Thus enveloped in a sea of
vapours, with torrents of water pouring down the sides of their armour,
did the friends descend the western brow of this part of the Grampians,
until they approached Loch Earn. They had hardly arrived there, before the
rain ceased; and the clouds, rolling away from the sides of the mountains,
discovered the vast and precipitous Ben Vorlich. Its base was covered with
huge masses of cliffs, scattered in fragments, like the wreck of some
rocky world, and spread abroad in wide and horrid desolation. The mountain
itself, the highest in this chain of the Grampians, was, in every part,
marked by deep and black ravines, made by the rushing waters in the time
of floods; but where its blue head mingled with the clouds, a stream of
brightness issued, that seemed to promise the dispersion of its vapours;
and consequently a more secure path for Wallace, to lead his friend over
its perilous heights.
[This
description of Ben Vorlich, written ten years before the journey of the
author’s brother, Sir R. K. Porter, into Armenia and Persia; on her
reperusing it now, while revising these volumes, reminds her strongly of
his account of the appearance of Mount Ararat, as he saw it under a storm;
and which he describes with so much, she must be allowed to say, sacred
interest, in his travels through those countries..— (1840.)]
This appearance did not
deceive.—The whole mantle of clouds, with which the tops of all the
mountains had been obscured, rolled away towards the west, and discovered
to the eye of Wallace, that this line of light, which he had discerned
through the mist, was the host of Ruthven descending Ben Vorlich in
defiles. From the nature of the path, they were obliged to move in a
winding direction; and as the sun now shone full upon their arms, and
their lengthened lines gradually extended from the summit of the mountain
to its base, no sight could contain more of the sublime; none of truer
grandeur, to the enraptured mind of Bruce. He forgot his horror of the
wastes he had passed over, in the joy of beholding so noble an army of his
countrymen, thus approaching, to place him upon the throne of his
ancestors. "Wallace," cried he, "these brave hearts deserve
a more cheerful home! My sceptre must turn this Scotia deserta into
Scotia felix; and so shall I reward the service they this day bring
me."—"They are happy in these wilds," returned Wallace :—"their
flocks browse the hills, their herds the valleys. The soil yields
sufficient to support its sons; and their luxuries are, a minstrel’s
song, and the lip of their brides. Their ambition is satisfied with
following their chief to the field; and their honour lies in serving their
God, and maintaining the freedom of their country. Beware, then, my dear
Prince, of changing the simple habits of those virtuous mountaineers.
Introduce the luxurious cultivation of France into these tracts, you will
infect them with artificial wants; and, with every want, you put a link to
a chain, which will fasten them to bondage whenever a tyrant chooses to
grasp it. Leave them then their rocks, as you find them; and you will ever
have a hardy race, ready to perish in their defence, or to meet death for
the royal guardian of their liberties."
Lord Ruthven no sooner reached the banks of
Loch Earn, than he espied the Prince and Wallace. He joined them; then
marshalling his men in a wide tract of land at the head of that vast body
of water, placed himself with the two supposed De Longuevilles, in the
van; and in this array, marched through the valleys of Strathmore and
Strathallan, into Stirlingshire. The young Earl of Fife held the
government of the castle and town of Stirling; and as he had been a
zealous supporter of the rebellious Lord Badenoch, Bruce negatived Ruthven’s
proposal to send in a messenger for the Earl’s division of troops:—"No,
my Lord;" said he, "like my friend Wallace, I will have no
divided spirits near me; all must be earnest in my cause, or entirely out
of the contest. I am content with the brave men around me."
After rapid marches, and
short haltings, they arrived safe at Linlithgow; where Wallace proposed
staying a night to refresh the troops, who were now joined by Sir
Alexander Ramsay, at the head of a thousand of his clan. While the men
took rest, their chiefs waked, to think for them. And Wallace, with Bruce
and Ruthven, and the brave Ramsay (to whom Wallace had revealed himself,
but still kept Bruce unknown,) were in deep consultation, when Grimsby
entered, to inform his master that a young knight desired to speak with
Sir Guy de Longueville. " His name?" demanded Wallace. "He
refused to tell it," replied Grimsby, "and wears his beaver
shut." Wallace looked around with a glance that inquired, whether the
stranger should be admitted? "Certainly," said Bruce; " but
first put on your mask." Wallace closed his visor, and the moment
after, Grimsby re-entered, with a knight of elegant mien, habited in a
suit of green armour linked with gold. He wore a close helmet, from which
streamed a long feather of the same hue. Wallace rose at his entrance; the
stranger advanced to him. "You are he whom I seek.—I am a Scot, and
a man of few words. Accept my services; allow me to attend you in this
war, and I will serve you faithfully." Wallace replied, "And who
is the brave knight, to whom Sir Guy de Longueville must owe so great an
obligation?"—."My name;" answered the stranger,
"shall not be revealed, till he who now wears that of the Reaver,
proclaims his own in the day of victory.—I know you, sir; but your
secret is as safe with me, as in your own breast. Place me, to fight by
your side, and I am yours for ever."
Wallace was surprised, but
not confounded, by this speech. "I have only one question to ask you,
noble stranger;" replied he, "before I confide a cause, dearer
to me than life, in your integrity. How did you become master of a secret,
which I believed out of the power of treachery to betra ?"—"No
one betrayed your secret to me.—! came by my information in an
honourable manner; but the means! shall not reveal, till I see the time to
declare my name; and that, perhaps, may be in the moment when the assumed
brother of you young Frenchman:" added the stranger, turning to
Bruce, and lowering his voice, "again appears publicly in Scotland,
as Sir William Wallace."
"I am satisfied,"
replied he; well pleased that, whoever this knight might be, Bruce yet
remained undiscovered: "I grant your request. You brave youth, whose
name I share, forgives me the success of my sword. I slew the Red Rearer;
and therefore would restore a brother to Thomas de Longueville, in myself.
He fights on my right hand,—you shall be stationed at my left."—"On
the side next your heart !" exclaimed the stranger; "let that
ever be my post; there to guard the bulwark of Scotland, the life of the
bravest of men."
This enthusiasm did not
surprise any present; it was the usual language of all who approached Sir
William Wallace; and Bruce, particularly pleased with the heartfelt energy
with which it was uttered, forgot his disguise, in the amiable fervour of
approbation, and half arose to welcome him to his cause; but a look from
Wallace, (who on being known, had uncovered his face,) arrested his
intention; and the Prince sat down again, thankful for so timely a check
on his precipitancy.
In
passing the Pentland Hills into Mid-Lothian, the chiefs were met by Edwin;
who had crossed from the north, by the frith of Forth; and having heard no
tidings of the Scottish army in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, he had
turned to meet it on the most probable road. Wallace introduced him to the
Knight of the Green Plume: for that was the appellation by which the
stranger desired to be known :—and then made inquiries how Lady Helen
had borne the fatigues of her Journey to Braemar. "Pretty well
there:" replied he, "but much better back again."— He
then explained, that on his arrival with her, neither Lady Mar, nor his
mother, would consent to remain so far from the spot where Wallace was to
contend again for the safety of their country. Helen did not say anything
in opposition to their wishes; and at last Edwin yielded to the entreaties
and tears of his mother and aunt, to bring them to where they might, at
least not long endure the misery of suspense. Having consented, without an
hour’s delay, he set forth with the ladies, to retrace his steps to
Hunting-tower; and there he left them, under a guard of three hundred men,
whom he brought from Braemar for that purpose.
Bruce, whose real name had
not been revealed to the other ladies of Ruthven’s family, in a lowered
voice, asked Edwin some questions relative to the spirits in which Helen
had parted with him. "In losing her:" added he, "my friend
and I feel but as part of what we were.—Her presence seemed to
ameliorate the fierceness of our war-councils; and ever reminded me of the
angelic guard by whom Heaven points our way."—"I left her with
looks like the angel you speak of:" answered Edwin: "she bade me
farewell, upon the platform of the eastern tower of the castle. When I
gave her the parting embrace, she raised herself from my breast, and
stretching her arms to heaven, with her pure soul in her eyes, she
exclaimed, ‘Bless him, gracious God; bless him, and his noble commander!
may they ever, with the Prince they love, be thine especial care!’ I
knelt by her, as she uttered this; and touching the hem of her garments as
some holy thing, hurried from the spot."—"Her prayers,"
cried Bruce, "will fight for us. They are arms, well befitting the
virgins of Scotland to use against its foes."—"And without
such unction: rejoined Wallace, looking to that heaven she had invoked,
"the warrior may draw his steel in vain."
On Edwin’s introduction,
the stranger knight engaged himself in conversation with Ramsay. But Lord
Ruthven interrupted the discourse, by asking Ramsay some questions
relative to the military positions on the banks of either Eske. Sir
Alexander, being the grandson of the Lord of Roslyn, and having passed his
youth in its neighbourhood, was well qualified to answer these questions.
In such discourses, the Scottish leaders marched along, till passing
before the lofty ridge of the Corstophine Hills, they were met by groups
of flying peasantry. At sight of the Scottish banners they stopped, and
informed their armed countrymen, that the new Regent, John of Badenoch,
having rashly attacked the Southron army on its vantage ground, near
Borthwick Castle, had suffered defeat; and was in full and disordered
retreat towards Edinburgh; while the country people fled on all sides
before the victors. These reporters magnified the number of the enemy to
an incredible amount.
Wallace was at no loss in
comprehending how much to believe in this panic; but determining, whether
great or small the power of his adversary, to intercept him at Roslyn, he
sent to Cummin and to Fraser, the two commanders in the beaten and
dispersed armies, to rendezvous on the banks of the Eske. The brave troops
which he led, though ignorant of their real leader, obeyed his directions;
under an idea they were Lord Ruthven’s, Who was their ostensible
general, and steadily pursued their march. Every village and solitary cot
seemed recently deserted; and through an awful solitude they took their
rapid way, till the towers of Roslyn castle hailed them as a beacon, from
amidst the wooded heights of the northern Eske. "There;" cried
Ramsay, pointing to the embattled rock, "stands the fortress of my
forefathers! It must this day be made famous, by the actions performed
before its walls!"
Wallace, whose knowledge of
this part of the country, was not quite so familiar as that of Ramsay,
learnt sufficient from him, to decide at once which would be the most
favourable position for a small and resolute band to assume, against a
large and conquering army; and, accordingly disposing his troops, which
did not amount to more than 8000 men; he despatched 1000, under the
command of Ramsay, to occupy the numerous caves in the southern banks of
the Eske; whence they were to issue in various divisions, and with shouts,
on the first appearance of advantage either on his side, or on the enemy’s.
[Sir Alexander Ramsay, who was surnamed the
Flower of Courtliness, is celebrated in history as a brave follower of
Wallace, and these caves, which are still visited with veneration by every
true Scot, are the scenes of many a legend respecting the prowess of
Ramsay, when he issued from their green recesses, to assist in the
downfall of his country’s enemies. More of this distinguished family,
and its collateral descendants, will be found in the Appendix.]
Ruthven, meanwhile, went
for a few minutes into the castle; to embrace his niece, and to assure the
venerable Lord of Roslyn, that assistance approached his beleaguered
wails.
Edwin, who with Grimsby had
volunteered the dangerous service of reconnoitring the enemy, returned
within an hour, bringing in a straggler from the English camp. His life
was promised him, on condition of his revealing the strength of the
advancing army. The terrified wretch did not hesitate; and from him they
learnt, that it was commanded by Sir John Segrave, and Ralph Confrey; who,
deeming the country subdued by the two last battles gained over the Black
and Red Cummins [The Red Cummin was an attributive appellation of
John, the last Regent before the accession of Bruce. His father, the
princely Earl of Badenoch, was called the Black Cummin; (and from
that circumstance I so surnamed James the turbulent son of the good
Badenoch, who in these volumes appears the predecessor of John, in the
regency;) but for why they received these Black and Red epithets, I cannot
discover any satisfactory account. Some say, it was owing to the colour of
their hair. But it might more probably be from a
difference in their banners. One bearing the sheaves of Cummin, sable, and
the other gules, would be sufficient to mark the wearers by these names.—-(1809.)],
were preparing for a general plundering. And, to sweep the land at once,
Segrave had divided his army into three divisions; to scatter themselves
over the country, and everywhere gather in the spoil. To be assured of
this being the truth, while Grimsby remained to guard the prisoner, Edwin
went alone into the track he was told the Southrons would take; and from a
height he discerned about 10,000 of them winding along the valley. With
this confirmation of the man’s account, he brought him to the Scottish
lines; and Wallace, who well knew how to reap advantage from the errors of
his enemies, being joined by Fraser and the discomfited Regent, made the
concerted signal to Ruthven. That nobleman immediately pointed out to his
men the waving colours of the Southron host, as it approached beneath
the overhanging woods of Hawthorndean. He exhorted them, by their fathers,
wives, and children, to breast the enemy at this spot; to grapple with him
till he fell.—"Scotland;" cried he, "is lost, or won,
this day.— You are freemen, or slaves; your families are your own, or
the property of tyrants !—Fight stoutly, and God will yield you an
invisible support."
The Scots answered their
general by a shout, and calling on him to lead them forward; Ruthven
placed himself, with the Regent and Fraser in the van, and led the charge.
Little expecting an assault from an adversary they had so lately driven
off the field, the Southrons were taken by surprise. But they fought well;
and resolutely stood their ground, till Wallace and Bruce, who commanded
the flanking divisions, closed in upon them with an impetuosity that drove
Confrey’s division into the river. Then the ambuscade of Ramsay poured
from his caves; the earth seemed teeming with mailed warriors; and the
Southrons, seeing the surrounding heights and the deep defiles, filled
with the same terrific appearances, fled with precipitation towards their
second division, which lay a few miles southward. Thither, the conquering
squadrons of the Scots followed them. The fugitives, leaping the trenches
of the encampment, called aloud to their comrades, "Arm! arm! hell is
in league against us!"— Segrave was soon at the head of his
legions; and a battle more desperate than the first, blazed over the
field. The flying troops of the slain Confrey, rallying around the
standard of their general in chief, fought with the spirit of revenge; and
being now a body of nearly 20,000 men, against 8000 Scots, the conflict
became tremendous. In several points the Southrons gained so greatly the
advantage, that Wallace and Bruce threw themselves, successively, into
those parts where the enemy most prevailed ; and by exhortations, example
and prowess, they a thousand times turned the fate of the day; appearing,
as they shot from rank to rank, to be two comets of fire, sent before the
Scottish troops, to consume all who opposed them. Segrave was taken, and
forty English knights besides. The green borders of the Eske, were dyed
red with Southron blood; and the enemy on all sides were calling for
quarter ;—when of a sudden, the cry of "Havoc and St. George!"
issued from the adjoining hill. At the same moment, a posse of country
people, (who, for the sake of plunder, had stolen into that part of the
deserted English camp which occupied the rear of the height, seeing the
advancing troops of a third division of the enemy,) like guilty cowards
rushed down amongst their brave defenders, echoing the war cry of England,
and exclaiming, "We are lost; a host, reaching to the horizon, is
upon us ! "—Terror struck to many a Scottish heart. The Southrons,
who were just giving up their arms, leaped upon their feet. The fight
recommenced with redoubled fury. Sir Robert Neville, at the head of the
new reinforcement, charged into the centre of the Scottish legions. Bruce
and Edwin threw themselves into the breach, which this impetuous onset had
made in that part of their line; and fighting man to man, would have taken
Neville, had not a follower of that nobleman, wielding a ponderous mace,
struck Bruce so terrible a blow, as to fracture his helmet, and cast him
from his horse to the ground. The fall of so active a leader, excited as
much dismay in the surrounding Scots, as it encouraged the reviving
spirits of the enemy. Edwin exerted himself to preserve his prince from
being trampled on; and while he fought for that purpose, and afterwards
sent his senseless body off the field, under charge of young Gordon, (who
had been chosen by the disguised Bruce, as his especial aide,) to Roslyn
Castle, Neville rescued Segrave and his knights. Lord Ruthven now
contended with a feeble arm. Fatigued with the two preceding conflicts,
covered with wounds, and perceiving indeed a host pouring upon them on all
sides, (for the whole of Segrave’s original army of 30,000 men,
excepting those who had fallen in the preceding engagements, were now
restored to the assault;) the Scots, in despair, gave ground; some threw
away their arms to fly the faster; and by thus exposing themselves
panic-struck to the swords of their enemies, redoubled the confusion.
Indeed so great was the havoc, that the day must have ended in the
universal destruction of every Scot in the field, had not Wallace felt the
crisis; and that as Guy de Longueville, he shed his blood in vain. In vain
his terified countrymen saw him rush into the thickest of the carnage: in
vain he called to them, by all that was sacred to man, to stand to the
last. He was a foreigner, and they had no confidence in his exhortations;
death was before them, and they turned to fly. The fate of his country
hung on an instant. The last rays of the setting sun, shone full on the
rocky promontory of the hill which projected over the field of combat. He
took his resolution; and spurring his steed up the steep ascent, stood on
the. summit, where he could be seen by the whole army; then taking off his
helmet, he waved it in the air, with a shout; and having drawn all eyes
upon, him, suddenly exclaimed—" Scots! you have this day vanquished
the Southrons twice! If you be men, remember Cambus-Kenneth, and follow
William Wallace to a third victory!" The cry which issued from the
amazed troops, was that of a people who beheld the angel of their
deliverance. "Wallace!" was the charge-word of every heart. The
hero’s courage seemed instantaneously diffused through every breast;
and, with braced arms and determined spirits, forming at once into the
phalanx, his thundering voice dictated,—the Southrons again felt the
weight of the Scottish steel; and a battle ensued, which made the bright
Eske run purple to the sea, and covered the pastoral glades of
Hawthorn-dean with the bodies of its invaders.
Sir John Segrave, and
Neville, were both taken. And, ere night closed in upon the carnage,
Wallace granted quarter to those who sued for it: and, receiving their
arms, left them to repose in their before depopulated camp.
[The
particulars of this battle are not exaggerated, and most of them may be
found elaborately described in Holinshed. The hill where Wallace stood, is
still the glory of that part of the Eske; and much of the field of battle,
was lately the property of Sir Charles Macdonald Lockhart; whose brave
ancestors fought there, and well earned the after honour of bearing "the
heart of Robert Bruce," as the charge in their coat of arms..—(1809.)
]