Page:Life of Sir William Wallace.pdf/10

 But the impolicy of the measures adopted by him to humble the spirit of the Scots was soon obvious; for, in less than a year after he had overrun the country, the nation, irritated beyond endurance, was almost every where ripe for revolt. Scotland, at this period, required vigilance, courage, liberality and moderation in its rulers, and Edward's ministers displayed none of these qualities. — Warrenne, the governor, was in the north of England for the recovery of his health; Cressingham, the treasurer, was proud ignorant ecelesiastic; and Ormesby, the justiciary, was odious for rigour and severity. It was while in this temper that Wallace made his appearance. He was by nature formed to command, for with a firm, undaunted, and energetic mind, he possessed a physical strength that no fatigue could overcome, and a stature which rendered his attack irresistible — invaluable qualities, where so much depended on personal intrepidity, and strength, while his affability conciliated the affections of his followers, and his eloquence moulded their passions to his will. Superadded to all these, Wallace had a hatred of the English which no time could lessen or remove, arising from an ardent love of liberty, aggravated, no doubts by the cruelties and oppression of Edward's soldiers, as well as the personal injuries he had suffered, in the murder of his wife, and the death of his father and elder rother.

Wallace was the son of Sir Malcolm Wallace, of Ellerslie, a small estate near Paisley, in the shire of Renfrew. Of the precise period in which he was born it is impossible now to any degree of accuracy; it is conjectured however, that at the death of his father who was killed at the battle of Loudon Hill, in 1202, he