Page:Robert the Bruce and the struggle for Scottish independence - 1909.djvu/227

1313 A.D.] himself, and how the King of England followed the example of his father in employing his best officers in the task of quelling the movement.

But how great is the contrast between the document in which these appointments are notified and the imperious missives of the first Edward! An army had been ordered to assemble at Carlisle on August 23, 1308, to carry on the Scottish war, "nevertheless the King for divers reasons delays the said aid of men-at-arms at that date, for he does not mean to go to Scotland so soon as he thought. Also, the foot to be warned not to come to Carlisle yet. So also the carriages to be countermanded."

Nor was this all. Edward, indeed, declared that he would make no truce with Robert de Brus, "but the Wardens of Scotland there may take such [truce] as long as possible, provided that the King [Edward] may continue to furnish his castles with men and victuals." The endorsement of this memorandum is still more explicit, and marks a remarkable change in the relative positions of the two Kings. The following is a translation of the original French: