SECOND VISIT OF WALLACE TO THE FRENCH COURT.--ENCOUNTERS AN ENGLISH
PIRATE.--THE ENGLISH AGAIN ENTER SCOTLAND.--SUBMISSION OF THE
NOBLES.--WALLACE RETURNS.--CONFLICTS WITH THE ENGLISH.--EDWARD DESTROYS
AND CARRIES OFF THE RECORDS OF THE MONASTERIES.--MARCHES THROUGH THE
COUNTRY.--WALLACE FOLLOWS THE INVADERS.
There is no certain account of Wallace having been present at the
battle of Roslin:--if he was, it must have been only in a private
capacity, he not being mentioned by any author as holding a command
on that occasion. According to some, he was absent from the country
at the time; but this, however, seems to be contradicted by the
Scotichronicon, where it is said, that, _after_ the battle of Roslin,
he went on board of a merchant vessel, and, with a few companions,
again sailed for France. Henry, whose strong partiality would not
have omitted so excellent an opportunity for aggrandizing his hero,
had there been any authority in the narrative of Blair for so doing,
passes over the circumstance in silence. This conduct in an author so
strongly biassed in favour of the subject of his biography, is not
only a proof of the absence of Wallace from the field of Roslin, but a
strong argument in favour of the general accuracy of his own details.
The laurels, therefore, that were gathered at Roslin, will fall to be
divided between Sir Simon Frazer and the lord of Badenoch.
That Wallace returned a second time to the court of France, is
asserted in the most positive manner by the Minstrel, and is in part
corroborated by the Scotichronicon. The particular periods of his
history, however, which those visits occupied, it is rather difficult
to ascertain. That the first occurred after the battle of Falkirk is
without doubt; and the second immediately before, or soon after the
affair of Roslin, is almost equally certain. As, in the first voyage,
Wallace is said to have fallen in with and captured a French pirate,
in the second, he is represented as having a similar rencounter with
an Englishman of the same profession, who earned on his depredations
principally against the Scottish vessels. Had the Minstrel’s work been
one of pure fancy, this _sameness_ of incident, we presume, would
not have occurred;--for the judgment of the poet would no doubt have
suggested the propriety of a change of adventure. The English pirate,
who is called John of Lyn, is first seen by the Scots, making his way
out of the Humber, displaying a red sail, and a flag at his mast-head
bearing three leopards courant, the well-known insignia of Edward. The
Scottish merchants, who knew his ferocious disposition, were appalled
at first; but encouraged by Wallace and his companions, they prepared
themselves for action, by stuffing sheep-skins with wool, which appears
to have been their cargo; and thus making a kind of defensive armour,
to protect them against their better equipped assailants. On their
refusing to surrender, the battle commenced by a heavy discharge from
bows and cross-bows on the part of the English; and the Scots, who were
not so well supplied with missiles, kept themselves as much as possible
out of the way of the shot, till it was nearly expended;--when, laying
their vessel along side of the enemy, Wallace and his companions threw
themselves on board the pirate, and attacked the crew with the greatest
fury. The commander, seeing the desperation of the Scots, and the havoc
they were making amongst his men, would gladly have made off; but the
sword of Wallace was not to be evaded. The two leaders, therefore,
engaged, and after a short rencounter, John of Lyn was cut down by his
opponent, and his men submitted to the conqueror. In this conflict none
distinguished themselves more than Longueville, and John Blair, the
chaplain of Wallace--the latter of whom, with three successive arrows,
shot three of the enemy, and otherwise conducted himself with the
greatest heroism. As it would not have been becoming in Blair to have
narrated such deeds of himself, we are told by Henry, that the account
of them was inserted in the memoir of Wallace by Thomas Gray, who acted
as steersman on the occasion. In this there is consistency, as we are
elsewhere informed, that Gray occasionally assisted in writing the
achievements of the champion of the Scots.[54]
On arriving “in the Sloice-hawyn,” says Henry, Wallace made a division
of the spoil among his followers, and, presenting the merchants with
the ship, took his departure for Paris.
The reception he met with from Philip is reported to have been
highly flattering; and our hero soon became involved in a number of
adventures, all sufficiently romantic; but as the French historians
appear, from their silence, to have been ignorant of them, we must
refer the curious reader to the pages of the Minstrel. We shall only
remark, that it has been asserted by various writers, that the name of
Wallace was frequently found in the songs of the ancient Troubadours.
This, however, may have arisen as much from the fame he had acquired
in his own country, as from any chivalrous exploits he had performed
in France. But in whatever manner he was employed in the service of
Philip, the proceedings of Edward soon recalled him to his native land.
The mortification which the reverses at Roslin occasioned the King of
England, was greatly increased by the praises that were every where
bestowed upon the gallantry of the Scots; and the noise which their
triple victory made at the different courts of Europe, excited a deeper
and more determined inveteracy in his mind. It is probable, that, but
for the discomfiture at Roslin, the resolution which he had so long
displayed, of reducing Scotland to subjection, might have gradually
given way before the reflections occasioned by the immense losses
which he had sustained in his various expeditions;[55] and perhaps he
would have contented himself with retaining possession of that part of
Scotland which bounded his own kingdom. The defeat, however, of his
lieutenant, and the subsequent proceedings of the victors, awakened
afresh all the rancorous hostility of his ambitious and unprincipled
mind; and he resolved, by one mighty effort, to overwhelm the Scots,
and efface their name from the number of the nations. In order to
accomplish this project, all the ultramarine vassals of his crown were
summoned to his standard. In his own kingdom of England, large levies
of men and horses were raised, and the din of preparation was heard
from one extremity of the land to the other. A powerful fleet was also
equipped, to attend the motions of the land army, and prevent the
chance of scarcity from interfering with that work of destruction he
had in contemplation.
1303. Wallace heard with sorrow, of the mighty preparations that were
making for the annihilation of his country’s independence; and he
resolved again to join his old associates, and brave along with them
the fury of the storm that was about to burst upon their heads. To his
friends, who listened with increasing apprehension to the progress of
the coming war, the hope of his return came like a sunbeam through the
tempest that was blackening around them. Before, however, the French
monarch would permit his departure, the countless host of the invader
had crossed the Tweed, and spread its desolating squadrons over the
adjacent country;[56] and those places which manifested the slightest
disposition to defend their liberties, were consigned to indiscriminate
carnage. Among the few which made any resistance, the castle of Brechin
appeared eminently conspicuous. Under the command of the governor, Sir
Thomas Maule, this garrison maintained a most heroic defence, and did
not give in till the death of their commander obliged them to surrender.
Wherever the army of Edward now appeared, the chieftains were found
anxiously waiting to tender their submission, and again repeat their
oaths of allegiance. Some of the principal nobility, in order to
claim the merit of an early repentance, even met the invader on the
borders, and thus procured more advantageous terms than they otherwise
would have obtained. Among those who thus started for the goal of
slavery, few shared more largely in the wages of iniquity than Sir John
Menteith. Having met Sir Aymer de Valence at Annan, he found means
to acquire so much of his confidence, as to induce that favourite of
Edward to obtain for him, not only a confirmation of the governorship
of Dumbarton castle, but also an extension of his authority, over the
whole of the district of Lennox.
While affairs were in this situation, accounts were brought to the
English camp, that the bugle of Wallace had been heard at midnight
among the woods on the banks of the Tay; and a body of troops, under
the command of Sir John Butler, were despatched in pursuit of him.
This officer, two of whose relations had already fallen by the hand of
Wallace, set forward with alacrity to execute the service assigned to
him. But, after ranging the country in all directions, he was at last
obliged to return without having once seen the object of whom he was in
search, although the reports brought him by his scouts, as well as the
evasive answers of the inhabitants, convinced him of the certainty of
Wallace being in the country.
In the early part of our narrative, we alluded to the admirable
discipline which Wallace had introduced among his countrymen, and the
facility with which, by the sound of his horn, he could rally them
around him in cases of emergency. From the frequency with which these
calls had been made, there was scarcely a district in Scotland where
his war-note was not understood and obeyed with alacrity. Though this
was the case, we do not mean to say, that all who attended its summons
were animated by pure and disinterested patriotism. To the ears of
many, it probably sounded only as an invitation to divide the property
of their more wealthy enemies; whom--under so daring and fortunate a
leader--they never doubted of being able to conquer; and it is likely
that they would have obeyed the call with the same promptitude, had
it summoned them to a foray against some neighbouring clan: but the
generosity with which he divided his own share of the booty among
those who had suffered most, or had borne themselves with the greatest
gallantry in the conflict, gained him a complete ascendancy over
the discordant materials of which his little armies were frequently
composed; and rendered him more formidable to an invader, than all the
jarring aristocracy put together. It is therefore not surprising that
the report of his return should have caused alarm among the English.
On the night referred to, Wallace had landed in Scotland, accompanied
by Sir Thomas de Longueville, John Blair, Thomas Gray, and a few other
friends who had attended him in France; and being near one of his old
places of resort, he wished to gain some knowledge of the state of the
country, to enable him to regulate his further proceedings; for this
purpose he raised his bugle, and before the reverberations had died
away among the woodlands, a rustling was heard among the underwood, and
presently an unarmed Scot stood before him. From this ready adherent,
who had been watching the landing of the party, Wallace learned the
situation of the kingdom, the slaughters committed by Edward, the
submission of the regency, and the terror that pervaded the nobility.
Finding, from the number of the English that were in the neighbourhood,
the necessity of betaking himself to some place of concealment, he
and his party were conducted by their informer to a farm-house in a
secluded part of the country, occupied by a relation of Wallace, of the
name of Crawfurd. Here he was joyfully received, and a hiding-place
artfully constructed in the barn, for him and his companions, where
they lurked during the search made for them by Butler.
In this retreat they might have remained, till some favourable
occurrence had enabled them to appear more openly; but it seems the
unusual quantity of provisions which Crawfurd was obliged to purchase
for the maintenance of his guests, awakened the suspicions of the
English at Dundee; and on his return, having mentioned the examination
he was subjected to, Wallace and his party thought it prudent to
retire to a neighbouring thicket, and wait the result. They had not
long adopted this precaution, before a body of the English made their
appearance; and having surrounded the dwelling of Crawfurd, they
discovered, in the course of search, the lair of the fugitives.
The wife of Crawfurd having refused to answer their inquiries regarding
the route of her visitors, they were proceeding, by violent measures,
to compel her to disclose the place of their retreat, when Wallace,
ascertaining the danger to which she was exposed, advanced from the
thicket, and sounded a bold defiance to the enemy. The situation he had
chosen was such as could only be assailed from three narrow and rugged
paths. These he proposed to guard, by dividing his little party, which
consisted only of about twenty men, into three divisions;--with the
smallest of these he undertook to defend the path that was most exposed
to the enemy’s attacks. Butler was not long in commencing the assault,
which he did by a simultaneous movement on all those little parties of
the Scots. The resistance, however, which he met with, aided by the
rugged nature of the ascent, rendered all the ardour of his troops
unavailing. As the evening advanced, he called them off; and having
beat a chamade, he attempted to persuade Wallace to surrender, by
representing the folly of continuing a resistance which must at last
terminate in the ruin of himself and his friends. Our hero replied,
by advising him to stand to his arms; for in place of surrendering,
he intended, before morning, to become the assailant; and he gave him
this warning, in return for the care which he had shown for himself and
his companions. Irritated by this coolness, Butler determined to take
every precaution to prevent his escape; and for this purpose kept his
men under arms all night. Wallace, however, was as good as his word;
for at daybreak, under cover of a thick mist, he descended at the head
of his little band, and, before the enemy was aware of his approach,
broke into that quarter where Butler had his station. The surprise
occasioned by his sudden appearance, threw the English into confusion,
which their uncertainty as to the number of their assailants greatly
increased; and availing himself of the disorder into which they were
thrown, Wallace pressed forward, and came in contact with Butler, who,
after a slight resistance, fell beneath his arm. The Scots having
forced their way through the enemy, Wallace now discovered that their
faithful host Crawfurd had been left behind. Returning, therefore,
to the charge, he was fortunately in time to save him from the spear
of an English soldier, whom he slew; and grasping his wounded friend
in one of his arms, he carried him off in triumph to his companions.
Favoured, by the denseness of the fog, the gallant little band were
soon lost to their pursuers. Though thus relieved from their perilous
situation, they are said to have suffered the greatest privations in
the wild and unfrequented solitudes to which they were now obliged
to retire. However, their indefatigable chief, always fertile in
expedients, found means to preserve them from actual starvation, till
Edward withdrew his troops, for the purpose of resuming his march of
subjugation throughout the kingdom.
The time which the English monarch spent in the southern part
of Scotland, it appears had not altogether been employed in the
chastisement of those who were most active in the late insurrection.
With a policy worthy of himself, he endeavoured to obliterate the
remembrance of national independence, by ransacking the monasteries,
and carrying off, and committing to the flames, all the ancient
records they contained; so that the Scots in future, might have no
documents to produce which could falsify his claims to sovereignty over
them.[57] In this proceeding he might have been partly influenced, by
the discussion he had been engaged in with Boniface. Having, to his
spiritual father, so solemnly asserted the justice of his claim, it was
but natural that he should wish to possess or destroy every evidence
which might establish his asseverations; and this object being, as he
conceived, so far accomplished, he proceeded with his army, by slow
marches, towards the North, exercising the same Gothic barbarity as he
went along, and demolishing those fortresses which made any show of
resistance.
According to Henry, a number of the old associates of Wallace, before
his return from France, had fled for shelter to the islands and other
places for security. Seton, Lauder and Lundy, retired to the Bass.
Malcolm Earl of Lennox, and Sir Niel Campbell, had sought concealment
along with Bishop Sinclair in Bute;[58] and these last mentioned
worthies, on hearing of the arrival of Wallace, despatched a messenger
to find him out, and explain the difficulties of their situation, and
their readiness to join him as soon as he approached their present
places of refuge. They had not to wait long, before our hero issued
forth with his little band, and collected those who were still inclined
to struggle for the liberties of Scotland. At the head of such he
followed the invading army, and appearing now in front, and now in
rear, made frequent and impressive attacks upon them as they struggled
through the deep and rugged defiles of the country. But all his efforts
could not retard the march of the invaders. They advanced to the
extremity of the kingdom, unmolested by any save the hardy followers of
our hero, who, however, as they had attended the motions of their foes
in their laborious progress through the rough and mountainous regions
of the North, now waited their return, and resumed the same harassing
system of warfare. Often, from an eminence, Edward could distinguish
the lofty plume of the Scottish leader, as he dashed forward to charge
some isolated corps of the English army; and while he beheld the
enthusiasm with which his conduct inspired his followers, and saw the
disorder of his own soldiers, hurrying to gain the protection of the
main body, his heart misgave him as to the stability of his conquest,
while Scotland contained a man whose appearance alone was capable of
inspiring his friends with so much confidence, and his enemies with so
much dread.