Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 2.djvu/87

 sanctity of their character would have protected them, were wantonly murdered, and their monasteries and abbeys plundered and burned. When this unfortunate army got once more into the peace and plenty of their own country, it was little better with them; for, in proportion as their privations had been extreme, so, now, were their indulgences excessive; and an English historian has left it on record, that almost one half of the great army which Edward had led into Scotland, was destroyed either by hunger or intemperance.

The remains of the English army had scarcely once more been restored to order, when the Scots, who had followed closely upon their rear, entered England, and laid siege to the castle of Norham. Edward, himself, then lay at the abbey of Biland in Yorkshire; the main body of his troops being encamped in a strong position in the neighbourhood, supposed to be accessible only by one narrow pass. The Scots, commanded by Robert in person, suddenly raising the siege, marched onward in the hope of finding the English unprepared, or, as some say, of seizing the person of Edward, by the aid of some of that monarch's treacherous attendants. This latter design, if at all entertained, which is not improbable, must have been found of too difficult execution. Douglas resolved to force the defile within which the English had entrenched themselves; and Randolph, leaving his own peculiar command in the army, determined to join his friend in the enterprise. The attack and defence continued obstinate and bloody on both sides, but, in every likelihood, the men of Douglas must have been obliged to retire, had not an unexpected aid come to their relief. The king of Scots, who commanded the main and inactive body of his army on the plain, had soon perceived the difficulty, if not impracticability of the adventure in which his two brave generals had engaged themselves. With the same bold and accurate forecast, which on some other occasions marked his generalship, he fell upon the only, because in a great measure well-timed, means of extrication and success which his situation afforded. Between the two armies lay a long craggy hill of very difficult access, except through the narrow pass of which we have made mention, and which the body of men under Douglas were vainly endeavouring to force. A party of Highlanders from Argyle and the Isles, admirably suited for the service, were ordered, at some little distance, to scale the eminences and so gain command of the pass from the ground above, where they might, with signal effect, annoy the English underneath, and in flank. The manoeuvre was successfully executed, the pass carried, and the whole English army shortly after put to complete rout. They were pursued by the Stewart at the head of five hundred men, to the gates of York. Edward, himself, escaped to the same place with the greatest difficulty, abandoning all his baggage and treasure to the enemy, leaving behind him even the privy seal of his kingdom. This was the last battle in which this undeserving and equally unfortunate prince engaged the Scots; and it may be curious to remark how, in its result, it bore some resemblance to the disaster and shame of the first. The Scots, after committing extensive devastations on the unprotected and dispirited country, returned home, carrying along with them many prisoners, and nn immense booty.

From this period to the accession of Edward III. to the throne of England in 1327, there occurred little which can properly come within our province to relate. A truce for fifteen years was with much willingness acceded to by the English king, who could never, however, be induced to relinquish his claim of sovereignty over Scotland. The pope was much pressed, particularly in an embassy conducted by Randolph, to permit the reconciliation of Robert with the church; but the king of Scots, as yet, possessed too little interest in that venal court, and the king of England too much, to allow of such a concession. The pontiff, however, showed all the favour he could possibly, consistent with such a