Page:Life and surprising adventures of Sir William Wallace.pdf/13

13 and had at an easy rate, obtained much glory to his countrymen, and reflected distinguished lustre on the Scottish arms.

The fame of Wallace, and the splendid victories which he had gained both in Scotland and in England, spread abroad, and attracted the attention of the courts of England and France. Philip the Fair, the French monarch, heard of his successes with joy; but Edward I. king of England observed them with decided displeasure: he felt much at being outstripped by one whom he accounted his inferior. The constable and marshal of England, the earls of Gloucester, Surrey, and Arundel, and a great majority of the earls and barons of the kingdom agreed that a large army should be instantly raised, and that within eight days all the forces they could collect should assemble at Newcastle. This meeting took place as appointed, and the army was found to consist of four thousand and five hundred cavalry, and upwards of a hundred thousand infantry. The prince and foresaid nobleman headed this immense body, marched against the Scots, relieved the castle of Roxburgh, which Wallace was besieging, and took possession of Berwick, which the Scottish garrison had abandoned as untenable; and