Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 1.djvu/335

1297.] This state of things encouraged the Scots to take up arms once more. The great chief's, indeed, hung back from the movement, and maintained their condition of supineness and inactivity, but tho inferior nobility and the people no longer suffered themselves to be restrained. Incited by their hatred of the English, the peasants formed themselves into armed bands, which infested the highways, and attacked any of their enemies whom they could surprise in detached parties. Edward devoted large sums of money to repressing these disorders, but without success; and now there appeared on the scene the extraordinary individual whoso energies, first excited by personal injuries, were afterwards devoted to his country, with efforts not less than heroic.

We first read of Wallace as engaged in a quarrel in the town of Lanark with some English officers who had insulted him. Bloodshed ensued, and he would probably have lost his life in the streets but for the interference of his mistress, to whoso house he fled, and with whose assistance he escaped. It is stated that Hislop, the English sheriff, attacked the house, and, in a spirit of brutal and unmanly vengeance, seized tho unhappy lady, and put her to death. Wallace, having hoard tho news, threw himself upon the sheriff, and slew him. For this deed he was proclaimed a traitor, and banished from his home to seek a retreat among the mountain fastnesses. Here he was soon joined by a few desperate men, who naturally acknowledged the strongest as their chief, and who, under his guidance, made successful attacks upon straggling parties of English. His name soon became famous, and numbers of men of different classes flocked to his standard. Tho halo of romance with which this hero was speedily invested by the people, the continued and galling acts of tyranny on the part of the English, and the desire of revenge, all tended to recruit the ranks of the mountain chieftain. Among the first men of note who joined him was Sir William Douglas, the former commander of the garrison of Berwick, who, at the sacking of that town, had been permitted to march out with military honours. He now brought a force consisting of the whole of his vassals to the army of Wallace. At this time Ormesby, the justiciary, was holding court at Scone. Thither Wallace led his troops, and surprised the justiciary, who escaped with difficulty, leaving a rich booty behind him. The Scots now openly ravaged the country, plundering and slaying all the English that fell into their power. Wallace was cruel and merciless in war, and through the records of that time we look in vain for any of those acts of humanity which were inculcated by the laws of chivalry, and occasionally practised by men who sought the reputation of accomplished knights. The same ruthless barbarity characterised the mode of warfare on either side, and Scots or English, in passing through the country, marked their course by a trail of blood.

The conduct of the younger Bruce, who afterwards, as Robert I., displayed such distinguished abilities, was at this time uncertain, and the reverse of energetic. Edward, however, dreaded the rebellion of a chief who possessed such great estates and influence, and, having summoned him to Carlisle, compelled him to make oath, on tho sword of Thomas à Becket, that he would continue faithful. As a proof of his fidelity, he was required to ravage the lands of Sir William Douglas, whose wife and children he seized and carried into Annandale. Having thus quelled suspicion, the young chief, who was then twenty-two years old, called together his father's vassals, spoke of his recent oath as having been extorted by force, and therefore of no weight, and urged them to follow him against tho oppressors of their country. They refused to do so in the absence of his father, and Bruce then collected his own retainers, and proceeded to join Wallace.

The news of the rising of the Scots was brought to Edward as he was about to embark for Flanders. He immediately issued orders for the collecting of an army, which was placed under the command of Sir Henry Percy and Sir Robert Clifford. These distinguished commanders advanced, at the head of 40,000 men, to meet the forces of tho patriots, which were already in a condition of disorganisation. Tho Scots were without any acknowledged leader, and although Wallace, as tho prime mover of the revolt, as well as by his superior qualities, was the most worthy to assume that position, the higher nobility who were with him refused to act under the orders of a man whom they regarded as their inferior. Under such circumstances as these, combined movements were impossible, and all the advantages of discipline, which, equally with prudence, may be said to be the better part of valour, were on the side of the enemy. The English leaders proposed to negotiate, and, after a short deliberation, the chief associates of Wallace laid down their arms, and once more gave their submission to Edward. Among those who did so were Bruce, Sir William Douglas, the Steward of Scotland, the Bishop of Glasgow, Sir Alexander Lindesay, and Sir Richard Lundin. The document signed by them is dated at Irvine, on the 9th of July. One man alone, of all the higher Scottish nobility, remained to uphold the honour of his order, and preserved his duty to his country. This was Sir Andrew Moray of Bothwell. Undaunted by tho disaffection of his powerful companions, Wallace still held together a strong band of men, who, poorer and more patriotic, disapproved tho pusillanimity of their chiefs; and with these he retreated for a time into the mountains.

Several months elapsed, during which Edward appears to have made no attempt to molest the Scottish insurgents. Meanwhile, the fame of Wallace was extended throughout the country, and vast numbers of the people flocked to his standard. Knighton, an old English historian, asserts that the whole of tho lower orders already regarded Wallace as the future deliverer of their country, and that they gathered new hope and courage amidst tho surrounding dangers from tho undaunted brow he bore. It is stated, also, that many of the nobility repented of oaths weakly or unwillingly taken, and their hearts were with the cause of the man whom they had refused to obey. Wallace renewed offensive operations with greatly increased forces, and drove the English from the castles of Brechin, Forfar, Montrose, and other fortresses to the north of the Forth. He was engaged in a siege of the castle of Dundee when he received news of the advance of the English. Raising the siege, he marched his forces, consisting of 40,000 men, in haste to Stirling, where he arrived before the English army. Wallace took up a favourable position on the banks of the Forth, a portion of his troops being concealed by the hills. The Earl of Surrey, in command of 500,000 foot and 1,000 horse, soon afterward appeared on