Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 9.djvu/239

Rh 1315, when an act was passed for the succession to the crown of Scotland. On this occasion it was ordained, that should the king or his brother, Edward Bruce, die during the minority of the heirs male of their bodies, "Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray, should be guardian of the heir, and of the kingdom, until the major part of the states should hold the heir fit to administer the government in his own person," In an important event that occurred only one month afterwards the invasion of the Scots into Ireland, for the purpose of driving the English out of that island, and placing Edward Bruce upon its throne—Randolph was one of the principal leaders of the expedition, and, as such, was repeatedly employed in bringing over reinforcements from Scotland. Three years afterwards (1318), while Bruce was laying siege to Berwick, Spalding, one of the citizens, who had been harshly treated by the governor of Berwick, offered, by letter written to a Scottish nobleman, to betray upon a certain night the post upon which he was appointed to mount guard. This lord, unwilling to act in so important a matter upon his own responsibility, brought the letter to the king. "You did well," said Bruce, "that you revealed this to me, instead of to Randolph or to Douglas, for you would thus have offended the one whom you did not trust. Both of them, however, shall aid you in this adventure." The rival pair were accordingly enlisted for the purpose, and under their joint efforts the important town of Berwick was taken in a few hours.

The loss of Berwick was so disastrous to the English, as it furnished an open door to Scottish invasion, that they made every effort to recover it; and for this purpose they laid siege to it in such force, and with a camp so well fortified, that to assail them would have been a perilous adventure. Bruce, therefore, resolved to withdraw them by an invasion of England, and for this purpose sent Randolph and Douglas, at the head of 15,000 soldiers, who penetrated through the West Marches, wasted Yorkshire, and attempted to carry off the queen of Edward II,, at that time residing near York, whom they meant to keep as a hostage for their retention of Berwick. But, unluckily for these heroes and more unluckily by far for her husband, to whom her bondage would have been a blessing the queen escaped when she was almost within their toils. A battle followed soon after, in which the English, under the command of the Archbishop of York, were routed at Mitton, near Borough-Bridge, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, with great slaughter; and such was the number of priests who accompanied the standard of the archbishop, and fell on this occasion, that the Scots derisively termed it the "Chapter of Mitton." This event raised the siege of Berwick, and although the English army on its way homeward endeavoured to intercept the Scots, Randolph and Douglas eluded them, and returned in safety to Scotland. Another expedition into England, in which the pair were engaged under the leading of Bruce himself, occurred in 1322, or three years after the victory at Mitton. On this occasion the Scots almost succeeded, by a forced march, in capturing Edward II. himself, at the monastery of Bilaud, in Yorkshire; and although he escaped with difficulty to York, it was after leaving all his baggage and treasure in the hands of the pursuers. During this campaign Bruce resolved to attack the English camp, which was so completely fortified that it could only be reached, as was supposed, by a narrow pass. This pass Douglas undertook to force, and Randolph generously left his own command to serve as volunteer under him. The English gallantly defended this entrance to the camp; but while their attention was thus wholly