; " It is well ; and 
 long ere he appears again, J hope we shall 
 have good tidings from our friends on the 
 Tay." 
 
 But day after day passed, and notwith 
 standing Bothwell's embassy, no accounts 
 arrived. The Countess had left behind 
 an emissary who did as she had done be 
 fore, intercept all messengers from Perth 
 shire. 
 
 The morning after the night in which 
 she had clandestinely stolen from Hunt 
 ing-tower, she ordered the seneschal of 
 that castle (her only confident in this trans 
 action) to tell Lady Ruthven that he had 
 just spoken with a knight who came to say 
 thatthe Countess of Strathearn and Mar had 
 commanded him to tell the family that she 
 \vas gone on a secret mission .to Norway,
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 63 
 
 and therefore desired her sister-in-law, for 
 the sake of the cause most dear to her, that 
 neither she nor any in the castle would in 
 form Lord Rulhven or his friends of her 
 departure till she should return with, she 
 hoped, happy news for Scotland. The man 
 said, that after declaring this the knight 
 rode hastily away. But this precaution, 
 which did indeed impose on the innocent 
 credulity of her husband's sister and 
 daughter, failed to satisfy the countess 
 herself. Fearful that Helen might com 
 municate her flight to Wallace and so 
 excite his suspicion that she was not far 
 from him, from the moment of her join 
 ing him at Linlithgow she intercepted 
 every letter from Hunting-tower; and 
 continued to do so after Bruce went to 
 that castle, jealous of what might be said 
 of Helen by this Sir Thomas de Longue- 
 ville, in whom he seemed so undeservedly 
 to confide. To this end, all packets from 
 Perthshire were conveyed to her by a spy 
 she had in the camp ; and all which were
 
 64 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 sent thence, were stopped at Hunting- 
 tower (through which channel they were 
 directed to go,) and by the treacherous 
 seneschal thrown into the flames. No 
 letters ever came from Helen : a few bore 
 Lord Ruthven's superscription ; arid all 
 the rest were addressed by Sir Thomas de 
 Longueville to Wallace. She broke the 
 seals of this correspondence ; but she look 
 ed in vain on their contents. Bruce and 
 his friend, as well as Ruthven, wrote in a 
 cypher; and only one passage, which the 
 former had by chance written in the com 
 mon character, could she ever make out. 
 It ran thus : 
 
 " I have just returned to Hunting- 
 tower after the capture of Kinfouns. Lady 
 Helen sits by me on one side, Isabella on 
 the other. Isabella smiles on me like a 
 Hourii. Helen's look is not less gra 
 cious, for I tell her I am writing to Sir 
 William Wallace. She smiles, but it is 
 with such a smile as that with which a saint 
 would relinquish to heaven the dearest
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 65 
 
 object of its love." " Helen," said I, 
 " what shall I say from you to your friend?" 
 She blushed. " That I pray for him." 
 " That you think of him?" " That I 
 pray for him," repeated she more empha 
 tically ; " that is the way I always think 
 of my preserver." Her manner checked 
 me, my dear Wallace ; but I would give 
 worlds that you could bring your heart to 
 make this sweet vestal smile as I do her 
 sister !" 
 
 Lady Mar crushed the registered wish, 
 so hostile to her hopes, in her hand ; and 
 though she was never able to decypher a 
 word more of Bruce's numerous letters, 
 (many of which, could she have read, con 
 tained complaints of that silence which she 
 had so cruelly occasioned on both sides,) 
 she took and destroyed them all. 
 
 She had ever shunned the penetrating 
 eyes of Bothwell ; and to have him on 
 the spot when she should discover herself 
 to Wallace, she thought would only in 
 vite his discomfiture ; and therefore, in
 
 66 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 affecting to share the general anxiety re 
 specting the affairs in the north, she sug 
 gested to Ramsay the propriety of send 
 ing some one of peculiar trust to make 
 inquiries. By a little art she easily ma 
 naged that the young chieftain should 
 propose Bothwell to Wallace ; and on 
 the very night that her machinations had 
 prevailed to dispatch him on this embassy, 
 impatient, yet doubting and agitated she 
 went to declare and throw herself on the 
 bosom of the man for whom she thus 
 sunk herself in shame and falsehood. 
 
 Wallace, though he heard the denunci 
 ation with which she left his presence, 
 did not conceive that it was more than the 
 evanescent rage of disappointed passion ; 
 and anticipating persecutions rather from 
 her love than her revenge, he was relieved 
 and not alarmed by the intelligence that' 
 the knight of the green plume had really 
 taken his departure. More delicate of 
 Lady Mar's honour than she was of her 
 ewn, when he met Edwin at the works
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 6? 
 
 he silently acquiesced in his belief, that 
 their late companion was gone with dis 
 patches to the Regent who was now 
 removed to Stirling. 
 
 After frequent desperate sallies from 
 the garrison, in which the Southrons were 
 always beaten back with great Ibss, the 
 lines of circumvallation were at last finish 
 ed, and Wallace hourly anticipated the 
 surrender of the enemy. Reduced for 
 want of provisions, and seeing ail hope of 
 iuccours cut off by the seizure of the fleet, 
 the inhabitants, detesting their new rulers, 
 rose in strong bodies, and lying in wait for 
 the soldiers of the garrison, murdered 
 them secretly and in great numbers ; and 
 by the punishments which the governor 
 thought proper to inflict on the guilty 
 and guiltless, (as he could not discover 
 who were actually the assassins,) the dis 
 tress of the town was augmented to a most 
 horrible degree. Such a state of things 
 could not be long maintained ; and the 
 Southron commander perceiving the peril
 
 6$ THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 of his troops, and foreseeing that should 
 he continue in the fortress they must all 
 assuredly perish either by the insurrec 
 tion within or the enemy from without, 
 he determined no longer to await the ap 
 pearance of a relief which might never 
 arrive ; and to stop the internal confusion, 
 he sent a flag of truce to Wallace accept 
 ing and signing his offered terms of capi 
 tulation. By this deed he engaged to 
 open the gates to him at sun-set, but beg 
 ged the interval between noon and that 
 hour, that he might settle the animosities 
 
 7 O 
 
 between his men and the people, before'lie 
 should surrender his brave followers en 
 tirely into the hands of the Scots. 
 
 Having dispatched his assent to this 
 request of the governor's, Wallace retired 
 to his own tent. That he had effected his 
 purpose without the carnage which must 
 have ensued had he again stormed the 
 place, gratified his humanity ; and con 
 gratulating himself on such a termination 
 of the siege, he turned with more than
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 69 
 
 usual cheerfulness towards a herald who 
 brought him a packet from the north. 
 The man withdrew, and Wallace broke 
 the seal ; but what was his astonishment 
 to find it an order for him to immediately 
 repair to Stirling and there answer, before 
 the Regent and the abthanes of Scotland ( d ) 
 on his allegiance to his country, certain 
 charges brought against him by an autho 
 rity too illustrious to set aside without 
 examination. At the close of this cita 
 tion, they added, " The Scots^ of whom 
 Sir William Wallace has so long declared 
 himself the champion, will now be proud 
 to shew their present power in the im 
 partiality with which they will award the 
 sentence of justice." He had hardly had 
 time to read this extraordinary mandate, 
 when Sir Simon Fraser, his second in 
 command, entered and with consternation 
 in his looks put an open letter into his 
 hand. It ran as follows: 
 
 " Allegations of treason against the 
 liberties of Scotland having been preferred
 
 70 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 against Sir William Wallace. Until he 
 clears himself of the charge, you, Sir 
 Simon Fraser, are directed to assume in 
 his stead the command of the forces which 
 form the blockade of Berwick ; and you 
 are therefore ordered to see that the ac 
 cused sets forward to Stirling, under a 
 strong guard, within an hour after you 
 receive this dispatch. Signed, 
 
 " JOHN CUMMIN, 
 
 Earl of Badenoch, and Lord Regent of Scotland." 
 Stirling- Castle. 
 
 Wallace returned the letter to Fraser 
 with an undisturbed countenance; " I 
 have received a similar order from the 
 Regent," said he; " and though I cannot 
 guess the source whence these accusations 
 spring I fear not to meet them, and shall 
 require no guard to speed me forward to 
 the scene of my defence. I am ready to 
 go, my friend ; and happy to resign the 
 brave garrison that has just surrendered, to 
 your honour and amity." Fraser answer-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 71 
 
 ed that ke should be emulous to follow 
 his example in all things, and to abide 
 by his agreements with the Southron 
 governor. He then, by Wallace's desire 
 retired to prepare the army for the 
 departure of their commander ; and, much 
 against his own will, to call out the escort 
 that was to attend him to Stirling. " It 
 is right," added Wallace, " that I should 
 pay every respect to the tribunal of my 
 country ; and with regard to this small 
 ceremonial of a guard I deem it proper to 
 submit to the ordinance of its rulers." 
 
 When the marshal of the army read to 
 the officers and men the orders of the Re 
 gent, that they must obey Sir Simon Fra- 
 ser instead of Sir William Wallace who 
 was summoned to Stirling on a charge of 
 treason, a wordless consternation seized 
 on one part of the troops and as violent 
 an indignation agitated the other to tu 
 mult. The brave Scots who had followed 
 the Chief of Ellerslie from the first hour 
 of his appearing as a patriot in ajrms, could'
 
 7$ THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 not brook this aspersion upon their leader's 
 honour; and had it not been for the. ve 
 hement exhortations of the no less incens 
 ed though more moderate Scrymgeour 
 and Ramsay, they would have arisen in 
 instant revolt. However, they would not 
 be withheld from immediately quitting the 
 field and marching directly to Wallace's 
 tent. He was conversing with Edwin 
 when they arrived, and in some measure he 
 had broken the shock to him of so disho 
 nouring a charge on his friend, by his be 
 ing the first to communicate it. In vain 
 Edwin strove to guess who could be the 
 inventor of so dire a falsehood against the 
 
 O 
 
 truest of Scots ; and he awakened that 
 alarm in Wallace for Bruce which could 
 not be excited for himself, by suggesting 
 that perhaps some intimation had been 
 given to the most ambitious of the abthanes 
 respecting the arrival of their rightful 
 prince. " And yet," returned Wallace, 
 ** I cannot altogether suppose that, for 
 even their desires of self-aggrandizement
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 73 
 
 could not torture my share in Bruce's res 
 toration to his country into any thing like 
 treason ; our friend's rights are tbo un 
 disputed for that : and all I should dread 
 by a premature discovery of his being 
 in Scotland, would be secret machinations 
 against his life. There are men in this 
 land who might attempt it ; and it is our 
 duty, my dear Edwin, to suffer death 
 upon the rack rather than betray our 
 knowledge of him. But," added he 
 with a smile, " we need not disturb our 
 selves with such thoughts ; for the Regent 
 is in our prince's confidence, and did this 
 accusation relate to him he would not on 
 such a plea have arraigned me as a trai 
 tor." 
 
 Edwin again revolved in his mind the 
 nature of the charge and who the villain 
 could be who had made it, and at last 
 suddenly recollecting the Knight of the 
 Green Plume, he asked if it were not pos 
 sible that as that stranger had sedulously 
 kept himself from being known, he might 
 
 VOL. V* E
 
 74 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 not be a traitor ? " I must confess to you," 
 continued Edwin, " that this knight, who 
 ever appeared to dislike your closest 
 friends, seems to me the most probable in 
 stigator of this mischief, and is perhaps 
 the author of the strange failure of com 
 munication between you and Bruce ! Ac 
 counts have not arrived even since Both- 
 well went, and that is more than natural." 
 
 Wallace changed colour at this last 
 suggestion, but merely replied, " a few 
 hours will decide your suspicion, for I 
 shall lose no time in confronting my ene 
 my." " I go with you," said Edwin, 
 " for never while I live will I consent to 
 lose sight of my dearest friend again!" 
 
 It was at this moment that the tumultu 
 ous noise of the Lanarkers was heard 
 without. The whole band rushed into 
 the tent ; and Stephen Ireland, who was 
 foremost, raising his voice above the rest 
 exclaimed, " They are the traitors, my 
 lord, who would accuse you ! It is deter 
 mined by our corrupted Thanes, that
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 7,5 
 
 Scotland shall be sacrificed, and you 
 are to be made the first victim. Think 
 they then that we will obey such 
 parricides? Lead us on , thou only 
 worthy of the name of Regent, and we 
 will hurl these usurpers from their 
 thrones !" 
 
 This demand was reiterated by every 
 man present ; was echoed by those who 
 surrounded the tent. The Bothweller's 
 and Ramsay's followers had joined rhc 
 men of Lanark ; and the mutiny against 
 the orders of the R egen t became 'general. 
 Wallace walked out into the open field 
 and mounting his horse, rode forth 
 amongst them. At sight of him the air 
 resounded with their acclamations, and 
 they ceased not to proclaim him their only 
 leader, till taking off his helmet and 
 stretching out his arm to them in token of 
 silence they became profoundly still. 
 My friends and brother soldiers," cried 
 he, as you value the honour of William 
 E 2
 
 76 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 Wallace, for this once yield to him im 
 plicit obedience." "Forever!" shouted 
 the Bothwell-men. " We will never obey 
 any other!" rejoined his faithful Lanar- 
 kers, and with an increased uproar they 
 demanded to be led to Stirling. His ex 
 tended hand again stilled the storm, and he 
 resumed : " You shall go with me to Stir 
 ling but as my friends only, never as the 
 enemies of the Regent of Scotland. I am 
 charged with treason : it is his duty to try 
 me by the laws of my country ; it is mine 
 to submit to the inquisition. I fear it 
 not, and I invite you to accompany me ; 
 not to brand me with infamy by passing 
 between my now darkened honour and 
 the light of justice; not to avenge an ini 
 quitous sentence passed on a guiltless 
 man; but to my acquittal; and in that, my 
 triumph over them who through my 
 breast strike at a greater than I." 
 
 At this mild persuasive every upraised 
 sword dropped before him, in token of 
 obedience ; and Wallace turning his
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 77 
 
 liorse into the path which led towards 
 Stirling, his men, with a silent determina 
 tion to share the fate of their master, fell 
 into regular marching order and follow 
 ed him. Edwin, confounded at the pre 
 sent situation of his ungratefully-suspect 
 ed friend, rode by his side as much won 
 dering at the unaffected composure with 
 which he sustained such a weight of in 
 sult, as at the Regent who could be so 
 unjust to tried virtue as to lay it upon 
 him. 
 
 At the west of the camp the detachment 
 appointed to guard Wallace to Stirling 
 came up with him. It was with difficulty 
 that Fraser could find an officer who 
 would command it ; and he who did at 
 last consent, appeared before his prisoner 
 with down-cast eyes, seeming rather the 
 culprit than the guard. Wallace, observ 
 ing his confusion, said a few gracious 
 words to him ; and the officer more over 
 come by this than he could have been
 
 78 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 with his reproaches, burst into tears and 
 retired into the rear of his men. 
 
 Wallace entered on the carse of Stir 
 ling, that scene of his many victories, and 
 beheld its northern horizon white with 
 tents. A few miles beyond the Garron an 
 armed troop, headed by young Lord 
 Fife the son of him who fell at P'alkirk, 
 and the heralds of the Regent, met him. 
 Officers appointed for the purpose had 
 apprized the abthanes of Wallace having 
 left Berwick ; and knowing by the same 
 means, all his movements, this cavalcade 
 was ready to hold his followers in awe and 
 to conduct him without opposition to Stirl 
 ing. In case it should be insufficient to 
 quail the spirit of the brave Lanarkers, or 
 to intimidate him who had never yet been 
 made to fear by mortal man, the Regent 
 having summoned all the vassals of the va 
 rious seigniories of Cummin, had planted 
 them in battle array before the walls of 
 Stirling. But whether they were friends
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 79 
 
 or foes, was equally indifferent to Wallace, 
 for secure in his own integrity, he went as 
 confidently to this trial as to a triumph. 
 In either case he should demonstrate his 
 fidelity to Scotland ; and though inward 
 ly marvelling at such a panoply of war 
 being called out to induce him to comply 
 with so simple an act of obedience to the 
 laws, he met the heralds of the Regent 
 with as much ease as if they had been 
 coming to congratulate him on the capi 
 tulation, the ratification of which he 
 brought in his hand. 
 
 By his order his faithful followers, who 
 took a pride in obeying with the most 
 scrupulous strictness the injunctions of 
 their now deposed commander, encamped 
 under Sir Alexander Scrymgeour and 
 Ramsay near Ballochgeich, to the north 
 west of the castle. It was then night. In 
 the morning at an early 3 hour Wallace, 
 attended by Edwin, was summoned before 
 the council in the citadel.
 
 80 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 On his re-entrance into that room which 
 he had left the dictator of the kingdom, 
 
 O ' 
 
 when every knee bent and every head 
 bowed to his supreme mandate, he found 
 not one who even greeted his appearance 
 with the commonest ceremony of courtesy. 
 Badenoch the Regent sat upon the throne, 
 pale, and with evident symptoms of being 
 yet an invalid. The lords Athol and 
 Buchan, and the numerous chiefs of the 
 clans of Cummin, were seated on his right: 
 on his left were arranged the Earls of 
 Fyfe and Lorn, Lord Soulis, and every 
 Scottish baron of power who had at any 
 time shewn himself hostile to Wallace: 
 others, who were of easy faith to a tale of 
 malice, sat with them ; and the rest of the 
 assembly was filled up with men of better 
 families than personal fame, and whose 
 names swelled a catalogue without adding 
 any true importance to the side on which 
 they appeared. A few, and those a very 
 few, who respected Wallace, were pre-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 81 
 
 sent, and they, not because they were sent 
 for, (great care having been taken not to 
 summon his friends) but in consequence 
 of a rumour of the charge having reached 
 them ; and these were the lords Lennox 
 and Loch-awe with Kirkpatrick and two 
 or three chieftains from the western High 
 lands. None of them had arrived till 
 within a few minutes of the council being 
 opened, and Wallace was entering atone 
 door as they appeared at the other. 
 
 At sight of him a low whisper buzz 
 ed through the hall, and a marshal 
 took the plumed bonnet from his hand, 
 which, out of respect to the nobility of 
 Scotland, he had raised from his head 
 at his entrance. The man then pre 
 ceding him to a spot directly in front 
 of the throne, said, in a voice which de 
 clared the reluctance with which he utter 
 ed the words, " Sir William Wallace, be 
 ing charged with treason, by an ordinance 
 of Fergus the first you must stand uncover 
 ed before the representative of the majesty 
 JE 3
 
 82 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 of Scotland until that loyalty is proved 
 which will again restore you to a seat 
 amongst her faithful barons." 
 
 Wallace, with the same equanimity as 
 that with which he would have mounted the 
 regal chair, bowed his head to the marshal 
 in token of acquiescence. But Edwin, 
 whose indignation was re-awakened at this 
 exclusion of his friend from the privilege 
 of his birth, said something so warm to the 
 marshal that Wallace in a low voice was 
 obliged to check his vehemence by a 
 declaration that it was his determination, 
 (however obsolete the custom and revived 
 in his case only) to submit himself in 
 every respect to whatever was exacted of 
 him by the laws of his country. 
 
 On Loch-awe and Lennox observing 
 him stand thus before the bonnetted 
 and seated chiefs, (a stretch of magis 
 terial prerogative which had not been 
 exercised for many a century by any 
 but a king) they took off their caps, and 
 bowing to Wallace, refused to occupy
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 83 
 
 their places on the benches while the de 
 fender of Scotland stood. Kirkpatrick 
 drew eagerly towards him and throwing 
 down his casque and sword at his feet, 
 cried in a loud voice, " Lie there till the 
 only true man in all this land commands 
 me to take ye up in his defence. He 
 alone had courage to look the Southrons 
 in the face and to drive their king over 
 the borders, while his present accusers 
 skulked in their chains !" Wallace re 
 garded this ebullition from the heart of 
 the honest veteran with a look that was 
 eloquent to all. He would have ani 
 matedly praised such an instance of fear 
 less gratitude expressed to another, and 
 when it was directed to himself, his inge 
 nuous soul shewed what he felt in every 
 feature of his beaming countenance. 
 
 " Is it . thus, presumptuous knight of 
 Ellerslie ?" cried Soulis, " that by your 
 looks you dare to encourage contumely to 
 the Lord Regent and his peers ?" Wal 
 lace did not deign him an answer, but
 
 84 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 turning calmly towards the throne, " Re 
 presentative of my king !" said he, 
 " in duty to the power whose authority 
 you wear, I have obeyed your summons ; 
 and I here await the appearance of the 
 accuser who has had the hardihood to 
 brand the name of William Wallace with 
 disloyalty to prince or people." 
 
 The Regent was embarrassed. He did 
 not suffer his eyes to meet those of 
 Wallace, but looked from side to side in 
 manifest confusion during this address ; 
 and when it ended, without a reply to the 
 chief, he turned to'Lord Athol and called 
 on him to open the charge. Athol re 
 quired not a second summons : he rose 
 immediately, and in a bold and positive 
 manner accused Wallace of having been 
 won over by Philip of France to sell 
 those rights of supremacy to him which, 
 with a feigned patriotism, his sword had 
 wrested from the grasp of England. For 
 this treachery Philip was to endow him 
 with the sovereignty of Scotland ; and as
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 85 
 
 a pledge of the compact, he had invested 
 him with the principality of Gascony in 
 France. " This is the ground-work of 
 his treason," continued Athol, " but the 
 catastrophe is yet to be cemented by our 
 blood. I have seen a list in his own hand 
 writing, in which are the names of those 
 chiefs whose lives are to pave his way 
 to the throne." 
 
 At this point of the charge, Edwin, 
 wrought up beyond longer forbearance, 
 sprang forward, but Wallace perceiving 
 the intent of his movement caught him by 
 
 c? / 
 
 the arm, arid by a look reminded him of 
 his recently repeated engagement to keep 
 silent. 
 
 " Produce the list," cried Lord Lennox, 
 " no evidence that does not bring proofs 
 to our eyes, ought to have any weight with 
 us against the man who has bled in every 
 vein for Scotland." " It shall be brought 
 to your eyes," returned Athol ; " that, 
 and other damning proofs, shall convince 
 this too credulous country of its long
 
 86 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 abused confidence." " I see them now !" 
 cried Kirkpatrick, who had frowning- 
 ly listened to Athol; " the abusers of 
 my country's confidence betray themselves 
 at this moment by their eagerness to im 
 peach her friends ; and I pray heaven 
 that before they mislead others into so 
 black a conspiracy, the lie in their throats 
 may choke its inventors !" " We all 
 know," cried Athol, turning on Kirk 
 patrick, " to whom you belong. You 
 were bought with the horrid grant to 
 mangle the body of the slain Cressing- 
 ham ; a deed which has brought a stigma 
 on the Scottish name never to be erased 
 but by the immolation of its perpetrators. 
 For this savage triumph did you sell your 
 self to William Wallace : and a bloody 
 champion would you always prove of 
 a most secretly murderous master !" 
 
 "Hear you this, and bear it?" cried 
 Kirkpatrick and Edwin in one breatli 
 and grasping their daggers ; Edwin's 
 the next moment flashed in his hand*
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 87 
 
 " Seize them !" cried Athol, " my life is 
 threatened by his myrmidons." Two 
 marshals instantly approached to put the 
 order in execution ; but Wallace, who 
 had hitherto stood in silent dignity al 
 lowing his calumniator to disgorge all his 
 venom before he would condescend to point 
 out to them who never ought to have 
 suspected him where the poison lay, 
 now turned to the men, and with that 
 tone of justice which had ever command 
 ed from his lips, he bade them forbear : 
 " Touch these knights at your peril, mar 
 shals !" said he, " No man in this cham 
 ber is above the laws ; and they protect 
 every Scot who resents unjust aspersions 
 upon his own character, or irrelevant and 
 prejudicing attacks on that of an ar 
 raigned friend. It is before the majesty 
 of the law that I now stand ; but were in 
 jury to v usurp its place, not all the lords 
 in Scotland should detain me a moment 
 in a scene so unworthy of my country.'* 
 The marshals retreated ; for they had
 
 88 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 been accustomed to regard with implicit 
 deference the opinion of Sir William 
 Wallace on the laws ; and though he 
 now stood in the light of their violater, yet 
 memory bore testimony that he had always 
 read them aright and to this hour had 
 ever appeared to make them the guide of 
 his actions. 
 
 Athol saw that none in the assembly 
 had courage to enforce this act of his 
 violence, and blazing with fury he pour 
 ed his whole wrath upon Wallace; 
 " Imperious, arrogant traitor!" cried he, 
 " This presumption only deepens our im 
 pression of your guilt ! Demean yourself 
 with more reverence to this august court, 
 or expect to be sentenced on the proof 
 which such insolence amply gives; we 
 require no other to proclaim your domi 
 neering spirit, and to at once condemn you 
 as the premeditated tyrant of our land." 
 "Lord Athol," replied Wallace, "what 
 is just, I would say in the face of all the 
 courts in Christendom. It is not in the
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 89 
 
 power of man to make me silent when I 
 see the laws of my country outraged and 
 my countrymen oppressed. Though I may 
 submit my own cheek to the blow, I will 
 not permit their's to share the stroke. I 
 have answered you, earl, to this point ; 
 and I am ready to hear you to the end." 
 
 Athol resumed. " I am not yoqr only 
 accuser, proudly-confident man; you shall 
 see one whose truth cannot be doubted, 
 and whose first glance will bow that 
 haughty spirit and cover that bold front 
 with the livery of shame ! My lord," 
 cried he, turning to the Regent, " I shall 
 brino; a most illustrious witness before 
 
 o 
 
 you ; one who will prove on oath that it 
 was the intention of this arch-hypocrite, 
 this angler for women's hearts, this per- 
 verter of men's understandings, before ano 
 ther moon to bury deep in blood the 
 very people whom he now insidiously 
 affects to protect ! But to open your and 
 the nation's eyes at once ; to overwhelm
 
 90 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 him with his fate ; I now call forth the 
 evidence." 
 
 The marshals opened a door in the side 
 of the hall and led a lady forward habited 
 in regal splendor and covered from head 
 to foot with a veil of so transparent a 
 texture, that her costly apparel and majes 
 tic contour were distinctly seen. She was 
 conducted to a chair that was elevated on 
 a tapestried platform at a few paces from 
 where Wallace stood. On her being seat 
 ed the Regent rose and in a tremulous 
 voice addressed her. 
 
 11 Joanna, Countess of Strathearn and 
 Mar, and Princess of the Orkneys, we 
 adjure thee by thy princely dignity ; and 
 in the name of the King of Kings, to bear 
 a just witness to the truth or falsehood 
 of the charges of treason and conspiracy 
 now brought against Sir William Wal 
 lace." 
 
 The name of his accuser made Wallace 
 start: and the sight of her unblushing
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 91 
 
 face, for she threw aside her veil the mo 
 ment she was addressed, overspread his 
 cheek with a tinge of that shame for 
 her which she was now too hardened in 
 determined crime to feel herself. Ed 
 win gazed at her in speechless horror, 
 while she, casting a glance on Wallace in 
 which the full purpose of her soul was 
 declared, turned with a more softened 
 though majestic air to the Regent and 
 spoke. 
 
 "My lord!" said she, " you see before 
 you a woman who never knew what it 
 was to feel a self-reproachful pang till 
 an evil hour brought her to receive an 
 obligation from that insidious, treacher 
 ous man. But, as my first passion has 
 ever been the love of nay country, I will 
 prove it to this good assembly by mak 
 ing before them the confession of what 
 was once my heart's weakness: and by 
 that candour I trust they will fully hon 
 our the rest of my narrative." 
 
 A clamour of approbation resounded
 
 92 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 through the hall. Lennox and Loch-awe 
 looked on each other with amazement. 
 Kirkpatrick, recollecting the scenes at 
 Dumbarton, exclaimed " Jezabel !'* but 
 the ejaculation was lost in the general 
 burst of applause ; and the Countess, 
 after having cast down her eyes with 
 affected sensibility, again looked up and 
 resumed. 
 
 " I am not to tell you, my lord, that 
 Sir William Wallace released the late 
 Earl of Mar and myself from Southron 
 captivity at Dumbarton and in this cita 
 del. Our deliverer was what you see 
 him; fraught with attractions which he 
 too successfully directed against the peace 
 of a young woman, married to a man of 
 paternal years. While to all the rest of 
 the world he seemed to consecrate him 
 self to the memory of his murdered wife, 
 to me alone he unveiled his impassioned 
 heart. I revered my nuptial vow too sin 
 cerely to listen to him with the compla 
 cency he wished: but, I blush to own,
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 9# 
 
 that his tears, his agonies of love, l\\9r 
 youthful graces, and the virtues I believ 
 ed he possessed, (for well he knows to 
 assume !) co-operating with my ardent 
 gratitude, wrought such a change in my 
 breast that I became wretched : no 
 guilty wish was there ; but an admiration 
 of him, a pity which undermined my 
 health, and left me miserable ! I forbade 
 him to approach me. I tried to wrest 
 him from my memory ; and nearly had 
 succeeded, when I was informed by my 
 late husband's nephew, the youth who 
 now stands beside Sir William Wallace, 
 that he was returned under an assumed 
 name from France. Then I feared that 
 all my inward struggles were to re-com 
 mence. I had once conquered myself: 
 for, abhorring the estrangement of my 
 thoughts from my wedded lord during 
 his life, on his death I had, in penance 
 for my involuntary <ci;ime, refused Sir 
 William Wallace my hand. His re 
 appearance filled me with tumults
 
 94 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 which only they who would sacrifice all 
 they prize to a sense of duty can know. 
 Edwin Ruthven left me at Hunting-tower. 
 That very evening, as I was walking 
 alone in the garden, I was surprised by 
 the sudden approach of an armed man. 
 He threw a scarf over my head to pre 
 vent my screams, but I fainted with terror. 
 He then took me from the garden by the 
 way he had entered, and placing me on a 
 horse before him, galloped with me whi 
 ther^ I know not! but on my recovery I 
 found myself in a chamber with an old 
 woman standing beside me, and the same 
 warrfor, who was dressed in green armour 
 with his visor so closed that I could not see 
 his face. On my expressing alarm at my 
 situation he addressed me in French, 
 telling me that he had provided a man to 
 carry an excuse to Hunting-tower which 
 would prevent all pursuit ; and then he 
 put a letter into my hand which he said 
 ht broiiQ-lit from Sir William Wallace. 
 
 O 
 
 Anxious to know what he intended by
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 95 
 
 this act ; and believing that a man who 
 had sworn to me such devoted love could 
 not seriously premeditate further outrage 
 I broke the seal, and as nearly as I can 
 recollect read to this effect : 
 
 " That his passion was so imperious that 
 he was determined to make me his even in 
 spite of the sublime sentiments of female 
 purity which, while they tortured him, 
 rendered me dearer in his eyes. He told 
 me that as he had often read in my down 
 cast blushes the sympathy which my too 
 severe virtue made me conceal, he 
 would now wrest me from my cheerless 
 widowhood ; and having nothing in reality 
 to reproach myself with, compel me to 
 be happy. His friend, the only confident 
 of his love, had brought me to a spot 
 whence I could not fly: there I should 
 remain till he could leave the army for a 
 few days, and, (he throwing himself on 
 my compassion and tenderness,) receive 
 him as the most faithful of lovers, the 
 fondest of husbands.
 
 96 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 " This letter," continued the Countess^ 
 "was followed by many others, and, suffice 
 it to say, that the latent affection in my 
 heart and his subduing love, were too 
 powerful advocates in his cause. How 
 his letters were brought I know not.,, but 
 they were duly brought to me by the old 
 woman, who remained firm against an 
 swering me any questions. She likewise 
 carried away my perhaps too fond replies. 
 At last the Knight of the Green Plume re 
 appeared." " Prodigious villain !" broke 
 from the lips of Edwin. The Countess 
 turned her eye^on him for a moment, and 
 then resumed : " He was the warrior who 
 had borne me from Hunting-tower, and 
 from that hour until the period I now 
 speak of, I had never seen him. He put 
 another packet into my hand, desiring 
 me to peruse it with attention and return 
 Sir William Wallace a verbal answer by 
 him. Yes, was all he required. I retir 
 ed to open it, and what was my horror 
 when I read a perfect developement of the
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 97 
 
 treasons for which he is now brought to 
 account ! By some mistake of my cha 
 racter he had conceived me to be ambi 
 tious, and knowing himself master of my 
 heart, he fancied himself lord of my con 
 science also. He wrote, that until he saw 
 me he had no other end in his exertions 
 for Scotland than her rescue from a fo 
 reign yoke ; but, added he, from the mo 
 ment in which I first beheld my adored Jo 
 anna, I aspired to place a crown on her 
 brows! He then told me that he did not 
 deem the time of its presentation to him 
 on the carse of Stirling a safe period for 
 its acceptance, neither was he tempted to 
 run the risk of maintaining an unsteady 
 throne when I was not free to enjoy it ; 
 But since the death of Lord Mar every 
 wish, every hope ^Yas re-awakened, and 
 he had determined to become a kino-. 
 
 O 
 
 Philip of France had made secret articles 
 with him to this end. He was to hold 
 Scotland of him. And to make the sur 
 render of his country's liberties sur to 
 VOL. v. F
 
 98 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 Philip, and the sceptre to himself and 
 his posterity, he attempted to persuade 
 me that there would be no crime in de 
 stroying the chiefs whose names he en 
 rolled in this list. The pope, he added, 
 would absolve me for a transgression dic 
 tated by love, and on our bridal day he 
 proposed that the deed should be done. 
 He would invite all these lords to a feast, 
 and poison or the dagger should soon lay 
 them at his feet. 
 
 " So impious a proposal immediately 
 restored me to myself. My' love at once 
 turned to the most decided abhorrence ; 
 and hastening to the Knight of the Green 
 Plume, I told him to carry my resolution 
 to his master, that I would never see him 
 more till I should appear as his accuser 
 before the tribunal of his country. The 
 knight tried to dissuade me from my pur 
 pose, but in vain: and becoming alarmed 
 at my threats of the punishment that 
 would await himself as the agent of such 
 a treason, a. sudden remorse seized him
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 99' 
 
 and he confessed to me that the scene 
 of his first appearance at Linlithgow 
 was devised by Wallace who, unknown 
 to all others, had brought him over 
 from France as an assistant in schemes 
 not to be confided to Scotland's friends. 
 If I would guarantee his life, he of 
 fered to take me from the place where 
 I was then confined and convey me 
 safe to Stirling. All he asked was, that 
 I would leave every letter behind me, 
 and suffer my eyes to be blindfolded. 
 This I consented to, but the list I had 
 undesignedly put in my bosom. My 
 head was again wrapped in a thick veil, 
 and "we set out. It was very dark, and 
 we travelled long and swiftly till we 
 come to a wood. There was no moon 
 nor stars to point out any habitation. 
 But I was fatigued ; my conductor per 
 suaded me, and I dismounted to take rest. 
 I slept beneath the trees. In the morning 
 when I awoke, I in vain looked round for 
 the knight and called him ; he was gone, 
 F2
 
 100 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 and I saw him no more. I then made the 
 best of my way to Stirling to warn my 
 country of its danger, and to unmask to 
 the world the direst hypocrite that ever 
 prostituted the name of virtue." 
 
 The Countess ceased ; and a hundred 
 voices broke out at once, pouring invec 
 tives on the murderous ambition of Sir 
 William Wallace, and invoking the Re 
 gent to pass some signal condemnation on 
 so monstrous a crime. In vain Kirkpa- 
 trick thundered forth all that was in his 
 indignant soul ; he was unheard in the 
 general tumult: butgoing up to the Coun 
 tess, he accused her to her face of ingra 
 titude and falsehood and charged her 
 with a design, from some really treason 
 able motive, to destroy the only sure hope 
 of her country. 
 
 " And will you not speak?'' cried Ed 
 win, in agony of spirit clasping Wallace's 
 arm, " will you not speak, before these 
 ungrateful men shall dare to brand your 
 ever honoured name with infamy?
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 101 
 
 Make yourself be heard, my noblest friend ! 
 and confute that wicked woman, who too 
 surely has proved what I suspected, that 
 this knig-ht came to be a traitor." " I 
 
 O 
 
 will speak my Edwin," returned Wallace, 
 " at the proper moment, but not in this 
 tumult of my enemies. Rely on it that 
 your friend will submit to no unjust de 
 cree." 
 
 " Where is this Knight of the Green 
 Plume?" cried Lennox, who was almost 
 startled in his opinion of Wallace by the 
 consistency of the Countess's narrative ; 
 "No mark of dishonour shall be passed 
 on Sir William Wallace without the 
 strictest scrutiny. Let the mysterious 
 stranger be found and confronted with 
 Lady Strathearn." Notwithstanding the 
 earl's insisting on impartial justice she 
 perceived the doubt in his countenance, 
 and eager to maintain her advantage, she 
 replied " The knight I fear has fled be 
 yond our search: but, that I may not want
 
 102 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 a witness to corroborate the love I once 
 felt for this arch-hypocrite, and conse 
 quently the sacrifice I must have made to 
 loyalty in this unveiling him to the world, 
 I call upon you, Lord Lennox, to say 
 whether you did not observe at Dumbar 
 ton Castle the state of my too grateful 
 heart !" 
 
 Lennox, who well remembered her 
 conduct in the citadel of that fortress, 
 hesitated to answer, aware that his reply 
 would substantiate a guilt which he now 
 feared was but too strongly made manifest. 
 Every ear hung on his answer. Wallace 
 saw what was passing in his mind, and 
 determined to allow all men to shew what 
 was in their hearts towards him and jus 
 tice, before he would interrupt them with 
 his defence he looked .towards the earl 
 and said, " Do not hesitate, my lord, speak 
 all that you know or think of me. Could 
 the deeds of my life .be written on yon 
 blue vault," added he, " pointing to the
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 103 
 
 heavens, " and my breast be laid open fer 
 men to scan, I should be content: for 
 then I should be known to Scotland as I 
 am to my Creator, and the evidence which 
 now makes even friendship doubt, would 
 meet the reception due to calumny." 
 
 Lord Lennox felt the last remark, and 
 filled with re'morse for having for a mo 
 ment credited any thing against the frank 
 spirit which gave him this permission, 
 he replied, " To Lady Strathearn's ques 
 tion I must answer, that at Dumbarton I 
 did perceive her preference of Sir Wil 
 liam Wallace, but I never saw any thing 
 in him to warrant the idea that it was reci 
 procal. And yet, were it even so, that 
 bears nothing to the point of the Coun 
 tess's accusation; and notwithstanding her 
 princely rank and the deference all would 
 pay to the widow of Lord Mar, we cannot 
 as true Scots relinquish our faith in a man 
 who has so eminently served his country, 
 to any single witness."
 
 104 THE SCOTTISH CHJEfJj. 
 
 "No !" cried Loch- awe, " If the Knight 
 of the Green Plume be above ground, he 
 shall be brought before this tribunal. He 
 alone can be the traitor, and must have 
 deceived the Countess by this device 
 against Sir William Wallace." " No. 
 no!" interrupted she, " I read the whole 
 in his own hand-writing ; and this list of 
 the barons condemned by him to die, 
 will fully evince his guilt : even your 
 name, too generous earl, is in the horrid 
 
 catalogue." As she spoke she rose 
 
 eagerly to hand him the scroll. 
 
 " Let me now speak, or stab me to the 
 heart," hastily whispered Edwin to his 
 friend. Wallace did not withhold him, 
 for he guessed what would be the remark 
 of his ardent soul. " Hear that woman !" 
 cried the vehement youth to the Regent, 
 " and say whether she now speaks the 
 language of one who had ever loved the 
 virtues of Sir William Wallace ? Were 
 she innocent of malice towards the deli-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 105 
 
 verer of Scotland, would she not have 
 rejoiced in Lord Loch-awe's supposition 
 that the Green Knight was the traitor ? 
 And if that scroll she has now given into 
 the hand of his lordship be too nicely 
 forged for her to detect its not being in 
 deed the hand-writing of the noblest of 
 
 CS 
 
 men, would she not have shewn some sor 
 row, at least, at being obliged to maintain 
 the guilt of one she professes once to 
 have loved? But here her malice has 
 over-stepped her art; and after having pro 
 moted the success of her tale by so cun 
 ningly mingling truths of no moment 
 with falsehoods of capital import that in 
 acknowledging the one we seem to grant 
 the other, she falls into her own snare, 
 and even a boy, as you see, can discern 
 that however vile the Green Knight may 
 be, she shares his wickedness !" 
 
 While Edwin spoke Lady Strathearn's 
 countenance underwent a thousand chan 
 ges: twice she attempted to rise and inter- 
 F 3
 
 106 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 rupt him, but Sir Roger Kirkpatrick having 
 fixed his eyes on her with a menacing de 
 termination to prevent her, she found her 
 self obliged to remain quiescent. Full of a 
 newly excited fear that Wallace had con 
 fided to her nephew the last scene in his 
 tent, she started up as he seemed to pause, 
 and with assumed mildness again address 
 ing the Regent, said, that before the 
 words of any follower of Wallace could 
 sink into impartial minds she thought it 
 just to inform the council of the infatuat 
 ed attachment of Edwin Ruthven to the 
 accused, and she concluded by asserting 
 that she had ample cause for knowing that 
 the boy was so bewitched by the com 
 mander who had flattered his youthful 
 yanity by loading him with the distinc 
 tions only due to approved valour in man 
 hood, that he was ready at any time to 
 sacrifice every consideration of truth, rea 
 son, and duty, to please Sir William 
 ^^allace. 
 
 " That may be, lady," said Lord Loch-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 10? 
 
 awe, interrupting her, " but as I know no 
 occasion in which it is possible for Sir 
 William Wallace to falsify the truth, I 
 call upon him, in justice to himself and 
 to his country, to reply to three ques 
 tions !" Wallace bowed to the vene 
 rable earl, and he proceeded " Sir Wil 
 liam Wallace, are you guilty or not guilty 
 of the charge brought against you of a 
 design to mount the throne of Scotland 
 by means of the King of France ?" 
 
 Wallace replied, " I never designed to 
 mount the throne of Scotland either by 
 my own means, or by any other man's." 
 
 Loch-awe proceeded, " Was this scroll, 
 containing the names of certain Scottish 
 
 o 
 
 chiefs noted down for assassination, writ 
 ten by you, or under your connivance?" 
 
 " I never saw the scroll, nor heard of 
 the scroll, until this hour. And harder 
 than death is the pang at my heart when 
 a Scottish chief finds it necessary to ask 
 me such a question regarding any indivi-
 
 108 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 duals of a people, to save even the least of 
 whom, he has ever seen me ready to 
 risk my life !" 
 
 " Another question." replied Loch-awe, 
 "and then, bravest of men, if your coun 
 try acquits you not in thought and deed, 
 Campbell of Loch-awe sits no more 
 amongst its judges ! What is your know 
 ledge of the Knight of the Green Plume, 
 that you should intrust him, in preference 
 to any Scottish friend, with your wishes 
 respecting the Countess of Strathearn ?" 
 
 Wallace's answer was brief, " I never 
 had any wishes respecting the wife or 
 widow of my friend the Earl of Mar 
 that I did not impart to every chieftain in 
 the camp, and those >\ishes went no fur 
 ther than for her safety. As to love, that 
 is a passion I shall know no more ; and 
 Lady Strathearn can alone say what is the 
 end she aims at by attributing feelings to 
 me, with regard to her, which I never con 
 ceived and words which I never uttered.
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 109 
 
 Like this passion, with which she says 
 she inspired me," added he, turning his 
 eyes steadily on her face, " was the 
 Knight of the Green Plume ! You are all 
 acquainted with the manner of his intro 
 duction to me at Linlithgow ; you all 
 know, with the account that he then gave 
 of himself, as much of him as I did, till 
 on the night that he left me at Berwick 
 and then I found him, like this story of 
 Lady Strathearn, all a fable." 
 
 " Name him, on your knighthood !" 
 exclaimed Buchan, " for yet he shall be 
 brought to support the veracity of my il 
 lustrious kinswoman and fully to unmask 
 to the world his insidious accomplice !" 
 
 " Your kinswoman, Earl Buchan," re 
 plied Wallace, " can best answer you that 
 question." 
 
 Lord Athol approached the Regent 
 with an inflamed countenance and whis 
 pering something in his ear, this unwor 
 thy representative of the generous Bruce 
 rose immediately from his seat and said,
 
 110 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 " Sir William Wallace you have replied 
 to the questions of Lord Loch-awe, but 
 where are your witnesses to prove that 
 what you have spoken is the truth ?" 
 
 Wallace for a moment was struck 
 with surprise at the tone arid words of 
 this address from a man who, what 
 ever might be demanded of him in the 
 fulfilment of his office, he had believed to 
 be not only his friend but, by the confi 
 dence reposed in him both by Bruce and 
 himself, fully aware of the impossibility 
 of these allegations being true. But 
 Wallace now sa\v with an eye that pierced 
 through the souls of the whole assembly, 
 and with collected firmness he replied, 
 " My witnesses are in the bosom of every 
 
 Scotsman." 
 
 f. 
 
 " I cannot find them in mine," inter 
 rupted Athol. " Nor in mine !" was 
 echoed from various parts of the hall. 
 
 " Invalidate the facts brought against 
 you by something more than this rhetori 
 cal appeal," added tht Regtnt, "else, I
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. Ill 
 
 fear, the sentence of the law must be 
 passed on such a tacit acknowledgment of 
 guilt" 
 
 " Acknowledgment of guilt !" cried 
 Wallace, with a flush of godlike indig 
 nation suffusing his noble brow, " If any 
 one of the chieftains who have just spoken, 
 knew the beat of an honest heart, they 
 would not have declared that they heard 
 no voice proclaim the integrity of Wil 
 liam Wallace. Let them then recollect 
 the carse of Stirling, where I refused the 
 crown which my accuser alleges I would 
 yet obtain by blood. Let them remember 
 the banks of the Clyde, where I rejected 
 the Scottish throne offered me by Ed 
 ward ! Let these facts bear witness for me, 
 and if they be insufficient, look on Scot 
 land now for the third time rescued by 
 my arm from the grasp of an usurper and 
 made entirely free 1 That scroll locks the 
 door of the kingdom upon her enemies." 
 As he spoke he threw the capitulation of 
 Berwick upon the table. It seemed to
 
 112 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 strike a pause into the minds of the lords ; 
 they gazed with pallid countenances 
 and without a word on the parchment 
 where it lay, and he proceeded " If my 
 actions that you know, do not convince 
 you of my integrity, then believe the un 
 supported evidence of words, the tale of 
 a woman whose mystery, were it not for 
 the memory of the honourable man whose 
 name she once bore, I would publickly 
 unravel : Believe her ; and leave Wal 
 lace nought of his country to remember, 
 but that he has served it, arid that it is 
 unjust!" 
 
 " Noblest of Scots !" cried Loch-awe 
 coming towards him, " did your accuser 
 come in the shape of an angel of light, 
 still we should believe your life in pre 
 ference to her testimony, for God him 
 self speaks on your side : My servants, 
 he declares, ye shall know by their fruits 1 
 And has not yours been peace to Scot 
 land, and good will to all men!" " They 
 are the labyrinthian folds of his hypo-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 113 
 
 uisy 1" cried Athol, alarmed at the awe 
 struck looks of most of the assembly. 
 " They are the bates by which he cheats 
 fools !" re-echoed Soulis. " They are 
 snares which shall catch us no more 1" 
 was now the general exclamation ; and in 
 proportion to the transitory respect which 
 had made them bow though but for a 
 moment to virtue, they now vociferated 
 their contempt both of Wallace and this 
 his last achievement. Kiikpatrick in 
 flamed with rage, first at the manifest de 
 termination to misjudge his commander, 
 and then at the contumely with which 
 their envy affected to treat him, threw off 
 all restraint and with the bitterness of 
 his reproaches still more incensed the 
 jealousy of the nobles and augmented the 
 tumult. Lennox, vainly attempting to 
 make himself heard, drew towards Wal 
 lace, hoping by that movement, at least 
 to shew on whose side he thought justice 
 lay. At this moment, while the uproar 
 raged with redoubled clamour demanding
 
 114 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 that sentence should instantly be passed 
 upon the traitor, the door burst open 
 and Bothwell, covered with dust and 
 followed by a throng of armed knights, 
 rushed into the centre of the hall. 
 
 " "W ho is it you arraign?" cried the 
 young chief, looking indignantly around 
 him ; " Is it not your deliverer you would 
 destroy. The Romans could not pass 
 sentence on the guilty Manilius in sight 
 of the capital he had preserved ; but you, 
 worse than heathens, bring your benefac 
 tor to the scene of his victories, and there 
 condemn him for serving you too well! 
 Has he not plucked you this third time 
 out of the furnace that would have con 
 sumed you ? And yet in this hour you 
 would sacrifice him to the disappointed 
 (passions of a woman ! Falsest of thy 
 sex !" cried he, turning to the dismayed 
 Countess, who, before seated in antici 
 pated triumph, now shrunk before the 
 penetrating eyes of Andrew Murray ; 
 " Do I not know thee ? Have I not read
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 115 
 
 thine unfeminine, thy vindictive heart? 
 You would destroy the man you could 
 not seduce ! Wallace !" cried he, " speak ; 
 would not this woman have persuaded 
 thee to disgrace the name of Mar? and 
 when my uncle died, did she not urge you 
 to intrigue for that crown which she 
 knew you had so loyally declined ? " 
 " My errand here," answered Wallace, 
 ".is to defend myself, not to accuse 
 others. I have shewn that I am innocent, 
 and my judges will not look on the proofs. 
 They obey not the laws in their judgment, 
 and whatever may be the decree, I shall 
 not acknowledge its authority." As he 
 spoke he turned away and walked with 
 a firm step out of the hall. 
 
 His disappearance gave the signal for a 
 tumult more threatening to the welfare of 
 the state than if the armies of Edward had 
 been in the midst of them. It was bro 
 ther against brother, and friend against 
 friend. The lords Lennox and Loch-
 
 116 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 awe were vehement against the unfairness 
 with which Sir William Wallace had 
 been treated. Kirkpatrick declared that 
 no arguments could be used with men so 
 devoid of reason ; and words of reproach 
 arid reviling passing between him and 
 Athol and others, swords were at last 
 drawn. And while Bothwell was loudly 
 denouncing the Regent for having al 
 lowed any examination to be put upon 
 the ever faithful champion of Scotland, 
 Lady Strathearn seeing herself neglected, 
 and fearful that the party of Wallace 
 might at last gain the ascendency, fainted 
 away and was carried out of the assem 
 bly. 

 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. li? 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 THE Regent, having with difficulty in 
 terrupted the fierce attack which the 
 enemies and friends of \Vallace made on 
 each other, saw with satisfaction (although 
 several of the Cummins were maimed and 
 Lord Athol himself severely wounded by 
 Kirkpatrick) that none were mortally 
 hurt. With horrid menaces the two 
 parties separated, the one to the Regent's 
 apartments, the other to the camp of 
 Wallace. 
 
 Lord Bothwell found his friend on the 
 platform before his tent, trying to allay 
 the storm which was raging in the bosoms 
 of his followers against the injustice of the 
 Regent and the ingratitude of the Scottish 
 lords. At sight of Lord Bothwell their 
 clamour to be led instantly to revenge the
 
 118 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 indignity offered to their general, redou 
 bled, and Murray, not less incensed, turn 
 ing to them, said, " My friends, keep quiet 
 for a few hours and then what honour com 
 mands we will do." At this assurance 
 they retired to their quarters, and Both- 
 well entered with Wallace and Edwin 
 into the tent. 
 
 " Before you utter a word concerning 
 the present scenes," cried Wallace, " lell 
 me how is the hope of Scotland, the 
 only earthly stiller of these horrid tu 
 mults ?" " He is ill," replied Bothwell, 
 " after regaining, by a valour worthy of 
 his destiny, every fortress north of the 
 Forth. As his last and greatest achieve 
 ment, he made himself master of Scone ; 
 but in storming its walls he received ano 
 ther wound on his head, and the next 
 day was attacked by so virulent a fever 
 that he now lies at Hunting-tower reduced 
 to infant weakness. All this you would 
 have known had you received his letters ; 
 but doubtless ; villany has been here too,
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 119' 
 
 for none of yours have reached his hands." 
 This intelligence of Bruce was a more 
 
 o 
 
 mortal blow to Wallace than all that he 
 had just sustained in his own person. He 
 remained silent, but his mind was throng 
 ed with thoughts. W^s -Scotland to be 
 indeed lost ? Was all that he had suf 
 fered and achieved, to have been done in 
 vain ; and should he now be fated to be 
 hold her again made a sacrifice to the jea 
 lousy of her contending nobles? Both- 
 well continued to speak, and told him 
 that in consequence of their prince's 
 anxiety to know how the siege of Berwick 
 proceeded, (for still no letters arrived from 
 that quarter,) he had set off on his return. 
 At Dumfermling he was informed of the 
 charge made against Wallace, and turn 
 ing his steps westward, he hastened to give 
 that support to his friend's innocence 
 which the malignity of his enemies might 
 render necessary. " The moment I heard 
 how you were beset," continued Bothwell, 
 "-I dispatched a man back to Lord Ruth-
 
 120 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 ven to tell him not to alarm Bruce with 
 such tidings, but to bring all the forces 
 \vhich were now useless in Perthshire, to 
 maintain your honour and rights." " No 
 force, my dear Bothwell, must be used to 
 hold me in a power which will only keep 
 alive a spirit of discord in my country. 
 If I dare apply the words of my Divine 
 Master, I would say, / came not to bring 
 a sword, but peace to the people of Scotland! 
 Then, if they are weary of me, let me 
 go. Bruce will recover ; they will rally 
 round his standard, and all will be well." 
 " Oh, Wallace ! Wallace !" cried Both- 
 well, " the scene I have this day witnessed 
 is enough to make a traitor of me. I 
 could forswear my insensible country ; I 
 could immolate its ungrateful chieftains 
 on those very lands which your generous 
 arm restored to these worthless men !" 
 He threw himself into a seat and leaned 
 his burning forehead against his hand. 
 " Cousin, you declare my sentiments," 
 rejoined Edwin ; " iny soul can never
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 121 
 
 again associate with these sons of Envy. 
 I cannot recognise a countryman in one 
 of them; and should Sir William Wal 
 lace quit a land so unworthy of his vir 
 tues, where he goes, I will go ; his asylum 
 shall be my country, and Edwin Ruthven 
 will forget that he ever was a Scot." 
 " Never," cried Wallace, turning on him 
 one of those looks which struck conviction 
 into the heart; "Is man more just than God? 
 Though a thousand of your countrymen 
 offend you by their crimes, yet while 
 there remains one honest Scot, for his 
 sake and his posterity it is your duty to 
 be a patriot. A nation is one great family; 
 and every individual in it is as much 
 bound to promote the general good, as a 
 son or a father is to maintain the welfare 
 of his nearest kindred. And if the trans 
 gression of one brother be no excuse for 
 the omission of another, in like manner, 
 the ruin these turbulent lords would bring 
 upon Scotland, is no excuse for your de 
 sertion of its interest. I would not leave 
 VOL. v. G
 
 122 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 the helm of my country did she not thrust 
 me from it ; but, though cast by her into 
 the waves, would you not blush for your 
 friend, should he wish her aught else than 
 a peaceful haven." Edwin spoke not, 
 but putting the hand of Wallace to his 
 lips, left the tent. " Oh !" cried Both- 
 well, looking after him, " that the breast 
 of woman had but half that boy's tender 
 ness ! And yet, all of that dangerous 
 sex are not like this hyena-hearted Lady 
 Strathearn. Tell me, my friend, did she not, 
 when she disappeared so strangely from 
 Hunting-tower, fly to you ? I now sus 
 pect, from certain remembrances, that she 
 and the Green Knight are one and the same 
 person. Acknowledge it, and I will un 
 veil her at once to the court she has de 
 ceived." " She has deceived no one," 
 replied Wallace, " before she spoke the 
 members of that court were determined 
 to brand me with guilt ; and her 
 charge merely supplied the place of 
 others which, wanting that, they would
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 have devised against me. Whatever she 
 may be, my dear Bothwell, for the sake of 
 him whose name she once wore let us not 
 expose her to open shame. Her love or 
 her hatred are alike indifferent to me 
 now ; for to neither of them do I owe 
 lhat innate malice of my countrymen 
 which has only made her calumny the oc 
 casion of manifesting their resolution to 
 make me infamous. But that, iny friend, 
 is beyond their compass. I have done my 
 duty to Scotland ; and that conviction 
 must live in every honest heart ; aye, and 
 with the dishonest too: for did they not 
 fear my integrity they would not have 
 thought it necessary to deprive me of my 
 power. May heaven shield Bruce, for I 
 dread that Badenoch's next shaft may be 
 at him !" " No." cried Both well, " all is 
 levelled at his best friend. In a low voice 
 I accused the Regent of disloyalty to his 
 prince in permitting this outrage on you, 
 and his basely envious answer was : Wal 
 lace's removal is Bructs security : Who mil 
 G 2
 
 124 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 acknowledge him when they know that this 
 man is his dictator ?" Wallace sighed at 
 this reply ; but it confirmed him in his re 
 solution, and he told Bothwell that he saw 
 no alternative, if he wished to still the agi 
 tations of his country and to preserve its 
 prince from premature discovery, than for 
 him indeed to remove the subject of all 
 those contentions from their sight. " At 
 tempt it not !" exclaimed Bothwell, 
 " propose but a step towards that end, and 
 you will determine me to avenge my 
 country at the peril of my own life on all 
 that accursed assembly who have menaced 
 yours 1" In short, the young earl's de 
 nunciations were so vehement and in ear 
 nest against the lords in Stirling that 
 Wallace thought it dangerous to exaspe 
 rate him farther, and therefore consented 
 to remain in his camp till the arrival of 
 Ruthven should bring him the advantage 
 of his counsel. 
 
 The issue shewed that Bothwell was 
 not mistaken. The majority of the Scot-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 lish nobles envied Wallace his glory and 
 hated him for those virtues which drew 
 the eyes of the people to compare him 
 with their vicious courses. The Regent, 
 hoping to become the first in Bruce's fa 
 vour, was not less urgent to ruin the man 
 who was at present the highest in that 
 prince's esteem. He had therefore enter 
 ed warmly into the project of Lady Stra- 
 thearn ; but when, during a secret confer 
 ence between them previous to her open 
 charge of Wallace, she named Sir Tho 
 mas de Longueville as one of his foreign 
 emissaries, Cummin replied, " If you 
 would have your accusation succeed, do 
 not name that knight at all. He is my 
 friend. He is now ill near Perth and 
 must know nothing of this affair till it 
 is over. Should he live, he will nobly 
 thank you for your forbearance ; should 
 he die, I will repay you as becomes your 
 nearest kinsman." All were thus united 
 in the effort to hurl Wallace from his 
 station in the state, And that, they
 
 126 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 believed done, they quarrelled amongst 
 themselves in deciding who was to fill 
 the great military office which his prow 
 ess had rendered a post rather of honour 
 than of danger. 
 
 In the midst of these feuds Sir Simon 
 Fraser appeared suddenly in the council- 
 hall. His countenance proclaimed that 
 he brought bad tidings. Lennox and 
 Loch-awe (who duly attended in hopes 
 of bringing over some of the more pliable 
 chiefs to embrace the cause of Wallace,) 
 listened with something like exultation to 
 his disastrous information. As soon as 
 the English governor had gained intel 
 ligence of the removal of Wallace from 
 the command at Berwick and of the con 
 sequent consternation of the troops, in 
 stead of surrendering at sun-set as was 
 expected, he sallied out at the head of the 
 whole garrison and taking the Scottish 
 troops by surprise gave them a total de 
 feat. Every out-post around the town 
 was re-taken by the Southrons ; the army
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 12? 
 
 of Fraser was cut to pieces, or put to flight ; 
 and himself now arrived in Stirling, smart 
 ing with many a wound, but more under 
 his dishonour, to shew to the Regent of 
 Scotland the evil of having superseded 
 the only man whom the enemy feared. 
 The council stood in silence staring on 
 each other : and to add to their dismay 
 Fraser had hardly ended his narration be 
 fore a messenger from Teviotdale arrived 
 in breathless haste to inform the Regent 
 that King Edward was himself within a 
 few miles of the Cheviots and that he must 
 even now have poured his thousands over 
 those hills upon the plains beneath. 
 While all was indecision, tumult, and 
 alarm, in the citadel, Lennox hastened to 
 wards Wallace's camp with the news. 
 
 Lord Ruthven and the Perthshire chief 
 tains were already there. They had ar 
 rived early in the morning with most 
 unpromising tidings of Bruce. The state 
 of his wound had induced a constant 
 delirium. But still Wallace clung to
 
 128 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 the hope that his country was not doom 
 ed to perish ; that its prince's recovery 
 was only protracted. In the midst of 
 this anxiety Lennox entered, and relating 
 what he had just heard, turned the whole 
 current of his auditor's ideas. Wallace 
 started from his seat, and again felt that 
 he had yet longer to stay in Scotland. 
 His hand mechanically caught up his 
 sword which lay upon the table, and 
 looking around to these words of Len 
 nox : " There is not a man in the cita 
 del who does not appear at his wit's 
 end and incapable of facing this often - 
 beaten foe ; will you, Wallace, again 
 condescend to save a country that has 
 treated you so ungratefully ?" " I would 
 die in its trenches !" cried the chief, 
 with a generous forgiveness of all his 
 injuries suffusing his magnanimous 
 heart. 
 
 Lord Loch-awe soon after appeared, 
 and corroborating the testimony of Len 
 nox, added, that on the Regent sending
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 129 
 
 word to the troops on the south of Stir 
 ling that in consequence of the treason of 
 Sir William Wallace the supreme com 
 mand was taken from him ; and as they 
 were now called upon to face a new ex 
 cursion of the enemy, they must immedi 
 ately march under the orders of Sir Simon 
 Fraser ; they began to murmur amongst 
 themselves : and saying that since Wai- 
 lace was found a traitor they knew not 
 who to trust, but that certainly it should 
 not be a beaten general, they slid away 
 from their standards, and when Loch-awe 
 left them, were dispersing on all sides 
 like an already discomfited army. 
 
 For a day or two the paralyzed terrors 
 of the people and the tumults in the cita 
 del were portentous of immediate ruin. 
 A large detachment from the royal army 
 had entered Scotland by the marine gate 
 of Berwick and, headed by De Warenne, 
 was advancing rapidly towards Edin 
 burgh Castle. Not a soldier belonging to 
 the regency remained on the carse ; and, 
 G 3
 
 150 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS'. 
 
 the distant chieftains to whom he sent for 
 aid, refused it, saying, that the discovery 
 of Wallace's patriotism having been a de 
 lusion, had made them suspectall men; and 
 that locking themselves within their own 
 castles, each true Scot would there secure 
 ly view a struggle in which they could 
 feel no personal interest. 
 
 Seeing the danger of the realm, and 
 hearing from the lords Ruthven and Both- 
 well that their troops would follow no 
 other leader than Sir William Wallace, 
 the Regent, hopeless of any prompt de 
 cision from amongst the confusion of 
 his council, and urged by time-serving 
 Buchan, yielded a tacit assent to the only 
 apparent means of saving his sinking 
 country. He turned ashy pale as his 
 silence granted to Lord Loch-awe the 
 necessity of imploring Sir William Wal 
 lace ao;ain to stretch out his arm in their 
 
 o 
 
 behalf. With this embassy the venerable 
 chieftain returned exulting to Balloch- 
 geich; and the so lately branded Wallace,
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 131 
 
 branded as the intended betrayer of 
 Scotland, was solicited by his very ac 
 cusers to assume the trust of being their 
 sole defence. 
 
 " Such is the triumph of virtue !" whis 
 pered Edwin to his friend as he vaulted 
 on his horse. A luminous smile from. 
 Wallace acknowledged that he felt the 
 tribute, and looking up to heaven ere he 
 placed his helmet on his head, he said, 
 " Thence comes my power, and the satis 
 faction it brings, whether attended by 
 man's applause or his blame, he cannot 
 take from me. I now, perhaps for the 
 last time, arm this head for Scotland: 
 may the God in whom I trust again crown 
 it with victory, and for ever after bind 
 the brows of our rightful sovereign with 
 peace !" 
 
 While Wallace pursued his marchj 
 the Regent, confounded at the turn which 
 events had taken, and hardly knowing 
 whether to make another essay to collect 
 forces for the support of their former
 
 132 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 leader, or to follow the refractory coun 
 cils of his lords and await in inactivity the 
 issue of the expected battle, was quite at 
 a stand. He knew not how to act : but 
 a letter from Lady Strathearn decided 
 him. 
 
 Though partly triumphant in her 
 charges yet the accusations of Bothwell 
 had disconcerted her ; and the restora 
 tion of Wallace to his undisputed autho 
 rity in the state, seemed to her so probable, 
 that she resolved to take an immediate 
 step which would confirm her influence 
 over the discontented of her country and 
 most likely insure the vengeance she 
 panted to bring upon Wallace's head. 
 To this end, on the very evening that she 
 was carried swooning- from the council- 
 
 o 
 
 hall, she set forward to the Borders ; and 
 easily passing thence to the English 
 camp (then pitched at Alnwick,) was 
 soon admitted to the castle where De 
 Warenne was lodged. She was too well 
 taught in the school of vanity not to have
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 133 
 
 remarked the admiration with which that 
 earl had regarded her while he was a 
 * prisoner in Stirling ; and hoping that he 
 might not be able to withstand the persua 
 sions of her charms when united with 
 rank and riches, she opened her mission 
 to him with no less art than effect. De 
 Warenne understood from her that Wal 
 lace, on the strength of a passion he had 
 conceived for her and which she treated 
 with disdain, had repented, of his for 
 mer refusals of the crown of Scotland ; 
 and was now attempting to compass that 
 dignity by the most complicated intrigues, 
 under a belief that she would not repeat 
 her rejection of his hand when it could 
 offer her a sceptre. She then related how, 
 at her instigation, the Regent had deposed 
 him from his military command ; and she 
 ended with saying, that impelled by loyalty 
 to Edward, (whom her better reason now 
 recognised as the lawful sovereign Of her 
 country,) she had come to exhort that mo 
 narch immediately to renew his invasions
 
 I 
 
 134 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 into the kingdom. De Warenne, intoxi 
 cated with her beauty and enraptured by a 
 manner which seemed to tell him that a 
 softer sentiment than usual had made her 
 select him as her embassador to the king, 
 greedily drank in all her words ; and ere 
 he allowed the conference to break up, he 
 had thrown himself at her feet and im 
 plored her, by every impassioned argu 
 ment, to grant him the privilege of pre 
 senting her to Edward as his intended 
 bride. De Warenne was in the meridian 
 of life ; and being fraught with a power 
 at court, beyond all other of his peers, 
 she determined to accept his hand and 
 wield her new influence to the destruction 
 of \Vallace, should she even be compel 
 led in that act to precipitate her country 
 in his fall, De Warenne drew from her 
 % half-reluctant consent : and while he 
 poured forth the transports of a happy 
 lover, he internally congratulated himself 
 on his good fortune. He was not so much 
 enamoured of the fine person of Lady
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 135 
 
 Strathearn, as to be altogether insensible 
 to the advantages which his alliance with 
 
 c5 
 
 her would give to Edward in his Scottish 
 pretensions ; and as it would consequently 
 increase his own importance with that 
 monarch, he lost no time in communicat 
 ing the circumstance to him. Edward, 
 who suspected something in this sudden 
 attachment of the Countess which, if 
 known, mi^ht cool the ardour of his officef 
 
 ' O 
 
 for uniting so useful an agent to his cause, 
 highly approved De Warenne's conduct 
 in the affair ; and to hasten the nuptials, 
 proposed being present at their solemni 
 zation that very evening. The vows 
 which Lady Strathearn pledged at the altar 
 to De Warenne, were pronounced by her 
 as those by which she swore to complete 
 her revenge on Wallace, and by depriv 
 ing him of life prevent the climax to her 
 misery of seeing him (what she believed 
 he intended) the husband of Helen Mar. 
 The day after she became De Warenne's 
 wife ( e ) she accompanied him, attended by
 
 136 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 a retinue, correspondent to his rank as 
 Lord Warden of Scotland, by sea to Ber 
 wick ; and from that place she dispatched 
 messengers to the Regent and other no 
 bles her kinsmen, fraught with promises 
 which Edward, in the event of suc 
 cess, had solemnly pledged himself to 
 ratify. Her embassador arrived at Stir 
 ling the day succeeding that in which 
 Wallace and his troops left it. The let 
 ters he brought were eagerly opened by 
 Badenoch and his chieftains, and they 
 found their contents to this effect. She 
 announced to them her marriage with 
 the Lord Warden, who was then at the 
 head of a mighty force determined on the 
 subjugation of the country ; and therefore 
 besought the Regent and his council not 
 to raise a hostile arm against him, if they 
 would, not merely escape the indignation 
 of a great king, but ensure his favour. 
 She cast out hints to Badenoch, as if Ed 
 ward meant to reward his acquiescence 
 with the crown of Scotland ; and with
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 13? 
 
 similar baits, proportioned to the views 
 of all her other kinsmen, she smoothed 
 their anger against that monarch's former 
 insults, and persuaded them at least to 
 remain inactive during the last struggle of 
 their country. 
 
 Meanwhile, Wallace taking his course 
 along the banks of the Forth, as the night 
 drew near encamped his little army at 
 the base of the craigs east of Edinburgh 
 Castle. His march having been long 
 and rapid the men were much fatigued, 
 and now were hardly laid upon their 
 heather beds before they fell asleep. Wal 
 lace gained information from his scouts, 
 that the main body of the Southrons had 
 approached within a few miles of Dalkeith. 
 Thither he hoped to go next morning ; 
 and there, he trusted, strike the conclusive 
 blow for Scotland by the destruction of a di 
 vision, which he understood comprised the 
 flower of the English army. With these 
 expectations he gladly saw his troops turn 
 to that repose which was to re-brace their
 
 138 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 strength for the combat ; and as the hours 
 of night stole on, while his possessed mind 
 waked for all around, he was well-pleased 
 to see his ever- watchful Edwin sink back 
 into a profound sleep. 
 
 It was his custom, once at least in the 
 night, to go himself the rounds of his posts 
 to see that all was safe. The air was se 
 rene, and he walked out on this duty. 
 He passed from line to line, from station 
 to station, and all was in order. One post 
 alone remained to be visited, and that was 
 placed as a point of observation on the 
 craigs near Arthur's seat. As he pro 
 ceeded along a lonely defile between 
 the rocks which over-hang the ascent 
 of the mountain, he was startled by the 
 indistinct sight of a figure amongst the 
 rolling vapours of the night, seated on a 
 towering cliff directly in the way he was 
 to go. The broad light of the moon 
 breaking from behind the clouds shone 
 full upon the spot, and discovered a ma 
 jestic form in grey robes, leaning on a
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 139 
 
 harp, while his face mournfully gazing 
 upward, was rendered venerable by a 
 long white beard that mingled with the 
 floating mist. Wallace paused, and stop 
 ping at some distance from this extraordi 
 nary apparition, looked on it in silence. 
 The strings of the harp were softly touch 
 ed ; but it was only the sighing of a pass 
 ing breeze which had agitated them. The 
 vibration ceased, and the next moment the 
 hand of the master struck their chords 
 with so full and melancholy a sound that 
 Wallace was for a few minutes rivetted to 
 the ground ; and then moving forward 
 with a stilly step, that he might not disturb 
 the nocturnal bard, he gently approached. 
 At sight of him the harp seemed to fall 
 from before the venerable figure, and 
 clasping his hands, in a voice of mournful 
 solemnity he exclaimed, " Art thou come, 
 doomed of heaven, to hear thy sad Coro 
 nach ?" Wallace started at this saluta 
 tion. The bard with the same emotion 
 continued ; " No choral hymns hallow
 
 140 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 thy bleeding corse ; wolves howl thy 
 requiem, and eagles scream over thy de 
 solate grave: fly, chieftain, fly 1" "What 
 venerable father of the harp," cried Wal 
 lace, interrupting the awful pause, " thus 
 addresses one whom he must mistake for 
 some ether chief?" " Can the spirit of 
 inspiration mistake its object?" demanded 
 the bard. " Can he whose eyes have 
 been opened by the touch of fate, be blind 
 to Sir William Wallace, or to the blood 
 which clogs his mounting footsteps ?" 
 " And who am I to understand that you 
 are ?" replied Wallace. " Who is the 
 saint whose holy charity would anticipate 
 the obsequies of a man who yet may be 
 destined to a long pilgrimage?" " Who 
 I am," resumed the bard, " will be shewn 
 to thee when thou hast past yon starry 
 firmament. But the galaxy streams with 
 blood the bugle of death is alone heard, 
 and thy lacerated breast heaves in vain 
 against the hoofs of opposing squadrons. 
 They charge Scotland falls ! Look not
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 141 
 
 on me thus, champion of thy country! Sold 
 by thy enemies, betrayed by thy friends ! 
 It was not the seer of St. '&nton who gave 
 thee these wounds that heart's blood was 
 not drawn by me a woman's hand in 
 mail ten thousand armed warriors strike 
 deep the mortal steel he sinks he 
 falls ! Red is the blood of Eske ! Thy 
 vital stream hath dyed it. Fly, bravest of 
 the brave, or perish!" With a shriek of 
 horror, and throwing his aged arms ex 
 tended touards the heavens while his grey 
 beard mingled in the rising blast, he rush 
 ed from the sight of Wallace, and left him 
 in awful solitude. 
 
 For a few minutes he stood in profound 
 silence. His very soul seemed deprived 
 of the power to answer so terrible a denun 
 ciation with even a questioning thought. 
 He had heard the destruction of Scot 
 land declared ; and himself sentenced to 
 perish, if he did not escape the general 
 ruin by flying from her side ! This 
 terrible decree of fate, so disasterously
 
 142 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 corroborated by the extremity of Bruce 
 and the divisions in the kingdom, had been 
 pronounced by one of those sages of his 
 country on whom the spirit of prophecy 
 yet descended with all the horrors of a 
 woe-denouncing trumpet. Could he then 
 doubt its truth ? He did not doubt; he 
 believed the midnight voice he had heard. 
 But recovering from the first shock of such 
 a doom, and remembering that it still left 
 the choice to himself between dishonour 
 ed life or glorious death, he resolves to 
 shew his respect to the oracle, by manifest 
 ing a persevering obedience to the eternal 
 voice which gives all these his agents ut 
 terance ; and while he bows to the warn 
 ing, he starts forward to be the last who 
 shall fall from the side of his devoted 
 country. " If devoted," cried he, " then 
 our fates shall be the same. My fall from 
 thee shall be into my grave. Scotland 
 may have struck the breast that has shield 
 ed her, yet, Father of Mercies, forgive 
 her blindness ; and grant me still permis-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 143 
 
 sion, a little longer to oppose my heart 
 between her and this fearful doom !"( f ) 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 AWED, but not intimidated by the pn> 
 phecy of the seer of the craigs, Wallace 
 next day drew up his army in order for 
 the new battle, near a convent of Cistertian 
 monks on the narrow plain of Dalkeith. 
 The two rivers Eske flowed on each side 
 of his little phalanx, and formed a tempo 
 rary barrier between it and the pressing le 
 gions of De Warenne. The earl's troops 
 seemed countless. And the Southron 
 lords who led them on, being elated by the 
 representations which the Countess had 
 given them of the disunited state of the 
 Scottish army and of the consequent dis-
 
 144 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 may which had seized their hitherto all- 
 conquering commander, bore down upon 
 the Scots with an impetuosity which 
 threatened a destruction without quarter, 
 without even allowing the enemy a mo 
 ment for resistance. De Warenne, who, 
 deceived by the blandishing falsehoods of 
 his bride, had entirely changed his former 
 high opinion of his brave opponent ; and 
 by her sophistries had brought his mind 
 to adopt stratagems unworthy of his noble 
 ness, (so contagious is baseness in too fond 
 a contact with the unprincipled !) placed 
 himself on an adjoining height; from that 
 situation, intending to give his orders, and 
 to behold his anticipated victory. " Sol 
 diers !" cried he, as he gave the word of 
 command, "the rebel's hour is come. The 
 sentence of heaven is gone forth against 
 him. Charge resolutely, and he and his 
 host are yours !" 
 
 But it was not decreed so : the prophet 
 who had spoken was that of Baal, not of 
 Jehovah. He had been the hireling of
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 145 
 
 Lady Strathearn, to intimidate the invin 
 cible adversary of her husband, the de 
 termined victim of her revenge. Knowing 
 his customs, and having a spy on his steps, 
 she easily accomplished this device. Her 
 emissary played his part well ; he saw by 
 the manner of the chieftain that he was 
 believed : and when he rejoined Lady Stra 
 thearn, in a firmer tone of prescience he 
 saluted her as the guardian angel of the 
 Southron army, and declared that her wis 
 dom had already delivered the Scottish 
 phalanx and its leader into the hands of her 
 husband. As a victor, then, De Warenne 
 mounted the hill ; as a queen in triumph, 
 the Countess took her station by his side. 
 
 The sky was obscured: an awful still 
 ness reigned through the air, and the 
 spirits of the mighty dead seemed leaning 
 from their clouds, to witness this last 
 struggle of their sons. Fate did indeed 
 hover over the opposing armies. She 
 descended on the head of Wallace and 
 dictated from amidst his waving plumes. 
 
 VOL. v. H
 
 146 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 She pointed his spear, she wielded his 
 flaming sword, and charged with him in 
 the dreadful shock of battle. De Wa- 
 renne saw his foremost thousands fall. He 
 heard the shout of the Scots, the cries of 
 his men, and the plains of Stirling rose to 
 his remembrance. He hastily ordered the 
 knights around him to bear away his wife 
 from the field ; and descending the hill 
 to lead forward himself, he was met and 
 almost overwhelmed by his flying troops : 
 horses without riders, men without shield 
 or sword, but all in dismay, rushed past 
 him. He called to them, he waved the 
 royal standard, he urged, he reproached ; 
 he rallied and led them back again. The 
 fight re-commenced. Long and bloody 
 was the conflict. De Warenne fought 
 for conquest and to recover a lost reputa 
 tion. Wallace contended for his country, 
 and to shew himself always worthy of her 
 latest sigh, before he should go hence, and 
 be no more seen / 
 
 The issue declared for Scotland. But
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 14? 
 
 the ground was covered with the slain ; 
 and Wallace chased a wounded foe with 
 troops which dropped as they pursued. At 
 sight of the melancholy state of his victo 
 rious and faithful soldiers, he tried to 
 check their ardour, but in vain. " It is 
 for Wallace that we conquer!" cried 
 they, " and we will die, or prove him the 
 only captain in this ungrateful country." 
 
 Night compelled them to halt ; and un 
 der her shades, while they yet only rested 
 on their arms, Wallace, satisfied that he 
 had destroyed the power of De Warenne, 
 forbore to press too hard upon its rem 
 nant ; and as he leaned on his sword, and 
 stood with Edwin near the watch fire 
 over which that youthful hero kept a 
 guard, he contemplated the terrified 
 Southrons as they fled precipitately, 
 though cautiously, by the foot of the hill 
 towards the Tweed. Wallace now told 
 his friend the history of his adventure 
 with the seer of the craigs ; and finding 
 
 within himself how much the brightness 
 H 2
 
 148 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 of true religion excludes the glooms of 
 superstition, he added : " The proof of 
 prophecy is its completion ! Hence let 
 the false seer I met last night, warn you, 
 my Edwin, by my example, how you 
 give credit to any prediction that might 
 slacken the sinews of duty. God can 
 speak but one language. He is not a 
 man, that he should repent; neither a 
 -mortal, that he should change his pur 
 pose ! This pretended prophet beguiled 
 me of belief in his denunciation, but 
 not to adopt the conduct his offered 
 alternative would have persuaded me to 
 pursue. I now see that he was a traitor 
 in both, and henceforth shall read my 
 fate in the oracles of God alone. Obey 
 ing them, my Edwin we need not fear the 
 curses of our enemy nor his lying sooth 
 sayers." 
 
 The splendor of this victory struck 
 to the souls of the council at Stirling. 
 Scotland being once again rescued from 
 the vengeance of her implacable foe, the
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 149 
 
 lords in the citadel spurned at their 
 preservation, and declared to the Re 
 gent that they would rather be under the 
 yoke of the veriest tyrant in the world 
 than be obliged to owe a moment of free 
 dom to the man who (they affected to 
 believe) had conspired against their lives. 
 And they had a weighty reason for this 
 decision. Though De Warenne was 
 beaten, his wife was a victor. She had 
 made Edward triumphant in the venal 
 hearts of her kinsmen: gold and her 
 persuasions, with promises of future hon 
 ours from the King of England, made 
 them entirely his. All but the Regent 
 were ready to commit every thing into the 
 hands of Edward : he doubted. The ris 
 ing favour of other lords with the court 
 of England induced him to recollect 
 that he might rule as the unrivalled friend 
 of Bruce, should that prince live ; or, in 
 case of his death, might he not have it in 
 his power to assume the Scottish throne 
 untrammelled ? These thoughts made
 
 150 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 him fluctuate, and his country found him 
 alike undetermined in treason as unstable 
 in fidelity. 
 
 Immediately on the victory at Dalkeith, 
 Kirkpatrick (eager to be the first com 
 municator of such welcome news to Len 
 nox, who had planted himself as a watch 
 at Stirling,) withdrew secretly from Wal 
 lace's camp ; and hoping to move the 
 gratitude of the refractory lords, he en 
 tered at once into the midst of their 
 council. He proclaimed the success of 
 his commander, and his answer was ac 
 cusations and insult. All that had been 
 charged against the too fortunate "Wal 
 lace, was re-urged with added acrimony. 
 Treachery to the state, hypocrisy in 
 morals, fanaticism in religion ; no stigma 
 was too extravagant or contradictory to 
 affix to his unsullied name. They who 
 had been hurt in the fray in the hall, 
 pointed to their still smarting wounds 
 and called upon Lennox to say if they 
 did not plead against so dangerous a
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 151 
 
 V. 
 
 man ? " Dangerous to your crimes, and 
 ruinous to your ambitions 1" cried Kirk- 
 patrick, " For, so help me God, as I 
 believe that an honester man than Wil 
 liam Wallace, lives not in Scotland! 
 And that ye know : and his virtues 
 overtopping your littleness, ye would up 
 root the greatness which ye cannot equal !" 
 This speech, which a burst of indignation 
 had wrested from him, brought down the 
 wrath of the whole party upon himself. 
 Lord Athol, yet stung with his old 
 wound, furiously struck him: Kirkpa- 
 trick drew his sword, and a fight com 
 menced so fiercely between the combat 
 ants, that, gasping with almost the last 
 breathings of life, neither could be torn 
 from their desperate revenge, till many 
 were cut in attempting to separate them ; 
 and then the two were carried off insen 
 sible, and covered with wounds. 
 
 When this sad news was transmitted 
 by Lennox to Sir William Wallace it
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 found him on the-banks of the Eske, just 
 returned from the citadel of Berwick, 
 where, once more master of that fortress, 
 he had dictated the terms of a conqueror 
 and a patriot. The wounded Southrons 
 he put on board the ships which De 
 Warenne, in his haste to be gone, had left 
 in the harbour ; and allowed them to seek 
 their way to an English port, Wallace 
 manned the citadel with Scots ; and leav 
 ing Ramsay as its governor, he retraced 
 his corse-tracked march, to commit the 
 bodies of his valiant soldiers to the bo 
 som of that earth they had so gallantly 
 defended. 
 
 In the scene of his former victories, 
 the romantic shades of Hawthorndean, 
 he pitched his camp ; and from it made 
 hourly excursions to complete his work. 
 For foes as well as friends, he prepared 
 the vast grave which was to unite the 
 victims of ruthless war in everlasting 
 peace. While employed in this pious
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 163 
 
 task his heart was wrung by the intelli 
 gence of the newly aroused storm in 
 the citadel of Stirling ; but as some an 
 tidote to these pangs, the chieftains of 
 Mid-Lothian poured into him on every 
 side, and acknowledging him their pro 
 tector, he aaiain found himself the idol 
 
 ' O 
 
 of gratitude and the almost deified 
 object of trust. At such a moment, when 
 with one voice they were disclaiming all 
 participation in the insurgent proceed 
 ings at Stirling, another messenger ar 
 rived from Lennox to conjure Wallace, 
 if he would avoid either open violence or 
 secret treachery, to march his victorious 
 troops immediately to that city, and 
 seize the assembled abthanes at once, as 
 traitors to their country ; " Resume the 
 Regency," added he, " which you only 
 know how to conduct; and crush a treason 
 which increases hourly, and now walks 
 openly in the day, threatening all that i 
 virtuous or faithful to you !" 
 
 He did not hesitate to decide against 
 H 3
 
 154 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 this counsel; for, in following it, it would 
 not be one adversary he must strike, but 
 thousands. " 1 am only a brother to my 
 countrymen," said he to himself, " and 
 have no right to force them to their duty : 
 but when their king appears, then these 
 rebellious heads may be made to bow." 
 While he mused upon the letter which 
 he held in his hand, Ruthven entered to 
 him into the recess of his tent whither he 
 had retired to read it. " 1 bring you 
 better news of our friend at Hunting- 
 tower ;" cried the good lord ; " here is a 
 packet from Douglas, and another from 
 my wife. (l Wallace read them, and 
 found that Bruce was relieved from his 
 delirium, but he was left so weak that 
 they had not hazarded a relapse by im 
 parting to him any idea of the proceed 
 ings at Stirling: all he knew was, that 
 Wallace was victorious in arms and 
 panted for his recovery to render such 
 success really beneficial to his country. 
 Helen and Isabella, and the Sage of Er-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 155 
 
 cildoun, were the prince's unwearied at 
 tendants ; and though his life was yet in 
 extreme peril, it was to be hoped that 
 their attentions and his own constitu 
 tion would finally cure the wound and 
 conquer its attendant fever. Comforted 
 with these tidings, Wallace declared his 
 intentions of visiting his dear and sufferr 
 ing friend as soon as he could establish 
 any principle in the minds of his followers 
 to induce them to bear with the insolence 
 of the abthanes for a little time: " I will 
 then," said he, " watch by the side of our 
 beloved Bruce, till his recovered health 
 will allow him safely to proclaim himself 
 king ; and with that act, I trust that all 
 these feuds will be for ever laid to sleep!" 
 Ruthven participated in these hopes, and 
 the friends returned together into the 
 council-tent. But all there was changed. 
 Most of the Lothian chieftains had also 
 received packets from their friends in 
 Stirling. Allegations against Wallace : 
 arguments to prove the policy of sub 
 mitting themselves and their properties to
 
 156 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 the protection of a great king, though a 
 foreigner, rather than to risk all by at 
 taching themselves to the fortune of a 
 private person, who made his successes 
 and their services, the ladder of his ambi 
 tion, were the contents of these packets: 
 and they were sufficient to shake the easy 
 faith to which they were addressed. The 
 chieftains on the re-entrance of Wallace 
 stole suspicious glances at each other, 
 and without a word glided severally out 
 of the tent. 
 
 Next morning, instead of coming as 
 usual directly to their acknowledged pro 
 tector, they were seen at different parts 
 of the camp, closely conversing in groups; 
 zmd when any of Wallace's officers ap 
 proached, they separated or withdrew to 
 a greater distance. This strange conduct 
 "Wallace attributed to its right source; 
 and thought of Bruce with a sigh, when 
 he contemplated the variable substance 
 of these men's minds. Lord Sinclair 
 alone kept unalterably firm to his faith in 
 the victor of Roslyn. His venerable
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 15? 
 
 brother was not yet returned from Rome, 
 to give power, by his councils, to the 
 fidelity of Sinclair ; and that chief was so 
 confounded by the hatred which the ma 
 jority of his peers manifested against Wal 
 lace and all his proceedings, that, though 
 attached to his person, he could not 
 but abandon the hope that the liberty he 
 had given to Scotland would be accepted 
 by those haughty lords. Wallace was 
 himself so convinced that nothing but the 
 proclamation of Bruce, and that prince's 
 personal exertions, could preserve his 
 country from falling again into the snare 
 from which he had just snatched it, that 
 he was preparing immediately to set out 
 for Perthshire on his anxious mission, 
 when Ker hastily entered his tent. He 
 Tvas followed by the Lord Soulis with 
 Buchan and several other chieftains of 
 equally hostile intentions. Soulis did not 
 hesitate to declare his errand. 
 " We come, Sir WilliamWallace,by the 
 command of the Regent and the assembled
 
 158 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 abthanes of Scotland, to take these brave 
 troops which have performed such good 
 service to their country, from the power 
 of a man who, we have every reason ta 
 believe, means to turn their arms against 
 the liberties of the state. Without any 
 commission from the Regent; in contempt 
 of the dignity of that court which, having 
 found you guilty of high treason, had 
 in mercy delayed to pronounce the 
 sentence due to your crime, you presum 
 ed to place yourself at the head of the 
 national troops, and to take to yourself 
 the merit of a victory won by their 
 prowess alone. Your designs are known ; 
 and the authority you have despised, is 
 now roused to punish. You are to ac 
 company me this day to Stirling. I have 
 brought a guard of four thousand men to 
 compel your obedience." 
 
 Before the indignant spirit of Wallace, 
 could utter the answer his wrongs dictat 
 ed, Bothwell, who at sight of the Re 
 gent's troops advancing along the hills
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 159 
 
 had hastened to his general's tent, entered, 
 followed by his chieftains, as the last sen 
 tence was pronounced by Soulis. 
 
 " Were it forty thousand instead of four," 
 cried he, " they should not force our 
 commander from us, they should not ex 
 tinguish the glory of Scotland beneath the 
 murderous devices of hell-engendered 
 envy and cowardice !" Soulis turned on 
 him with eyes of fire, and laid his hand 
 on his sword. " Aye, cowardice !" re 
 iterated Bothwell, " the midnight ravish- 
 er, the slanderer of virtue, the betrayer 
 of his country, knows in his heart that he 
 fears to draw aught but the assassin's steel. 
 He dreads the sceptre of honour: Wal 
 lace must fall, that vice and her votaries 
 may reign without controul in Scotland. 
 A thousand brave Scots lie under these 
 sods, and a thousand yet survive, who 
 may share their graves, but they never will 
 relinquish their invincible leader into the 
 hands of traitors !"
 
 160 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 The clamours of the citadel of Stirling 
 now resounded through the tent of Wal 
 lace. Invectives, accusations, threaten- 
 ings, reproaches and revilings, joined 
 in one turbulent uproar. Again swords 
 were drawn, and Wallace, in attempting 
 to beat down the weapons of Soulis and 
 Buchan which were both aimed at Both- 
 well, must have received the point of 
 Soulis in his breast had he not at the mo 
 ment grasped the blade, and wrenching 
 it out of the chieftain's hand, broke it in 
 to shivers, and throwing them to the 
 ground, " Such be the fate of every sword 
 which Scot draws against Scot i" cried he, 
 " Put up your weapons my friends. The 
 arm of Wallace is not shrunk, that he 
 could not defend himself, did he think 
 that violence were necessary. Hear my 
 determination once and for ever!" added 
 he, " I acknowledge no authority in Scot 
 land but the laws. The present Regent 
 and his abthanes outrage them in every
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 161 
 
 ordinance, and I should indeed be a traitor 
 to my country, did I submit to such men's 
 behests. I shall not obey their summons 
 to Stirling neither will I permit a hostile 
 arm to be raised in this camp against their 
 delegates, unless the violence begins with 
 them. This is my answer." Uttering 
 these words he motioned Bothwell to fol 
 low him, and left the tent. 
 
 Crossing a little bridge which lay over 
 the Eske, to the quarters of Ruthven, he 
 met that nobleman and Edwin accompa 
 nied by Lord Sinclair. He came to in 
 form Wallace that embassadors from Ed 
 ward had just arrived at Roslyn, where 
 they awaited his audience= " They come 
 to offer peace to our distracted country," 
 cried Sinclair. " Then," answered he, 
 " I shall not a moment delay going where 
 I may hear the terms." Horses were 
 brought, and during their short ride, to 
 prevent the impassioned representations 
 of the still raging Bothwell, Wallace 
 communicated to his not less indignant
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 friends the, particulars of the scene he 
 had left. " These contentions must be 
 terminated," added he, " and with God's 
 blessing, a few days, perhaps hours, and 
 they shall be so !" " Heaven grant it !" 
 returned Sinclair, thinking he referred 
 to the proposed negociation : " If Ed 
 ward's offers be at all reasonable, I would 
 urge you to accept them ; otherwise, in 
 vasion from without, and civil commotion 
 within, will probably make a desert of 
 poor Scotland." Ruthven interrupted 
 him, " Despair not, my lord 1 Whatever 
 be the fate of this embassy, let us remem 
 ber that it is the wisdom of our steadiest 
 friend that decides, and that his arm is 
 still with us to repel invasion, and to 
 chastise treason!" Edwin's eyes turned 
 with a direful expression upon Wallace, 
 and he lowly murmured, "Treason! 
 hydra treason !" Wallace understood him, 
 and answered, " Grievous are the alter 
 natives, my friends, which your love for 
 me vrould persuade you even to welcome-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 163 
 
 But that which I shall chuse will, 1 trust, 
 indeed lay the land at peace, or point its 
 hostilities to the only aim against which a 
 true Scot ouo;ht to direct its fires !" 
 
 CJ 
 
 Being arrived at the gate of Roslyn, 
 Wallace, regardless of those ceremonials 
 
 o 
 
 which often impede .the business they pre 
 tend to dignify, entered at once into the 
 hall where the embassadors sat. Baron 
 Hilton was one, and Lede Spencer (father 
 to the young and violent envoy of that 
 name) was the other. At sight of the 
 Scottish chief they rose, and Wallace 
 having graciously recognised Hilton, the 
 good baron, believing he came on a pro 
 pitious errand, smiling, said, " Sir William 
 Wallace, it is your private ear I am com 
 manded to seek." As he spoke he look 
 ed round on Sinclair and the other lords. 
 " These chieftains are as myself," replied 
 Wallace, " but I will not impede your 
 embassy by crossing the wishes of your 
 master in a trifle." He then turned to his 
 friends, " Indulge the monarch of Eng-
 
 164 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 land in making me first acquainted with 
 what can only be a message to the whole 
 nation." 
 
 The chiefs withdrew, and Hilton, with 
 out further parley, opened his mission. 
 He said, that King Edward, more than 
 ever impressed with the wondrous milita 
 ry talents of Sir William Wallace, and 
 solicitous to make a friend of so heroic 
 an enemy, had sent him an offer of grace 
 which, if he contemned, should be the 
 last. He offered him a theatre whereon 
 he could display his peerless endowments 
 to the admiration of the world the king 
 dom of Ireland, with its yet unreaped 
 fields of glory, and all the ample riches 
 of its abundant provinces, should be his ! 
 Edward only required in return for this 
 royal gift, that he should abandon the 
 cause of Scotland, swear fealty to him for 
 Ireland, and resign into his hands one 
 whom he had proscribed as the most un 
 grateful of traitors. In acknowledgment 
 for the latter sacrifice, he need only fur-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 165 
 
 nish his majesty with a list of those Scot 
 tish lords against whom Wallace bore 
 any resentment, and their fates should be 
 ordered according to his dictates. Ed 
 ward concluded his offers by inviting him 
 immediately to London to be invested 
 with his new sovereignty : and he ended 
 by shewing him the madness of abiding 
 longer in a country where almost every 
 chieftain secretly or openly carried a dag 
 ger against his life; and therefore he ex 
 horted him no longer to contend for a 
 country so unworthy of freedom, that it 
 bore with impatience the only man who 
 had had the courage to maintain it by vir 
 tue alone. 
 
 Wallace replied calmly and without 
 hesitation: " To this offer an honest man 
 can make but one reply. As well might 
 your sovereign exact of me to dethrone 
 the angels of heaven, as to require me to 
 subscribe to his proposals ! They do but 
 mock me; and aware of my rejection, they 
 are thus delivered, to throw the whole
 
 166 THE SCOTTISH CHlEFb. 
 
 
 
 blame of this cruelly-persecuting war upon 
 me. Edward knows that as a knight, 
 a true Scot, and a man, I should dis 
 honour myself to accept even life, aye, or 
 the lives of all my kindred, upon these 
 terms." 
 
 Hilton interrupted him by declaring the 
 sincerity of Edward ; and contrasting it 
 with the ingratitude of the people whom 
 he had served, he conjured him with every 
 persuasive of rhetoric, every entreaty dic 
 tated by a mind that revered the very 
 firmness he strove to shake, to relinquish 
 his faithless country and become the 
 friend of a king ready to receive him with 
 open arms. Wallace shook- his head ; and 
 with an incredulous smile which spoke his 
 thoughts of Edward, while his eyes beamed 
 kindnessupon Hilton, heanswered "Can 
 the man who would bribe me to betray a 
 friend, be faithful in his friendship? 
 But that is not the weight with me: I 
 was not brought up in those schools, my 
 good baron, which teach that sound po-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 16? 
 
 licyor true self-interest can be separated 
 from virtue. When I was a boy my fa 
 ther often repeated to me this proverb, 
 
 Dico tibi verum, libertas optima rerum 
 Nunquam servilis sub nexu vivitur fili.( 8 ) 
 
 I learnt it then ; I have since made it the 
 standard of my actions: and therefore I 
 answer your monarch in a word. Were 
 all others of my countrymen to resign 
 their claims to the liberty which is their 
 right, I alone would declare the indepen 
 dence of my country, and by God's assist 
 ance, while I live, acknowledge no other 
 master than the laws of St. David and 
 
 the legitimate heir of his blood!" 
 
 The glow of resolute patriotism which 
 overspread his countenance while he 
 spoke, was reflected by a fluctuating 
 
 colour on that of Hilton: "Noble 
 
 chieftain!" cried he, "I admire while 
 I regret ; I revere the virtue which I am 
 
 even now constrained to denounce.- 
 
 These principles, bravest of men, might 
 iiave suited the simple ages of Greece
 
 168 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 and Rome, a Phocion or a Fabricius might 
 have uttered the like, and compelled the 
 homage of their enemies ; but in these 
 days such magnanimity is considered 
 phrenzy, and ruin is its consequence." 
 " And shall a Christian," cried Wallace, 
 reddening with the flush of honest shame, 
 " deem that virtue, which even heathens 
 practised with veneration, of too pure a 
 nature to be exercised by men taught by 
 Christ himself? There is blasphemy in 
 the idea, and I can hear no more." 
 
 Hilton, in some confusion, excused his 
 argument, by declaring that it proceeded 
 fromhisobservationsonthe conduct of men. 
 "And shall we," replied Wallace, " follow 
 a multitude to do evil ? I act to one Being 
 alone. Edward must acknowledge his 
 supremacy, and by that know that my soul 
 is above all price !" " Am I answered ?" 
 said Hilton, and then hastily interrupt 
 ing himself he added in a voice even of 
 
 C9 
 
 supplication, " Your fate rests on your 
 reply ! O ! noblest of warriors, consider
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 169 
 
 only for a day !" " Not for a moment," 
 said Wallace. " I am sensible to your 
 kindness, but my answer to Edward has 
 been pronounced." 
 
 Baron Hilton turned sorrowfully away, 
 and Le de Spencer rose, " Sir William 
 Wallace, my part of the embassy must 
 be delivered to you in the assembly of 
 your chieftains!" "In the congregation 
 of my camp," returned he, and opening 
 the door of the anti-room in which his 
 friends stood, he sent Edwin to summon 
 his chieftains to the platform before the 
 council-tent, and leaving the ambassadors 
 to follow with Sinclair, he withdrew be 
 tween Bothwell and Ruthven, and in his 
 way back to the camp narrated the parti 
 culars of Edward's insidious message. 
 
 VOL. v.
 
 170 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 WHEN Wallace entered before his 
 tent he found not only the captains of 
 his own arrny, but the followers of Soulis, 
 and the chieftains of Lothian. He look 
 ed on this range of his enemies with a 
 fearless eye, and passing through the 
 crowd, took his station beside the em- 
 bassadors on the platform of the tent. 
 The venerable Hilton turned away in 
 tears as he advanced, and Le de Spencer 
 came forward to speak. Wallace per 
 ceiving his intention, with a dignified ac 
 tion requested his leave for a few minutes, 
 and then addressing the congregated war 
 riors, in brief he unfolded to them the 
 offer of Edward to him, and what was 
 his reply. " And now," added he, " the
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 171 
 
 embassador of England is at liberty to 
 declare his master's alternative." 
 
 Le de Spencer again stepped forward 
 and attempted to speak, but the acclama 
 tions with which the followers of Wallace 
 acknowledged the nobleness of his answer, 
 excited such an opposite clamour on the 
 side of the Soulis party, that Le de Spen 
 cer was obliged to mount a war-carriage 
 which stood near, and vociferate long and 
 loudly for silence, before he could be 
 heard. But the first words which caught 
 the ears of his audience acted like a spell, 
 and seemed to hold them in breathless 
 attention. 
 
 " Since Sir William Wallace rejects 
 the grace of his liege lord Edward King 
 of England, offered to him this once, and 
 never to be more repeated, thus saith the 
 king in his mercy to the earls, barons, 
 knights, and commonalty of Scotland ! 
 To every one of them, chief and vassal, 
 excepting the aforesaid incorrigible rebel, 
 he, the royal Edward, grants an amnesty 
 i 2
 
 172 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 of all their past treasons and rebellions 
 against his sacred person and rule, pro 
 vided that within twenty-four hours after 
 they hear the words of this proclamation, 
 they acknowledge their disloyalty with 
 repentance, and laying down their arms, 
 swear eternal fealty to their only lawful 
 ruler the Lord Edward of England and 
 Scotland !" Le de Spencer then pro 
 claimed Edward to be now on the 
 borders with an army of a hundred thou 
 sand men, ready to march with fire and 
 sword into the heart of the kingdom and 
 to put to the rack all of every sex, age, 
 and condition, who shall venture to dis 
 pute his rights.- " Yield now," added he, 
 " while yet you may not only grasp the 
 clemency that is extended to you, but the 
 rewards and honours he is ready to bestow. 
 Adhere to that unhappy man, and by 
 to-morrow's sun-set your offended king 
 will be on these hills, and then mercy 
 shall be no more ! Death is the doom of 
 Sir William Wallace, and a similar fate
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 to any Scot, who will dare after this 
 hour to give him food, shelter, or suc 
 cour. He is the prisoner of King Ed^ 
 ward, and thus I demand him at your 
 hands !" 
 
 Wallace spoke not, but with an unmov 
 ed countenance looked round upon the 
 assembly. " I, I will be faithful to you 
 to the last!" exclaimed Edwin, precipi 
 tating himself into his friend's arms. 
 Bothwell's full soul now forced utterance 
 from his swelling breast : " Tell your so 
 vereign," cried he, " that he mistakes. 
 We are the conquerors who ought to 
 dictate terms of peace ! Wallace is our 
 invincible leader, our redeemer from 
 slavery, the earthly hope in whom we 
 trust, and it is not in the power of men 
 nor devils to bribe us to betray our bene 
 factor. Away to your king, and tell him 
 that Andrew Murray, and every honest 
 Scot, is ready to live or die by the side of 
 Sir William Wallace,"" And by this
 
 174 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 good sword, I swear the same !" cried 
 Ruthven. " And so do I !" rejoined 
 Scrymgeour, " or may the standard of 
 Scotland be my winding sheet !" 
 
 Not another chieftain spoke for Wal 
 lace. Sinclair was intimidated, and like 
 others who wished him well, feared to 
 utter his sentiments. But most, Oh ! 
 shame to Scotland and to man, cast up 
 their bonnets, and cried aloud " Long 
 live King Edward, the only legitimate 
 
 lord of Scotland !" At this outcry, 
 
 which was echoed even by some whom 
 he had confided in, by the chieftains of 
 Perthshire, and pealed around him like 
 a burst of thunder, Wallace threw out 
 his arms as if he would yet protect Scot 
 land from herself. " O ! desolate peo 
 ple," exclaimed he in a voice of piercing 
 woe, " too credulous of fair speeches, and 
 not aware of the calamities which are 
 coming upon you! Call to remembrance 
 the miseries you have suffered, and then,
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 175 
 
 before it be too late, start from this snare 
 of your oppressor ! Have I yet to tell 
 ye that his embrace is death ?"( b ) 
 
 " Seize that rebellious man," cried 
 Soulis to his marshals, " In the name of 
 the King of England I command you." 
 " And in the name of the King of Kings, 
 I denounce death on him who attempts 
 it!" exclaimed Both well, throwing him 
 self between Wallace and the men ; " put 
 forth a hostile hand towards him, and this 
 bu;le shall call a thousand resolute swords 
 
 O 
 
 to lay this platform deep in blood !" 
 
 Soulis, followed by his knights, pressed 
 forward to execute his commands himself. 
 Scrymgeour, Ruthven, and Ker, rushed 
 before their friend. Edwin, starting for 
 ward, drew his sword, and the clash of 
 steel was heard. Bothwell and Soulis 
 grappled together, the falchion of Ruth 
 ven gleamed amidst a hundred swords, 
 and blood flowed around. The voice, the 
 arm of Wallace, in vain sought to en 
 force peace ; he was not heard, he was
 
 176 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 not felt in the dreadful warfare. Ker fell 
 with a gasp at his feet, and bieathed no 
 more. At such a sight, the soul-struck 
 chief wrung his hands, and exclaimed in 
 bitter anguish, " Oh, my country ! Was 
 it for these horrors that my Marion died? 
 that I became :\ homeless wretch, and 
 passed my days and nights in fields of 
 carnage? Venerable Mar, dear and va 
 liant Graham ! was this the consummation 
 for which you fell?" At that moment, 
 Bothwell having disabled Soulis by a 
 wound in the arm, would have blown his 
 bugle to have called up his men to a gene 
 ral conflict, but Wallace snatched the 
 horn from his hand, and springing upon 
 the very war-carriage from which Le de 
 Spencer had proclaimed Edward's embas 
 sy, he drew forth his sword, and stretch 
 ing the mighty arm that held it over the 
 throng, with more than mortal energy 
 he exclaimed, " Peace ! men of Scotland, 
 and for the last time hear the voice of 
 William Wallace." A dead silence im-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 177 
 
 mediately ensued, and he proceeded, "I 
 you have aught of nohleness within ye; 
 if a delusion more fell than witchcraft 
 have not blinded your senses, look be 
 yond this field of horror, and behold 
 your country free. Edward in these ap 
 parent demands, sues for peace: Did 
 we not drive his armies into the sea? 
 And were we resolved, he never could 
 
 cross our borders more. What is it then 
 
 t 
 
 that you do, when you again put your 
 necks under his yoke? Did he not seek 
 to bribe me to betray you? And yet, 
 when I refuse to purchase life and the 
 world's rewards by such baseness, you 
 you forget that you are free-born Scots? 
 that you are the victors and he the van 
 quished, and you give, not sell, your 
 birth-right, to the demands of a tyrant ! 
 You yield yourselves to his extortions, 
 his oppressions, his revenge ! Think 
 not he will spare the people he would have 
 sold to purchase his bitterest enemy ; or 
 allow them to live unmanacled, who poi- 
 13
 
 178 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 sess the power of resistance, On the day 
 in which yon are in his hands, you will 
 feel that you have exchanged honour for 
 disgrace, liberty for bondage, life for 
 death ! Me you abhor, and may God in 
 your extremest hour forget that injustice, 
 and pardon the faithful blood that has 
 been shed this day ! I draw this sword 
 for you no more. But there yet lives a 
 prince, a descendant of the royal heroes 
 of Scotland, whom Providence may con 
 duct to be your preserver. Reject the 
 proposals of Edward, dare to defend the 
 freedom you now possess, and that prince 
 will soon appear to crown your patriotism 
 with glory and happiness !" "^ 
 
 " We acknowledge no prince but King 
 Edward of England !" cried Buchan. 
 * His countenance is our glory, his pre 
 sence our happiness !" The exclamation 
 was reiterated by almost all on the ground. 
 Wallace was transfixed. " Then," cried 
 Le de Spencer in the first pause of the 
 tumult, " to every man. woman, and
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 179 
 
 
 
 child, throughout the realm of Scotland, 
 excepting Sir William Wallace, I pro 
 claim in the name of King Edward, par 
 don and peace." 
 
 At these words, a thousand Scottish 
 chieftains dropped on their knees before 
 Le de Spencer and murmured their vows 
 of fealty. Indignant, grieved, Wallace 
 took his helmet from his head, and throw 
 ing his sword into the hand of Bothwell, 
 " That weapon," cried he, " which I wrest 
 ed from this very King Edward, and with 
 which I twice drove him from our bor 
 ders, I give to you. In your hands it 
 may again serve Scotland. I relinquish 
 a soldier's name on the spot where I hum 
 bled England three times in one day, 
 where I now see my victorious country 
 deliver herself bound into the hand of 
 the vanquished ! I go without sword or 
 buckler from this dishonoured field ; and 
 what Scot, my public or private enemy, 
 will dare to strike the unguarded head of 
 William Wallace ?" As he spoke he
 
 180 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 threw his shield and helmet to the ground, 
 and leaping from the war-carriage, took 
 his course with a fearless and dignified 
 step through the parting ranks of his ene 
 mies, who, awe-struck, or kept in check 
 by a suspicion that others might not se 
 cond the attack they would have made on 
 him, durst not lift an arm or breathe a 
 word as he passed. 
 
 Wallace had adopted this manner of 
 leaving the ground, in hopes, if it were 
 possible to awaken the least spark of ho 
 nour in the breasts of his persecutors, to 
 prevent the bloodshed which must ensue 
 between his friends and them, should they 
 attempt to seize him. Edwin and Both- 
 well immediately followed him; butRuth- 
 ven and Scrymgeour remained, to take 
 charge of the remains of the faithful 
 Ker,(') and to quiet the tumult which be 
 gan to murmur amongst the lower orders 
 of the by-standers.
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 181 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 A VAGUE suspicion of the Regent 
 and his council, and a panic-struck pusil 
 lanimity which shrunk from supporting 
 that Wallace whom the abthanes chose 
 to abandon, carried the spirit of slavery 
 from the platform before the council-tent, 
 to the chieftains who thronged the ranks 
 of Ruthven, even to the perversion of 
 some few who had followed the golden- 
 haired standard of Bothwell. The brave 
 troops of Lanark (which the desperate 
 battle of Dalkeith had reduced to not 
 more than sixty men,) alone remained 
 unmoved. 
 
 In the moment when the indignant 
 Ruthven saw his Perthshire legions roll 
 ing off towards tht trumpet of Le de 
 Spencer, Scrymgeour placed himself at
 
 182 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 the head of the Lanarkers and with the un 
 furled banner of Scotland marched with a 
 steady step to the tent of Both,well, whi 
 ther he did not doubt that Wallace had 
 retired. He found him assuaging the im 
 passioned grief of Edwin for what had 
 passed, and striving to moderate the ve 
 hement wrath of the faithful Murray. 
 w Pour not out the energy of your spirit 
 upon these worthless men !" said he, 
 " leave them to the fates they seek ; the 
 fetes they have incurred by the innocent 
 blood they have shed this day! The 
 few brave hearts who yet remain loyal to 
 their country, are insufficient to here stem 
 the torrent of corruption. Retire beyond 
 the Forth, my friend. Rally all true 
 Scots around Hunting-tower. Let the 
 valiant inmate proclaim himself; and at 
 the foot of the Grampians lock the gates 
 of the Highlands upon our enemies. From- 
 those bulwarks he will soon issue, and 
 Scotland may again be free !" 
 
 "Free, but never more honoured !"
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 183: 
 
 cried Edwin, " never more beloved by 
 me ! Ungrateful, treacherous, base land,'* 
 added he, starting on his feet and raising 
 his clasped hands with the vehement ad 
 juration of an indignant spirit ; " Oh, 
 that the salt sea would engulph thee at 
 once, that thy name and thy ingratitude 
 could be no more remembered ! I will 
 never wear a sword for her again." " Ed-> 
 win I" ejaculated Wallace, in a reproach 
 ful, yet tender tone. " Exhort me not to 
 forgive my country !" returned he. "tell 
 me to take my deadliest foe to my breast ; 
 to pardon the assassin who strikes his 
 steel into my heart, and I will obey you; 
 but to pardon Scotland for the injury that 
 she has done to you; for the disgrace 
 with which her self-debasement stains this 
 cheek ; I never, never can ! I abhor these 
 sons of Lucifer ! Think not, noblest of 
 masters, dearest of friends," cried he, 
 throwing himself at Wallace's feet, " that 
 I will ever shine in the light of those en 
 vious stars which have displaced the sun !
 
 184 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 No, tibi soli shall henceforth be the im 
 presse on my shield : to thee alone will I 
 ever turn ; and till your beams restore 
 your country and revive me, the spring 
 ing laurels of Edwin Ruthven shall wither 
 wkere they grew !" Wallace folded him 
 to his heart ; a tear stood in his eye while 
 his cheek touched that of Edwin, and he 
 said in a low voice, " If thou art mine, 
 thou art Scotland's. Me, she rejects. 
 Mysterious heaven wills that I should 
 quit my post ; but for thee, Edwin, as a 
 relic of the fond love I yet bear this 
 wretched country, abide by her, bear with 
 her, cherish her, defend her for my sake ; 
 and if Bruce lives, he will be to thee a 
 second Wallace, a friend, a brother !" 
 Edwin listened, wept, and sobbed, but 
 his heart was fixed ; and unable to speak, 
 he broke from his friend's arms and hur 
 ried into an interior apartment to subdue 
 his emotions. 
 
 Ruthven now joined his determined 
 opinion with that of Bothwell, that if ever
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 185 
 
 a civil war could be sanctified, this was the 
 time ; arid in spite of all that Wallace 
 could urge against the madness of con 
 tending for his supremacy over a nation 
 which would not yield him obedience, still 
 they remained firm in their resolution. 
 Bruce they hardly dared hope would 
 recover ; and to relinquish the guiding 
 hand of their best approved leader at this 
 crisis, was a sacrifice no earthly power 
 should compel them to make. " So far 
 from it," cried Lord Bothwell, dropping 
 on his knee and grasping the cross hilt of 
 his sword in both hands, " I swear by the 
 blood of the crucified Lord of an ungrate 
 ful world, that should Bruce die, I will 
 obey no other king of Scotland than Wil 
 liam Wallace !" Wallace turned ashy 
 pale as he listened to this vow. At that 
 moment Scrymgeour entered followed by 
 the Lanarkers ; and all kneeling at his 
 feet, repeated the oath of Bothwell, and 
 called on him, by the unburied corse of
 
 186 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 his murdered Ker, to lead them forth, and 
 avenge them of his enemies. 
 
 As soon as the agitation of his soul 
 would allow him to speak to this faithful 
 group, he stretched his hands over them ; 
 and tears, such as a father would shed 
 who looks on the children he is to behold 
 no more, gliding over his cheeks ; he said 
 in a subdued and faltering voice, " God 
 will avenge our friend: my sword is 
 sheathed for ever. May that holy Being 
 who is the true and best kino; of the virtu- 
 
 O 
 
 ous, always be present with you 1 I feel 
 your love, and I appreciate it. But, Both- 
 well, Ruthven, Scrymgeour, my faithful 
 Lanarkers, leave me awhile to compose 
 my scattered thoughts. Let me pass this 
 night alone ; and to-morrow you shall 
 know the resolution of your grateful 
 Wallace!" 
 
 The shades of evening were closing in, 
 and the Lanarkers, first obtaining permis 
 sion to keep guard before the wood
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 18? 
 
 which skirted the tent, respectfully 
 kissing his hand withdrew. Ruthven 
 called Edwin from the recess whither he 
 had retired to unburthen his grief ; but as 
 soon as he heard that it was the resolution 
 of his friends to preserve the authority of 
 Wallace, or to perish in the contest, the 
 gloom passed from his fair brow, a smile 
 of triumph parted his lips, and he exclaim 
 ed, " All will be well again ! We shall 
 force this deluded nation to recognise her 
 safety and her happiness!" 
 
 While the determined chiefs held dis 
 course congenial with the wishes of the 
 youthful knight, Wallace sat almost si 
 lent. He seemed revolving some momen 
 tous idea : he frequently turned his eyes on 
 the speakers with a fixed regard, which ap 
 peared rather full of a grave sorrow, than 
 demonstrative of any sympathy in the sub 
 jects of their discussion. On Edwin he 
 at times looked with penetrating tender 
 ness ; and when the bell from the neio;h- 
 
 o 
 
 bouring convent sounded the hour of rest,
 
 188 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 he stretched out his hand to him with a 
 smile which he wished should speak of 
 comfort as well as of affection ; but the soul 
 spoke more eloquently than he had intend 
 ed: his smile was mournful, and the at 
 tempt to render it otherwise, like a tran 
 sient light over a dark sepulchre, only 
 the more distinctly shewed the gloom and 
 horrors within. " And am I too to leave 
 you?" said Edwin. " Yes, my brother," 
 replied Wallace, " I have much to do 
 with heaven and my own thoughts this 
 night. We separate now, to meet more 
 gladly hereafter. I must have solitude to 
 arrange my plans. To-morrow you shall 
 know them. Meanwhile farewel !" as 
 he spoke he pressed the affectionate 
 youth to his breast, and warmly grasping 
 the hands of his three other friends, bade 
 them an earnest adieu. 
 
 Bothwell lingered a moment at the tent 
 door, and looking back ; " Let your first 
 plan be, that to-morrow you lead us to 
 Lord Soulis's quarters, to teach the trai-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 189 
 
 tor what it is to be a Scot and a man !" 
 " My plans shall be deserving of my 
 brave colleagues," replied Wallace ; " and 
 whether they be executed on this or the 
 other side of the Forth, you shall find, 
 my long-tried Bothwell, that Scotland's 
 peace and the honour of her best sons 
 are the dearest considerations of your 
 friend." 
 
 When the door closed and Wallace 
 was left alone, he stood for awhile in the 
 middle of the tent listening to the depart 
 ing steps of his friends. When the last 
 sound died on his ear ; " I shall hear 
 them no more !" cried he ; and throwing 
 himself into a seat, he remained for an 
 hour lost in a trance of grievous thoughts. 
 Melancholy remembrances, and prospects 
 dire for Scotland, pressed upon his sur 
 charged heart. " It is to God alone I must 
 confide my country!" cried he, "his mercy 
 will pity its madness, and forgive its deep 
 transgressions. My duty is to remove 
 the object of ruin far from the power of
 
 190 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 any longer exciting; jealousy, or awaken 
 ing zeal." With these words, he took a 
 pen in his hand to write to Bruce, 
 
 He briefly narrated the events which 
 compelled him, if he would avoid the 
 grief of having occasioned a civil war, to 
 quit his country for ever. The general 
 hostility of the nobles; the unresisting 
 acquiescence of the people in measures 
 which menaced his life and sacrificed the 
 freedom for which he had so long fought, 
 convinced him, he said, that his warlike 
 commission was now closed. He was 
 summoned by heaven to exchange the field 
 for the cloister: and to the monastery at 
 Ghartres he was now hastening to dedicate 
 the remainder of his days to the peace of 
 a future world. He then exhorted Bruce 
 to confide in the lords Ruthven and Both- 
 well as his soul would commune with his 
 spirit, for that he would find them true 
 unto death. He counselled him, as the 
 leading measure, to circumvent the treason 
 of Scotland's enemies, to go immediately
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 191 
 
 to Kilchurn Castle. Loch-awe had retired 
 thither on the last approach of DeWarenne, 
 meaning to call out his vassals for the 
 emergency. But the battle of Dalkeith 
 was fought and gained before they could 
 leave their heights, and the victor did not 
 need them afterwards. To use them for 
 his establishment on the throne of his 
 kingdom, Wallace advised Bruce. Amidst 
 the natural fortresses of the Highlands he 
 mioht recover his health and collect his 
 
 O 
 
 friends, and openly proclaim himself. 
 " Then," added he, " when Scotland is 
 your own, let its bulwarks be its moun 
 tains and its people's arms. Dismantle 
 and raze to the ground the castles of those 
 chieftains who have only embattled them 
 to betray and enslave their country." 
 Though intent on these political sugges 
 tions, he ceased not to remember his own 
 brave engines of war ; and he earnestly 
 conjured his prince, that he would wear 
 the valiant Kirkpatrick as a buckler on his 
 heart ; that he would place the faithful
 
 192 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 Scrymgeour and his Lanarkers, with 
 Grimsby, next him as his body guard ; 
 and, that he would love and cherish the 
 brave and tender Edwin, for his sake. 
 " When my prince and friend receives 
 this," added he, " Wallace shall have bid 
 den an eternal farewel to Scotland : but 
 his heart will be amidst its hills. My 
 king, the friends most dear to me, will 
 still be there ! The earthly part of my 
 beloved wife rests within its bosom. But 
 I go to rejoin her soul: to meet it in the 
 nightly vigils of days consecrated wholly 
 to the blessed Being in whose presence 
 she rejoices for ever. This is no sad des 
 tiny, my dear Bruce. Our Almighty 
 Captain recals me from dividing with you 
 the glory of maintaining the liberty of Scot 
 land ; but he brings me closer to himself: 
 I leave the plains of Gilgal, to ascend with 
 his angel into the Empyrean ! Mourn 
 not then my absence ; for my prayers will 
 be with you till we are again united in 
 the only place where you can fully know
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 193 
 
 me as I am, thine and Scotland's never- 
 dying friend ! Start not at the bold epi 
 thet. My body may sink into the grave ; 
 but the affections of my immortal spirit 
 are eternal as its essence ; and in earth or 
 heaven I am ever yours. 
 
 " Should the endearing Helen be near 
 your couch when you read this, tell her 
 that Wallace now in idea presses her vir 
 gin cheek with a brother's chaste farewel, 
 and from his inmost soul he blesses 
 her." 
 
 Messages of respectful adieus he sent 
 to Isabella, Lady Ruthven, and the Sage 
 of Ercildoun : and then kneeling down, in 
 that posture he wrote his last invocations 
 for the prosperity and happiness of 
 Bruce. 
 
 This letter finished, with a more tran 
 quil mind he addressed Lord Ruth 
 ven ; detailing to him his reasons for 
 leaving such faithful friends so clan 
 destinely ; and after mentioning his pur 
 pose of going immediately to France, 
 
 VOL. v. K
 
 194 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 he ended with those expressions of grati 
 tude which the worthy chief so well de 
 served ; and exhorting him to transfer 
 his public zeal for him, to the magnani 
 mous and royal Bruce, closed the letter, 
 with begging him, for the sake of his friend, 
 his king, and his country, to return imme 
 diately with all his followers to Hunting- 
 tower, and to deliver to their prince the 
 inclosed. His letter to Scrymgeour spoke 
 nearly the same language. But when he 
 began to write to Bothwell, to bid him 
 that farewel which his heart foreboded 
 would be for ever in this world ; to part 
 from this his steady companion in arms, 
 his dauntless champion ! he lost some of 
 his composure, and his hand-writing tes 
 tified the emotion of his mind. How then 
 was he shaken when he addressed the 
 young and devoted Edwin, the brother of 
 his soul ! He dropped the pen from his 
 hand. At that moment he felt all he was 
 going to relinquish, and he exclaimed, 
 " Oh, Scotland ! my ungrateful country !
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 195 
 
 what is it you do ? Is it thus that you re 
 pay your most faithful servants ? It is 
 not enough that the wife of my bosom, 
 the companion of my youth, should be 
 torn from me by your enemies; but 
 your hand must wrest from my bereaved 
 heart its every other solace. You snatch 
 from me my friends ; you would deprive 
 me of my life! To preserve you from 
 that crime, 1 imbitter the cup of death ; I 
 go far from the tombs of my fathers ; from 
 the grave of my Marion, where I had 
 fondly hoped to rest !" His head sank 
 on his arm ; his heart gave way under the 
 pressure of accumulated regrets, and 
 floods of tears poured from his eyes. Deep 
 and frequent were his sighs, but none an 
 swered him. Friendship was far distant ; 
 and where was that eentle being who 
 
 o o 
 
 would have soothed his sorrow on her 
 bosom? She it was he lamented. " Dreary, 
 dreary solitude 1 " cried he, looking around 
 him with an aghast perception of all that 
 he had lost : " how have I been mocked
 
 196 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 for these three long years ! What is re 
 nown, what the loud acclaim of admiring 
 throngs, what the bended knees of wor 
 shipping gratefulness, but breath and va 
 pour !" It seems to shelter the mountain's 
 top: the blast comes ; it rolls from its 
 sides ; and the lonely hill is left to all the 
 storm! So stand I, my Marion, when 
 bereft of thee. In weal or woe, thy smiles, 
 thy warm embrace, were mine: my head 
 reclined on that faithful breast, and still I 
 found my home, my heaven. But now, 
 desolate and alone, ruin is around me. 
 Destructions wait on all who would steal 
 one pang from the racked heart of 
 "William Wallace 1 even pity is no more 
 for me ! Take me then, O ! Power of 
 Mercy !" cried he, stretching forth his 
 hands, " take me to thyself!" 
 
 A peal of thunder at these words burst 
 on his ear, and seemed to roll over his 
 tent, till passing off towards the west it 
 died away in a long and solemn sound. 
 Wallace rose from his knee, on which he
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 197 
 
 had sunk at this awful response to his hea 
 ven-directed adjuration: "Thoucallestme, 
 my father !" cried he, with a holy confi 
 dence dilating his soul ; " I go from the 
 world to thee ! I come, and before thy 
 altars shall know no human weakness." 
 
 In a paroxysm of sacred enthusiasm he 
 rushed from the tent, and reckless whi 
 ther he went, struck into the depths of 
 Roslyn woods. With the steps of the 
 wind he pierced their remotest thickets, 
 till he reached the most distant of the 
 Eske's tributary streams : but that did 
 not stop his course, he bounded over it ? 
 and ascending its moon-light bank, was 
 startled by the sound of his name. Grims- 
 by, attended by a youth, stood before 
 him. The veteran expressed amazement 
 at meeting his master alone at this hour ? 
 unhelmeted and unarmed, in so dangerous 
 a direction. " The road," said he, " be 
 tween this and Stirling, is beset with your 
 enemies." Wallace, instead of noticing 
 this information, inquired of the soldier
 
 198 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 what news he brought from Hunting- 
 tower. " The worst," said he. " By this 
 time the royal Bruce is no more !" Wal 
 lace gasped convulsively, and fell against 
 a tree. Grimsby paused. In a few mi 
 nutes the heart-struck chief was able to 
 speak ; " Listen not to my groans for un 
 happy Scotland !" cried he, " shew me 
 all that is in this last phial of wrath." 
 
 Grimsby, with as much caution as he 
 could, informed him that Bruce was so far 
 recovered as to have left his couch yes 
 terday, when at noon a letter was brought 
 to Lady Helen, who was sitting with him. 
 She opened it ; and having read only a 
 few lines, fell senseless into the arms of 
 her sister. Bruce, alarmed for Ruthven, 
 instantly snatched up the vellum ; but not 
 a word did he speak till he had perused 
 it to the end. It was from the Countess 
 of Strathearn, cruelly exulting in what she 
 termed the demonstration of Wallace's 
 guilt ; and congratulating herself on hav 
 ing been the primary means of discovering
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 199 
 
 it, ended with a boast that his once ador 
 ing Scotland now held him in such detest 
 ation as to have doomed him to die. It was 
 this denunciation which had struck to the 
 soul of Helen ; and while the anxious 
 Lady Ruthven removed her inanimate 
 form into another room, he read the bar 
 barous triumphs of this disappointed wo 
 man. " No power on earth can save him 
 now," continued she; "your doting heart 
 must yield him, Helen, to another rest 
 than your bridal chamber. His iron 
 breast shall meet with others as adaman 
 tine as his own. A hypocrite ! he felt 
 not pity, he knows no beat of human sym 
 pathies, and, like a rock he will fall, un- 
 pitied, undeplored. Undeplored by all 
 but you, silly, self-deluded girl 1 My no 
 ble lord, the princely De Warenne, in 
 forms me that your Wallace is outlawed 
 by his own country, and a price set upon 
 his head by ours : hence, there is safety 
 for him no where. .Those he has outraged 
 shall be avenged : and his cries for mer--
 
 200 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 cy ! who will answer them ? No voice 
 on earth. For none -will dare support 
 the man whom both friends and enemies 
 abandon to destruction." 
 
 " Yes," cried Bruce, starting from his 
 seat, " I will support him, thou damned 
 traitoress ! Bruce will declare himself! 
 Bruce will throw himself before his friend, 
 and in his breast receive every arrow 
 meant for that -rodlike heart ! Yes," cried 
 
 O * 
 
 he, glancing on the terrified looks of Isa 
 bella, who believed that his delirium was 
 returned, " I would snatch him in these 
 arms from the flames, did all the fiends of 
 hell guard the infernal fire !" Not a 
 word more did he utter, but darting into 
 his apartment, in a few minutes he was 
 seen before the Barbican gate armed from 
 head to foot and calling on Grimsby to 
 bring him a horse. Grimsby obeyed ; 
 and at that moment Lady Helen appeared 
 from the window, wringing her hands 
 and exclaiming, " Save him, for the love 
 of heaven, save him !" " Yes," cried Bruce,
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 201 
 
 " or you see me no more." And striking 
 his rowels into his horse, he was out of 
 sight in an instant. 
 
 Grimsby followed, and came in view of 
 him just as he was attempting to cross a 
 wide fissure in the rocky path : the horse 
 struck his heei against a loose stone as he 
 made the leap, and it giving way, he lost 
 his spring and fell immediately into the 
 deep ravine. At the moment of his dis 
 appearance, Grimsby, with a cry of hor 
 ror rushed towards the spot and saw the 
 horse struggling in the last agonies of 
 death at the bottom. Bruce lay insen 
 sible amongst some bushes which grew 
 nearer the top. With difficulty the ho 
 nest Englishman got him dragged to the 
 surface of the hill; and finding all attempts 
 to recover him ineffectual, he laid him on 
 his own beast, and so carried him slow 
 ly back to the castle. The Sage of Ercil- 
 doun restored him to life but not to recol 
 lection, by letting him blood." The fever 
 returned on him, with a delirium so 
 K 3
 
 202 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 hopeless of recovery," continued Grims- 
 by, " that Lord Douglas being not yet 
 returned from Scone (where he was sta 
 tioned to keep all in order during our 
 prince's illness,) the Lady Helen, in an 
 agony of grief, sent me with this youth to 
 implore you to go to Hunting-toAver. All 
 the ladies say they will conceal you till 
 Bruce is recovered; and then, most no 
 ble Wallace, he will proclaim himself 
 and again move with you, his right hand, 
 to achieve his crown. But should he be 
 torn from us, Loch-awe is in arms, and 
 the kingdom may be yours !" 
 
 " Send me," cried Walter Hav falling 
 
 j j? 
 
 at his feet, " send me back to Lady He 
 len, and let me tell her that our benefactor, 
 the best guardian of our country* will not 
 abandon us ! Should you depart, Scot 
 land's genius will go with you ; again she 
 must sink, again she will be in ruins. De 
 Valence will regain possession of my dear 
 lady, and you will not be near to save 
 her."
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 203 
 
 " Grimsby, Walter, my faithful 
 friends 1" cried Wallace in an agitated 
 voice ; " I do not abandon Scotland: she 
 drives me from her. Would she have 
 allowed me, I would have borne her in 
 my arms until my latest gasp ; but it must 
 not be so. I resign her into the Almigh 
 ty's hands to which I commit myself: they 
 will also preserve the Lady Helen from 
 violence. Bruce is with her. If he lives 
 he will protect her for my sake; and 
 should he die, Bothwell and Ruthven will 
 cherish her for their own." " But you 
 will goto her," said Grimsby. " Disguised 
 in these peasant's garments, which we have 
 brought for the purpose, you may pass 
 through the legions of the Regent with 
 perfect security." " Let me implore 
 you, if not for your own sake, for ours ! 
 Pity our desolation, and save yourself 
 for them Avho can know no safety when 
 you are gone 1" Walter clung by his arm 
 as he uttered this supplication. Wallace 
 looked tenderly upon him: ft I would
 
 204 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 save myself; and I will, please God," said 
 he, " but by no means unworthy of my 
 self. I go, but not under any disguise. 
 Openly have I defended Scotland, and 
 openly will I pass through her lands. 
 None, who would not be more doubly 
 accurst than the murderer Cain, will 
 venture to impede my steps. The chalice 
 of heaven consecrated me the champion of 
 my country, and no Scot dare lift a hostile 
 hand against this anointed head." 
 
 " Whither do you go?" cried Grims- 
 by. " Let me follow you, in joy or sor 
 row !" " And me too, my benefactor !" 
 rejoined Walter ; " and when you look 
 on me, think not that Scotland is alto 
 gether ungrateful !" 
 
 " My faithful friends," returned he, 
 ." whither I go, I must go alone. And, as 
 a proof of your love, grant me your obe 
 dience this once. Rest amongst these 
 thickets till morning. I would not have 
 my good Lanarkers disturbed sooner than 
 is needful by the evil news you bring.
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 205 
 
 At sun-rise you may join their camp : then 
 you will know my destination. But till 
 Bruce proclaims himself at the head of 
 his country's armies, for my sake never 
 reveal to mortal man that he who lies debi 
 litated by sickness at Hunting-tower, is 
 other than Sir Thomas de Longueville." 
 "Rest we cannot," replied Grimsby, " but 
 still we will obey our master. You tell me 
 to adhere to Bruce and to serve him till 
 the hour of his death : I will but should 
 he die, then I may seek you out and 
 again be your faithful servant ?" " You 
 will find me before the cross of Christ," 
 returned Wallace, " with saints my fel 
 low soldiers, and God my only king ! 
 Till then, Grimsby, farewel. Walter, 
 carry my fidelity to your mistress. She 
 will share my thoughts with the Blessed 
 Virgin of Heaven ; for in all my prayers 
 shall her name be remembered." 
 
 Grimsby and Walter, siruck by the 
 holy solemnity of his manner, fell on
 
 206 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 their knees before him. Wallace raised 
 his hands: " Bless, Oh, Father of Light!" 
 cried he, " bless this unhappy land when 
 Wallace is no more ; and let his memo 
 ry be lost in the virtues and prosperity of 
 Robert Bruce !" 
 
 Grimsby sunk on the earth, and gave 
 way to a burst of manly sorrow. W'alter 
 hid his weeping face in the folds of his 
 muster's mantle, and while he firmly 
 grasped it, inly vowed that no force 
 should separate him from his benefactor 
 and lord : but in the midst of his grief he 
 felt the stuff he held, loose in his hand, 
 and looking up, saw that the plaid to 
 which he clung was all that remained of 
 Wallace : he had disappeared. ( k )
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 20? 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 WALLACE having turned abruptly 
 away from his lamenting servants, struck 
 into the deep defiles of the Pentland hills: 
 and deeming it probable that the deter 
 mined affection of some of his friends 
 might urge them to dare the perils atten 
 dant on his fellowship, he hesitated a mo 
 ment which path to take. Certainly not 
 towards Hunting-lower, to bring imme 
 diate destruction on its royal inhabitant. 
 Neither to any chieftain of the Highlands, 
 to give rise to a spirit of civil warfare 
 which might not afterwards be sanctioned 
 by its only just excuse, the appearance 
 and establishment of the lawful prince. 
 Neither would he pursue the eastern 
 track ; for in that direction, as pointing to
 
 208 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 France, his friends would seek him. 
 He therefore turned his steps towards the 
 ports of Ayr : the road was circuitous, 
 but it would soon enough take him from 
 the land of his fathers, from the coun 
 try he must never see again. 
 
 As morning dispelled the shades of 
 night, it discovered still more dreary 
 glooms. A heavy mist hung over the 
 hills and rolled before him along the 
 valley. Still he pursued his way, al 
 though as day advanced the vapours col 
 lected into thicker blackness, and float 
 ing down the heights in portentous 
 volumes, at last burst in a torrent of over 
 whelming rain. All was darkened around 
 by the descending water ; and the accumu 
 lating floods dashing from the projecting 
 craigs above, swelled the burn in his path 
 to a roaring river. Wallace stood in the 
 midst of it, with its "wild waves breaking 
 against his sides. The rain fell on his un 
 covered head, and the chilling blast
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 sighed in his streaming hair. Looking 
 around him, he paused a moment amid 
 this tumult of nature : " Must there be 
 strife even amongst the elements, to shew 
 that this is no longer a land forme?' 
 Spirits of these hills," cried he, " pour not 
 thus your rage on a banished man !' A 
 man without a friend, without a home !" 
 He started, and smiled at his own adjura 
 tion. " The spirits of my ancestors ride 
 not in these blasts : the delegated powers 
 of heaven, launch not this tempest on a 
 defenceless head ; 'tis chance: but affliction 
 shapes all things to its own likeness. Thou, 
 Oh ! my Father, would not suffer any de 
 mon of the air to bend thy broken reed ! 
 Therefore, rain on ye torrents ; ye are 
 welcome to William Wallace. He can 
 well breast the mountain storm, who has 
 stemmed the ingratitude of his country." 
 
 Hills, rivers, and vales, were measured 
 by his solitary steps, till entering on the 
 heights of Clydesdale the broad river of 
 his native glen spread its endeared waters
 
 210 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 before him. Not a wave passed along that 
 had not kissed the feet of some scene con 
 secrated to his memory. Before him, over 
 the western hills, lay the lands of his fore 
 fathers. There he had first drawn his 
 breath; there he imbibed from the lips of 
 his revered grandfather, now no more, 
 those lessons of virtue by which he had 
 lived, and for which he was now ready to 
 die. Far to the left stretched the wide do 
 mains of Lammington : there his youthful 
 heart first knew the pulse of love ; there 
 all nature smiled upon him, for Marion 
 was near, and hope hailed him from 
 every sun-lit mountain's brow. Onward, 
 in the depths of the cliffs, lay Ellerslie, 
 where he had tasted the joys of paradise ; 
 but all there, like that once blessed place, 
 now lay in one wide ruin ! 
 
 " Shall I visit thee again?" said he, as 
 he hurried along the beetling craigs ; 
 " Ellerslie ! Ellerslie !" cried he, " 'tis 
 no hero, no triumphant warrior, that ap 
 proaches ! Receive, shelter, thy desert-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 211 
 
 eel, widowed master ! I come, my Marion, 
 to mourn thee in thine own domains !" He 
 flew forward ; he ascended the cliffs ; he 
 rushed down the hazle-crowned path-way, 
 but it was no longer smooth ; thistles and 
 thickly-interwoven underwood, obstructed 
 his steps. Breaking through them all, 
 he turned the angle of the rock, the 
 last screen to the view of his once be 
 loved home. On this spot he used to 
 stand on moon-light evenings, watching 
 the graceful form of his Marion as she 
 passed to and fro by her window, pre 
 paring for her nightly rest. His eye 
 now turned instinctively to the same 
 point ; but it gazed on vacancy. His 
 home had disappeared : one solitary 
 tower alone remained, standing like " a 
 hermit the last of his race," to mourn 
 over the desolation of all with which it 
 had once been surrounded. (') Not a hu 
 man being now moved on the spot which 
 three years before was thronged with his 
 grateful vassals. Not a voice was now
 
 THE, SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 heard, where then sounded the harp of 
 Halbert ; where breathed the soul -entranc 
 ing song of his beloved Marion ! " Death !" 
 cried he, striking his breast, " how many 
 ways hast thou to bereave poor mortality ! 
 All, all gone ! My Marion sleeps in 
 Bothwell : the faithful Halbert at her 
 feet. And my peasantry of Lanark, how 
 many of you have found untimely graves 
 in the bosom of your vainly-rescued 
 country !" 
 
 He sprang on the mouldering fragments 
 heaped over the pavement of what had 
 been the hall. " My wife's blood marks 
 these stones !" cried he. He flung him 
 self along them, and a groan burst from 
 his heart. It echoed mournfully from 
 the opposite rock. He started, and gazed 
 around. " Solitude ! solitude !" cried 
 he, with a faint smile ; " nought is here 
 but Wallace and his sorrow. Marion ! 
 I call, and even thou dost not answer me ; 
 thou who ever flew at the sound of my 
 voice! Look en me, love," exclaimed
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 213 
 
 he, stretching his arms towards the sky ; 
 "look on me; and for once, for ever, 
 cheer thy lonely, heart-stricken Wallace ! 
 Tears choked his further utterance ; and 
 once more laying his head upon the 
 stones, he wept in soul-dissolving sorrow 
 till exhausted nature found repose m 
 sleep. 
 
 The sun was gilding the grey summits 
 of the ruined tower under whose shadow 
 he lay, when Wallace slowly opened his 
 eyes ; and looking around him, he smote 
 his breast, and with a heavy groan sunk 
 back upon the stones. In the silence 
 which succeeded this burst of memory 
 he thought he heard a rustling near him, 
 and a half-suppressed sigh. He listened 
 breathlessly. The sigh was repeated. 
 He gently raised himself on his hand, 
 and with an expectation he dared hardly 
 whisper to himself, he turned towards 
 the spot whence the sound proceeded. 
 The branches of a rose-tree, once a favourite 
 of his Marion, shook violently and scat-
 
 214 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 tered the leaves of their ungathered 
 flowers upon the brambles which grew 
 beneath. Wallace rose in agitation ; and 
 perceived the skirts of a human figure 
 which had retreated behind the ruins. 
 He advanced towards it, and beheld Ed 
 win Ruthven. The moment their eyes 
 met, Edwin precipitated himself at his 
 feet and clinging to him, exclaimed. 
 " Pardon me this pursuit ? But we meet 
 to part no more !" Wallace raised him 
 and strained him to his breast in silence. 
 Edwin, in hardly articulate accents con 
 tinued : " Some kind Power checked your 
 hand when writing to your Edwin. You 
 could not command him not to follow 
 you ! you left the letter unfinished ; and 
 thus I come to bless you for not condemn 
 ing me to die of a broken heart!" " I 
 
 O 
 
 did not write farewel to thee," cried 
 Wallace, looking mournfully on him ; 
 " but I meant it : for I must part from all 
 I love in Scotland. It is my doom. This 
 country needs me not ; and I have need
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 215 
 
 of heaven. I go into its outcourts a 
 Chartres. Follow me there, dear boy, 
 when thou hast accomplished thy noble 
 career on the earth, and then our grey 
 hairs shall mingle together over the altar 
 of the God of Peace: but now, receive 
 the farewel of thy friend. Return to 
 Bruce, and be to him the dearest repre 
 sentative of William Wallace." " Never, 
 never !" cried Edwin, " Thou alone art 
 my prince, my friend, my brother, my 
 all in this world ! My parents, dear as 
 they are, would have buried my youth in 
 a cloister ; but your name called me to 
 honour; and to you, in life or death, I 
 dedicate my being." " Then," return 
 ed Wallace, " that honour summons you 
 to the side of the dying Bruce. He is 
 
 now in the midst of his foes." " And 
 
 where art thou?" interrupted Edwin; 
 " Who drove thee hence, but enemies ? 
 who line these roads, but wretches sent 
 to betray their benefactor ? No, my 
 friend, thy fate shall be my fate, thy
 
 216 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 woe my woe ! We live or die to 
 gether: the field, the cloister, or the 
 tomb; all shall be welcomed by Edwin 
 Ruthven, if they separate him not from 
 thee I" Seeing that Wallace was going 
 to speak, and fearful that it was to repeat 
 his commands to be left alone, he sud 
 denly exclaimed with vehemence, " Father 
 of men and angels ! grant me thy favour, 
 only as I am true to the vow I have sworn, 
 never more to leave the side of Sir Wil 
 liam Wallace !" 
 
 To urge the dangers to which such a 
 resolution would expose this too faithful 
 friend, Wallace knew would be in vain : 
 he read an invincible determination in 
 the eye and gesture of Edwin ; and, there 
 fore, yielding to the demands of friend 
 ship, he threw himself on his neck. " For 
 thy sake, Edwin, I will yet bear with 
 mankind at large ! Thy bloom of honour 
 shall not be cropt by my hand. We 
 will go together to France, and while I
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 217 
 
 rest under the lilies of its good king, 
 thou shall bear the standard of Scotland 
 in the land of our ally, against the proud 
 
 enemies of Bruce." " Make of me 
 
 what you will ;" returned Edwin, press 
 ing his hand to his lips ;" only do not 
 divide me from yourself!" 
 
 Wallace now told his friend that it was 
 his design to cross the hills into Ayr 
 shire, in some of the ports of which he 
 did not doubt he should find some vessel 
 bound for France. This design. Edwin 
 overturned by telling him, that in the 
 moment the abthanes re-pledged their 
 secret faith to Edward, they sent a 
 strong guard to Ayrshire, to watch the 
 movements of his powerful relations, and 
 to prevent their either hearing of, or 
 marching to the assistance of their wrong 
 ed kinsman. Since then, no sooner was 
 it discovered by the insurgent lords at 
 Roslyn that Wallace had disappeared 
 from the camp, than supposing he meant 
 to appeal to Philip, they dispatched ex- 
 
 VOL. v. i.
 
 218 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 presses all along the western and eastern 
 coasts, from the Friths of Forth and 
 Clyde to those of Solvvay and Berwick 
 upon Tweed, to intercept him. Wal 
 lace, on finding that all avenues from 
 the southern part of his country were 
 closed upon him, determined to try the 
 north : Some bay in the western High 
 lands might open its yet not ungrateful 
 arms, to set its benefactor free. " And 
 if not by a ship," returned Edwin, " a 
 fisher's boat shall launch us from a country 
 which is no longer worthy of you ; and, 
 by the power of Him who hushed the 
 raging waves of Galilee, my master will 
 yet find a haven and a friend !" 
 
 Their course was then taken along the 
 Cartlane craigs at a distance from those 
 villages and mountain cots which, leaning 
 from their verdant heights, seemed to invite 
 the traveller to refreshment and repose. 
 Though the sword of Wallace had won 
 them this quiet ; though his wisdom, like 
 .the cornucopia of Ceres, had spread the
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 219 
 
 lately barren hills with beauteous harvests, 
 yet, had an ear of corn been asked in his 
 name, it would have been denied. A 
 price was set upon his head ; and the 
 lives of all who should succour him 
 would be forfeited ! He who had 
 given bread and homes to thousands, was 
 left to perish, had not where to lay his 
 head. Edwin looked anxiously on him 
 as at times they sped silently along: 
 " Ah !" thought he, " this heroic en 
 durance of evil is the true cross of our 
 celestial captain! Let who will carry. its 
 painted insignia to the Holy Land, here 
 is the man that bears the real substance, 
 and walks undismayed in the path of his 
 sacrificed lord !" 
 
 The black plumage of a common High 
 land bonnet, which Edwin purchased at 
 one of the cottages whither he had gone 
 alone to buy a few onten cukes, hung 
 over the face of his friend. That face no 
 longer blazed wiih the fire of generous 
 valour ; it was pale and sad : but when- 
 L 2
 
 220 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 ever he turned his eye on Edwin, the 
 shades which seemed to envelope it dis 
 appeared ; a bright smile spoke the peace 
 ful consciousness within ; and a look of 
 grateful affection expressed his comfort 
 at having found that in defiance of every 
 danger, he was not yet forsaken. Edwin's 
 happy spirit rejoiced in every glad beam 
 which shone on the face of him he loved. 
 It awoke felicity in his heart : for merely 
 to be on occasions near Wallace and to 
 share his confidence with others, had al 
 ways filled him with joy ; but now to be 
 the only one on whom his noble heart lean 
 ed for consolation, was bliss unutterable. 
 He trod in air, and even chid his beating 
 heart for the throbs of delight which 
 seemed to exult when his friend suffered : 
 " But not so," ejaculated he internally; 
 <e it is delight to live and die with thee. 
 And if it be such pleasure even to share 
 thy calamity; what will be my felicity 
 when 1 dwell with thee in security and 
 princely honours ! For such, dearest of
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 friends, will be the welcome of Philip to 
 his Lord of Gascony !" These thoughts 
 comforted Edwin ; but he did not allow 
 them to escape his bosom. 
 
 As they arrived within sight of the 
 high towers of Bothwell Castle, Wallace 
 stopped. " We must not go thither," 
 said Edwin, replying to the sentiment 
 which spoke from the eyes of his freind ; 
 ** the servants of my cousin Andrew may 
 not be as faithful as their lord !" " I will 
 not try them ;" returned Wallace with a 
 resigned smile, " my presence in Both- 
 well chapel shall not pluck danger on 
 the head of my dauntless Murray. She 
 wakes in heaven for me, whose body 
 sleeps there ; and knowing where to find 
 the jewel, my friend ! shall I linger over 
 the casket?" 
 
 While he yet spoke, a chieftain on 
 horse-back suddenly emerged from the 
 trees which led to the castle, and drew 
 to their side. Edwin was wrapped in his 
 plaid; and cautiously concealing his face
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 that no chance of his being recognised 
 might betray his companion, walked on 
 without once looking at the stranger, the 
 first glance at whose knightly caparisoned 
 horse had declared his quality. But 
 Wallace being without any shade over 
 the noble contour of a form which, for 
 majesty and grace was unequalled in 
 Scotland, was not to be mistaken. He 
 moved swiftly forward. The horseman 
 spurred after him. Wallace perceiving 
 himself pursued and therefore known, 
 and aware that he must be overtaken, 
 suddenly stopped. Edwin in a moment 
 drew his sword and would have given it 
 into the hand of his friend, but Wallace 
 putting it back, rapidly answered; " Leave 
 my defence to this unweaponed arm. I 
 would not use steel against my country 
 men, but none shall take me while I have 
 a sinew to resist." 
 
 The chieftain now checked his horse in 
 front of Wallace, and respectfully rais 
 ing his visor, discovered Sir John Men-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 teith. At sight of him, Edwin dropped 
 the point of his yet uplifted sword ; and 
 Wallace stepping back, " Menteith," 
 said he, " I am sorry for this rencontre. 
 If you would be safe from the destiny 
 which pursues me, you must retire imme 
 diately, and forget that we have met." 
 "Never!" cried Menteith, "I know 
 the ingratitude of an envious country 
 drives the bravest of her champions 
 from its borders ; but I also know what 
 belongs to myself! To serve you at all 
 hazards ; and in my castle of Newark 
 on the Frith of Clyde, to demonstrate 
 my sense of the dangers you once incur 
 red for me. I therefore thank my fortune 
 for this rencontre." 
 
 In vain Wallace urged his determi 
 nation not to bring peril on even the 
 obscurest of his countrymen, by sojourn 
 ing under any roof till he were far from 
 Scotland. In vain he pointed to Menteith 
 the outlawry which would await him 
 should the infuriate abthanes discover
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 that he had given their self-created enemy 
 a shelter. JVlenteith, after as unsuccessful 
 persuasions on his side, at last declared 
 that he knew a vessel was now lying at 
 Newark in which Wallace might embark 
 without entering any house. He ended 
 with imploring that his friend would allow 
 him to be his guide to its anchorage. To 
 enforce this supplication he threw him 
 self offhis horse, and leaving it to stray 
 whither it would, with protestations of 
 fidelity that trampled on all dangers he 
 entreated, even with tears and the most 
 vehement gestures of despair, not to be 
 refused the last comfort which he foresaw 
 he should ever know in his now degraded 
 country. " Once I saw Scotland's steady 
 champion, the brave Douglas, rifled from 
 her shores ! Do not then doom me to a 
 second grief, bitterer than the first ; do 
 not you yourself drive me from the side 
 of her last hero ! Ah ! let me behold 
 you, companion of my school-days, 
 Friend, Leader, Benefactor ! till the sea
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 wrests you for ever from my eyes !" 
 Exhausted and affected, Wallace gave 
 his hand to Menteith : the tear of grati 
 tude stood in his eye. He looked affec 
 tionately from Menteith to Edwin, from 
 Edwin to Menteith ; " Wallace shall yet 
 live in the memory of the virtuous of 
 this land: you, my friends, prove it. I 
 go richly forth, for the hearts of good men 
 are my companions." 
 
 As they journeyed along the devious 
 windings of the Clyde, and passed at a 
 distance the aspiring turrets of Ruther- 
 glen, Edwin pointed to them and said, 
 " From that church, a few months ago, 
 did you dictate a conqueror's terms to 
 England !" "And now that very Eng 
 land makes me a fugitive !" returned 
 Wallace. " Oh ! not England !" inter 
 rupted Edwin, " you bow not to her. It 
 is blind, mad Scotland, who thus thrusts 
 
 her benefactor from her!" " Ah! then, 
 
 my Edwin," rejoined he, " read in me 
 
 the history of thousands ! So various is 
 
 L 3
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIF.FS. 
 
 the fate of a people's idol : to-day he is 
 worshipped as a God, to-morrow thrown 
 into 'the fire !" 
 
 Menteith turned pale at this conversa 
 tion, and quickening his steps, in silence 
 hurried past the opening of the valley 
 which presented the view of Ruther- 
 glen. 
 
 Night overtook the travellers at the 
 little village of Lumloch, about two hours 
 journey from Glasgow. Here, as a se 
 vere storm came on, Menteith advised his 
 friends to take shelter and rest. " As you 
 object to lodge with man," said he, " you 
 may sleep secure in an old ruined barri 
 which at present has no ostensible owner. 
 I saw it as I passed this way from Newark. 
 But I rather wish you would forget this 
 too chary regard for others, and lodge 
 with me in the neighbouring cottage." 
 Wallace was insensible to the pelting 
 of the elements ; his unsubdued spirit 
 neither wanted rest for v mind nor body : 
 but the languid voice and lingering
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 22? 
 
 step of the young Edwin who had been 
 unused to such fatigue on foot, pene 
 trated his heart ; and notwithstanding 
 that the resolute boy, on the first pro 
 posal of Menteith, suddenly rallied him 
 self and declared he was neither weary 
 nor faint, Wallace saw that he was 
 both, and yielded his consent to be 
 conducted from the storm. " But not," 
 said he, " into the house. We will 
 go into the barn ; and there, on the 
 dry earth, my Edwin and I will 
 sleep." 
 
 Menteith did not oppose him farther, 
 and pushing open the door, Wallace 
 and Edwin entered. Their friend soon 
 after followed with a light, which he 
 brought from the cottage, and pulling 
 down some upheaped straw, strewed it on 
 the ground for a bed. " Here I shall 
 sleep like a prince !" cried Edwin, throw 
 ing himself along the scattered truss. 
 "But not," returned Menteith, " till I 
 have disengaged you from your wet gar-
 
 228 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 ments ; and, for the sake of future scenes 
 of prowess, preserved your arms and 
 brigandine from the rust of this night." 
 Edwin, sunk in weariness, said little in 
 opposition ; and having suffered Menteith 
 to take away his sword, and dagger, 
 and to unbrace his plated vest, drop 
 ped at once on the straw in a profound 
 sleep. 
 
 Wallace, that he might not disturb his 
 friend by the murmur of debate, also yield 
 ed to the request of Menteith, and un 
 buckling his cuirass, gave it to him, 
 and laying himself down by Edwin, waved 
 their conductor a good night. Menteith 
 nodded the same, and closed the door 
 upon his victims. 
 
 Well known to the generals in King 
 Edward's army, as one whose soul was a 
 mere counter in traffick, Aymer de Va 
 lence (on being appointed Lord Warden 
 of Scotland in the room of De Warenne, 
 who was incapacitated by the wound he had 
 received in the last battle near Dalkeith,)
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 told his king, that if he would authorize 
 him to offer an earldom with adequate 
 estates to Sir John Menteitli the old friend 
 of Wallace, he was sure so rapacious a 
 chieftain would traverse sea and land to 
 put that formidable Scot into the hands of 
 England. To incline Edward to the 
 proffer of so large a bribe, De Valence 
 instanced Menteith's having volunteered, 
 while he commanded with Sir Eustace 
 Maxwell on the Borders, to betray the 
 forces under him to the English general. 
 The treachery was accepted; and for its 
 execution he received a casket of uncount 
 ed gold. Some other proofs of his devo 
 tion to England were mentioned by De 
 Valence. " You mean his devotion to 
 money!" replied the king; "and if that 
 will make him ours at this crisis, give him 
 overflowing coffers, but no earldom ! 
 Though I must have the head of Wallace, 
 I would not have one of my peers shew 
 k title written in his blood. Ill deeds
 
 230 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 must sometimes be done, but we do not 
 emblazon their perpetrators !" 
 
 De Valence having received his cre 
 dentials, sent Haliburton (a Scottish pri 
 soner, who bought his liberty too dear by 
 such an embassage,) to impart to Sir John 
 Menteith the King of England's propo 
 sal. Menteith was then castellan of 
 Newark, where he had kept close for 
 many months under a pretence of the re 
 opening of old wounds; but the fact was, 
 his treasons were connected with so many 
 accomplices that he feared some disgrace 
 ful disclosure, and therefore kept out of 
 the way of exciting any public attention. 
 Avarice was his master passion ; and his 
 suspicions that there was treasure in the 
 iron box which he had, unwitting of such a 
 circumstance consigned to Wallace, first 
 shewed to him his idolatry of gold. His 
 murmurs for having allowed the box to 
 leave , his possession, gave the alarm 
 which caused the disasters at Ellerslie
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 and his own immediate imprisonment. 
 The lieutenant at Lanark, after the death 
 of Heselrigge, sent Menteith then his 
 prisoner, towards Stirling, for Cressing- 
 ham to punish according to his pleasure. 
 Sir John made his escape from the party 
 that conveyed him, but in flying through 
 a wood fell into Soulis's hands. That 
 inhuman chieftain threatened to return 
 him immediately to his dungeons ; and to 
 avoid such a misfortune, Menteith en 
 gaged in the conspiracy to bring Lady 
 Helen from the priory to the arms of this 
 monster. On her escape, the infuriate 
 Souiis would have wreaked his ven 
 geance on his vile coadjutor by surrender 
 ing him to his enemies, but Menteith, 
 aware of his design, fled, and fled even 
 into the danger he would have avoided. 
 
 O 
 
 He fell in with a roaming party of South 
 rons, who conveyed him to Ayr. His 
 short sojourn with Souiis had plunged his 
 soul deep in guilt. He had once immo 
 lated his honour, and he now kept no
 
 232 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 terms with conscience. Arnulf soon un 
 derstood what manner of man was in his 
 custody; and by sharing with him the 
 pleasures of his table, and giving him 
 certain divisions of the plunder that was 
 daily brought in, he learnt from him all 
 the information respecting the strength 
 and riches of the country that was in his 
 power to communicate. His after history 
 was a series of treacheries to Scotland, 
 never discovered ; and in return for them, 
 an accumulation of wealth from England, 
 the contemplation of which seemed to be 
 his sole enjoyment. This new offer of 
 De Valence's was therefore greedily em 
 braced. He happened to be at Ruther- 
 glen when Haliburton brought the propo 
 sal ; and in the cloisters of its ( m ) church 
 was its fell agreement signed. He trans 
 mitted back his oath to De Valence, that 
 he would die or win his hire : and hav 
 ing dispatched spies to the camp at Ros- 
 lyn, as soon as he was informed of Wal 
 lace's disappearance he judged from his
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 2S3 
 
 knowledge of that chief's retentive affec 
 tions, that whithersoever he intended 
 finally to go, he would first visit Ellerslie 
 and the tomb of his wife. According to 
 this opinion, he planted his emissaries in 
 favouiable situations on the road, and 
 then proceeded to intercept his victim at 
 the probable places. 
 
 Not finding him at BothwelJ, he was 
 just issuing forth to take the way to 
 Ellerslie, when the object of his search 
 presented himself at the opening of the 
 wood. 
 
 Triumphant in his deceit, this master 
 of hypocrisy left the^barn in which he 
 had seen \Vallace and his young friend lie 
 down on that ground from which he had 
 determined they should never more arise. 
 Aware that the unconquerable soul of 
 Wallace would never allow himself to be 
 taken alive, he had stipulated with De 
 Valence that the delivery of his head 
 should entitle him to a full reward. From 
 Rutherglen to Lumloch, no place had
 
 234 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 presented itself in which he thought he 
 could judiciously plant an ambuscade to 
 surprise the unsuspecting; Wallace. But 
 in this village he had stationed so large a 
 force of ruthless savages brought for this 
 
 o o 
 
 purpose, by Haliburton from the Irish 
 Island of Rathlin that their employer had 
 hardly a doubt of this night being the 
 last of his too-trusting friend's existence. 
 These Rathliners neither knew of Wal 
 lace nor his exploits ; but the lower order 
 of Scots, however they might fear to suc 
 cour his distress, loved his person, and 
 felt so bound to him by his actions, that 
 Menteith durst not apply to any one of 
 them to second his villany. 
 
 The hour of midnight had passed, and 
 yet he could not summon courage to lead his 
 men to their nefarious attack. Twice they 
 urged him, before he arose from his affect 
 ed sleep : but guilt had murdered sleep ! and 
 he lay awake, restless, and longing for 
 the dawn: and yet ere that da.wn, the 
 deed was to be accomplished which was to
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 235 
 
 entitle him to half the treasury of King 
 Edward ! A cock crew from a neigh 
 bouring farm. " That is the sign of morn 
 ing, and we have yet done nothing!" ex 
 claimed a surly ruffian, who leaned on 
 his hattle-axe in an opposite corner of the 
 apartment. " No, it is the signal of our 
 enemy's captivity !" cried Menteith, 
 i; Follow me, but gently. If ye speak a 
 word, or a single target rattles before ye all 
 fall upon him, we are lost ! It is a being of 
 supernatural might, and not a mere man 
 whom you go to encounter. He that first 
 disables him shall have a double reward." 
 " Depend upon us," returned they ; 
 and stealing cautiously out of the cottage 
 after their leader, they advanced with a 
 noiseless step towards the barn. Men 
 teith paused at the door, making a sign 
 to his men to halt while he listened. He 
 put his ear to a crevice : not a murmur 
 was heard within. He gently raised the 
 latch, and setting the door wide open,
 
 236 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 with his finger on his lip, beckoned his 
 followers. They breathlessly approach 
 ed the threshold. The meridian moon 
 shone full into the hovel, and shed a 
 broad light upon their victims. The in 
 nocent face of Edwin rested on the bo 
 som of his friend, and the arm of Wal 
 lace lay on the straw with which he had 
 covered the tender body of his compa 
 nion. So fair a picture of mortal friend 
 ship was never before beheld. But the 
 hearts were blind which looked on it, and 
 Menteith giving the signal, he retreated 
 out of the door while his men rushed 
 forward to bind \Vallace as he lay ; but 
 the first, in his eagerness, striking his 
 head against a joist in the roof ut 
 tered a fierce oath. The noise roused 
 Wallace, whose wakeful senses had ra 
 ther slumbered than slept, and opening 
 his eyes he sprung on his feet. A mo 
 ment told him enemies were around. 
 Seeing him rise, they precipitated them-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 23? 
 
 selves forward with imprecations. His 
 eyes blazed like two terrible meteors, 
 and with a sudden motion of his arm he 
 seemed to hold them at a distance, while 
 his god-like figure stood a tower in col 
 lected might. Awe-struck, the men paus 
 ed, but it was only for an instant. The 
 sight of Edwin now starting from his 
 sleep, his aghast countenance as he felt 
 for his weapons, his cry when lie recol 
 lected they were gone, inspired the assas 
 sins with fresh courage. Battle-axes, 
 swords, and rattling chains, now flashed 
 before the eyes of Wallace. The pointed 
 steel in a hundred places entered his body, 
 while with part of a broken bench which 
 chanced to lie near him, he defended him 
 self and Edwin from this merciless host. 
 Edwin, seeing nought but the death of 
 his friend flitting before his sight, re 
 gardless of himself made a spring from 
 his side and snatched a dagger from the 
 belt of one of the murderers. The ruf-
 
 238 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 fian next him instantly caught the intre 
 pid boy by the throat, and in that horri 
 ble clutch would in a moment have de 
 prived him of life had not the lion grasp 
 of Wallace seized the man in his arms, 
 and with a pressure that made his mouth 
 burst out with blood, compelled him to 
 forego his hold. Edwin released, Wallace 
 dropped his assailant who staggering a 
 few paces, fell senseless to the ground and 
 the instant after expired. 
 
 The conflict now became doubly des 
 perate. Edwin's dagger twice defended 
 the breast of his friend. Two of the 
 assassins he had stabbed to the heart. 
 " Murder that urchin !" cried Menteith, 
 who observing from without all that pass 
 ed, and seeing the carnage of his men, 
 feared that Wallace might yet make 
 his escape. " Hah !" cried Wallace 
 at the sound of Menteith's voice 
 giving such an order ; " Then we are 
 betrayed but not by heaven. Strike
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 239 
 
 one of you that angel youth," cried he, 
 "and you will incur damnation!" He 
 spoke to the winds. They poured towards 
 Edwin. Wallace, with a giant's strength, 
 dispersed them as they advanced : the 
 beam of wood fell on the heads and struck 
 the breasts of his assailants. Himself, 
 bleeding at every pore, felt not a smart 
 while yet he defended Edwin. But a 
 shout was heard from the door: a faint 
 cry was heard at his side. He looked 
 round. Edwin lay extended on the 
 ground with an arrow quivering in his 
 heart : his closing eyes still looked up 
 wards to his friend. The beam fell from 
 the hands of Wallace. He threw him 
 self on his knees beside him. The dy 
 ing boy pressed his hand to his heart, and 
 
 dropped his head upon his bosom. 
 
 Wallace .moved not, spoke not. His 
 hand was bathed in the blood of his friend, 
 but not a pulse beat beneath it ; no breath 
 warmed the paralyzed chill of his face as
 
 240 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 it hung over the motionless head of Ed 
 win. 
 
 The men, more terrified at this unre 
 sisting stillness, than even at the invinci 
 ble prowess of his arm, stood gazing on 
 him in mute wonder. But Menteith, in 
 whom the fell appetite of avarice had de 
 stroyed every perception of humanity, 
 
 sent in other ruffians with new thongs to 
 
 o 
 
 bind Wallace. They approached him 
 with terror: two of the strongest, steal 
 ing behind him, and taking advantage 
 of his face being bent upon that of his 
 murdered Edwin, each in the same mo 
 ment seized his hands. As they griped 
 them fast between both theirs, and others 
 advanced eagerly to fasten the bands, 
 he looked calmly up ; but it was a dread 
 ful calm, it spoke of despair, of the full 
 
 completion of all woe. " Bring chains," 
 
 critd one of the men, u he will burst 
 these thongs." 
 
 " You may bind me with a hair," said
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 241 
 
 he, " I contend no more." The bonds 
 were fastened on his wrists, and then 
 turning towards the lifeless body of Ed 
 win, he raised it gently in his arms. The 
 rosy red of youth yet tinged his cold 
 cheek : his parted lips still beamed with 
 a smile, but the breath that had so 
 sweetly informed them was flown. cc O! 
 my best brother that ever I had in the 
 world!" cried he, in a sudden transport, 
 and kissing his pale forehead ; " My sin 
 cere friend in my greatest need ! In thee 
 was truth, manhood, and nobleness ; in 
 thee was all man's fidelity, with woman's 
 tenderness. My friend, my brother, Oh ! 
 would to God I had died for thee !"( n ) 
 
 VOL. v. M
 
 242 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 LORD Ruthven had hardly recovered 
 from the shock which the perusal of Wal 
 lace's solemn adieu, and the confirmation 
 which the recitals of Grimsby and Hay 
 brought of his determined exile had given 
 to his worth-devoted heart, when he was 
 struck with a new consternation by the 
 flight of his son. A billet, which Edwin 
 had left with Scrymgeour who guessed not 
 its contents/told his father, that he was gone 
 to seek their friend and to unite himself 
 for ever with his fortunes. 
 
 Bothwell, not less eager to preserve 
 Wallace to the world, with an intent to 
 persuade him to at least abandon his mo 
 nastic project, lost not an hour, but set 
 off from the nearest port direct for France,
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 243 
 
 hoping to arrive before his friend, and to 
 engage the French monarch to assist in 
 preventing so grievous a sacrifice. Ruth- 
 ven, meanwhile, fearful that the unarmed 
 Wallace and the self-regardless Edwin, 
 might fall into the hands of the venal 
 wretches widely dispersed to seize the 
 chief and his adherents, sent out the La- 
 narkers (eager to embrace the service) in 
 different parties and in divers disguises 
 to pursue the roads it was probable he 
 might take, and rinding him, guard him 
 safely to the coast. Till Ruthven should 
 receive accounts of their success, he for 
 bore to forward the letter which Wallace 
 had left for Bruce, or to increase the so 
 licitude of the already anxious inhabitants 
 of Hunting-tower, with any intimation of 
 what had happened. But on the fourth 
 day, Scrymgeour and his party returned 
 with the horrible narrative ofLumloch. 
 
 Wallace, after the murder of his youth 
 ful friend, had been loaded with irons, 
 M2
 
 244 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 and was conveyed, so unresistingly that he 
 seemed in a stupor, on board a vessel, to 
 be carried immediately to the Tower of 
 London to receive sentence of death. 
 Sir John Menteith, though he never ven 
 tured into his sight, attended as his gaol 
 er and as the false witness who was to 
 put a vizard upon cruelty, and swear 
 away his life. The horror and grief of 
 Ruthven at these tidings were unutter 
 able: and Scrymgeour, to turn the tide. of 
 the bereaved father's thoughts to the in 
 spiring recollection of the early glory of 
 his son, proceeded to narrate, that he 
 found the beauteous remains lying in the 
 hovel bedecked with flowers by the village 
 girls, who were weeping over it and la 
 menting the pitiless heart which could 
 slay such youth and loveliness. To bury 
 him in so obscure a spot, Scrymgeour 
 -would not allow, and he had sent Stephen 
 
 Ireland with the sacred corse to Dumbar- 
 
 . 
 
 ton, with orders to see him entombed in
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 245 
 
 the chapel of that fortress. " It is done," 
 continued the worthy knight, " and those 
 towers he so bravely scaled, will stand for 
 ever the monument of Edwin Ruthven !" 
 This wound had struck deep into the heart 
 of the father. He felt it in his soul, but he 
 did not complain. " Scrymgeour," said 
 he, " the shafts fall thick upon us, but 
 we must fulfil our duty." Cautious of in 
 flicting too heavy a blow on the fortitude 
 of his wife and Helen, he commanded 
 Grimsby and Hay to withhold from every 
 body at Hunting-tower the tidings of its 
 young lord's fate ; and then he dispatched 
 them with the letter of Wallace to Bruce, 
 and the dreadful information of Men- 
 teith's treachery. Ruthven ended his 
 short epistle to his wife, by saying he 
 should quickly follow his messenger, but 
 that at present he had some necessary ar 
 rangements to make before he could en 
 tirely abandon the Lowlands to the tem 
 porary empire of the seditious chiefs. 
 On Grimsby's arrival at Hunting-tower
 
 246 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 he was conducted immediately to Bruce. 
 The delirium had only left him that morn 
 ing ; and though weak and lying on his 
 couch he was contending with Ercildoun 
 that he should be able to set out for Wal 
 lace's camp on the following day, when 
 Grimsby entered the room. The counte 
 nance of the honest Southron was the har 
 binger of his news. Lady Helen started 
 from her seat, and Bruce, stretching out 
 his arm, eagerly caught the packets which 
 Grimsby presented. Isabella, reading her 
 sister's anxiety in her looks, inquired if 
 all were well with Sir William Wallace ? 
 But ere he could make any answer, Lady 
 Ruthven ran breathlessly into the room 
 with a letter open in her hand which 
 Hay had previously delivered to her. 
 Bruce had just read the first line which 
 announced the captivity of Wallace, and 
 with a cry which pierced through the 
 souls of every one present, he made an 
 attempt to spring from the couch, but in 
 the act he reeled, and fell back insensible.
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 247 
 
 The apprehensive heart of Helen guess 
 ed some direful explanation : she looked 
 with speechless inquiry upon her aunt 
 and Grimsby. Isabella and Ercildoun 
 hastened to Bruce, and Lady Ruthven be 
 ing too much alarmed in her own feel 
 ings to remark the aghast countenance 
 of Helen, made her seat herself, and then 
 read to her from Lord Ruthven's letter 
 the brief but decisive account of Wallace's 
 dangerous situation. Helen listened with 
 out a word : her heart seemed locked 
 within her, that it should utter no sound ; 
 her brain was on fire ; and gazing fixedly 
 on the floor, all that was transacted around 
 her passed unnoticed. 
 
 Insensibility did not long shackle the 
 determined Bruce. The energy of his 
 spirit, struggling to gain the side of his 
 most dear brother in this his extremest 
 need (for he well knew Edward's impla 
 cable soul) roused him from his swoon. 
 With his extended arms dashing away the 
 restoratives with which both Isabella and
 
 248 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 Ercildoun hung over him, he would have 
 sprung on the floor had not the latter 
 held him down. " Withhold me not !" 
 cried he, with a fierce countenance, " this 
 is not the time for sickness and indulgence. 
 My friend is in the fangs of the tyrant, 
 and shall I lie here ? No, not for all the 
 empires in the globe will I be detained an 
 other hour." 
 
 Isabella, affrighted at the furies which 
 raged in his eyes, but yet more terrified 
 at the perils attendant on his desperate re 
 solution, threw herself at his feet and 
 implored him to stay for her sake. " No," 
 cried Bruce, forgetful of every selfish 
 wish in the sovereign passion of his soul- 
 devoted gratitude to William Wallace, 
 " not for thy life, Isabella, which is 
 dearer to me than my own ! Not to save 
 this ungrateful country from the doom it 
 merits ! would I linger one moment from 
 the side of him who has fought, bled, and 
 suffered for me and mine who is now 
 treated with ignominy, and sentenced to
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 die for my delinquency ! Had I consent 
 ed to proclaim myself on my landing, se 
 cure with Bruce the king, envy would 
 have feared to strike : but I must first 
 win a fame like his ! And while I lay 
 here, they tore him from the vain and im 
 potent Bruce I But, Almighty pardoner 
 of my sins !" cried he with vehemence, 
 " grant me strength to wrest him from 
 their gripe, and I will go barefoot to Pa 
 lestine to utter all my gratitude !" 
 
 These thoughts created such a tempest 
 in the breast of the prince, that Isabella 
 sunk weeping into the arms of her aunt ; 
 and the venerable Ercildoun, wishing to 
 curb an impetuosity which might only 
 involve its generous agent in a ruin 
 deeper than that it sought to revenge, with 
 more zeal than judgment urged to the 
 prince the danger into which such bound 
 less resentment would precipitate his own 
 person. At this intimation the impas 
 sioned Bruce, stung to the soul that such an 
 M3
 
 250 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 argument could be expected to have any 
 weight with him, solemnly bent his knee 
 and clasping his sword, vowed before hea 
 ven " either to release Wallace or " 
 
 to share his fate ! he would have added ; 
 but Isabella, watchful of his words, here 
 suddenly interrupted him by throwing 
 herself wildly on his neck and exclaim 
 ing " Oh ! say not that ! Rather swear to 
 pluck the tyrant from his throne, that 
 the sceptre of my Bruce may bless Eng 
 land as it will yet do this unhappy land !" 
 " She says right!" ejaculated Ercildoun 
 in a prophetic transport, " and the sceptre 
 of Bruce, in the hands of his offspring, 
 shall bless the united countries to the lat 
 est generations 1 The walls of separation 
 shall then be thrown down, and England 
 and Scotland be one people. "() 
 
 Bruce looked stedfastly on the sage : 
 " Then, if thy voice utter holy verity, it 
 will not again deny my call to wield the 
 power what heaven bestows! I follow my
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 251 
 
 fate ! To-morrow's dawn sees me in the 
 path to snatch my best treasure, my coun 
 sellor, my guide, from the judgment of 
 his enemies : or, woe to England, and to 
 all of Scotland born who have breath 
 ed one hostile word against his sacred 
 life! Helen, dost thou hear me?" cried 
 he : "Wilt thou not assist me to persuade 
 thy too timid sister that her Bruce's ho 
 nour, his happiness, lives in the preser 
 vation of his friend? Speak to her, coun 
 sel her, sweet Helen ; and please the Al 
 mighty arm of heaven, I will reward thy 
 tenderness with the return of Wallace !" 
 
 Helen gazed intently at him as he 
 spoke. She smiled when he ended, but 
 she did not answer, and there was a wild 
 vacancy in the smile that seemed to say 
 she knew not what had been spoken and 
 that her thoughts were far away. With 
 out further regarding him or any who 
 were present, she arose and left the room. 
 At this moment of fearful abstraction, her
 
 252 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 whole soul was bent, with an intensity that 
 touched on madness, on the execution of 
 a project which had rushed into her mind 
 in the moment she heard of Wallace's 
 deathful captivity. 
 
 The approach of night favoured her 
 design. Hurrying to her chamber, she 
 dismissed her maids with the prompt ex 
 cuse that she was ill and desired not to 
 be disturbed till morning; then bolting 
 her door, she quickly habited herself in 
 the page's cloaths which she had so care 
 fully preserved as the dear memorial of 
 her happy days in France, and dropping 
 from her window into the park beneath, 
 ran swiftly through its woody precincts 
 towards Dundee. 
 
 Before she arrived at the suburbs of 
 Perth, her tender feet became so blister 
 ed that she found the necessity of stop 
 ping at the first cottage. Her perturbed 
 spirits rendered it impossible for her to 
 take rest, and she answered the hospitable 
 offer of its humble owner with a request
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 253 
 
 that he would go into the town and imme 
 diately purchase a horse to carry her that 
 night to Dundee. She put her purse into 
 the man's hand as she spoke, and he being 
 willing to serve the young traveller in 
 whatever way he pleased, without further 
 discussion obeyed. When the animal 
 was brought, and the honest Scot returned 
 her the purse with its remaining contents, 
 she divided them with him, and turning 
 from his thanks in silence, mounted her 
 horse and rode away. 
 
 About an hour before dawn she arrived 
 within view of the ships lying in the har 
 bour at Dundee. At this sight she threw 
 herself off the panting animal which she 
 had urged to its utmost speed, and leav 
 ing it to rest and liberty, hastened to the 
 beach. A gentle breeze blew freshly from 
 the north-west, and several vessels at that 
 moment were heaving their anchors to get 
 under weigh. " Are any," demanded she, 
 " bound for the Tower of London ?"
 
 254 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 " None," was the reply. Despair was 
 now in her heart and gesture. But sud 
 denly recollecting that in dressing herself 
 for her flight she had not taken off the 
 jewels which she usually wore, she ex 
 claimed with renovated hope, " Will not 
 gold tempt you to carry me thither?" A 
 rough Norwegian sailor jumped from the 
 side of the nearest vessel, and readily an 
 swered in the affirmative. " My life," 
 rejoined she, " or a necklace of pearls 
 shall be yours in the moment you land 
 me at the Tower of London." The man, 
 seeing the youth and agitation of the seem 
 ing boy who accosted him, doubted his 
 power to perform so magnificent a pro 
 mise, and was half inclined to retract 
 his assent ; but Helen pointing to a 
 jewel on her finger as a proof that she 
 did not speak of things beyond her 
 reach, he no longer hesitated, and pledg 
 ing his word that, wind and tide in his- 
 favour, he would land her at the Tower-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 255 
 
 stairs, she, as if all happiness must 
 meet her at that point, sprung into his 
 vessel. The sails were unfurl'd ; the 
 voices of the men chanted forth their 
 cheering responses on clearing the har 
 bour; and Helen, throwing herself along 
 the floor of her little cabin, silently breath 
 ed her thanks to God in that prostration 
 of body and soul, for being indeed launch 
 ed on the ocean whose waves, she trusted, 
 would soon convey her to Wallace. 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 AFTER a tedious procrastination occa 
 sioned by several calms, on the evening 
 of the tenth day from the one in which 
 Helen had embarked on board the little
 
 256 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 ship of Dundee, it entered on the broad 
 bosom of the Nore. While she sat on 
 the deck watching the progress of the ves 
 sel with an eager spirit which would glad 
 ly have taken wings to have flown to the 
 object of her voyage, she first saw the ma 
 jestic waters of the Thames. But it was 
 a tyrannous flood to her, and she marked 
 not the diverging shores crowned with 
 palaces, for her eyes looked over every 
 marbled dome to seek the black summits of 
 the Tower. At a certain point the cap 
 tain of the vessel spoke through his trum 
 pet to summon a pilot from the land. 
 In a few minutes he was obeyed ; and the 
 Englishman taking the helm, Helen re 
 clined on a coil of ropes near him, and 
 listened in wordless attention to a recital 
 which bound up her every sense in that 
 of hearing. The captain, who declared 
 himself a Norwegian by birth and in con 
 sequence of his seafaring life a Scot by 
 appellation only, jested on the present 
 troubles of his adoptive country, and
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 added, that he thought any ruler the right 
 one who gave him a free course for traffick. 
 In answer to this remark the English 
 man, with an observation not very flattering 
 to the Norwegian's estimation of right and 
 wrong, mentioned the capture of the once 
 renowned champion of Scotland, and nar 
 rated its consequence. Even the enemy, 
 who recounted the particulars, shewed a 
 vuth in the recital which shamed the man 
 who had benefitted by the patriotism he 
 affected to despise, and for which Sir 
 William Wallace was imprisoned and 
 now likely to shed his blood. 
 
 " I was present," continued the pilot, 
 " when the brave Scot was put on the 
 raft which carried him through the trai 
 tor's, gate into the Tower. His hands 
 and feet were bound with iron, but his 
 head, owing to faintness from the wounds 
 he had received at Lumloch, was so bent 
 down on his breast as he reclined on the 
 float, that I could not then see his face. 
 There was a great pause: for none of
 
 258 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 us, when he did appear in sight, could 
 shout over the downfal of so merciful a 
 conqueror. Many were spectators of 
 this scene, whose lives he had spared on 
 the fields of Scotland, and my brother 
 was amongst them. However, that I 
 might have a distinct view of the man 
 who had so long held our warlike monarch 
 in dread, I went to Westminster-hall on 
 the day that he was to be tried. The 
 great judges of the land, and almost all 
 the lords besides were there ; and a very 
 grand spectacle they made. But when 
 the hall door was opened, and the daunt 
 less prisoner appeared, then it was that I 
 saw true majesty, King Edward on his 
 throne never looked with such a royal 
 air. His very chains seemed given to be 
 graced by him, as he moved through the 
 parting crowd with the step of one who 
 had been used to have all his accusers at 
 his feet. His head was now erect, and he 
 looked with undisturbed dignity on all 
 around. The Earl of Gloucester, whose
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 259 
 
 life and liberty he had granted at Berwick, 
 sat on the right of the lord chancellor. 
 Bishop Beck, the Lords de Valence and 
 Soulis, with one Menteith, who it seems 
 was the man that betrayed him into our 
 hands, charged him with high treason 
 against the life of King Edward and the 
 peace of his majesty's realms of Eng 
 land and Scotland. Grievous were the 
 accusations brought against him, and bit 
 ter the revilings with which he was de 
 nounced as a traitor too mischievous to 
 deserve any shew of mercy. The Earl 
 of Gloucester, who had several times at 
 tempted to stem the headlong fury of 
 their several depositions, at last rose in 
 dignantly, and in energetic and respectful 
 terms implored Sir William Wallace, by 
 the reverence in which he held the tribu 
 nal of future ages, to answer for him 
 self. 
 
 " On this adjuration, brave earl.'" re 
 plied he, " I will." O ! men of Scotland, 
 what a voice was that ! In it was all ho-
 
 260 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 nesty and nobleness ; and a murmur arose 
 amongst those who seemed to fear its 
 power, which Gloucester was obliged to 
 check by exclaiming aloud with a stem 
 countenance, " Silence while Sir Wil 
 liam Wallace speaks, or he who disobeys 
 shall be dismissed the court." A pause 
 succeeded, and the chieftain, with the 
 godlike majesty of truth, denied the possi 
 bility of his being a traitor to Edward, to 
 whom he never owed any allegiance ; and 
 then, with the same fearlessness, he avowed 
 the facts alleged against him in the accu 
 sations of the havoc he had made of the 
 English on the Scottish plains and of the 
 devastations he had afterwards wrought in 
 the lands of England. " It was a son," 
 cried he, " defending the orphans of his 
 father from a treacherdus friend ! It was 
 the sword of restitution, gathering on his 
 fields the harvests he had stolen from 
 theirs !" He spoke more and nobly ; too 
 nobly for them who heard him. They 
 rose to a man to silence what they could
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 26 1 
 
 not confute ; and the sentence of death 
 was pronounced on him ; the cruel death 
 of a traitor !( p ) The Earl of Gloucester 
 turned pale on his seat, but the coun 
 tenance of Wallace was unmoved. As 
 he was led forth I followed, and saw the 
 young Le de Spencer and several other re 
 probate gallants of our court, ready to 
 receire him. With shameful mockery 
 they threw luurels on his head, and with 
 torrents of derision, told him that it was 
 meet they should so salute the cham 
 pion of Scotland !( q ) Wallace glanced on 
 them a look which spoke rather pity than 
 contempt, and with a serene countenance 
 he followed the warden towards the Tower* 
 The hirelings of his accusers loaded him 
 with invectives as he passed along: but 
 the people who beheld his noble mien, 
 and who had heard of, and many felt, his 
 generous virtues, deplored and wept his 
 hard sentence. To-morrow, at sun-rise, 
 he dies. 
 
 Helen's face being over-shadowed by
 
 262 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 the feathers of her hat, the agony of her 
 mind could not have been read in her 
 countenance, had the good Southron been 
 sufficiently uninterested in his story to re 
 gard the sympathy of others ; but as soon 
 as the dreadful words " to-morrow, at 
 sun-rise, he dies," fell on her ear, she 
 started from her seat; her horror-struck 
 senses apprehended nothing further, 
 and turning to the Norwegian, " Cap 
 tain," cried she, " I must reach the 
 Tower this night!" "Impossible," was 
 the reply ; " the tide will not take us up 
 till to-morrow at noon." " Then the 
 waves must !" cried she, and frantickly 
 rushing towards the ship's side, she would 
 have thrown herself into the water had 
 not the pilot caught her arm. " Boy !" 
 said he, " are you mad? your action, your 
 looks " "No;" interrupted she, wring 
 ing her hands, " but in the Tower I must 
 be this night, or Oh ! God of mercy, 
 end my misery !" The unutterable an 
 guish of her voice, countenance, and
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 263 
 
 gesture, excited a suspicion in the Eng 
 lishman that this youth was connected 
 with the Scottish chief; and not chusing 
 to even hint his surmise to the unfeeling 
 Norwegian, in a different tone he exhorted 
 Helen to composure, and offered her his 
 own boat which was then towed at the 
 side of the vessel, to take her to the 
 Tower. Helen grasped the pilot's rough 
 hand, and in a paroxysm of gratitude 
 pressed it to her lips ; then, forgetful of 
 her engagements with the insensible man 
 who stood unmoved by his side, sprung 
 into the boat. The Norwegian followed 
 her, and in a threatening tone demanded 
 his hire. She now recollected it, and 
 putting her hand into her vest, gave him 
 the string of pearls which had been her 
 necklace. He was satisfied, and the boat 
 pushed off. 
 
 The cross, the hallowed pledge of her 
 chaste communion with Wallace in the 
 chapel of Snuwdoun, and which always
 
 264 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 hung suspended on her bosom, was now 
 in her hand and pressed close to her 
 henrt. The rowers plied their oars : and 
 her eyes, with a gaze as if they would 
 pierce the horizon, looked intently on 
 ward as the men laboured through the 
 tide. Even to see the walls which 
 contained Wallace, seemed to promise 
 her a degree of comfort she dared hard 
 ly hope in such an abyss of misery she 
 was fated to enjoy. At last the awful 
 battlements of England's state prison 
 rose before her. She could not mis 
 take them. " That is the Tower," said 
 one of the rowers. A shriek escaped 
 her, and instantly covering her face with 
 her hands, she tried to shut out from her 
 sight those very walls she had so long 
 sought amongst the clouds. They im 
 prisoned Wallace ! He groaned within 
 their confines ! and their presence para 
 lyzed her heart. 
 
 " Shall I die before I reach thee, Wal 
 lace !" was the question which her almost
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 265 
 
 flitting soul uttered as she trembling yet 
 with swift step ascended the stone stairs 
 which led from the water's edge to the 
 entrance of the Tower. She flew through 
 the different courts to the one in which 
 stood the prison of Wallace. Here she 
 dismissed the boatman who conducted 
 her, with a ring from her finger as his 
 reward ; and passing a body of sol 
 diers which kept guard before a large 
 porch that led into the vestibule of the 
 dungeons, she entered and found her 
 self in an immense paved room. A single 
 sentinel stood at the end near an iron 
 door. There then was Wallace ! For 
 getting her disguise and situation in the 
 frantic eagerness of her pursuit, she has. 
 tily advanced to the man : " Let me pass 
 to Sir William Wallace," cried she, 
 " and treasures shall be your reward !" 
 "Whose treasures? my pretty page;" 
 demanded the soldier, " I dare not, were 
 it at the suit of the Countess of Glou 
 cester herself." " 1" cried Helen, " For 
 VOL. v. N
 
 266 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 the sake of a greater than any countess in 
 this land, take this jewelled bracelet and 
 let me pass !" 
 
 The man, misapprehending the words 
 of this adjuration, at sight of the dia 
 monds, supposing the page must come 
 from the queen, no longer demurred; and 
 putting the bracelet into his bosom, told 
 Helen that, as he granted this permission 
 at the risk of his life, she must conceal 
 herself in the interior chamber of the 
 prisoner's dungeons should any from the 
 warden visit him during; their interview. 
 
 O 
 
 She readily promised this ; and he in 
 formed her, that when through this door 
 she would cross two other apartments, the 
 bolts to the entrances of which she must 
 undraw, and then at the extremity of a 
 long passage she would see a door fasten 
 ed by a latch which would admit her to 
 Sir William Wallace. With these words 
 the soldier removed the massy bars, and 
 Helen entered.
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 26? 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 HELEN'S fleet steps carried her in a 
 few minutes through the intervening 
 dungeons to the door which would re 
 store to her eyes the being with whose 
 life her existence seemed blended. The 
 bolts had yielded to her hands. The iron 
 latch now gave way, and the ponderous 
 oak grating dismally on its hinges, 
 she looked forward, and beheld the 
 object of all her solicitude seated at a 
 stone table, apparently writing. He 
 raised his head at the sound. The peace 
 of heaven was in his eyes, and a smile on 
 his lips as if he had expected an angel 
 visitant. 
 
 The first glance of him struck to the 
 heart of Helen; veneration, anguish, 
 shame, all rushed on her at once. She
 
 268 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 was in his presence ! but how might he 
 turn from consolations he had not sought! 
 The intemperate passion of her step 
 mother now glared before her : his con 
 tempt of the Countess's unsolicited ad 
 vances, appeared ready to be extended to 
 her rash daughter-in-law ; and with an 
 irrepressible cry, which seemed to breathe 
 out her life, Helen would have fled ; but 
 her failing limbs bent under her, and she 
 fell senseless into the dungeon. Wallace 
 started from his seat. He thought his 
 senses must deceive him, and yet the 
 shriek was Lady Helen's ! He had heard 
 the same cry which had brought him to 
 her side on the Pentland hills; and bend 
 ing to the inanimate form before him, 
 he took off the plumed hat, and parting 
 the heavy locks which now fell over 
 her face, he recognised the features of 
 her who alone had ever shared his me 
 ditations with Marion. He sprinkled 
 water on her face and hands : he put his 
 cheek to hers ; it was ashy cold ; he felt
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 269 
 
 the chill at his heart. " Helen !" ex 
 claimed he in a voice of alarm, " Helen, 
 awake ! Speak to thy friend !" 
 
 Still she remained motionless. "Dead !" 
 cried he, with increased emotion ; " Gone 
 so soon ! Gone to tell Marion that her 
 Wallace comes. Blessed angel !" cried 
 he clasping her to his breast "with an ener 
 gy of which he was not aware, " Take me, 
 take me with thee !" The pressure, the 
 voice, roused the dormant life of Helen. 
 With a torturing sigh she unsealed her 
 eyes from the death-like load that oppress 
 ed them, and found herself in the arms 
 of Wallace. 
 
 All her wandering senses, which the 
 promulgation of his danger had dispersed 
 at Hunting-tower and maintained in a 
 bewildered state even to the moment of 
 her seeing him in the dungeon, now ral 
 lied, and in ( recovered sanity smote her 
 to the soul. Though still overwhelmed 
 with grief at the fate which threatened to 
 tear him from her and life, she now won-
 
 270 THE SCOTTJSH CHIEFS. 
 
 dered how she could ever have so trampled 
 on the retreating modesty of her nature, as 
 to have brought herself thus into his pre 
 sence : and in a voice of horror, of 
 despair ; believing that she had for ever 
 destroyed herself in his opinion, she ex 
 claimed, " Father of Heaven! how came I 
 here? I am lost, and innocently ; but 
 who can read the heart?" 
 
 She lay in hopeless misery on his breast 
 with her eyes again closed, almost uncon 
 scious of the pillow on which she leaned. 
 " Lady Helen," returned he, hardly com 
 prehending her, " was it other than Wal 
 lace you sought in these dungeons? I 
 dared to think that the parent we both 
 adore had sent you hither to be his har 
 binger of my heavenly consolations !" 
 Helen, recalled to self-possession by the 
 kindness of these words, turned her head 
 on his bosom, and in a burst of grateful 
 tears hardly articulated, " And will you 
 not abhor me for this act of madness ? 
 But I was not myself. And yet, where
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 271 
 
 should I live or die, but at the feet of 
 my benefactor?" The stedfast soul of 
 Wallace was subdued by this language, 
 and the manner of its utterance. It 
 was the disinterested dictates of a pure 
 though agitated spirit which, he now 
 was convinced, did most exclusively love 
 him, but with the passion of an angel ; 
 and the tears of a sympathy which spoke 
 their kindred natures, stole from his eyes 
 as he bent his cheek on her head. She 
 felt them ; and rejoicing in such an assur 
 ance that she yet possessed his esteem, a. 
 blessed calm diffused itself over her mind, 
 and raising herself, with a look of vir 
 tuous confidence she exclaimed, " Then 
 you do understand me, Wallace? you 
 pardon me this apparent forgetfulness of 
 my sex, and you recognise a true sister 
 in Helen Mar ? I may administer to that 
 
 noble heart till " She paused, turned 
 
 deadly pale, and then clasping his hand 
 in both hers to her lips, in bitter agony 
 added " till we meet in heaven !"
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHlEi s. 
 
 " And blissful, dearest saint, will be 
 our union there," replied he, " where 
 soul meets soul unencumbered of these 
 earthly fetters, and mingles with each 
 other, even as thy tender tear-drops now 
 glide into mine ! But there, my Helen, 
 we shall never weep. No heart will be 
 left unsatisfied ; no spirit will mourn in 
 jealousy, for that happy region is the 
 abode of love : of love without the de 
 filements or the disquietudes of mortality; 
 for there it is an everlasting, pure enjoy 
 ment. It is a full diffusive tenderness 
 which, penetrating all hearts, unites the 
 whole in one spirit of boundless love in 
 the bosom of our God !" 
 
 " Ah !" cried Helen, throwing herself 
 on her knees in holy enthusiasm ; " Join 
 then your prayers with mine, most revered 
 of friends, that I may be admitted into 
 such blessedness ! Petition our God to 
 forgive me, and do you forgive me, that 
 I have sometimes envied the love you 
 bear your Marion ! But I now love her
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 so entirely, that to be her and your hand 
 maid in paradise would amply satisfy my 
 soul." " O! Helen," cried Wallace, 
 grasping her uplifted hands in his and 
 clasping them to his heart, " thy soul and 
 Marion's are indeed one, and as one I 
 love ye !" 
 
 This unlocked for declaration almost 
 overpowered Helen in its flood of hap 
 piness ; and with a smile which seemed to 
 picture the very heavens opening before 
 her, she turned her eyes from him to the 
 crucifix which stood on the table, and 
 bowing her head on its pedestal, was lost 
 in the devotion of rapturous gratitude. 
 
 At this juncture, when, perhaps, the 
 purest bliss that ever descended on wo 
 man's heart, now glowed in that of Helen, 
 the Earl of Gloucester entered. His were 
 not visits of consolation; for he knew 
 that his friend, who had built his heroism 
 on the rock of Christianity, did not re 
 quire the comfortings of any mortal hand. 
 At sight of him, Wallace, pointing to 
 N 3
 
 274 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 the kneeling Helen, beckoned him into 
 the inner cell where his straw pallet 
 lay ; and there, in a low voice, declared 
 who she was, and requested the earl 
 to use his authority to allow her to remain 
 with him to the last. " After that," said 
 he, " I rely on you, generous Gloucester, 
 to convey safely back to her country, a 
 being who seems to have nothing of earth 
 about her but the terrestrial body which 
 enshrines her angelic soul." 
 
 O 
 
 The sound of a voice speaking with 
 Wallace aroused Helen from her happy 
 trance. Alarmed that it might be the 
 horrid emissaries of the tyrant, come pre 
 maturely to tear him from her, she started 
 on her feet ; " Where are you, Wallace?" 
 cried she looking distractedly around 
 her ; " I must be with you even in 
 death!" 
 
 Wallace, hearing her fearful cry, 
 hastened into the dungeon and reliev 
 ed her immediate terror by naming the 
 Earl of Gloucester, who followed him.
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 275 
 
 The conviction that Wallace was under 
 mortal sentence, which his beatified re 
 presentations of the bliss he was going to 
 meet had almost lost in its glories, now 
 rushed upon her with redoubled horrors. 
 This world again rose before her in the 
 person of Gloucester. It reminded her 
 that she and Wallace were not yet passed 
 into the hereafter whose anticipated joys 
 had wrapt her in such sweet elysium. 
 He had yet the bitter cup of death to 
 drink to the dregs ; and all of human 
 Aveakness again writhed in her breast. 
 " And is there no hope?" cried she, 
 looking earnestly on the disturbed face 
 of Gloucester ; " Ah ! conduct me to 
 this lawless king ! If tears, if a breaking 
 heart can avail, I will kneel before him ; 
 I will die before him ; only let Sir Wil 
 liam Wallace live !" 
 
 " Dearest sister of my soul !" cried 
 Wallace, throwing his arms around her 
 agitated figure, " thy knees shall never 
 bend to any less than God, for me ! Did
 
 276 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 He will my longer pilgrimage on this 
 earth of which my spirit is already weary, 
 it would not be in the power of any human 
 tyrant to hold me in these bonds. I am 
 content to go, my Helen ; and angels 
 whisper me, that thy bridal bed will 
 be William Wallace's grave !" At this 
 assurance, she looked up to him with a 
 blush of strange delight; but she spoke 
 not. 
 
 Gloucester for a moment contemplated 
 this chaste union of two spotless hearts, 
 with an admiration almost amounting to 
 devotion. " Gentle lady," said he, " the 
 message that I came to impart to Sir 
 William Wallace, bears with it a shew 
 of hope ; and I trust that your tender 
 spirit will be as persuasive, as consola 
 tory. A private embassy has just ar 
 rived in haste from France, to negociate 
 with King Edward for the safety of our 
 friend as a prince of that realm. I left the 
 embassadors," continued he, turning to the 
 Scottish chief, " in vehement debate with
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 277 
 
 his majesty ; and he has at length granted 
 a suspension of the horrible injustice that 
 was to have been completed to-morrow, 
 until some conditions are replied to by 
 you, on your acceptance of which, he 
 declares, shall depend his compliance with 
 King Philip's demands." 
 
 " And you will accept them ?" cried 
 Helen, in a tumult of wild hope. The 
 communication of Gloucester had made 
 no change in the equable pulse of Wal 
 lace ; and he replied, with a look of 
 tender pity upon her animated coun 
 tenance, " The conditions of Edward are 
 too likely to be snares for that honour 
 which I will bear with me uncontaminated 
 to the grave. Therefore, dearest consoler 
 of my last hours, do not give way to 
 hopes which a greater king than Edward 
 may command me to disappoint." Helen 
 bowed her head in silence. The colour 
 again faded from her cheek, and despair 
 once more tugged at her heart-strings. 
 
 Gloucester resumed ; and after narrat-
 
 273 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 ing some particulars concerning the con 
 ference between the king and the embas- 
 sadors, (deeming it probable, that should 
 Wallace even finally refuse the terms 
 which would be proposed to him, that the 
 time of the negociation would at least very 
 much prolong his sojourn in this world ;) 
 he suggested the impracticability of se 
 cretly retaining Lady Helen for so long a 
 period in the dungeon with him. " I dare 
 not," continued he, " be privy to such a 
 circumstance and conceal it from the 
 king. I know not what messengers he 
 may send to impart his conditions to you ; 
 and should she be discovered, Edward, 
 doubly incensed, would tear her from 
 you ; and as an accessary so involve me 
 in his displeasure, that I must be dis 
 abled from serving either of you farther. 
 Were I to so far to honour his feelings 
 as a man, as to mention it to him, I do 
 not believe that he would oppose her 
 wishes ; but how to reveal such a circum 
 stance with any regard to her fair fame, I
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 know not; for all are not sufficiently 
 virtuous to believe her spotless inno 
 cence." Helen, who summoned all her 
 strength at the intimation which threat 
 ened to separate her fromWallace, hastily 
 interrupted Gloucester, and with firmness 
 said, " When I entered these walls, the 
 world and I parted for ever The good 
 or the evil opinion of the impure in heart 
 can never affect me : they shall never 
 see me more. The innocent will judge 
 me by themselves, arid by the end of my 
 race. I came here to minister with a 
 sister's duty to my own and my father's 
 preserver ; and while he abides here I will 
 never consent to leave his feet. When 
 he goes hence, if it be to bless mankind 
 again, I shall find the longest life too short 
 to pour forth all my gratitude ; and for 
 that purpose I v> ill dedicate myself in some 
 nunnery of my native land. But should 
 he be taken from a world that is unworthy 
 of him, soon, very soon, shall I cease to 
 feel its aipersions, in the grave."
 
 THE -SCOTTISH CHIEFS, 
 
 " No aspersions which I can avert, 
 dearest Helen." cried Wallace, " shall 
 ever tarnish the fame of one whose purity 
 can only be transcended by her who is 
 now made perfect in heaven ! Consent, 
 noblest of women, to wear for the few 
 days I may yet linger here, a name which 
 thy sister angel has sanctified to me. 
 Give me a legal right to call you mine, 
 and Edward himself will not then dare 
 to divide what God has joined together?" 
 Helen attempted to answer, but the 
 words died on the seraphic smile which 
 beamed upon her lips, and she dropped 
 her head upon his breast. 
 
 Gloucester, who saw no other means of 
 ensuring to his friend her society, was 
 rejoiced at this resolution of Wallace; 
 he had himself longed to propose it, 
 but knew not how to do so with sufficient 
 delicacy; and reading the consent of 
 Helen in the tender emotion which denied 
 her speech, without further delay, as the 
 hour was advancing towards midnight.
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 281 
 
 he quitted the apartment to bring the 
 confessor of the warden to join their 
 hands before he should leave them for the 
 night. 
 
 On his re-entrance, he found Helen 
 sitting dissolved in tears, with her hand 
 clasped in his friend's. The sacred rite 
 was soon performed, which endowed her 
 with all the claims upon Wallace which 
 her devoted heart had so long sighed after 
 with resigned hopefulness : to be his 
 help-mate on earth, his partner in the 
 tomb, his dear companion in heaven ! 
 With the last benediction she threw 
 herself on her kness before him, and 
 put his hand to her lips in eloquent 
 silence. Gloucester with a look of kind 
 farewel withdrew with the priest. 
 
 " Thou noble daughter of the noblest 
 Scot !" said Wallace, raising her from 
 the ground, " this bosom is thy place, 
 and not my feet. Long it will not be 
 given me to hold thee here : but even in
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 ihe hours of our separation, my spirit will 
 hover near thee, to hear thine to our ever 
 lasting home." 
 
 The heart of Helen alternately beat 
 violently, and paused as if the vital cur 
 rents were suddenly stopped. Hope and 
 fear agitated her by turns ; but clinging to 
 the flattering prospect which the arrival ol 
 the embassadors had excited ; and almost 
 believing, that she could not be raised to 
 such a pinnacle of felicity as to be made 
 the wife of Wallace, only to be hurl 
 ed to the abyss of misery by his instant 
 and violent death ; she timidly breath 
 ed a hope that by the present interference 
 of King Philip, Edward might not he 
 found inexorable. 
 
 " Disturb not the holy composure of 
 your soul by such an expectation," re 
 turned he, " I know my adversary too 
 well to anticipate his relinquishing the 
 object of his vengeance, but at a price 
 more infamous than the most ignoble
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. , 283 
 
 death. Therefore, best beloved of all 
 on eurth ! look for no deliverance for thy 
 Wallace but what passes through the 
 grave ; and to me, dearest Helen, its gates 
 are on golden hinges turning, for all is 
 light and bliss which shines on me from 
 within their courts !" 
 
 Helen's thoughts, in the idea of his 
 being torn from her, could not wrest them 
 selves from the direful images of his ex 
 ecution ; she shuddered, and in falter 
 ing accents replied, " Ah ! could we glide 
 from sleep into so blessed a death, I 
 would hail it even for thee ! But the 
 threatened horrors, should they fall on thy 
 sacred head, will, in that hour, I trust, 
 also divorce my soul from this grievous 
 world 1" 
 
 " Not so, my Helen," returned he ; 
 " keep not thy dear eyes for ever fixed on 
 the gloomy appendages of death. The 
 scaffold and the grave have nought to do 
 with the immortal soul: it cannot be 
 wounded by the one, nor confined by the
 
 284 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 other. And is not the soul thy full and 
 perfect Wallace ? It is that which now 
 speaks to thee, which will cherish thy 
 beloved idea for ever. Lament not then 
 how soon this body, its mere apparel, is 
 laid down in the dust. But rejoice still 
 in my existence which, through Him who 
 led captivity captive ', will never know a 
 pause ! Comfort then thy heart, my 
 soul's dear sister, and sojourn a little 
 while on this earth to bear witness for thy 
 Wallace to the friends he loves." 
 
 Helen, who felt the import of his 
 words in her heart, gently bowed her 
 head, and he proceeded : 
 
 " As the first who stemmed with me 
 the torrent which, with God's help, we 
 so often laid into a calm, I mention to you 
 my faithful Lanarkers. Many of them 
 bled and died in the contest ; and to their 
 orphans, with the children of those who 
 yet survive, I consign all of the world's 
 wealth that yet belongs to William Wal 
 lace : Ellerslie and its estates are theirs. f)
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 285 
 
 - To Bruce, my sovereign and my friend, 
 the loved companion of the hour in which 
 I freed you my Helen from the arms 
 of violence! To him I bequeath this 
 heart, knit to him by bonds more dear 
 than even loyalty. Bear it to him ; and 
 when he is summoned to his heavenly 
 throne, then let his heart and mine fill up 
 one urn. To Lord Ruthven, to Both- 
 well, to Scrymgeour, and Kirkpatrick, 
 I give my prayers and blessings. " 
 
 Here Wallace paused. Helen, who 
 had listened to him with a holy attention 
 which hardly allowed a sigh to breathe 
 from her stedfast heart, spoke ; but the 
 voice was scarcely audible : " And what 
 for Edwin, who loves you dearer than 
 life ? He cannot be forgotten !" Wal 
 lace started at this : then she was ignorant 
 of the death of that too faithful friend ! 
 In a hurrying accent he replied, " Never 
 forgotten ! Oh, Helen ! I asked for him 
 life, and heaven gave him long life, even 
 for ever and ever!" Helen's eyes met
 
 286 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 his with a look of awful inquiry: " That 
 would mean, he is gone before you?" 
 The countenance of Wallace answered 
 her. " Happy Edwin !" cried she, and 
 the tears rained over her cheeks as she 
 bent her head on her arm. Wallace con 
 tinued ; " He laid down his life to pre 
 serve mine in the hovel of Lumloch. 
 The false Menteith could get no Scot to 
 lay hands on their true defender ; and 
 even the foreign ruffians he brought to the 
 task, might have spared the noble boy, 
 but an arrow from the traitor himself 
 pierced his heart. Contention was then 
 no more, and I resigned myself to follow 
 him." 
 
 " What a desert is the world become !" 
 exclaimed Helen ; then turning on Wal 
 lace with a saintlike smile, she added, " I 
 would hardly now withhold you. You 
 will bear him Helen's love, and tell him 
 how soon I will be with ye. Our Father 
 may not allow my heart to break : but in 
 his mercy he may take my soul in the
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 28? 
 
 prayers which I shall hourly breathe to 
 him !" " Thou hast been lent me as 
 my sweet consolation here, my Helen;" 
 replied he, " and the Almighty dispenser 
 of that comfort will not long banish you 
 from the object of your innocent wishes." 
 While they thus poured into each 
 others bosoms the ineffable balm of friend 
 ship's purest tenderness, the eyes of Wal 
 lace insensibly closed. " Your gentle in 
 fluence," gently murmured he, " brings 
 that sleep to these eye-lids which has not 
 visited them since I first entered these 
 walls. Like my Marion, Helen, thy 
 presence brings healing on its wings." 
 " Sleep, then," replied she, " and her 
 angel spirit will keep watch with mine."
 
 288 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 i S-^L; i.'lv/ ^oik/wo iKiU'*io 
 
 THOUGH all the furies of the elements 
 seemed let loose to rage around the 
 walls of the dungeon, still Wallace slept 
 in the loud uproar. Calm was within ; 
 and the warfare of the world could not 
 disturb the balmy rest into which the 
 angel of peace had steeped his senses. 
 From this profound repose he was awoke, 
 just as Helen had sunk into a light slum 
 ber, by the entrance of Gloucester. But 
 the first words of the earl aroused her, 
 and rising, she followed her beloved 
 Wallace to his side. 
 
 He came by the king's order thus early, to 
 shew his majesty's readiness to com ply with 
 the wishes of his royal brother of France. 
 Gloucester put a scroll into the hand of
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 28Q 
 
 Wallace : " Sign that,'* said he, " and 
 you are free. I know not its contents ; 
 but the king commissioned me, as a mark 
 of his grace, to be the messenger of your 
 release." 
 
 Wallace read the conditions, and the 
 colour deepened on his cheek as his eye 
 met each article. He was to reveal the asy 
 lum of Bruce ; to forswear Scotland for 
 ever ; and to take an oath of allegiance to 
 Edward^ the seal of which should be the 
 English Earldom of Cleveland .' Wallace 
 closed the parchment. " King Edward 
 knows well what will be my reply ; I 
 need not speak it." " You will accept his 
 terms ?" asked the earl. 
 
 " Not to insure me a life of ages with 
 all earthly bliss my portion ! I have 
 spoken to these offers before. Read them, 
 my noble friend, and then give him as 
 mine the answer that would be yours." 
 Gloucester obeyed ; and while his eyes 
 were bent on the parchment, those of He 
 len were fixed on her almost worshipped 
 
 VOL. v. o
 
 290 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 husband: she looked through his beam 
 ing countenance into his very soul, and 
 there saw the sublime purpose that con 
 signed his unbending head to the scaffold. 
 When Gloucester had finished, covered 
 with the burning blush of shame he crush 
 ed the disgraceful scroll in his hand, and 
 exclaimed with honourable vehemence 
 against the deep duplicity and the deeper 
 cruelty of his father-in-law, by such base 
 subterfuges to mock the embassy of France 
 and its noble object. 
 
 " This is the morning in which I was to 
 have met my fate !" replied Wallace. " Tell 
 this tyrant of the earth, that 1 am even now 
 ready to receive the last stroke of his 
 injustice. In the peaceful grave, my 
 Helen," added he, turning to her, who 
 sat pale and aghast, " I shall be beyond 
 his power!" Gloucester walked the room 
 in great disturbance of mind, while Wal 
 lace continued in a lowered tone his at 
 tempts to recal some perception of his 
 consolations to the abstracted and soul-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 291 
 
 struck Helen. The earl stopped sudden 
 ly before them. " That the king did not 
 expect your acquiescence without some 
 hesitation, I cannot doubt ; for he told 
 me, when I informed him that the Lady 
 Helen Mar, now your wife, was the sharer 
 of your prison, that should you still op 
 pose yourself to what he called your own 
 interest, I must bring her to him, as the 
 last means of persuading you to receive his 
 mercy." 
 
 " Never !" replied Wallace, " I reject 
 what he calls mercy. He has no rights of 
 judgment over me ; and his pretended 
 mercy is an assumption which, as a true 
 born Scot, I despise. He may rifle me 
 of my life, but he shall never beguile me 
 into any acknowledgment of an authority 
 that is false. No wife, nor ought of 
 mine, with my consent, shall ever stand 
 before him as a suppliant for William 
 Wallace. I will die as I have lived, the 
 equal of Edward in all things but a crown ; 
 o 2
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 t^ ' ' "* ' i 
 
 and his superior in being true to the glory 
 
 of prince or peasant unblemished ho 
 nour !" 
 
 Finding the Scottish chief not to be 
 shaken in this determination, Gloucester, 
 humbled to the soul by the base tyranny 
 of his royal father-in-law, soon after with 
 drew to acquaint that haughty monarch 
 with the ill-success of his embassy. But 
 ere noon had turned, he re-appeared, with 
 a countenance declarative of some dis 
 tressing errand. He found Helen awak 
 ened to the full perception of all her 
 pending evils that she was on the eve of 
 losing for ever, the object dearest to her 
 in'this world ; and though she wept not, 
 though she listened to theJord of all her 
 wishes with smiles of holy approral, her 
 heart bled within, and with a welcome, 
 which enforced his consolatory arguments, 
 she hailed its mortal pains. 
 
 " I come," said Gloucester, " not to 
 urge you to send Lady Helen as a suitor
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 293 
 
 to King Edward ; but to spare her the 
 misery of being separated from you while 
 life is yours." He then proceeded to re 
 late, that the French embassadors knew 
 not the conditions which were offered tq 
 the object of their mission ; but being in 
 formed that he had refused them, they still 
 continue to press their sovereign's de 
 mands with a power which Edward seemed 
 cautious to provoke ; and, therefore, as a 
 last proof of his desire to acquiesce in the 
 wishes of Philip, he told the French lords 
 that he would send his final propositions 
 to Sir William Wallace by that chieftain's 
 wife, who he found was then his compa 
 nion in the Tower. " On my intimating," 
 continued the earl, " that I feared she 
 would be unable to appear before him, 
 his answer was: Let her see to that ; such 
 refusal shall be answered by her immediate 
 separation from her husband." 
 
 " Let me, in this demand," cried she, 
 turning with collected firmness to Wal 
 lace, " satisfy the will of Edward. It is
 
 294 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 only to purchase my continuance with 
 you : trust me, noblest of men ! I should 
 be unworthy of the name you have given 
 me, could I sully it in my person, by one 
 debasing word or action to the author of 
 all our ills !" " Ah, my Helen !" replied 
 he, " what is it you ask ? Am I to live to 
 see a repetition of the horrors of Ellers- 
 lie?" " No, on my life!" answered 
 Gloucester ; " my soul, in this instance, I 
 would pledge for King Edward's man 
 hood. His ambition might lead him to 
 trample on all men ; but still for woman, 
 he feels as becomes a man and a knight." 
 
 Helen renewed her supplications ; and 
 Wallace, on the strength of her promise, 
 (and aware, that should he withhold her 
 attendance, that his implacable adversary, 
 however he might spare her personal in 
 jury, would not forbear wounding her to 
 the soul by tearing her from him,) in pity 
 to her, gave an unwilling consent to what 
 might seem a submission on his part to an 
 authority he had shed his blood to oppose.
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 " But not in these garments," said he, 
 " must my Helen appear before the eyes 
 of our enemy. She must be habited as 
 becomes her sex and her own delicacy." 
 
 Anticipating this propriety, Gloucester 
 had imparted the circumstance to his 
 countess, and she had sent a box of female 
 apparel, which the earl now brought in 
 from the passage. Helen retired to the 
 inner cell, and hastily arraying herself 
 in the first suit that presented itself, re 
 appeared in a blue mantle wrapped over 
 her white robes, and her beautiful hair 
 covered with a long veil. As Gloucester 
 took her hand to lead her forth, Wallace 
 clasped the other in his, and said, " Re 
 member, my Helen, that on no terms but 
 untrammelled freedom of soul will your 
 Wallace accept of life. This, I know, 
 will not be granted by the man to whom 
 you go ; therefore, speak and act in h s 
 presence, as if I were already beyond the 
 skies." 
 
 Had this faithful friend, now his al-
 
 296 THE SCOTTISH CHIEF'S. 
 
 most adoring wife, left his side with more 
 sanguine hopes, how grievously would 
 they have been blasted ! 
 
 Edward received her alone. The ten 
 der loveliness of her perfect form, and 
 the celestial dignity which seemed to 
 breathe in all her words and movements, 
 at first struck him with that admiration 
 and awe which he had been accustomed 
 to feel towards the eminently beautiful 
 of her sex ; but the domineering passion 
 of his soul soon put to flight these gentle 
 respects ; and finding that the noble spirit 
 of Helen rose above the proud demands 
 he urged her to enforce on her husband, 
 he gave way to the violence of his resent 
 ment, and with many invectives against 
 the rebellious obstinacy of Wallace, 
 painted to her in all its horrible details 
 the punishment he was doomed to suffer. 
 Then, wluen he saw her transfixed in mute 
 despair, and leaning against a pillar, as if 
 ready to sink under the blow he had given 
 her, he expatiated on the years of happi-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 297 
 
 ness and splendor which should await her 
 husband, would he accept his conditions. 
 " Counsel him, lady ;" repeated he, " to 
 reveal to me the hiding-place of Robert 
 Bruce : and that he does so, shall ever be a 
 secret between us. Let him bind his 
 faith to me by the oath of allegiance, and 
 I will make him as the right hand of my 
 throne. And for you, romantic woman, 
 if you will awake to your own true inte 
 rest and bring him to the same conviction, 
 all the honours which I would have be 
 stowed on you as the Countess of Aymer 
 de Valence, shall be redoubled as the 
 wife of my Earl of Cleveland !" 
 
 " Mortal distinctions, King of Eng 
 land !" replied she, summoning all the 
 strength of her soul to give utterance to 
 her answer, " cannot bribe the wife of 
 Sir William Wallace to betray his vir 
 tues. His life is dear to me, but his im 
 maculate faith to his God and his lawful 
 prince, are dearer. I can see him die, 
 03
 
 298 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 and smile ; for I shall join him trium 
 phant in heaven: but to behold him 
 dishonour himself! to counsel him so 
 to do, is beyond my power ; I should 
 expire with grief in the shameful mo 
 ment." 
 
 " And this is your proud reply, ma 
 dam?" 
 
 " I can give no other." 
 
 " Then be his blood upon your head, 
 for you have pronounced his doom !" 
 
 The words struck like the bolt of death 
 upon her heart. She reeled, and fell 
 senseless on the flooj. 
 
 She awoke to recollection, lying on a 
 couch, with a lady weeping over her. 
 It was the Countess of Gloucester. When 
 the king perceived the state into which 
 his headlong fury had cast the innocent 
 victim of his wrath against Wallace, and 
 as he wished to keep these negociations 
 respecting that chief a secret from the 
 nation, he called his daughter, the com-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 passionate wife of Gloucester ; and while 
 he gave his final orders to the earl, 
 left her to recover the unhappy Lady 
 Helen. 
 
 Eager to be restored to him from whom 
 she knew she must now so soon be most 
 cruelly separated, Helen, without re 
 garding who might be the benevolent 
 lady that attended her, started from 
 the couch, and implored to be imme 
 diately taken back to the Tower. The 
 Countess quieted her terrors that Edward 
 meant to detain her ; and telling her who 
 she was, soon after withdrew to see if 
 the earl were released by the king and 
 ready to re-conduct his charge to her hus 
 band. 
 
 A long hour was now passed in so 
 litude, during which Helen suffered 
 the dreadful agonies of a mind torn 
 between suspense of again being with 
 Wallace, and the horrible certainty of 
 his pending fate. At last, even in the 
 moment when her impatience had preci*
 
 300 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 pitated her into the resolution of finding 
 her way from the palace alone, the Eari 
 of Gloucester entered the room : hig 
 countess was too much overcome by the 
 scene she had witnessed, again to look 
 on the youthful wife of the hero who was 
 so soon to leave her the most bereaved of 
 widows : and Helen, rushing towards 
 the earl, hardly articulated in a cry of 
 phrenzied joy, " Take me hence !" and 
 giving him her hand, spoke not till she 
 was again clasped in the arms of Wal 
 lace. 
 
 " Here will I live ! Here will I die !" 
 cried she, in a passion of tears ; " they 
 may sever my soul from my body, but 
 never again part me from this dear bosom 1" 
 " Never, never, my Helen !" said he, 
 reading her conference with the king, in 
 the wild terror of its effects. Her senses 
 seemed fearfully disordered. As she clung 
 to him, and muttered sentences of such 
 incoherency that shook him to the soul, he 
 cast a look of such expressive inquiry
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 301 
 
 upon Gloucester, that the earl could on 
 ly answer by hastily putting his hand on 
 his face to hide his own emotion. At 
 last the tears she shed appeared to relieve 
 the excess of her agonies, and she gra 
 dually sunk into an awful calm. Then 
 rising from her husband's arms she seated 
 herself on the stone bench, and said in a 
 firm voice, " Earl, I can now bear to hear 
 you repeat the last decision of the King 
 of England." 
 
 " Dearest lady," returned he, " to con 
 vince your suffering spirit that no earthly 
 means have been left unessayed to change 
 the unjust purpose of the king, know 
 that I left in his presence the queen and 
 my wife both weeping tears of disappoint 
 ment. On the moment when I found 
 that arguments could no longer avail, I 
 implored him by every consideration of 
 God and man to redeem his honour, sa 
 crificed by the unjust decree pronounced 
 on Sir William Wallace. My entreaties 
 were repulsed with anger, for the sudden
 
 302 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 entrance of Lord Athol with fresh fuel 
 to his flame, so confirmed his direful re 
 solution, that, desperate for my friend, 
 I threw myself on my knees. The queen, 
 and then my wife, both prostrate at his 
 feet, enforced my suit, but all in vain: 
 his heart seemed hardened by our ear 
 nestness ; and his answer, while it put us 
 to silence, granted Wallace a triumph 
 even in his chains. " Cease !" cried he, 
 " Wallace and I have now come to that 
 issue that one must fall. I shall use my 
 advantage, though I should walk over the 
 necks of half my kindred to accomplish 
 his fate. I can find no security on my 
 throne, no peace in my bed, until 1 know 
 that he, my direst enemy, is no more !" 
 
 " Sorry am I, generous Gloucester," 
 interrupted Wallace, " that for my life 
 you have stooped your knee to one so un 
 worthy of your nobleness. Let, then, his 
 tyranny take its course. But its shaft 
 shall not reach the soul his unkingly spirit 
 hopes to wound* He may dishonour my
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS, 303 
 
 body, may mangle these limbs, but Wil 
 liam Wallace will then be far beyond his 
 reach !" Gloucester gazed on him, doubt 
 ing the inspired expression of his coun 
 tenance. " Surely," said he, " my un- 
 conquered friend will not now be forced 
 to self-violence ?" "No," returned Wal 
 lace, " suspect me not of such base vas 
 salage to this poor tabernacle of clay. 
 Did I believe it my Father's will that I 
 should die at every pore, I would submit. 
 For so his immaculate Son laid down his 
 life for a rebellious world ! And is a ser 
 vant greater than his master, that I should 
 be exempt from this trial ? But I await 
 his summons, and he whispers to my soul 
 that the rope of Edward shall never make 
 this free-born neck feel its degrading 
 touch." 
 
 Helen, with re-awakened horror, listen 
 ed to the words of Wallace, which re 
 ferred to the last outrage to be committed 
 on his sacred remains. She recalled the 
 corresponding threats of the king, and
 
 304 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 again losing self-possession, starting wild 
 ly up, she exclaimed, " And is there no 
 humanity in his ruthless heart ! Am I 
 to be deprived of O !" cried she, tear 
 ing her eyes from the beloved form on 
 which they too fondly doted, " let 
 the sacrifice of my life be offered to this 
 
 cruel man, to save from indignity 5> 
 
 She could add no more, but dropt half 
 fainting on the arm of Wallace. 
 
 Gloucester understood the object of 
 such anguished solicitude, and while 
 Wallace again seated her, he revived her 
 by the assurance that the clause she so 
 fearfully deprecated, had been repealed 
 by Edward. But the good earl blushed 
 as he spoke, for in this instance he said 
 what was not the truth. Far different had 
 been the issue of all his attempts at miti 
 gation. The arrival of Athol from Scot 
 land with advices from the Countess of 
 Strathearn, that Lady Helen Mar had fled 
 southward to raise an insurrection in fa 
 vour of Wallace, and that Lord Both-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 305 
 
 well had gone to France to move Philip 
 to embrace the same cause, precipitated 
 Edward to command the instant and full 
 execution of that sentence he was previ 
 ously determined not to abrogate. It was 
 merely to satisfy the French embassadors 
 of his desire to accord with their master's 
 wish, that he devised the mockery of 
 sending the articles of pardon to Wal 
 lace, which he well knew would be re 
 jected. And his interview with Lady 
 Helen, though so intemperately conduct 
 ed, was dictated by the same subtle po 
 licy. 
 
 When, on the representations of Lord 
 Athol, Gloucester found the impossibility 
 of obtaining any further respite of the 
 murderous decree, he attempted to prevail 
 for the remission of the last clause, which 
 ordered, that his friend's noble body 
 should be dismembered and his limbs 
 sent as terrors to rebellion, to the four 
 capital fortresses of Scotland. Edward 
 spurned at this petition with even more
 
 306 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 acrimony than he had done the prayer for 
 his victim's life ; and Gloucester then 
 starting from his knee, in a burst of ho 
 nest indignation, exclaimed, " Oh I king, 
 remember what is done by thee this day ! 
 Refusing to give righteous judgment in 
 favour of one who prefers virtue to a 
 crown and life! as insincere as secret have 
 been your last conditions with him; but 
 they will be revealed when the great judge 
 that searchetb all men's hearts shall cause 
 thee to answer for this matter at the dread 
 ful day of universal doom. Thou hast 
 now given sentence on a patriot and a 
 prince ; and then shall judgment be given 
 on thee !." 
 
 " Dangerous, indeed, is his rebellious 
 spirit," cried Edward, in almost speech 
 less wrath, " since it affects even the 
 duty of my own house ! Gloucester, 
 leave my presence ; and on pain of your 
 own death, dare not to approach me till 
 I send for you to see this rebel's head on 
 London bridge!"
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 30? 
 
 To disappoint the revengeful monarch 
 of at least this object of malice, Glouces 
 ter was now resolved ; and imparting his 
 wishes to the warden of the Tower, his 
 
 trusty friend, he laid a plan accord- 
 
 i * 
 
 ingly. 
 
 Helen believed his declaration to her, 
 and bowed her head in sign that she was 
 satisfied with his zeal. The earl, address 
 ing Wallace, continued, "Could I have 
 purchased thy life, thou preserver of 
 mine ! with the forfeiture of all I possess, 
 I should have rejoiced in the exchange. 
 But as that may not be, is there aught in 
 the world which I can do to administer 
 to thy wishes?" 
 
 " Generous Gloucester !" exclaimed 
 Wallace, " how unwearied has been your 
 friendship ! But I shall not tax it much 
 farther. I was writing my last wishes, 
 when this angel entered my apartment: 
 she will now be the voice of William 
 Wallace to his friends. But still I must 
 make you one request, and one which I
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 trust will not be out of your power. Let 
 this heart, ever faithful to Scotland, be 
 at least buried in its native country. 
 When I cease to breathe, give it to. Helen, 
 and she will mingle it with the sacred 
 dust of those I love. For herself, dear 
 Gloucester ! ah ! guard the vestal purity 
 and life of my best beloved, for there are 
 those who, when I am gone, may threat 
 en both." 
 
 - Gloucester, who knew that Wallace 
 meant the Lords Soulis and De Valence 
 in this apprehension, pledged himself for 
 the performance of his first request ; and 
 for the second, he assured him that he 
 would protect Helen as a sister. But she, 
 regardless of all other evils than that 
 of being severed from her dearest and 
 best friend, exclaimed in bitter sorrow, 
 " Wherever I am, still, and for ever, 
 shall all of Wallace that remains on earth 
 be with me. He gave himself to me, 
 and no mortal power shall ever divide 
 us?"
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 309 
 
 Gloucester could not reply before the 
 voice of the warden, calling to him that 
 the hour of the gates being shut, was ar 
 rived, compelled him to bid his friend 
 farewel. He grasped the hand of Wallace 
 with a strong emotion ; for he knew that 
 the next time he should meet him would 
 be on the scaffold. During; the moments of 
 
 o 
 
 this parting, Helen, with her hands 
 clasped on her knees, and her eyes bent 
 downwards, inwardly and earnestly in 
 voked the Almighty to endow her with 
 fortitude to bear the horrors she was to 
 witness, that she might not, by" her ago 
 nies, add to the tortures of Wallace. 
 
 The cheering voice that was ever mu 
 sic to her ears, recalled her from this 
 devout abslraction. He laid his hand on 
 bers, and held such sweet discourse with 
 her, on the approaching end of all his 
 troubles, of his everlasting beatitude, 
 that she listened and wept, and even 
 smiled. " Yes," added he, " a little 
 while, and my virgin bride shall give me
 
 310 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 her dear embrace in heaven ; and my 
 Marion's generous soul will join the blest 
 communion ! She died to preserve my 
 life : you suffered a living death to main 
 tain my honour ! Can I then divide ye, 
 noblest of created beings, in my soul ! 
 Take then, my heart's, dear Helen, thy 
 Wallace's last earthly kiss !" She bent 
 towards him and fixed her lips to his. It 
 was the first time they had met; his 
 parting words still hung on them, and 
 an icy cold ran through all her veins. 
 " I have not many hours to be with thee. 
 and yet a strange drowsiness overpowers 
 my senses ; but I shall speak to thee 
 again!" He looked up as he spoke, with 
 such a glance of holy love, that not 
 doubting he was now bidding her indeed his 
 last farewel ; that he was to pass from this 
 sleep out of the power of man; she press 
 ed his hand without a word, and as he 
 dropt his head upon her lap, with an awed 
 spirit she saw him sink to profound re 
 pose.
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 311 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 LONG and silently had she watched his 
 rest. So gentle was his breath, that he 
 scarcely seemed to breathe; and often, 
 during her sad vigils did she stoop her 
 cheek to feel the respiration which bore 
 witness that his outraged spirit was yet 
 fettered to earth. She tremblingly placed 
 her hand on his heart ; but still its warm 
 beats spake comfort to hers. The soul of 
 Wallace, as well as his beloved body, was 
 yet clasped in her arms. " The arms of a 
 true sister enfold thee," murmured she 
 to herself, " and would bear thee up, 
 to lay thee 'on the bosom of thy martyred 
 wife; and there, how would'st thou smile 
 upon and bless me 1" 
 
 The first rays of the dawn shone upon 
 his peaceful face, just as the door opened
 
 312 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 and a priest appeared. He held in his 
 hands the sacred cup, and the chalice for 
 performing the rites of the dying. At 
 this sight, the harbinger of a fearful 
 doom, the fortitude of Helen forsook 
 her ; and throwing her arms frantickly 
 over the sleeping Wallace, she exclaim 
 ed, " He is dead ! his sacrament is now 
 with the Lord of Mercy !" Her voice 
 awakened Wallace ; he started from his 
 position : and Helen, (seeing that he, 
 whose gliding to death in his sleep she 
 had so lately deprecated, now indeed 
 lived to mount the scaffold ;) in unutter 
 able horror, fell back with a heavy 
 groan. 
 
 Wallace having accosted the priest with 
 a reverential welcome, turned to Helen, 
 and tenderly whispered her, " Let not 
 the completion of my fate, dearest half 
 of myself! shake your dependance on 
 the only True and Just. Rejoice that 
 Wallace has been deemed worthy to die 
 for his virtues, And what is death, my
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 313 
 
 Helen, that we should shun it even to 
 rebelling against the Lord of Life ? Is it 
 not the door which opens to us immor 
 tality ? and in that blest moment, who will 
 regret that he passed through it in the 
 bloom of his years ? Come then, sister 
 of my soul, and share with thy Wallace 
 the last supper of his Lord ; the pledge 
 of the happy eternity to which, by his 
 grace, I now ascend !" 
 
 Helen, conscience-struck, and re-awak 
 ened to holy confidence by the heavenly 
 composure of his manner, obeyed the 
 impulse of his hand ; and they both knelt 
 together before the minister of peace. 
 As the sacred rite proceeded, it seemed 
 the indissoluble union of Helen's spirit 
 with that of Wallace : " My life will 
 expire with his !" was her secret response 
 to the venerable man's exhortation to the 
 passing soul ; and as he sealed Wallace 
 with the holy cross under the last unction; 
 as one who believed herself standing on 
 the brink of eternity, she longed to share 
 
 VOL. v. p
 
 314 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 also that mark of death. At that moment 
 the dismal toll of a bell sounded from the 
 top of the Tower. The heart of Helen 
 paused. The warden and his train enter 
 ed. " I will follow him," cried she, start 
 ing from her knees ; " into the grave 
 itself!" 
 
 What was said, what was done, she 
 knew not, till she found herself on the 
 scaffold upheld by the arm of Gloucester. 
 Wallace stood before her with his hands 
 bound across, and his noble -head unco 
 vered. His eyes were turned upwards 
 with a godlike confidence in the power he 
 served. A silence, as of some desert 
 waste, reigned throughout the thousands 
 who stood below. The executioner ap 
 proached to throw the rope over the neck 
 of his victim. At this sight, Helen, with 
 a cry that was re-echoed by the compas 
 sionate spectators, ruthed to his bosom. 
 Wallace, with a mighty strength, burst 
 the bands asunder which confined his 
 arms, and clasping her to him with a
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 315 
 
 force that seemed to make her touch his 
 very heart ; his breast heaved, as if his 
 soul were breaking from its outraged tene 
 ment, and while his head sunk on her 
 neck, he exclaimed in a low and inter 
 rupted voice " My prayer is heard ! 
 Helen, we shall next meet to part no more. 
 May God preserve my country, and " 
 He stopped. The struggle was over in 
 his bosom : all there was still. She laid 
 her hand on his heart ; it beat no more. 
 
 In a glow of grateful exultation, she 
 half rose from his breast, and putting 
 back the executioner with her hand, cried 
 aloud, " He is gone ! your cruelties can 
 not now reach him!" and then sunk again 
 upon his bosom. The executioner, be 
 lieving her words the mere exclamation of 
 frantic grief, attempted to reason with 
 her on the fruitlessness of thus impeding 
 the course of justice : he expostulated, he 
 threatened; but she returned no answer.* 
 Gloucester, in an agitation which hardly 
 allowed him power to move or speak, and
 
 316 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 yet determined not to desert his friend in 
 his last extremity, drew near, and whis 
 pered Wallace to yield her to him. But 
 all was silent there ! He then remember- 
 'ed the words which Wallace had said, 
 That the rope of Edward should never 
 sully his animate body. He raised the 
 chieftain's head, and looking on his face, 
 found indeed the indisputable stamp of 
 death. " There,'* cried he, in a burst of 
 grief letting it fall again upon the insensi 
 ble bosom of Helen ; " There broke the 
 noblest heart that ever beat in the breast 
 of man !" 
 
 The priests, the executioners, crowded 
 round him at this declaration. But giving 
 a command in a low tone to the warden, 
 he took the motionless Helen in his arms, 
 and carried her from the scaffold back 
 into the Tower.
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 31? 
 
 CHAP XV. 
 
 ON the evening of the fatal day in which 
 the sun of Wallace set for ever on his 
 CQuntry, the Earl of Gloucester was giv 
 ing his latest directions for the night to 
 the warden of the Tower, when the door of 
 the chamber was suddenly hurst open by a 
 file of soldiers. A man in armour, with 
 his visor closed, was in the midst of them. 
 The captain of the band told the warden 
 that the stranger before him had behaved 
 in a most seditious manner. He had de 
 manded admittance into the Tower; and 
 on the sentinel to whom he spoke, answer 
 ing that, in consequence of the execution 
 of Sir William Wallace, orders had been 
 issued " that no strangers should enter the 
 gates until the following morning," he
 
 318 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 asked some questions relative to the con 
 demnation of the Scottish chief; and 
 finding that the sentence of the law 
 had been executed to the uttermost, he 
 burst into a passionate emotion, and ut 
 tered such threats against the King of 
 England that the captain thought it his 
 duty to have him seized and brought be 
 fore the warden. 
 
 On the entrance of the soldiers, Glou 
 cester had retired from observation into 
 the shadow of the room. He turned 
 anxiously round on hearing these par 
 ticulars. The stranger, who stood in 
 the midst, when the captain ceased 
 speaking, fearlessly threw up his visor, 
 and exclaimed, " Take me not to your 
 warden alone, but to your king ; and there 
 let me pierce his conscience with his infa 
 my aye, and stab him, ere I die!" 
 
 In this frantic adjuration, Gloucester 
 discovered the gallant Bruce. And has 
 tening towards him to prevent his appa 
 rently determined exposure of himself;
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 319 
 
 with a few words he dismissed the officer 
 and his guard ; and then turning to the 
 warden, " Sir Edward," said he, " this 
 stranger is not less my friend than he was 
 that of Sir William Wallace!" "Then 
 far be it from me, earl, to denounce him 
 to our enraged monarch. I have seen 
 noble blood enough already : and though 
 we, the subjects of King Edward, cannot 
 call your late friend a martyr, yet we must 
 think his country honoured in so steady 
 a patriot ; and may surely wish we had 
 many the like in our own!"( s ) ** The 
 worthy old knight, judging that Glouces 
 ter would desire to be left alone with the 
 stranger, with these words bowed and 
 withdrew. 
 
 Bruce, who had hardly heard the ob 
 servation of the warden, on his departure 
 turned upon the earl, and with a burst 
 ing heart, exclaimed, " Tell me, is it true? 
 Am I so lost a wretch as to be deprived of 
 my best, my dearest friend? Answer 
 me to the fact, that I may speedily take
 
 320 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 my course !" Gloucester, alarmed at the 
 direful expression of his countenance ; 
 with a quivering lip, but in silence, laid 
 his hand upon his arm. Bruce too well 
 understood what he durst not speak ; and 
 shaking it off frantickly, " I have no 
 friend !" cried he, " Wallace ! my hrave 
 and only Wallace, thou art rifled from 
 me ! And shall I have fellowship with 
 these ? No ; all mankind are my ene 
 mies ; and soon will I leave their detested 
 sojourn !" Gloucester attempted to inter 
 rupt him; but he broke out afresh and 
 with redoubled violence: " And you, 
 earl, cried he, " lived in this realm, 
 and suffered such a sacrilege on God's 
 most perfect work ? Ungrateful, worthless 
 man ! fill up the measure of your base 
 ness : deliver me to Edward ; and let me 
 brave him to his face. Oh ! let me die 
 covered with the blood of thy enemies, 
 my murdered Wallace ! my more than 
 brother ! and that shall be the royal robes 
 thy Bruce will bring to thee!"
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 321 
 
 Gloucester stood in dignified forbear 
 ance under the invectives and' stormy 
 grief of the Scottish prince ; and when 
 exhausted nature seemed to take rest in 
 momentary silence, he approached him. 
 Bruce cast on him a lurid glance of sus 
 picion. " Leave me ;" cried he, " I hate 
 the whole world ; and you the worst in it, 
 for you might have saved him, and you 
 did not ; you might have preserved his 
 sacred limbs from being made the gazing 
 stock of traitors, and you did not: 
 away from me, apt son of a tyrant ! lest 
 
 I tear you piece-meal !" " By the 
 
 heroic spirit of him whom this outrage on 
 me dishonours, hear my answer, Bruce ! 
 And if not on this spot, let me then ex 
 culpate myself by the side of his body 
 yet uninvaded by a sacrilegious touch. 
 " How ?" interrupted Bruce with less 
 harshness, and looking doubtingly. Glou 
 cester continued ; " All that was mortal 
 in our friend, now lies in a distant cham 
 ber of this quadrangle. When I could 
 P 3
 
 322 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 not prevail on Edward, either by entreaty 
 or reproaches, to remit this last gloomy 
 vengeance of tyrants, I determined to 
 wrest its object from his hands. A no 
 torious murderer died yesterday under 
 the torture. By the assistance of the 
 warden, after the inanimate corse of our 
 friend was brought into this house to be 
 conveyed to the scene of its last horrors, 
 the malefactor's body was placed on the 
 sledge in its stead ; and on that murderer 
 most justly fell the rigour of that dreadful 
 sentence." 
 
 The whole aspect of Bruce changed 
 during this explanation, which was fol 
 lowed by a brief account of their friend's 
 heroic death. " Can you pardon my mad 
 reproaches to you?" cried he, stretching 
 out his hand ; " Forgive, generous Glou 
 cester, the distraction of a severely 
 wounded spirit?" This pardon was im- 
 . mediately accorded; and Bruce impetu 
 ously added, " Lead me to these dear re 
 mains, that with redoubled certainty I
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 323 
 
 may strike this steel deep into his mur 
 derer's heart ! I came to succour him ; I 
 now stay to die, but not unrevenged 1" 
 " I will lead you," returned the earl, 
 " where you shall learn a different lesson. 
 His soul will speak to you by the lips of 
 his bride, now watching by his sacred 
 relics." A few words gave Bruce to 
 understand that he meant Lady Helen 
 Mar ; and with a deeper, grief, when he 
 heard in what an awful hour their hands 
 were plighted, he followed his conductor 
 through the quadrangle. 
 
 WhenGloucester gently opened the door 
 which contained the remains of the brav 
 est and the best, Bruce stood for a moment 
 on the threshold. At the further end of 
 the apartment, lit only by a solitary lamp, 
 lay the body of Wallace on a bier, cover 
 ed with a soldier's cloak. Kneeling by 
 its side, with her head on its bosom, was 
 Helen. Her hair hung disordered over 
 her shoulders and shrouded with its dark' 
 lock s the marble features of her beloved,
 
 324 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 Bruce scarcely breathed. He attempt 
 ed to advance, but he staggered, and 
 fell. She looked up at the noise ; but 
 her momentary alarm ceased when she 
 saw Gloucester. He spoke in a ten 
 der voice ; " Be not agitated, lady ; but 
 here is the Earl of Carrick." 
 
 " Nothing can agitate me more," re 
 plied she, turning mournfully towards the 
 prince, who, raised from the floor by 
 Gloucester, and opening his eyes, beheld 
 her regarding him with a look as of one 
 already an inhabitant of the grave. 
 " Helen !" faintly articulated Bruce, ap 
 proaching her ; " I come to share your 
 sorrows; and to do more, to avenge them." 
 *' Avenge them !" repeated she, after a 
 pause; " Is there aught in vengeance that 
 will awaken life in these cold veins again ? 
 Let the murderers live in the world they 
 have made a desert by the destruction of 
 its brightest glory ; and" then our home 
 will be his tomb !" Again she bent her 
 head upon his breast, and seemed to forget
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 325 
 
 that she had been spoken to, that Bruce 
 was present. 
 
 " May I not look on him?" cried he, 
 grasping her hand ; " O ! Helen, shew 
 me that heroic face from whose beams my 
 heart first caught the fire of virtue !" She 
 moved, and the clay-cold features of all 
 that was ever perfect in manly beauty, 
 met his sight. But the bright eyes were 
 shut : the radiance of his smile was dim 
 med in death ; yet still that smile was 
 there. Bruce precipitated his lips to his : 
 and then sinking on his kness, remained 
 in a silence only broken by his sighs. 
 
 It was an awful, and a heart-breaking 
 pause ; for the voice which, in all scenes 
 f weal or woe, had ever mingled sweetly 
 with theirs, was silent. Helen, who had 
 not wept since the tremendous hour of 
 the morning, now burst into an agony of 
 tears which seemed to threaten the ex 
 tinction of her being. Bruce, aroused by 
 her smothered cries as she lay almost ex 
 piring upheld by Gloucester, hurried to
 
 326 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 her side. By degrees she recovered to 
 life and observance ; but finding herself 
 removed from the bier, she sprung wildly 
 towards it. Bruce caught her arm to sup 
 port her yet tottering steps. She looked 
 stedfastly at him, and then at the motion 
 less body. "He is there!" cried she, 
 " and yet he speaks not ! He sooths not 
 my grief I weep, and he does not com 
 fort me ! And there he lies ! O ! Bruce, 
 can this be possible? Do I really see 
 him dead? And what is death?" add 
 ed she grasping the cold hand of Wal 
 lace to her heart ; " Didst thou not 
 tell me, when this hand pressed mine 
 and blessed me, that it was only a trans 
 lation from grief to joy ! And is it not 
 so, Bruce? Behold how we mourn, and 
 he is happy ! I will obey thee, my im 
 mortal Wallace !" cried she, casting her 
 arms about him, and placing her cheek 
 to his ; " I will obey thee, and weep no 
 more !" 
 
 She was silent and calm. And Bruce,
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 32? 
 
 kneeling on the opposite side of his friend, 
 listened without interruption to the argu 
 ments which Gloucester adduced, to per 
 suade him to abstain altogether from dis 
 covering himself to Edward, or uttering 
 his resentments against him, till he could 
 do both as became the man for whom 
 Wallace had sacrificed so much, even till 
 he was Kins: of Scotland. " To that 
 
 C5 
 
 end," said Gloucester, " did this gallant 
 chieftain live. For, in restoring you to 
 the people of Scotland, he believed he 
 was setting a seal to their liberties and 
 peace. To that end did he die, and in 
 the direful moment, uttered prayers for 
 your establishment. Think then of this; 
 and let him not look down from his hea 
 venly dwelling and see that Bruce despises 
 the country for which he bled, that the 
 now only hope of Scotland is sacrificed 
 in a moment of inconsiderate revenue to 
 
 o 
 
 the cruel hand which brok'e his dauntless 
 heart !" 
 
 Bruce did not oppose this counsel, but
 
 328 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 in proportion as the fumes of passion 
 passed away, and left a manly sorrow and 
 determination of revenge in his soul, he list 
 ened with approbation, and finally resolv 
 ed, whatever violence he might do his na 
 ture, not to allow Edward the last triumph 
 of finding him in his power. 
 
 The earl's next essay was with Helen. 
 He feared that a rumour of the stranger's 
 indignation at the late execution, and that 
 the Earl of Gloucester had taken him in 
 qfiarge, might, when associated with the 
 fact that the widow of Sir William Wal 
 lace also remained under his protection, 
 awaken some suspicion; and direct investi 
 gations, too likely to discover the imposi 
 tion he had put on the executioners of the 
 last clause in his royal father's most ini 
 quitous sentence. He therefore explained 
 his new alarm to Helen, and conjured her, 
 if she would yet preserve the hallowed re 
 mains before her from any chance of vio 
 lence, (which her lingering near them 
 might induce, by attracting notice to her
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 329 
 
 movements) she must consent almost im 
 mediately to leave the kingdom. The va 
 liant and ever faithful heart of Wallace 
 should be her companion ; and an English 
 captain, who had partaken of his clemency 
 at Berwick, should be her trusty conductor 
 to her native land. To bear away every 
 objection, before she returned any answer 
 he added, that Bruce should be protected 
 by him with strict fidelity, till some safe 
 opportunity should offer for his taking 
 to Scotland the sacred corpse, which must 
 ever be considered as the most precious 
 relic in that country. 
 
 " As heaven wills the trial of my 
 heart," returned she, " so let it be !" and 
 bending her head on the dear pillow of her 
 rest, the bosom which, cold and deserted 
 as it was by its heavenly habitant, was 
 still the bosom of her Wallace, the tem 
 ple, rendered sacred by the footsteps of a 
 God ! For, had not virtue and Wallace 
 dwelt there ? and where virtue is, there 
 abides the spirit of the holy one ! She
 
 330 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 passed the remainder of the night in vi 
 gils, which were not less devoutly main 
 tained by the chastened heart of the Prince 
 of Scotland. 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 THE tidings of the dreadful vengeance 
 which Edward had taken against the Scot 
 tish nation, by pouring all his wrath upon, 
 the head of Wallace, whose only offence 
 was known to be that of having served his 
 country too faithfully, struck like the 
 lightning of heaven through the souls 
 of men. The English turned blushing 
 from each other, and ventured not to 
 breathe the name of a man whose virtues 
 seemed to have found him a sanctuary in
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 331 
 
 every honest heart. But when the news 
 reached Scotland, the indignation was 
 general. All envyirigs, all strife were 
 forgotten in unqualified resentment of 
 the deed. There had not been a man, 
 even amongst the late refractory chief 
 tains, excepting the Cummins and their 
 coadjutors Soulis and Menteith, who be 
 lieved that Edward seriously meant to 
 sentence the patriot Wallace to a severer 
 fate than that which he had pronounced 
 against his rebellious vassal, the exiled 
 Baliol. His execution (for none but those 
 who were in the confidence of Gloucester 
 knew that heaven had snatched him from 
 the dishonour of o vile a death) was 
 therefore so unexpected, that the first 
 promulgation of it excited such an abhor 
 rence of the perpetrator in every breast, 
 that the whole country rose as one man, 
 and threatened to march instantly to 
 London and sacrifice the tyrant on his 
 throne. 
 
 At this crisis, when the mountains of
 
 332 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 the north seemed heaving from their 
 base to overwhelm the blood-stained 
 fields of England, every heart which se 
 cretly rejoiced in the late sanguinary 
 event, quailed within its possessor as he 
 tremblingly awaited the moment when the 
 consequences of the fall of Wallace 
 should prove the ruin of his enemies. 
 At this instant, when the furies armed 
 every clan in Scotland, Kirkpatrick, at 
 the head of a band of Wallace's old 
 soldiers, breathing forth revenge like a 
 consuming fire before them, led the way 
 to the general destruction of Edward's 
 newly established power in the coun 
 try. John Cummin, the Regent, stood 
 aghast. He foresaw his own downfal 
 in this re-awakened enthusiasm for the 
 man whom his treachery, or pusillanimity, 
 all saw had been the first means of betray 
 ing to his enemies. Baffled in the aim of 
 his own ambition, by the very means he 
 had taken to effect it, he saw no alterna 
 tive but to throw himself at once upon
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 333 
 
 the bounty of England ; and to this pur 
 pose he bethought him of the only chance 
 of preserving the power of Edward, and 
 consequently his own, in Scotland. Know 
 ing by past events, that this tempest of the 
 soul, excited by remorse in some, and gra 
 titude in others, could only be maintain 
 ed to any conclusive injury to England, 
 by a royal hand ; and that that hand was 
 expected to be Bruce's ; he determined at 
 once, that the prince to whom he had 
 sworn fealty, and to whom he owed his 
 present elevation, should follow the fate 
 of his friend. By the spies which he con 
 stantly kept round Hunting-tower, he 
 was apprized that Bruce had set off to 
 wards London in a vessel from Dundee ; 
 and on these grounds he sent a dispatch 
 to King Edward, informing him that des 
 tiny had established him supreme lord of 
 Scotland, for now its second and its last 
 hope had put himself as it were into his 
 hands. With this intelligence he gave a 
 particular account of all Bruce's proceed-
 
 334 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 ings, from the time of his meeting him 
 with Wallace in France, to his present 
 following that chief to London. He then 
 craved his majesty's pardon for ever hav 
 ing been betrayed into an union with such 
 conspirators, and repeated his hope that 
 the restitution he made in thus shewing 
 him where to find his last opponent, would 
 fully convince him of his penitence and 
 duty. He closed his letter by urging the 
 king to take instant and effectual measures 
 to disable Bruce from disturbing the quiet 
 of Scotland, or ever again disputing his 
 royal claims. 
 
 Gloucester was in the presence 
 when this epistle was delivered in and 
 read by his majesty. On the suit of 
 his daughter, Edward had been reconcil 
 ed to his son-in-law ; but when he shewed 
 to him the contents of Cummin's letter, 
 with a suspicious smile he said in a 
 low voice, " In case you should know 
 any thing of this new rebels lurking pilace, 
 you leave not this room till he is brought
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 335 
 
 before me. See to your obedience, 
 Hugh, or your head shall follow Wal 
 lace's." 
 
 The king instantly withdrew : and the 
 earl, aware that search would most pro 
 bably be made through all his houses, 
 sought in his own mind for some expedi 
 ent to apprize Bruce of his danger. To 
 write in the presence-chamber was impos 
 sible : to deliver a message in a whisper 
 would be very hazardous, for most of the 
 surrounding courtiers saw the frown with 
 which the king had left the apartment, 
 and marked the commands he gave the 
 marshal : " See that the Earl of Glouces 
 ter quits not this room till I return." 
 
 The earl, in the confusion of his 
 thoughts, turned his eye on Lord Mont 
 gomery, who had only arrived that very 
 morning from an embassy to Spain. He 
 had heard with unutterable horror the 
 fate of Wallace ; and extending his inte 
 rest in him to those whom he loved, he 
 had arranged with Gloucester to accom-
 
 336 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 pany him that very evening to pledge his 
 friendship to Bruce. To Montgomery, 
 then, as to the only man acquainted with 
 his secret, he turned ; and taking his 
 spurs off his feet, and pulling out a purse 
 of gold, he said aloud and with as easy an 
 air as he could assume, " Here, my Lord 
 Montgomery ; as you are going directly 
 to Highgate, I will thank you to call at 
 my lodge, and put these spurs and this 
 purse into the hands of the groom we 
 spoke of; he will know what use to make 
 of them." He then turned negligently 
 on his heel, and Montgomery quitted the 
 apartment. 
 
 The apprehension of this young lord 
 was not less quick than the invention of 
 his friend. He guessed that the Scottish 
 prince was betrayed ; and to render his 
 escape the less likely to be traced, (the 
 ground being wet and liable to retain im 
 pression) before he went to the lodge he 
 dismounted in the adjoining wood, and 
 with his own hands reversed the iron on
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 33? 
 
 the feet of the animal he had provided 
 for Bruce. He then proceeded to the 
 house, and found the object of his mis 
 sion disguised as a priest, and in the cha 
 pel paying his vesper adorations to the 
 Almighty Being on whom his whole de- 
 pendance hung. Uninfluenced by the 
 robes he wore, his was the devotion of 
 the soul : and not unaptly at such an hour 
 came one to deliver him from a danger 
 which, unknown to himself, was then with 
 in a few minutes of seizing its prey. 
 
 Montgomery entered, and being in 
 stantly recognised by Bruce, the inge 
 nuous prince, never doubting a noble 
 heart, stretched out his hand to him. 
 " I take it," returned the earl, " only to 
 give it a parting grasp. Behold these 
 spurs and purse sent to you by Glouces 
 ter ! You know their use. Without 
 further observation follow me." Mont 
 gomery was thus abrupt, because, as he 
 left the palace, he had heard the marshali 
 VOL. v.
 
 338 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 give orders for different military detach 
 ments to search every residence of Glou 
 cester for the Earl of Carrick, and he 
 did not doubt that the party dispatched 
 to Highgate were now mounting the sum 
 mit of the hill. 
 
 Bruce, throwing off his cassoc and cowl, 
 again appeared in complete armour ; and 
 after bending his knee for a moment on 
 the stone which covered the remains of 
 Wallace, he followed his friend from the 
 chapel, through a solitary path in the park 
 to the centre of the wood. Montgomery 
 pointed to the horse. Bruce grasped the 
 hand of his faithful conductor with fer 
 vency: "I go, Montgomery," said he, 
 " to my kingdom. But its crown shall 
 never clasp my brows till the remains of 
 Wallace return to their country. And 
 whether peace or the sword restore them 
 to Scotland, still shall a king's, a brother's 
 friendship unite my heart to Gloucester 
 and to you." As he ooke, he vaulted
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 339 
 
 into his saddle ; and receiving the cordial 
 blessings of Montgomery, he touched his 
 good steed with his pointed rowels, and 
 was out of sight in an instant. ( l ) 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 ABOUT the hour of twilight, on the 
 eighth day after Bruce had cast his last look 
 on the capital of England, that scene of 
 his long captivity under the spell of delu 
 sion, that theatre of his family's disgrace 
 and of his own eternal regrets ! he cross 
 ed the little stream which marked the oft- 
 contended barrier land of the two king 
 doms. He there checked the headlong 
 speed of his horse, and having alighted 
 to give it breath, walked by its side,
 
 340 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 musing on how different were the feelings 
 with which he now entered Scotland, 
 from the buoyant emotions with which 
 he had sprung on its shore in the be 
 ginning of the year. These thoughts, as 
 full of sorrow as of hope, had not occu 
 pied him long, when he espied a man in 
 the Red Cummin's colours, galloping to 
 wards him. He guessed him to be some 
 new messenger of the Regent to Edward, 
 and throwing himself before the horse, 
 caught it by the bridle, and commanded its 
 rider to deliver to him the dispatches 
 which he knew he carried to the King of 
 England. The man, as was expected, re 
 fused, and striking his spurs into his beast, 
 tried to trample down his assailant. But 
 Bruce was not so to be put from his aim. 
 The manner of the Scot convinced him 
 that his suspicions were right, and put 
 ting forth his nervous arm, with one ac 
 tion he pulled him from his saddle and laid 
 him prostrate on the ground. Again he 
 demanded the papers : " I am your
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 341 
 
 prince," cried Bruce, " and by the alle 
 giance you owe to Robert Bruce, I com 
 mand you to deliver them into my hands. 
 Life shall be your reward. Immediate 
 death the punishment of your obsti 
 nacy." 
 
 In such an extremity, the man did not 
 hesitate : and taking from his bosom a 
 sealed packet, immediately resigned it. 
 Bruce ordered him to stand before him 
 till he had read the contents. The poor 
 fellow^ trembling with terror of this for 
 midable freebooter, (for he placed no be 
 lief in the declaration that he was the 
 Prince of Scotland) obeyed, and Bruce 
 breaking the seals, found, as he expected, 
 a long epistle from the Regent urging the 
 sanguinary aim of his communications. He 
 reiterated his arguments for the expediency 
 of speedily putting Robert Bruce to death; 
 he represented " the danger that there was 
 in delay, lest a man so royally descended, 
 and so popular as he had become, (since 
 it was now publicly understood that he
 
 342 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 had already fought his country's battles 
 under the name of Sir Thomas de Lon- 
 gueville) should find means of placino- 
 himself at the head of so many zealots in 
 his favour. These circumstances, so pro 
 pitious to ambition, and his now adding 
 personal revenge to his former boldness 
 and policy, would, at this juncture, (the 
 Regent pronounced) should he arrive in 
 Scotland, turn its growing commotions to 
 the most decisive uses against the English 
 power." He concluded with saying, that 
 " the Lords Loch-awe, Douglas, and 
 Ruthven, were come down from the 
 Highlands with a multitudinous army, to 
 drive out the Southron garrisons and re 
 possess themselves of the fortresses of 
 Stirling and Edinburgh. That Lord Both- 
 well had returned from France with the 
 real Sir Thomas de Longueville, a knight 
 of great valiancy. And that Sir Roger 
 Kirkpatrick, after having massacred half 
 the English Castellans in the border coun 
 ties, was now lying at Torthorald ready
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 34S 
 
 to commence his murderous reprisals 
 through the coasts of Galloway. For 
 himself, he told the king, that he had se 
 cretly removed into the Franciscan mo 
 nastery at Dumfries, where he should 
 most anxiously await his majesty's pardon 
 and commands." 
 
 Bruce closed the packet. To prevent 
 his designs being blown before they were 
 ready to open, he laid his sword upon 
 the shoulder of the man. " You are my 
 prisoner," said he, " but fear not. I on 
 ly mean to hold you in safety till your 
 master has answered for his treason." 
 The messenger thought that whoever this 
 imperious stranger was, he saw a truth in 
 his eyes which ratified this assurance, and 
 without opposition he walked before him 
 till they stopped at Torthorald. 
 
 Night had closed in when Bruce 
 sounded his bugle under the walls. Kirk- 
 patrick himself answered from the embra 
 sure over the Barbican-gate, and demand 
 ed who desired admittance. " None,"
 
 344 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 added he, " that is not a true Scot, need 
 venture his neck within these towers !" 
 " 'Tis the avenger of Sir William Wal 
 lace," was the reply. The gates flew 
 open at the words, and Kirkpatrick stand 
 ing in the arch-way amid a blaze of 
 torches, received his guest with a brave 
 welcome. 
 
 Bruce spoke no more till he entered 
 the banqueting-hall, where he found 
 three other knights. He then turned to 
 Kirkpatrick, " My valiant friend," said 
 he, " order your servants to keep that 
 Scot," pointing to the messenger of Cum 
 min, " in safe custody till I command his 
 release : but till then, let him be treated 
 with the lenity which shall ever belong to 
 a prisoner of Robert Bruce!" As he 
 spoke, he threw up his visor ; and Kirk 
 patrick, who with others, had heard the 
 report that the De Longueville, who had 
 been the companion of Wallace, was their 
 rightful prince, now recognised the well- 
 known features of the brave foreigner in
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 345 
 
 the stranger before him. Not doubting 
 the verity of his words, he bent his knee 
 with the homage due to his king; arid in 
 the action was immediately followed by 
 Sir Eustace Maxwell, Sir James Lindsay, 
 and Adam Fleming, who were the other 
 knights present. 
 
 " I come," cried the prince, " in the spi 
 rit of my heart's sovereign and friend, the 
 now immortal Wallace, to live or to die 
 with you in the defence of my country's li 
 berties. With such assistance as yours, his 
 invincible coadjutors, and with the bless 
 ing of^ heaven on our arms, I hope to re 
 deem Scotland from the disgrace which 
 her late horrible submission to the tyrant 
 has fastened on her name. The trans 
 gressions of my house have been griev 
 ous : but this last deadly sin of my peo 
 ple, calls for expiation dire indeed ! 
 And in their crime they have received 
 their punishment. They broke from their 
 side the arm which alone had rescued 
 them from their enemies ! I now come
 
 346 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 to save them from themselves. Their hav 
 ing permitted the sacrifice of the rights of 
 my family, was the first injury committed 
 on the constitution, and it prepared the 
 \vay for the ensuing tyranny which seized 
 upon the kingdom. But by resuming 
 these rights, which is now my firm pur 
 pose, I open to you a way to recover our 
 ancient hereditary independence. The 
 direful scene just acted on the Tower-hill 
 of London, that horrible climax of Scot 
 tish treason ! must convince every reason 
 able mind, that all the late misfortunes! of 
 our country have proceeded from the base 
 jealousies of its nobles. There then let 
 them die, and may the grave of Wallace 
 be the tomb of dissension ! Seeing where 
 their own true interests point, surely the 
 brave chieftains of this land will rally 
 round their lawful prince, who here de 
 clares he knows no medium between death 
 and victory !" 
 
 The spirit with which this address was 
 pronounced, the magnanimity it convey-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 34? 
 
 ed, assisted by the graces of his youth 
 and noble deportment, struck forcibly to 
 the hearts of his auditors, and aroused in 
 double vigour those principles of re 
 sentment with which they were already so 
 powerfully actuated. Kirkpatrick need 
 ed no other stimulus than his almost ido 
 latrous memory of Wallace, and he list 
 ened with an answering ardour to Bruce's 
 exhortation. The prince next disclosed 
 to his now zealously pledged friends, the 
 particular's of the Red Cummin's treache 
 ry. " He now lies at Dumfries!" cried 
 Kirkpatrick, " thither then let us go, and 
 confront him with his treason. When 
 falsehood is to be confounded, it is best 
 to grapple with the sorceress in the mo 
 ment of detection: should we hesitate, 
 she may elude our grasp." 
 
 Dumfries was only a few miles distant, 
 and they might reach the convent before 
 the first matins. Fatigue was not felt by 
 Bruce when in the pursuit of a great object,
 
 348 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 and after a slight refreshment, he and his 
 four determined friends took horse. 
 
 As they had anticipated, the midnight 
 bell was ringing for prayers as the troop 
 stopped at the Franciscan gate. Lindsay 
 having been in the Holy Land during 
 the late public struggles, and not being 
 likely to Se suspected of any hostility 
 against the inhabitants of the monastery, 
 (the principal of which was a Cummin,) 
 alleged business with the abbot and de 
 sired to see him. On the father bid 
 ding him welcome, Bruce stepped for 
 ward and said, " Reverend sir, I come 
 from London. I have an affair to settle 
 with Lord Badenoch : and I know by his 
 letters to King Edward that he is secretly 
 lodged in this convent, I therefore de 
 mand to be conducted to him." This 
 peremptory requisition, and the superior 
 air of the person who made it, did not 
 leave the abbot room to doubt that he was 
 some illustrious messenger from the King
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 349 
 
 of England, and with hardly a demur he 
 left the other knights in the cloisters of 
 the church, and led the noble Southron (as 
 he thought) to his kinsman. 
 
 The treacherous Regent had just quit 
 ted the refectory, and retired to his own 
 apartment, as the abbot conducted the 
 stranger into his presence. Badenoch 
 started frowningly from his seat at such 
 an unusual intrusion. Bruce's visor was 
 closed. And the ecclesiastic perceiving 
 the Regent's displeasure, dispersed it by 
 announcing the visitant as a messenger 
 from King Edward. " Then leave us 
 alone," returned he, unwilling that even 
 this his convenient kinsman should know 
 the extent of his treason against his coun 
 try. The abbot had hardly closed the 
 door, when Bruce, whose indignant soul 
 burnt to utter his full contempt of the 
 wretch before him, hastily advanced to 
 speak, but the cautious Badenoch, fearful 
 that the father might yet be within hear-
 
 350 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 ing, put his finger to his lips, Bruce 
 paused, and listened to the departing 
 steps of the abbot as he passed along the 
 cloisters. When they were no more 
 heard, with one hand raising his visor, and 
 the other grasping the scroll of detection 
 " Thus, basest of the base race of Cum 
 min !" exclaimed he, " may you for a 
 moment elude the universal shame which 
 awaits your crimes." 
 
 At sight of the face, on hearing the 
 words of Bruce, the unmanly coward ut 
 tered a cry of terror and rushed towards 
 the door. " You pass not here," conti 
 nued the prince, " till I have laid open 
 all your guilt, and pronounced on you 
 the doom due to a treacherous friend and 
 traitorous subject." " Infatuated Bruce," 
 exclaimed Badenoch, assuming an air of 
 insulted friendship, now that he found 
 escape impossible, " what false tongue 
 has persuaded you thus to arraign one 
 who has ever been but too faithfully the
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 351 
 
 adherent of your desperate fortunes ? I 
 have laboured day and night in secret in 
 your service, and thus am I repaid." 
 
 Bruce smiled disdainfully at this poor 
 attempt to throw dust in his eyes, and as 
 he stood with his back against the door, 
 he opened the murderous packet, and 
 read from it all its contents. Cummin 
 turned pale and red at each sentence. 
 And at last Bruce closing it, " Now, then, 
 faithful adherent of Robert Bruce !" cried 
 he, " say what the man deserves, who, in 
 these blood-red lines petitions the death 
 of his lawful prince ? Oh ! thou arch- 
 regicide ! Doth not my very looks kill 
 thee ?" 
 
 Badenoch, with his complexion of a 
 livid hue, and his voice faltering, first 
 attempted to deny the letter having been 
 his hand- writing, or that he had any con 
 cern in the former embassy to Edward : 
 Then finding that these falsehoods only ir 
 ritated Bruce to higher indignation ; and 
 beside himself with terror that he should
 
 352 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 now be sacrificed to his prince's just re 
 sentment, he threw himself on his knees, 
 and confessing each transaction, implored 
 his life and pardon in pity to the fear 
 which had alone precipitated him to so 
 ungrateful a proceeding. " Oh !" added 
 he, " I have given myself to danger upon 
 your account! Even for your ultimate 
 advantage did I bring on my head the pe 
 rils which now fill me with dismay! Love 
 alone for you made me hasten the seizure 
 and execution of William Wallace, that 
 insidious friend, who would have crept 
 into your throne. And then fear of your 
 mistaking the motives of so good a service, 
 betrayed me to throw myself into the arms 
 of Edward!" 
 
 " Bury thyself and crimes, thou foul 
 est traitor, deep in the depths of hell, 
 that I may not pollute these hands with 
 thy monstrous blood. Out of my sight 
 for ever !" cried the prince, starting away 
 with a tremendous gesture. Till this mo 
 ment, Bruce was ignorant that Badenoch
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 353 
 
 had been an instigator in the murder of 
 Wallace ; and forgetting all his own per 
 sonal wrongs in this more mighty injury, 
 with tumultuous horror in his soul, he 
 turned from the coward to avoid the self- 
 blame of stabbing a wretch at his feet. But 
 at that moment, Cummin,'who believed his 
 doom only suspended, rose from his knee 
 and struck his dirk into the back of the 
 prince. Bruce turned on him with the 
 quickness of thought, " Hah!" exclaimed 
 he, seizing him by the throat, " then take 
 thy fate ! This accursed deed has remov 
 ed the only barrier between vengeance and 
 thee, and thus remember William Wal 
 lace !" As the prince spoke, he plunged 
 his dagger into the breast of the traitor. 
 Cummin uttered a fearful cry, and rolled 
 down at his feet murmuring imprecations. 
 
 Bruce fled from a scene of such horror. 
 It was the first time his arm had drawn 
 blood but in the field of battle, and he felt 
 as if the base tide had contaminated his 
 royal steel. In the cloisters he was en-
 
 354 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 countered by his friends. A few words 
 informed them of what had happened. 
 " Is he dead ?" inquired Kirkpatrick. "'I 
 can hardly doubt it," answered Bruce. 
 " Such a matter," returned the veteran, 
 " must not be left to conjecture. I will 
 secure ( u ) him !" And running forward im 
 mediately, followed by Lindsay, he found 
 the wounded Regent crawling from the 
 door of the cell, and throwing himself 
 upon him, without noise stabbed him to 
 the heart. 
 
 Before the catastrophe was known in, 
 the convent, Bruce and his friends had 
 left it, and were far on their road to Loch- 
 maben, his own paternal castle. He ar 
 rived before sun-rise, and thence dis 
 patched Fleming to Lord Ruthven with a 
 transcript of his designs. 
 
 In the same packet he inclosed a letter 
 for the Lady Isabella. It contained this 
 brave resolution, That in his present re 
 turn to Scotland, he did not consider him 
 self merely as Robert Bruce come to re-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 355 
 
 claim the throne of his ancestors, but as the 
 executor of the last and dying will of Sir 
 William Wallace, which was, that Bruce 
 should confirm the liberty of Scotland, or 
 fall as Wallace had done, invincible at his 
 post, " Till that freedom is accomplish 
 ed," continued the virtuous prince, "I will 
 never shake the stedfast purpose of my 
 soul, by even one glance at thy life-en 
 dearing beauties. I am Wallace's soldier, 
 Isabella, as he ivas heaven's ! and while 
 my captain looks down upon me from 
 above, shall I not approve myself worthy 
 his example. I woo'd you as a knight, I 
 will win you as a king : and on the day 
 when no hostile Southron breathes in Scot 
 land, I will demand my sweetest reward, 
 my beloved bride, of her noble uncle. You 
 shall come to me as the angel of peace, 
 and in one hour we will receive the nup 
 tial benediction and the vows of our peo 
 ple !" 
 
 The purport of the prince's letter to 
 Ruthven was well adapted to the strain
 
 356 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 of the foregoing. He there announced 
 his intention of immediately putting him 
 self at the head of his loyal Scots on the 
 plains of Stirling, and there, declaring 
 himself their lawful sovereign, proclaim 
 to the world that he acknowledged no le- 
 
 o 
 
 gal superior but the Great Being whose 
 vicegerent he was. From that centre of 
 his kingdom he would make excursions 
 to its farthest extremities, and with God's 
 will, would either drive his enemies from 
 the country, or perish with the sword in 
 his hand as became the descendant of 
 William the Lion, as became the friend 
 of William Wallace!" 
 
 Ruthven was encamped on the carse of 
 Gowrie when this letter was delivered to 
 him. He read it aloud to his assembled 
 chieftains, and with waving bonnets they 
 all hailed the approach of their valiant 
 prince, fiothwell alone, whose soul-de 
 voted attachment to Wallace could not 
 be superseded by any other affection, al 
 lowed his bonnet to remain inactive in his
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. So? 
 
 hand, but with the fervour of true loyal 
 ty he thanked God for thus bringing the 
 sovereign whom his friend loved, to 
 bind in one the contending interests of 
 his country ; and to wrest from the hands 
 of that friend's assassin, the sceptre for 
 which he had dyed them so deep in 
 blood. 
 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 THE word of Bruce was as irreversible 
 as his spirit was determined. No tempta 
 tion of indulgence could seduce him from 
 the one ; no mischance of adversity, could 
 subdue the other. The standard of liber 
 ty had been raised by him amidst his 
 faithful chieftains on the carse of Gowrie, 
 and carried by his victorious arm from east
 
 358 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 to west ; from the most northern point of 
 Sutherland to the walls of Stirling: : but 
 
 O 
 
 there, the garrison which the treason of 
 the late Regent had admitted into the 
 citadel, gave a momentary check to his 
 career. The English governor refused to 
 surrender on the terms proposed ; and 
 while his first flag of truce was yet in the 
 tent of the Scottish monarch, a second ar 
 rived to break off the negociation. King 
 Edward at the head of a hundred thou 
 sand men, having forced a rapid passage 
 through the Southern lowlands, was within 
 a few hours march of Stirling ; not only 
 to relieve that place, but with a determi 
 nation to bury Scotland in her own slain, 
 or to restore it at once to his sole em 
 pire. 
 
 When this was uttered by the English 
 herald, Bruce turned to Ruthven with an 
 heroic smile ; " Let him come, my brave 
 barons ! and he shall find that Bannock- 
 burn shall page with Cambuskenneth !" 
 
 The strength of the Scottish army did
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 359 
 
 not amount to more than thirty thou 
 sand men against this host of Southrons. 
 Bruce, in his unequal contest, lost not the 
 advantage of chusing his ground first; and 
 therefore, as his power was deficient in 
 cavalry, he so took his field as to compel 
 the enemy, who must act on the offensive, 
 to make it a battle of infantry alone. To 
 protect his flank from the innumerable 
 squadrons of Edward, he dug deep and 
 wide pits near to Bannockburn ; and then 
 having overlaid their mouths with turf 
 and brushwood, proceeded to marshal his 
 little phalanx on the shore of that brook, 
 till his front stretched to St. Ninian's 
 monastery. The centre was led by Lord 
 Ruthven and Walter Stewart, the Lord of 
 Bute ; the right owned the valiant lead 
 ing of Douglas and Ramsay ; and the 
 left was put in charge of Lennox, with 
 Sir Thomas Randolph as his second, a 
 brave chieftain who, like Lindsay and 
 others had lately returned from a distant 
 land, and now embraced the cause of his
 
 360 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 country with a patriot's zeal. Bruce sta 
 tioned himself at the head of the reserve ; 
 and with him was the veteran Loch-awe 
 and Kirkpatrick, and Lord Bothwell with 
 the true De Longueville and the brave 
 Lanarkers of Wallace ; all determined 
 to make this division the stay of their 
 little army, or the last sacrifice for Scot 
 tish liberty. Before they entered on the 
 field the heads of these battalions as 
 sembled around their king in his tent, 
 and there, on the mysterious iron box, 
 (which Douglas had caused to be brought 
 by the abbot of Inchaffray from St. 
 Fillan's priory,) they swore to fill up 
 one grave rather than alive yield one inch 
 of the ground which Wallace had render 
 ed doubly sacred by his victories. The 
 abbot, who laid the box before his young 
 monarch, repeated the prohibition which 
 had been given with it, and added, " since 
 then these canonized relics, (for none can 
 doubt that they are so,) have found pro 
 tection under the no less holy arm of St.
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 361 
 
 Fillan, he now delivers them to your 
 youthful majesty to penetrate their se 
 crets, and to nerve your mind with a re 
 doubled trust in the saintly host." 
 
 " The saints are to be honoured, reve 
 rend father; and on that principle I shall 
 not invade their mysteries, till the God in 
 whom alone I trust, marks me with more 
 than the name of king; till He establishes 
 me by victory, the approved champion of 
 my country. But as a memorial that the 
 spirits of the blessed lean from their bright 
 abodes to wish well to this day, let these 
 holy relics be borne next our standard in 
 the battle !" 
 
 Bruce having placed his array, disposed 
 the supernumeraries of his army, the fami 
 lies of his soldiers and other apparently 
 useless followers of the camp, under 
 shelter of a hill which would lie be 
 tween them and the enemy. He ordered 
 Scrymgeour to strike the royal standard 
 deep into a stone which grew out of the 
 ground in the centre of his line. Bv 
 
 VOL. v. R
 
 362 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 it," said he, " we must this day stand or 
 fall !" 
 
 The following morning the whole of 
 the Southron army appeared in sight. 
 The van, consisting of archers and men 
 at arms, was commanded by Earl de 
 Warenne ; and the main body was led on 
 by Edward himself, supported by Aymer 
 de Valence and a train of his most redoubt 
 ed generals. As they approached, the war 
 like Bishop of Dunkeld appeared on the 
 face of the opposite hill, between the 
 abbots of Cambuskenneth and Inchaffray, 
 celebrating mass in the sight of the op 
 posing armies. He then passed along in 
 front of the Scottish lines barefoot, with 
 the crucifix in his hand, and in few but 
 forceful words exhorted them by every 
 sacred hope to fight with an unreceding 
 step for their rights and king ! At this 
 adjuration, which seemed the call of hea 
 ven itself, the Scots fell on their knees to 
 confirm iheir resolution with a vow. The 
 sudden humiliation of their posture ex-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 363 
 
 cited an instant triumph in the haughty 
 mind of Edward, and spurring forward, 
 he shouted aloud, " They yield ! They 
 cry for mercy !" " They cry for mercy !" 
 returned Percy, trying to withhold his 
 majesty, " but not from us. On that 
 ground on which they kneel, they will be 
 victorious, or find their graves !" 
 
 The king, contemning this opinion of 
 the earl, and inwardly believing that now 
 Wallace was gone he need fear no x>ther 
 opponent, ordered his men to charge. 
 The horsemen, to the number of thirty 
 thousand, obeyed ; and rushing forward 
 to the shock, with the hope of over 
 whelming the Scots ere they could arise 
 from their knees, met a different destiny. 
 They found destruction amid the pits 
 and hollows of the way, and with bro 
 ken ranks and fearful confusion, fell, or 
 fled under the missive^ weapons which 
 poured on them from the adjoining hill. 
 De Valence was overthrown and severely
 
 364 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 wounded on the first onset ; and being 
 carried off the field, filled the rear ranks 
 with dismay ; while the king's division 
 was struck with consternation at so disas 
 trous a commencement of an action in 
 which they had promised themselves so 
 easy a victory, Bruce, who felt his little 
 army much distressed by the arrows of the 
 English, sent Bothwell round with a re 
 solute body of men to attack the archers 
 on the height they had seized. This was 
 instantly effected ; and Bruce coming up 
 with his reserve to fill the deficiencies 
 which this artillery had made in his fore 
 most ranks, the battle in the centre be 
 came close, obstinate, and decisive. Many 
 fell before the determined arm of the 
 youthful king ; but it was the fortune of 
 Bothwell to encounter the false Menteith 
 in the train of Edward. The Scottish 
 earl was then at the head of the intrepid 
 Lanarkers. " Fiend of the most damn 
 ed treason!" cried he, " vengeance is 
 come 1" and with an iron grasp throwing
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 365 
 
 him into the midst of the Lanarkers, the 
 wretched traitor breathed out his trea 
 cherous breath under the strokes of a 
 hundred swords. " So," cried the veteran, 
 Ireland, " perish the murderers of Wil 
 liam Wallace !" "So," shouted the rest, 
 " perish the enemies of the bravest of 
 men !" 
 
 At this crisis, the women and the fol 
 lowers of the Scottish camp hearing such 
 an exclamation from their friends, not 
 doubting it was victory, impatiently quitted 
 their station behind the hill, and appeared 
 on the summit waving their bonnets and 
 handkerchiefs, which they had exultingly 
 mounted on their staffs, and re-echoed with 
 loud huzzas the shouts they had heard from 
 below. The English, mistaking these peo 
 ple fora new army, had not the power to re 
 cover from the increasing confusion which 
 had seized them on King Edward him 
 self receiving a wound ; and panic-struck 
 with the sight of their generals falling 
 around them, they flung down their arms
 
 366 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 and fled. The king narrowly escaped 
 being taken ; but being mounted on a stout 
 and fleet horse, he put him to the speed 
 before his pursuing foe, till he found 
 shelter in Dunbar ; whence the young 
 earl of that place, almost as much attached 
 to the cause of England as his father was, 
 
 o 
 
 gave him a passage to England. 
 
 The Southron camp with all its riches, 
 fell into the hands of Bruce. And when 
 he returned to Stirling from his victorious 
 chase with the keys of Edinburgh in his 
 hand and the Lord March his prisoner, 
 (after having stormed that nobleman's castle 
 and beat it to the ground ;) he brought hap 
 py news which had met him on the way, 
 that Edward had died suddenly of chagrin 
 in the palace of Carlisle. So heaven had 
 removed for ever the prime instigator of 
 Scotland's woes ! and with this intelligence 
 as a conclusive argument, he demanded 
 the unconditional surrender of Stirling 
 Castle. The English governor knew the 
 noble nature of the prince who made this
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 36? 
 
 proud requisition ; and aware that farther 
 opposition would l>e in vain, he resigned 
 the fortress to his mercy, and opened the 
 gates. In that hour Bruce entered as a 
 conqueror, with the whole of his king 
 dom at his feet : for, from the Solway 
 Frith to the northern ocean, no Scottish 
 town nor castle owned a foreign master. 
 The acclamations of a rescued people 
 rent the skies ; and while prayers and 
 blessings poured on him from above, be 
 low, and around, he did indeed feel 
 himself a king, and that he had returned 
 to the land of his forefathers. While he 
 stood on his proud war-horse in front 
 of the great gates of the citadel, now 
 thrown wide asunder to admit their 
 rightful sovereign, the noble prisoners 
 from the camp came forward, and those 
 from the garrison appeared. They bent 
 their knees before him, and delivering 
 their swords, received in return his gra 
 cious assurance of mercy. At this mo 
 ment all Scottish hearts and wishes seemed.
 
 368 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 rivetted on their youthful monarch. And 
 he, dismounting from his steed with a 
 gallant grace that took captive even the 
 souls of his enemies, raised his helmet off his 
 head as the Bishop of Dunkeld, followed 
 by all the ecclesiastics in the town, came 
 to wait upon the triumph of his king. 
 
 The beautiful anthem of the virgins of 
 Israel on the conquests of David, was 
 chanted forth by the nuns who, for this 
 heaven-hallowed hour, like the spirits of 
 the blest, revisited the world to give the 
 chosen of their land, All hail. 
 
 The words, the scene, smote the heart 
 of Bothwell ; he turned aside and wept. 
 Where were now the buoyant feelings 
 with which he had followed the similiar 
 triumph of Wallace into these gates ? 
 " Buried, thou martyred hero, in thy 
 bloody grave !" New men and new ser 
 vices seemed to have worn out remem 
 brance of the past ; but in the memories 
 of even this joyous crowd, Wallace lived, 
 though like a bright light passed through
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 369 
 
 their path, and gone, never more to be 
 beheld. 
 
 Bruce, on entering the citadel, was 
 told by Mowbray the English governor, 
 that he would find a lady there who was 
 in a frightful state of mental derangement. 
 A question or two from the victorious 
 monarch soon informed him that this was 
 the Countess of Strathearn. On the re 
 volted abthanes having surrendered Wal 
 lace and the kingdom to England, the 
 joy and ambition of the Countess knew no 
 bounds; and hoping in the end to persuade 
 Edward to adjudge to her the crown, to 
 silence the rivalry of the nobles, she made 
 it apparent to the English king how useful 
 her services would be in Scotland ; and 
 with a plenary, though secret mission, 
 she took her course through her native 
 land, to discover who were inimical to 
 the foreign interest, and who likely to 
 promote her own : and after this circuit, 
 fixing her court at Stirling, she lived 
 there in regal magnificence, and exer- 
 R 3
 
 370 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 cised the functions of a vice-queen. At 
 this period had arrived intelligence which, 
 from some of her late embassies to Lon 
 don, Mowbray thought would fill her 
 with exultation ; and therefore he hasten 
 ed to tell her that the King of England's 
 authority was now firmly established in 
 Scotland, for that Wallace had been exe 
 cuted on the twenty-third of August ac 
 cording to all the forms of law upon the 
 Tower-hill. 
 
 At the first declaration of this event, 
 she fell senseless on the floor. It was 
 not until the next morning that she re 
 covered to perfect animation, and then 
 her ravings were as horrible as violent. 
 She accused herself of the murder of Sir 
 William Wallace. She seemed to hear 
 him upbraid her with his fate ; and her 
 shrieks and tremendous ejaculations so 
 fearfully presented the scene of his death 
 before the eyes of her attendants, that 
 the women fled ; arid none other of that 
 sex would afterwards venture to approach
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 371 
 
 her. In these fearful moments, the 
 dreadful confession of all her premedi 
 tated guilt ; of her infuriate and disap 
 pointed passion for Wallace, and her 
 vowed revenge ; were revealed under cir 
 cumstances so shocking, that Mowbray 
 declared to the King of Scots as he con 
 ducted him towards her apartment, that 
 he would rather wear out his life in a 
 rayless dungeon-, than endure one hour of 
 her agonies. 
 
 There was a dead silence in her cham 
 ber as they approached the door. Mow- 
 bray cautiously opened it, and discovered 
 the object of their visit at the farther end 
 of the room. She was seated on the floor, 
 enveloped in a mass of scarlet velvet, 
 which she had drawn off her bed ; her 
 hands clasped her knees ; and she bent 
 forward, with her eyes fixed on the door 
 at which they entered. Her once dazzling 
 beauty was now transformed to the terrible 
 lightning which gleamed on the face of
 
 372 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 Satan when he sat brooding on the burning 
 marl of his new dominions. 
 
 She remained motionless as they ad 
 vanced. But when Bruce stopped di 
 rectly before her, contemplating with 
 horror the woman whom he regarded as 
 one of the murderers of his most beloved 
 friend, she sprung at once upon him 
 and clinging to him with shrieks, buried 
 her head in his bosom, and exclaimed 
 " Save me ! Mar drags me down to hell ; 
 I burn there, and yet I die not!" then 
 bursting from Bruce with an imprecation 
 that froze his blood, she dashed to the 
 other side of the chamber, crying aloud, 
 " He tore out my heart ! Fiend, I took 
 thee for Wallace but I murdered him !" 
 Her agonies, her shrieks, and her attempts 
 at self-violence were now so dreadful, that 
 Bruce, raising her bleeding from the stone 
 hearth on which she had furiously dashed 
 her head, put her into the arms of the 
 men who attended her ; and then with an
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 3?3 
 
 awful sense of divine retribution, left the 
 apartment. 
 
 The generality of the Southron pri 
 soners he directed should be lodged in 
 the citadel. But to Mowbray he gave his 
 liberty ; and ordered every means to fa 
 cilitate the safe and commodious journey 
 of that brave knight, whom he requested 
 to convey Lady Strathearn to her husband, 
 with the King of Scots wishes that so gal 
 lant and worthy a nobleman might soon 
 be released by heaven from so unhappy 
 an union. 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 HAVING dispatched his army, under 
 the command of the Lords Lennox and 
 Douglas, to spread themselves over the
 
 374 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 face of the border counties, till that peace 
 should be signed by England which he 
 was determined by unabated hostilities to 
 compel ; he sent Ruthven to Hunting- 
 tower to bring his affianced bride to Cam- 
 buskenneth ; before whose altar, he had 
 informed the Bishop of Dunkeld, his 
 nuptial faith should be sealed with hers. 
 
 At the close of the second day alter he 
 had taken these measures for the security 
 of his kingdom and the establishment of 
 his own happiness, he had just returned 
 to his tent on the banks of Bannockburn, 
 (for it was from the very field of victory 
 that he had promised to lead Isabella to 
 the altar ! and therefore the camp would 
 be his dwelling until she should arrive ;) 
 when Grimsby, his now faithful attendant, 
 conducted an armed knight into his 
 presence. The light of the lamp -which 
 stood on the table, streaming full on 
 the face of the stranger, discovered to 
 the king his English friend the intrepid 
 Montgomery. Bruce, with an exclama-
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 375 
 
 tion of glad surprise would have clasped 
 him in his arms, but Montgomery drop 
 ping on his knee, exclaimed, " Receive a 
 subject as \vell as a friend, victorious and 
 virtuous prince ! I have forsworn the 
 vassalage of the Plantagenets ; and thus, 
 without title or land, with only a faithful 
 heart, Gilbert Hambledon comes to vow 
 himself yours and Scotland's for ever." 
 
 Bruce raised him from the ground ; and 
 then welcoming him with the warm em 
 brace of friendship, inquired of him the 
 cause of so extraordinary an abjuration of 
 his legal sovereign. " No light matter," 
 observed the king, " could have so wrought 
 upon my noble Montgomery !" " Mont 
 gomery, no more !" replied the earl with 
 indignant eagerness ; " When I threw the 
 insignia of my earldom at the feet of the 
 unjust Edward, I told him that I would 
 lay the saw to the root of the nobility I 
 had derived from his house, and cut it 
 through; and that I would sooner leave 
 my posterity without titles and without
 
 376 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 wealth, than deprive them of real honour. 
 I have done as I said ! And yet I come 
 not without a treasure ; for the sacred 
 corse of William Wallace is now in 
 my barque, floating on the waves of the 
 Forth!" 
 
 The subjugation of England would 
 hardly have been so welcome to Bruce as 
 this intelligence. He received it with an 
 eloquent though unutterable look of gra 
 titude which he enforced by an ardent 
 pressure of the narrator's hand. Hamble- 
 don continued ; " On the late tyrant sum 
 moning the peers of England to follow 
 him to the destruction of Scotland, Glou 
 cester refused under a plea of illness, and 
 I could not but shew a disinclination to 
 obey. This occasioned some remarks 
 from Edward respecting my want of al 
 legiance, and my known attachment to the 
 Scottish cause, which -drew from me the 
 answer, That my heart would not for 
 the wealth of the world, permit me to 
 join him in the projected invasion, since
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 377 
 
 I had seen the spot in my own country 
 where, actuated by a most unkingly jea 
 lousy, he had cut down the flower of all 
 knio-hthood. because he was a Scot and 
 
 o 
 
 would not sell his birth-right ! The 
 king left me in wrath, and threatened. 
 
 o 
 
 when he returned, to make me recant 
 my words : I as proudly declared I 
 would maintain them. And this was my 
 situation, when, on entering the prince's 
 chamber immediately on the news of 
 Edward's defeat and death, I found 
 John Le de Spencer, (the coward who 
 had so basely insulted Wallace on the 
 day of his condemnation;) sitting with 
 his highness. On my offering the con- 
 dolements due from my rank, this worth 
 less minion turned on me, and accused 
 me in the most insolent language of re 
 joicing in the late king's ill-success. He 
 taxed me with having; remained behind in 
 
 <O 
 
 London for the sole purpose of executing 
 some plot, devised between me and my 
 Scottish partizans, for the subversion of the
 
 378 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 English monarchy. I denied the charge. 
 He enforced it with oaths and new alle 
 gations. The prince furiously gave me 
 the lie, and commanded me as a traitor 
 from his presence. I refused to stir an 
 inch till I had made the base heart of 
 Le de Spencer retract his falsehood. The 
 coward took courage at his master's pas 
 sion, and drawing his sword upon me, in 
 language that would blister my tongue to 
 repeat, he threatened to compel my de 
 parture; and as a first motion, he struck 
 me on the face with his weapon. The 
 arms of his prince could not then save 
 him ; I thrust him through the body, and 
 he fell. Edward ran on me with his 
 dagger, but I wrested it from him ; and 
 then it was that, in reply to his menaces, I 
 revoked my fealty to a sovereign I despis 
 ed. And leaving the presence, before 
 the fluctuations of his versatile mind 
 could fix upon seizing me, I had borne 
 away the body of our friend from its sanc 
 tuary: and embarking it and myself on
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 379 
 
 board a ship of my own, am now at your 
 feet, brave and just king, a true Scot in 
 heart and loyalty !" 
 
 " And as a brother, generous Hamble- 
 don ! returned T^ruce, " I receive, and 
 will portion thee. My paternal lands of 
 Cadzovv on the Clyde, shall be thine 
 for ever. And may thy posterity be as 
 worthy of the inheritance, as their ances 
 tor is of all my love and confidence !"(*) 
 
 Hambledon having received his new 
 sovereign's directions concerning the dis 
 embarkation of those sacred remains, 
 which the young king declared that he 
 should welcome as the pledge of heaven 
 to bless his victories with peace ; he re 
 turned the same night to the haven, where 
 Wallace rested in that sleep which even 
 the voice of friendship could not dis 
 turb. 
 
 At an early hour next morning Bruce 
 appeared on horseback armed cap-a-pee, 
 with his helmet royally plumed, and a
 
 380 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 mantle of the same significance over 
 his shoulders. Bothwell, (whom he had 
 summoned as soon as Hambledon quitted 
 the tent, to communicate to him tidings 
 so grateful to his heart,) appeared at his 
 side. The troops he had retained at 
 Bannockburn were drawn out on the field. 
 In a brief address he unfolded to them the 
 solemn duty to which he had called them : 
 to receive' once more, and for ever, to its 
 native land, the body of William Wal 
 lace ! 
 
 At the words, a cry, as if they beheld 
 that beloved chieftain slain before them, 
 issued from every heart. The news spread 
 to the town : and with tears and lamenta 
 tions, a vast crowd had collected themselves 
 around the royal troop, just as a mes 
 senger arrived to inform the king that the 
 body was landed and now bearing towards 
 him. Bruce told Scrymgeour to elevate 
 the Scottish standard and begin the march. 
 The whole train followed in speechless
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 381 
 
 woe, as if each individual had lost his 
 dearest relative, and was attending him 
 to the grave. Having passed the wood, 
 they came in view of the black hearse 
 which covered all that now remained of 
 him who had so lately crossed these pre 
 cincts in all the panoply of triumphant 
 war ; in all the graciousness of peace and 
 love to man ! At the sight, the soldiers, 
 the people, rushed forward, and precipi 
 tating themselves before the bier, which 
 now stopped, on their knees implored 
 for his pardon on their ungrateful country. 
 They adjured him by every tender name 
 of father, benefactor, and friend ; and in 
 such a sacred presence, forgetting that 
 their king was by, they gave way to a 
 grief which most eloquently told the 
 young monarch that he who would be 
 respected after William Wallace, must 
 not only possess his power and valour, 
 but imitate his virtues. 
 
 Scrymgeour, who well remembered the
 
 382 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 desire that Wallace had expressed on 
 the battlements of the Keep of Dumbar 
 ton Castle, with a holy reference to the 
 vow he made to him at that time, now 
 obeyed his prince, and laid the standard 
 of Scotland upon the pall. Bruce, un 
 covering his royal head, with his kingly 
 purple sweeping in the dust, walked 
 before the bier, shedding those tears, 
 more precious in the eyes of his sub 
 jects than the oil which was soon to 
 pour upon his brow. It was, as he thus 
 moved on, the mourner of all mortal ex 
 cellence, that he heard acclamations min 
 gle with the voice of sorrow. " This is 
 our king, worthy to have been the friend 
 of Wallace ! worthy to succeed him in 
 the kingdom of our hearts !" 
 
 At the gates of Cambuskenneth, the 
 venerable abbot whom Wallace's valiant 
 arm had placed there, appeared at the 
 head of his religious brethren ; and with 
 out uttering the grief that shook his aged
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 383 
 
 frame, he raised the golden crucifix over 
 the head of the bier ; and after leaning 
 his face for a few minutes on it, preceded 
 the procession into the church. None 
 but the soldiers entered. The people re 
 mained without ; and as the doors closed 
 on them they fell on the pavement, weep 
 ing as if the living Wallace had again been 
 torn from them. 
 
 On the steps of the altar the bier rested. 
 The Bishop of Dunkeld in his pontifical 
 robes, received the sacred deposit with a 
 cloud of incense; and the pealing organ, 
 answered by the voices of the choristers, 
 breathed forth the solemn requiem of the 
 dead. The wreathing frankincense parted 
 its vapour, and a wan but beautiful form 
 appeared clad in a nun's black vestments, 
 and clasping an urn to her breast. She 
 was supported by Lord Bothwell towards 
 the spot. Her veil was open, and dis 
 covered a face as of orie just awaked from 
 the sleep of death : it was ashy pale ;
 
 384 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 but it bore a celestial brightness, which, 
 like the silver lustre ef the moon, de 
 clared its approach to the fountain of its 
 glory. Her eye fell on the bier : and 
 with a momentary strength, she left the 
 arms on which she had leaned in dying fee 
 bleness, and rushing towards it, threw her 
 self upon the coffin. 
 
 There was an awful pause while Helen 
 seemed to weep. But so, was not her sor 
 row to be shed. It was locked within the 
 flood-gates of her heart. 
 
 In that suspension of the soul, when 
 Bothwell knelt on one side of the bier, 
 and Bruce bent his knee on the other, the 
 church door opened, and Ruthven ad 
 vanced, leading in his agitated hand the 
 Lady Isabella, dressed in her bridal attire. 
 She hurried forward with her fair face 
 bathed in tears at the recital she had just 
 heard. Bruce stretched out his hand 
 towards her : " Come here, my youthful 
 bride, and let thy first duty be paid to the
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 385 
 
 shrine of thy benefactor and mine! So may 
 we live, sweet excellence, and so may we 
 die, if the like maybe our meed of heavenly 
 glory!" Isabella threw herself into his arms 
 and wept: and Helen, slowly raising her 
 head at these words, gazed at her sister 
 with a look of awful tenderness, and then 
 turning her eyes back upon the coffin, as 
 if they would have pierced its confines, 
 she clasped the urn suddenly to her heart 
 and exclaimed, " Thy bridal bed shall be 
 my grave I" . 
 
 Bruce and Isabella, not aware that she 
 repeated words which Wallace had said 
 to her, believing she addressed them, 
 turned to her with portentous emotion. 
 She understood the terrified glance of 
 her sister ; and with a smile, which spoke 
 her kindred to the soul her's was panting 
 to join, she said, " I speak of my own 
 espousals. But ere that moment comes, 
 let my Wallace's hallowed presence bless 
 your nuptials ! Thou wilt breathe thy 
 benediction through my lips ?" added she, 
 VOL. v. s
 
 386 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 laying her hand on the coffin, and looking 
 down on it as if she were conversing with 
 its inhabitant. 
 
 " O ! no, no ;" returned Isabella 
 with a superstitious dread, and shrinking 
 from the almost unembodied aspect of her 
 sister. 
 
 " It is indeed her spirit that speaks;" 
 cried Dunkeld, observing the awe, which 
 not only shook the tender frame of Isa 
 bella but had communicated itself to 
 Bruce, who stood, not in fear, but in 
 heart-struck veneration before the yet 
 un-ascended angel ; " holy inspiration," 
 continued the bishop, " beams from her 
 eyes ; and as ye hope for farther blessings, 
 obey its dictates !" 
 
 Isabella bowed her head in acquies 
 cence. Bruce, as he approached to take 
 his part in the sacred rite, raised the 
 hand which lay on the pall to his lips. The 
 ceremony began ; was finished ! As the 
 bridal notes resounded from the organ, 
 and the royal pair rose from their knees.
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 38? 
 
 Helen held her hands over them, " God 
 is in this house ! And in like manner, hold 
 him in your hearts, your light and glory ! 
 Be you blest in all things as Wallace 
 would have blessed you ! From his side 
 I pour out my soul upon you, my sister 
 my brother ! and with its inward 
 breathed prayers to the Giver of all Good 
 for your eternal happiness, I turn to my 
 long-looked for rest !" Then, after fer 
 vently kissing her sister, she again turned 
 to the coffin, and exclaimed, " We have 
 met at last ! I waited only for this : to 
 unite thy noble heart to thee again, and 
 then I claim thy promise at our Father's 
 hands !" She sunk on her knees, and clasp 
 ing her hands strongly, in low accents 
 faintly uttered, " Death! where is thy sting? 
 O grave, where is thy victory?" and then 
 ceasing, seemed in earnest prayer. 
 
 At this awful moment, the abbot of 
 Inchaffray approached the king with the 
 iron box. " Before the sacred remains of
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 the once champion of Scotland, ( y )'and in the 
 presence of his royal successor," exclaimed 
 the abbot,; " let this mysterious coffer of St. 
 Fillan's be opened, to reward the deliverer 
 of Scotland according: to its intent !" " If 
 
 O 
 
 it were to contain the relics of St. Fillan 
 himself," returned the king, " they could 
 not meet a holier bosom than this !" and 
 resting the box on the coffin, he unclasp 
 ed the lock ; and the Regalia of Scotland 
 was discovered ! At this sight Bruce ex 
 claimed in an agony of grateful emo 
 tion, " Thus did this truest of human 
 beings protect my rights, even while 
 the people I had deserted, and whom he 
 had saved, knelt to him to wear them 
 all !" 
 
 " And thus Wallace crowns thee !" said 
 Dunkeld, taking the diadem from its cof 
 fer, and setting it on his head. 
 
 " My husband, and my king !" gently 
 exclaimed Isabella, sinking on her knee 
 before him, and clasping his hand to her
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 389 
 
 lips. Ruthven, at this motion, took a 
 roll of parchment from his breast. " I 
 must not be the last to bring a precious 
 gift to my sovereign. Here," added he, 
 presenting the scroll, " I received this 
 from English envoys as I came through 
 Stirling. It contains honourable offers of 
 peace from the young King Edward." 
 
 " Hearest thou that? my sweet cousin, 
 Helen! cried Bothwell, touching the 
 clasped hands which rested on the coffin. 
 He turned pale, and looked on Bruce. 
 Bruce, in the glad moment of his joy at 
 this happy consummation of so many years 
 of blood, observed not his glance, but in 
 exulting accents, exclaimed, " Look up, 
 my sister ; and let thy soul, discoursing 
 with our Wallace, tell him that Scotland 
 is free, and Bruce a king !" 
 
 She spoke not, she moved not. Both- 
 well raised her clay-cold face. " That 
 soul is fled, my lord 1" said he, " but 
 from yon eternal sphere they now together
 
 390 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 look upon your joys. Here let their 
 bodies rest ; for they loved in their lives, 
 and in their deaths they shall not be di 
 vided ."' 
 
 THE END.
 
 NOTES 
 
 TO THE FIFTH VOLUME OF 
 
 THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS. 
 
 f a p. 17.) Sir Alexander Ramsay, who used to 
 be called the Flower of Courtliness, is celebrated in 
 history as a brave follower of Wallace, and these 
 caves, which are still visited with veneration by every 
 true Scot, are the scenes of many a legend respecting 
 the prowess of Ramsay when he issued from their 
 green recesses to assist in the downfall of his country's 
 enemies. 
 
 ( b p. 18.) The Red Cummin was an attributive 
 appellation of John, the last Regent before the ac 
 cession of Bruce. His father, the princely Earl of 
 Badenoch was called the Black Cummin, (and from 
 that circumstance I have so sirnamed James, who, in 
 these volumes, is made the predecessor of John in the 
 regency) but why they received these epithets I can 
 not find any good account. Some say it was owing to 
 the colour of their hair. Probably it might be from 
 a difference in their banners. Sable borne by the one
 
 392 NOTES. 
 
 Cummin, and gules by the other, would be sufficient 
 to mark them by these names. 
 
 ( d p. 69.) Abthanes were the greater barons or 
 chiefs in Scotland, who held a sort of legislative power 
 over the minor orders. 
 
 ( e p. 135.) The marriage of the Countess ol Strath- 
 earn with Earl de Warenne, and her consequent dis 
 loyalty to Scotland, is related by several historians. 
 
 ( f p. 143.) The " Lochiel" of Mr. Thomas Camp 
 bell flitted before my eyes as I ventured to shadow forth 
 this scene. 
 
 ( g p. 167.) This saying of the venerable teacher of 
 Wallace is recorded. It means, " Know of a certainty 
 that liberty, the best of things, never can exist under 
 the band of servility !" 
 
 ( h p. 175.) This speech is almost literal from his 
 tory. ( 
 
 ('p. 180.) It is said that this Ker was the ancestor 
 of the Kers of Kersland. His dying in defence of 
 Wallace is not a fiction. 
 
 ( k p. 206.) The parallel scene to this in the interest-
 
 NOTES. 393 
 
 ing Lay of Blind Harrie, is one of the finest in the 
 poem. 
 
 ('p. 211.) On the banks of the Clyde, near Lanark, 
 such a tower is still seen, and bears the name of 
 Wallace. 
 
 ( m p. 232.) The events of Wallace having dictated 
 terms of peace with England, and Menteith pledging 
 himself to that country's emissary having taken place 
 in this church, are traditionary facts. 
 
 (" p. 241.) These words of lamentation are record 
 ed as having been pronounced by Wallace. The early 
 maturity of his friend, cannot be thought marvellous, 
 when we recollect Charles XII. &c. Lumloch, the 
 spot where this horrible treason was acted, has since 
 been called Robroyston, from having, hi after times, 
 been the residence of Rob Roy the famous freebooter. 
 
 ( p. 250.) Spottiswood insists very much on this 
 prediction of Ercildoun's, which was verified in James, 
 in the ninth degree from Bruce, 
 
 ( p p. 261.) The words of such a sentence are too 
 horrid to be registered here. I read them (when it was 
 in the possession of the late Sir Frederick Eden,) in 
 the original death warrant of the Duke of Norfolk, 
 signed by Queen Elizabeth; and their sanguinary import.
 
 394 NOTES. 
 
 would be too dreadful for humanity to credit their ex 
 ecution, did we not know that it has been done. 
 
 f q p. 26l.) In the tradition of this circumstance, 
 it is said, that in scorn they crowned him with a wreath 
 of laurel, but for obvious reasons I have a little chang 
 ed the narrative. 
 
 ( r p. 284.) This bequest of Wallace is related as a 
 fact. 
 
 ( s p. 319.) This sentiment with regard to the Scot 
 tish hero, is given in Speed's History. 
 
 ( l p. 339.) In the relation of this incident, Buch 
 anan names Montgomery as the friend who apprized 
 Bruce of his danger. Holingshed attributes it to 
 Gloucester. I have paid due deference to both autho 
 rities. 
 
 ( u p. 354.) In memory of this circumstance, the 
 crest of the family of Kirkpatrick is a hand grasping a 
 dagger distilling gouts of blood; the motto, " I mak 
 sicker." 
 
 ( x p. 579.) These circumstances relating to the 
 first establishment of the noble family of Hamilton 
 (in old historians called Hampton or Hameldon) in 
 Scotland, are particularly recorded. The lands of
 
 NOTES. 395 
 
 Cadzow are now called Hamilton, from their owners ; 
 and on them is the splendid mansion of the duke of 
 that name. 
 
 ( y p. 388.) The extraordinary bodily, as well as 
 mental superiority which Bruce and Wallace possess 
 ed over their contemporaries, is thus most interestingly 
 recorded by Hector Boetius. 
 
 " About the latter end of the year 1430, King 
 James I. on returning to Perth from St. Andrews, 
 found his curiosity excited to visit a very old lady of 
 the house of Erskine, who resided in the castle of Kin- 
 noul. In consequence of her extreme old age she had 
 lost her sight, but all her other senses were entire, and 
 her body was yet firm and lively. She had seen Wil 
 liam Wallace and Robert Bruce, and frequently told 
 particulars of them. The king, who entertained a 
 love and veneration of great men, resolved to visit 
 the old lady, that he might hear her describe the man 
 ners and strength of the two heroes. He therefore 
 sent a message, acquainting her that he would come 
 to her the next day. When she was told that the 
 king was approaching., she went down into the hall of 
 her castle, attended by a train of matrons, many of 
 whom were her own descendants. She advanced to 
 meet his majesty so easily and gracefully that he 
 doubted her being wholly blind. At his desire she 
 embraced and kissed him, He took her by the hand,
 
 396 NOTES. 
 
 and made her sit down on the seat next him : and then, ' 
 in a long conference he interrogated her on ancient 
 matters. Among other things he asked her to tell him 
 what sort of a man William Wallace was. What 
 was his personal ligure; what his courage; and with 
 what degree of strength he was endowed. He put 
 the same questions to her concerning Robert Bruce. 
 Robert, said she, was a man, beautiful, and of a fine 
 appearance. His strength was so great that he could 
 easily have overcome any mortal man of his time. But 
 in so far as he excelled other men, he was excelled by 
 Wallace, both in stature and in bodily strength : for, 
 in wrestling, Wallace could hare overthrown two such 
 men as Robert. 
 
 3. M'cfcEEUY, Printer, 
 Black-Horse-Court, FJeet-Street,
 
 
 
 from which *--, borrow**^ 
 
 8 1997'
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 ~- 
 
 _ ,ir lum/rno.