Page:History of Sir William Wallace the renowned Scottish champion (1).pdf/10



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to exasperate, and at last to rouse into fearful ac- tion, the slumbering hatred of the nation. A-       mong the foremost of those who banded them- selves against the English was Wallaee, who now first publicly appeared on the scene. He was a       man eminently fitted for his perilous enterprise; for to the most ardent love of his country, un- shaken resolution, and prodigious strength of       body, he added those firm yet conciliatory man- ners which are necessary to govern rude and tumultuary ranks; while the personal and family injuries he had sustained at the hands of the English gave tenfold vigour to his efforts. A       prediction also of Thomas the Rhymer, asserted that by the arm of Wallace was the independence of Scotland to be aehieved. To be aquainted with the strength and resour- ces of the English, Wallace often disguised him- self, and visited their garrisons and towns. He took precaution to wear a light coat of       mail under his common elothes; his bonnet, which to common sight was nothing more than a cap of cloth or velvet, had a steel basnet concealed under it; a collar or neek-pieee, of the same met- al, fitted him so closely, that it was hid complete- ly, and below gloves he had strong gauntlets of       plate. Relying on his Herculean strength and seeret armour, he fearlessly ventured into the very