Page:History of Sir William Wallace (1).pdf/68

 ( 68 ) the freedom and independence of their country But Edward was not famous for holding sacred his treaties ;, nor was that prevalent in tee time in which he lived. In general, con- tracting parties violated their contracts, so soon as either inclination or interest required. Scarcely was this treaty ratified when the English monarch, anxious to take all the ad- vantages which it stipulated to him appointed one of his subjects to act in Scotland as Lieu- tenant, for his son; and the young queen re- qured the Scots to deliver up their castles and strong-holds into his hands. He pursued vari- ous measures, which indicated that he was more deposed to test the terns of the treaty to the purposes of his ambition than to abide by any of its conditions that were set unrea- sonably favourable to his views. Edward next applied to the Pope of Rome, for a dispensation to sanction e marriage be- tween his son and his grand niece, the Nor- wegian princess. Having obtained this im- portant object, and also gained the friendship of the Scottish nobles he united with them in applying to the king of Norway, to implement his part of the treaty, by sending the queen home to her own dominion, Impelled by. paternal affection, and induced by the infancy of the queen, the king of Norway displayed great reluctance to transmit his child to the care of strangers. The importunities and the artifices of Edward, and of the Sects, at length, hew-