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 ( 108 ) servants, six of them were arrayed in their upper garments; the carts were oaded and as many as possible ledged themselves among the hay; the rest were placed in ambush. In this disguise they entered the town. No sooner were they entered than Wallace slow the por- ter, and secured the gates, for the entrance of his' men; who soon appearing, they spread destruction in every quarter among the English, and so terrified the remainder, that the gover- nor, Sir John Stewart, fled out at the opposite gate to the wood of Methven. An hundred took refuge in the church, but the superstition of Wallace did not induce him to spare their lives, even in the sacred sanctuary. By this successful adventure, Wallace acquired much booty; and,'besides, a military station, of vast importance to his future conquests. From hence he proceeded towards Fife, and successively reduced the several towns and y castles in that populous county. There was a small party, however, of the English, who sheltered themselves in Lochleven, and then also Wallace was determined to dislodge. This Lochleven is a noble sheet of water, the circumference of which is about fifteen miles, and the surface is varied by several isles, the largest of them is about 48 acres, in which stood the ancient Priory of Lochleven. And upon another stood a castle, belonging to the house of Douglas, in which the English resided. This place was afterwards rendered remarkable, as the prison of the beautiful Queen Mary, in which