Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 2.djvu/52

 to his estate in England, where he passed the remainder of his days in safe and opulent obscurity; and the earl of Carrick was commissioned to receive in the name of the English king the homage of his own and his father's vassals. So subdued and unpromising were, in their commencement, the fortunes of him upon whom the fortunes of Scotland were finally destined to depend.

In the Scots parliament which Edward assembled at Berwick in order to the settlement of his new conquest, he received the homage of great numbers of the clergy and laity, and among the rest of the earl of Carrick, who probably dared not at such a juncture incur even the suspicion of the English king. The extensive estates which he held, in virtue of his father's resignation, or by his permission, extending between the firths of Clyde and Solway, and bordering upon England; the number and power of his connections and dependants, rendered still more formidable by the discomfiture and depression of the rival family; to say nothing of the personal talents and ability of the young earl himself, must have rendered him sufficiently liable to the jealous scrutiny of so politic a sovereign as Edward; and Bruce, whether or not at this time he entertained designs upon the crown, must have acted with prudence and circumspection in dispelling, even at the expense of his oath, those doubts with which his fidelity would be regarded. On the other hand, the residence of the elder Bruce in England, and the great property possessed by the family in that kingdom, were an actual guarantee in the hands of Edward of the Bruces' loyalty; nor is it unlikely that he would be swayed by a wise policy in attaching to himself, without any show of distrust or aversion, that party in the state from whom lie had most to fear. By so doing he could most effectually destroy any popular feeling which might spring up in favour of claims which could not readily be forgotten, and for the assertion of which he had himself removed the greatest obstacle in the deposition of Baliol. Forbearance on the one side, and submissiveness on the other, were probably dictated to each by opposite though equally strong convictions of expediency.

During the noble stand made by Wallace against the national defection, the earl of Carrick, though he remained inactive, was not overlooked by the jealous eye of the English government. The bishop of Carlisle, and other barons to whom the peace of the western districts was committed, became suspicious of his fidelity, and summoned him to appear before them, when he made oath on the sacred host and the sword of St. Thomas to be faithful and vigilant in the service of Edward. To evince his sincerity, he immediately after laid waste the lands of Sir William Douglas, carrying the wife and family of that knight prisoners into Annandale. It seems probable that this enterprize was undertaken merely to serve as a pretext for assembling his military retainers; for he had no sooner collected these around him than he abandoned the English interests, and joined the army of the Scots; alleging, in vindication of his conduct, that the solemn oath which he had so lately taken had been extorted from him by force, and that in such a case the Pope would, he doubted not, absolve him from its observance. Bruce did not remain long faithful to his new allies. A few months after, at the capitulation of Irvine, he made his peace with Edward, giving what sureties were required for his future loyalty.

The signal success achieved by the Scots at Stirling, induced Bruce once more to join the national cause; but the Comyns, now the principal rivals of his family for the vacant throne, being, at the same time, opposed to Edward, he seems to have prudently avoided taking any active share in the contest. Refusing to join the army, he shut himself up in Ayr castle, by this means ostensibly preserving the communication open between Galloway arid the western Highlands. On the approach of Edward into the west, after the battle of Falkirk,