Stanmore.
The gathering word was dispatched from chief to chief, to call the
clans of the Highlands to meet their regent by a certain day in
Clydesdale. Wallace himself set forward to summon the strength of the
Lowlands; but at Kinclavin Castle, on the coast of Fife, he was
surprised with another embassy from Edward--a herald, accompanied by
that Sir Hugh le de Spencer who had conducted himself so insolently on
his first embrassage.
On his entering the chamber where the regent sat with the chiefs who
had accompanied him from Perthsire, the two English men walked forward;
but before the herald could pay the customary respects, Le de Spencer
advanced to Wallace; and to the price of a little mind, elated at being
empowered to insult with impunity, he broke forth: "Sir William
Wallace, the contumely with which the embassadors of Prince Edward were
treated, is so resented by the King of England, that he invests his own
majesty in my person to tell you, that your treasons have filled up
their measure! that now, in the plenitude of his continental victories,
he descends upon Scotland, to annihilate this rebellious nation; and-"
"Stop, Sir Hugh le de Spencer," cried the herald, touching him with his
scepter; "whatever may be the denunciations with which our sovereign
has intrusted you, you must allow me to perform my duty before you
declare them. And thus I utter the gracious message with which his
Majesty has honored my mouth."
He then addressed Wallace; and in the king's name, accusing him of
rebellion, and of unfair and cruel devastations made in Scotland and in
England, promised him pardon for all if he would immediately disband
his followers and acknowledge his offense.
Wallace motioned with his hand for his friends to keep silence (for he
perceived that two or three of the most violent were ready to break
forth in fierce defiance of King Edward), and being obeyed, he calmly
replied to the herald: "When we were desolate, your king came to us as
a comforter, and he put us in chains! While he was absent, I invaded
his country as an open enemy. I rifled your barns, but it was to feed
a people whom his robberies had left to perish! I marched through your
lands, I made your soldiers fly before me; but what spot in all your
shores have I made black with the smoke of ruin? I leave the people of
Northumberland to judge between me and your monarch. And that he never
shall be mine or Scotland's, with God's blessing on the right, our
deeds shall further prove!"
"Vain and ruinous determination!" exclaimed Le de Spencer; "King Edward
comes against you, with an army that will reach from sea to sea.
Wherever the hoofs of his war-horse strike, there grass never grows
again. The sword and the fire shall make a desert of this devoted
land; and your arrogant head, proud Scot, shall bleed upon the
scaffold!"
"He shall first see my fires, and meet my sword in his own fields,"
returned Wallace; "and if God continues my life, I will keep my Easter
in England, in despite of King Edward, and of all who bear armor in his
country!"
As he spoke he rose from his chair, and bowing his head to the herald,
the Scottish marshals conducted the embassadors from his presence. Le
de Spencer twice attempted to speak, but the marshals would not allow
him. They said that the business of the embassy was now over; and
should he presume further to insult their regent, the privilege of his
official character should not protect him from the wrath of the Scots.
Intimidated by the frowning brows and nervous arms of all around, he
held his peace, and the doors were shut on him.
Wallace foresaw the heavy tempest to Scotland threatened by these
repeated embassies. He perceived that Edward, by sending overtures
which he knew could not be accepted--by making a show of pacific
intentions, meant to throw the blame of the continuation of hostilities
upon the Scots, and so overcome the reluctance of his more equitable
nobility, to further persecute a people whom he had made suffer so
unjustly. The same insidious policy was likewise meant to change the
aspect of the Scottish cause in the eyes of Philip of France, who had
lately sent congratulations to the regent, on the victory of
Cambus-Kenneth; and by that means deprive him of a powerful ally and
zealous negotiator for an honorable peace.
To prevent this last injury, Wallace dispatched a quick-sailing vessel
with Sir Alexander Ramsay, to inform King Philip of the particulars of
Edward's proposals, and of the consequent continued warfare.
On the twenty-eighth of February, Sir William Wallace joined Lord
Andrew Murray, on Bothwell Moor, where he had the happiness of seeing
his brave friend again lord of the domains he had so lately lost in the
Scottish cause. Wallace did not visit the castle. At such a crisis,
he forbore to unnerve his mind, by awakening the griefs which lay
slumbering at the bottom of his heart. Halbert came from his convent
once more to look upon the face of his beloved master. The meeting
cost Wallace many agonizing pangs, but he smiled on his faithful
servant. He pressed the venerable form in his manly arms, and promised
him news of his life and safety. "May I die," cried the old man, "ere
I hear it is otherwise! But youth is no warrant for life; the vigor of
those arms cannot always assure themselves of victory; and should you
fall, where would be our country?"
"With a better than I," returned the chief, "in the arms of God. He
will fight for Scotland when Wallace is laid low." Halbert wept. But
the trumpet sounded for the field. He blessed his lord, and they
parted forever.
A strong force from the Highlands joined the troops from Stirling; and
Wallace had the satisfaction of seeing before him thirty thousand
well-appointed men eager for the fight. With all Scotland pressing on
his heart, his eye lingered for a moment on the distant towers of
Bothwell; but not delaying a moment, he placed himself at the head of
his legions, and set forth through a country now budding with all the
charms of the cultivation he had spread over it. In the midst of a
fine glen of renovated corn fields, he was met by a courier from Sir
Roger Kirkpatrick, with information that the Northumbrians, being
apprised of King Edward's approach, were assembling in immense bodies;
and having crossed the debatable land in the night, had driven Sir
Eustace Maxwell, with great loss, into Carlaveroch; and though harassed
by Kirkpatrick himself, were ravaging the country as far as Dumfries.
The letter of the brave knight added, "These Southron thieves blow the
name of Edward before them, and with its sound have spell-bound the
courage of every soul I meet. Come then, valiant Wallace, and conjure
it down again, else I shall not be surprised if the men of Annandale
bind me hand and foot, and deliver me up to Algernon Percy (the leader
of this inroad), to purchase mercy to their cowardice."
Wallace made no reply to this message, and proclaiming to his men that
the enemy were in Dumfriesshire, every foot was put to the speed; and
in a short time they arrived on the ridgy summits of the eastern
mountains of Clydesdale. His troops halted for rest near the village
of Biggar; and it being night, he ascended to the top of the highest
craig, and lighted a fire, whose far-streaming light he hoped would
send the news of his approach to Annandale. The air being calm and
clear, the signal rose in such a long pyramid of flame, that distant
shouts of rejoicing were heard breaking the deep silence of the hour.
A moment after a hundred answering beacons burned along the horizon.
Torthorald saw the propitious blaze; he showed it to his terrified
followers. "Behold that hill of fire!" cried he, "and cease to
despair." "Wallace comes!" was their response; "and we will do or
die!"**
**The mountain from which this beacon sent its rays has from that hour
been called Tinto or Tintoc (which signifies the Hill of Fire), and is
yet regarded by the country people with a devotion almost idolatrous.
Its height is about 2,260 feet from the sea.
Day broke upon Wallace as he crossed the heights of Drumlaurig, and
pouring his thousands over the almost deserted valleys of Annandale,
like a torrent he swept the invaders back upon their steps. He took
young Percy prisoner, and leaving him shut up in Lochmaben, drove his
flying vassals far beyond the borders.
Annandale again free, he went into its various quarters, and summoning
the people (who now crept from their caves and woods, to shelter under
his shield), he reproved them for their cowardice; and showed them,
that unless every man possesses a courage equal to his general, he must
expect to fall under the yoke of the enemy. "Faith in a leader is
good," said he; "but not such a faith as leaves him to act, without
yourselves rendering that assistance to your own preservation, which
Heaven itself commands. When absent from you in person, I left my
spirit with you in the brave Knights of Carlaveroch and Torthorald, and
yet you fled. Had I been here, and you done the same, the like must
have been the consequence. What think you is in my arm, that I should
alone stem your enemies? The expectation is extravagant and false. I
am but the head of the battle, you are the aims; if you shrink, I fall,
and the cause is ruined. You follow my call to the field, you fight
valiantly, and I win the day! Respect then yourselves; and believe
that you are the sinews, the nerves, the strength of Sir William
Wallace!"
Some looked manfully up at this exhortation; but most hung their heads
in remembered shame, while he continued: "Dishonor not your fathers and
your trust in God by relying on any one human arm, or doubting that
from heaven. Be confident that while the standard of true liberty is
before you, you fight under God's banner. See how I in that faith
drove these conquering Northumbrians before me like frighted roes. You
might, and must do the same, or the sword of Wallace is drawn in vain.
Partake my spirit, brethren of Annandale; fight as stoutly over my
grave as by my side, or before the year expires you will again be the
slaves of Edward."
Such language, while it covered the fugitives with confusion of face,
awoke emulation in all to efface with honorable deeds the memory of
their disgrace. With augmented forces he therefore marched into
Cumberland; and having drawn up his array between a river and a high
ground, which he covered with archers, he stood prepared to meet the
approach of King Edward.
But Edward did not appear till late in the next day; and then the Scots
descried his legions advancing from the horizon to pitch their vanguard
on the plain of Stanmore. Wallace knew that for the first time he was
now going to pit his soldiership against that of the greatest general
in Christendom. But he did not shrink from measuring him arm to arm
and mind to mind, for the assurance of his cause was in both.
His present aim was to draw the English toward the Scottish lines,
where, at certain distances, he had dug deep pits; and having covered
them lightly with twigs and loose grass, left them as traps for the
Southron cavalry; for in cavalry, he was told by his spies, would
consist the chief strength of Edward's army. The waste in which
Wallace had laid the adjoining counties, rendered the provisioning of
so large a host difficult; and besides, as it was composed of a mixed
multitude from every land on which the King of England had set his
invading foot, harmony could not be expected to continue amongst its
leaders. Delay was therefore an advantage to the Scottish regent; and
observing that his enemy held back, as if he wished to draw him from
his position, he determined not to stir, although he might seem to be
struck with awe of so great an adversary.
To this end he offered him peace, hoping either to obtain what he asked
(which he did not deem probable), or, by filling Edward with an idea of
his fear, urge him to precipitate himself forward, to avoid the danger
of a prolonged sojourn in so barren a country, and to take Wallace, as
he might think, in his panic. Instructing his heralds what to say, he
sent them on to Roycross, near which the tent of the King of England
was pitched. Supposing that his enemy was now at his feet, and ready
to beg the terms he had before objected, Edward admitted the
embassadors, and bade them deliver their message. Without further
parley the herald spoke.
"Thus saith Sir William Wallace. Were it not that the kings and nobles
of the realm of Scotland have ever asked redress of injuries before
they sought revenge, you King of England, and invader of our country,
should not now behold orators in your camp, persuading concord, but an
army in battle array, advancing to the onset. Our lord regent being of
the ancient opinion of his renowned predecessors, that the greatest
victories are never of such advantage to a conqueror as an honorable
and bloodless peace, sends to offer this peace to you at the price of
restitution. The lives you have rifled from us you cannot restore, but
the noble Lord Douglas, whom you now unjustly detain a prisoner, we
demand; and that you retract those claims on our monarchy, which never
had existence till ambition begot them on the basest treachery. Grant
these just requisitions, and we lay down our arms; but continue to deny
them, and our nations is ready to rise to a man, and with heart and
hand avenge the injuries we have sustained. You have wasted our lands,
burned our towns, and imprisoned our nobility. Without consideration
of age or condition, women, children, and feeble old men have
unresisting fallen by your sword. And why was all this? Did our
confidence in your honor offend you, that you put our chieftains in
durance, and deprived our yeomanry of their lives? Did the
benedictions with which our prelates hailed you as the arbitrator
between our princes, raise your ire, that you burned their churches,
and slew them on the altars? These, O king, were thy deeds, and for
these William Wallace is in arms. But yield us the peace we
ask--withdraw from our quarters--relinquish your unjust pretensions, and
we shall once more consider Edward of England as the kinsman of
Alexander the Third, and his subjects the friends and allies of our
realm."
Not in the least moved by this address, Edward contemptuously answered,
"Intoxicated by a transitory success, your leader is vain enough to
suppose that he can discomfort the King of England, as he has done his
unworthy officers, by fierce and insolent words; but we are not so weak
as to be overthrown by a breath, nor so base as to bear argument from a
rebel. I come to claim my own, to assert my supremacy over Scotland;
and it shall acknowledge its liege lord, or be left a desert, without a
living creature to say, 'This was a kingdom.' Depart, this is my
answer to you; your leader shall receive his at the point of my lance."
Wallace, who did not expect a more favorable reply, ere his embassadors
returned had marshaled his lines for the onset. Lord Bothwell, with
Murray, his valiant son, took the lead on the left wing; Sir Eustace
Maxwell and Kirkpatrick commanded on the right. Graham (in whose quick
observation and promptitude to bring it to effect, Wallace placed the
first confidence) held the reserve behind the woods; and the regent
himself, with Edwin and his brave standard-bearer, occupied the center.
Having heard the report of his messengers, he repeated to his troops
the lines, he exhorted them to remember that on that day the eyes of
all Scotland would be upon them. They were the first of their country
who had gone forth to meet the tyrant in a pitched battle; and in
proportion to the danger they confronted, would be their meed of glory.
"But it is not for renown merely that you are called upon to fight
this day," said he; "your rights, your homes are at stake. You have no
hope of security for your lives but in an unswerving determination to
keep the field, and let the world see how much more might lies in the
arms of a few contending for their country and herediatry liberties,
than in hosts which seek for blood and spoil. Slavery and freedom lie
before you! Shrink but one backward step, and yourselves are in
bondage, your wives become the prey of violence. Be firm--trust Him who
blesses the righteous cause, and victory will crown your arms!"
Though affecting to despise his young opponent, Edward was too good a
general really to condemn an enemy who had so often proved himself
worthy of respect; and therefore, by declaring his determination to put
all the Scottish chieftains to death, and to transfer their estates to
his conquering officers, he stimulated their avarice, as well as love
of fame, and with every passion in arms, they pushed to the combat.
Wallace stood unmoved. Not a bow was drawn till the impetuous
squadrons, in full charge toward the flanks of the Scots, fell into the
pits; then it was that the Highland archers on the hill launched their
arrows; the plunging horses were instantly overwhelmed by others who
could not be checked in their career. New showers of darts rained upon
them, and, sticking into their flesh, made them rear and roll upon
their riders; while others, who were wounded, but had escaped the pits,
flew back in rage of pain upon the advancing infantry. A confusion
ensued, so perilous, that the king thought it necessary to precipitate
himself forward, and in person attack the main body of his adversary,
which yet stood inactive. Giving the spur to his charger, he ordered
his troops to press on over the struggling heaps before them; and being
obeyed, with much difficulty and great loss, he passed the first range
of pits; but a second and wider awaited him; and there, seeing his men
sink into them by squadrons, he beheld the whole army of Wallace close
in upon them. Terrific was now the havoc. The very numbers of the
Southrons, and the mixed discipline of their army, proved its bane. In
the tumult they hardly understood the orders which were given; and some
mistaking them, acted so contrary to the intended movements, that
Edward, galloping from one end of the field to the other, appeared like
a frantic man, regardless of every personal danger, so that he could
but fix others to front the same tempest of death with himself. His
officers trembled at every step he took, for fear that some of the
secret pits should ingulf him.
However, the unshrinking courage of their monarch rallied a part of the
distracted army, which, with all the force of desperation, he drove
against the center of the Scots. But at this juncture, the reserve
under Graham, having turned the royal position, charged him in the
rear; and the archers redoubling their discharge of artillery, the
Flanderkins, who were in the van of Edward, suddenly giving way with
cries of terror, the amazed king found himself obliged to retreat, or
run the risk of being taken. He gave a signal--the first of the kind he
had ever sounded in his life-and drawing his English troops around him,
after much hard fighting, fell back in tolerable order beyond the
confines of his camp.
The Scots were eager to pursue him, but Wallace checked the motion.
"Let us not hunt the lion till he stand at bay!" cried he. "He will
retire far enough from the Scottish borders, without our leaving this
vantage ground to drive him."
What Wallace said came to pass. Soon no vestige of a Southron soldier,
but the dead which strewed the road, was to be seen from side to side
of the wide horizon. The royal camp was immediately seized by the
triumphant Scots; and the tent of King Edward, with its costly
furniture, was sent to Stirling as a trophy of the victory.