Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 1.djvu/153

 however, was solely supported by foreign influence, and, upon the rise of a few of the opposite hostile barons, in November, 1334, he again fled to England. In July, 1335, Edward III. enabled him to return under the protection of an army. But, notwithstanding the personal presence and exertions of no less a warrior than the victor of Cressy, the Scots never could altogether be brought under the sway of this vassal king. For two or three years, Edward Baliol held a nominal sway at Perth, while the greater part of the country was in a state of rebellion against him. The regent Andrew Moray, dying in July, 1338, was succeeded by Robert Stewart, the grandson of Bruce, and nephew of David II. who having threatened to besiege Baliol in Perth, obliged him to retreat once more to England. The greater part of the country speedily fell under the dominion of the regent, nor was Edward III. now able to retrieve it, being fully engaged in his French wars. The Scots having made an incursion, in 1344, into England, Baliol, with the forces of the northern counties, was appointed to oppose them. Two years after this period, when the fatal battle of Durham, and the capture of David II. had again reduced the strength of Scotland, Baliol raised an insurrection in Galloway, where his family connections gave him great influence, and speedily penetrated to the central parts of the kingdom. He gained, however, no permanent footing. For some years after this period, Scotland maintained a noble struggle, under its regent Robert Stewart, against both the pretensions of this adventurer, and the power of the King of England, till at length, in 1355-6, wearied out with an unavailing contest, and feeling the approach of old age, Baliol resigned all his claims into the hands of Edward III. for the consideration of five thousand merks, and a yearly pension of two thousand pounds. After this surrender, which was transacted at Roxburgh, and included his personal estates, as well as his kingdom, this unfortunate prince retired to England. "The fate of Edward Baliol," says Lord Hailes, "was singular. In his invasion of Scotland during the minority of David Bruce, he displayed a bold spirit of enterprise, and a courage superior to all difficulties. By the victory at Dupplin, he won a crown; some few weeks after, he was surprised at Annan and lost it. The overthrow of the Scots at Halidon, to which he signally contributed, availed not to his re-establishment. Year after year, he saw his partisans fall away, and range themselves under the banner of his competitor. He became the pensioner of Edward III. and the tool of his policy, assumed or laid aside at pleasure: and, at last, by his surrender at Roxburgh, he did what in him lay to entail the calamities of war upon the Scottish nation, a nation already miserable through the consequences of a regal succession disputed for threescore years. The remainder of his days was spent in obscurity; and the historians of that kingdom where he once reigned, know not the time of his death." It may further be mentioned, that neither these historians nor the Scottish people at large, ever acknowledged Edward Baliol as one of the line of Scottish monarchs. The right of the family of Bruce, though inferior in a hereditary point of view, having been confirmed by parliament on account of the merit of King Robert, this shadowy intruder, though occasionally dominant through the sword, could never be considered the legitimate monarch, more especially as he degraded himself and his country by a professed surrender of its independence, and even of a part of its territory, to a foreign enemy. He died childless, and, it would also appear, unmarried, in 1363, when he must have been advanced to at least the age of seventy.  . Of all the remarkable men, by whom this name, in its various orthographical appearances, has been borne, not the least worthy of notice is John Ballantyne, who died on the 16th of June, 1821, about the age of forty-five years. This gentleman was the son of a merchant at Kelso, where he