IN the collected council
the following day, the Earl of March made his treacherous request; and
Wallace, trusting his vehement oaths of fidelity (because he thought the versatile
earl had now discovered his true interest), granted him charge of the
Lothians. The Lords Athol and Buchan were not backward in offering their
services to the Regent; and the rest of the discontented nobles, following
the base example, with equal deceit bade him command their lives and
fortunes. While asseverations of loyalty filled the walls of the
council-hall; and the lauding rejoicings of the people still sounded from
without; all spoke of security and confidence to Wallace; and never,
perhaps, did he think himself so absolute in the heart of Scotland, as at
the very moment when three-fourths of its nobility were plotting his
destruction.
Lord Loch-awe knew his own
influence in the minds of the bravest chieftains. From the extent of his
territories, and his tried valour, he might well have assumed the title of
his great ancestor, and been called King of Woody Morven; but he was
content with a patriarch’s sway over so many valiant clans; and previous
to the Regent’s appearance in the
council-hall, he opened his intentions to the assembled lords. Some
assented with real satisfaction; the rest readily acquiesced, in what they
had laid so sure a plan to circumvent.
Wallace soon after entered.
Loch-awe rising, stood forth before him; and in a long and persuasive
speech, once more declared the wishes of the nation, that he would strike
the decisive blow on the pretensions of Edward, by himself accepting the
crown. The Bishop of Dunkeld, with all the eloquence of learning, and the
most animated devotion to the interest of Scotland, seconded the petition.
Mar and Bothwell enforced it. The disaffected lords thought proper to
throw in their conjurations also; and every voice, but that of Badenoch,
poured forth fervent entreaties, that he, their liberator, would grant the
supplication of the nation.
Wallace rose, and every
tongue was mute :—"My gratitude to Scotland increases with my life;
but my answer must still be the same—I cannot be its king."
At these words the
venerable Loch-awe threw himself on his knees before him :—"In my
person," cried he, "see Scotland at your feet! still bleeding
with the effects of former struggles for empire, she would throw off all
claims but those of virtue, and receive as her anointed sovereign, her
father and deliverer! She has no more arguments to utter: these are her
prayers; and thus I offer them."
"Kneel not to me,
brave Loch-awe !" cried Wallace; "nor believe the might of these
victories, lies so thoroughly in this arm, that I dare outrage its Maker.
Were I to comply with your wishes, I should disobey Him who has hitherto
made me his happy agent; and how could I guard my kingdom from his
vengeance? Your rightful king yet lives; he is an alien from his country,
but Heaven may return him to your prayers. Meanwhile, as his representative,
as your soldier and protector, I shall be blest in wearing
out my life. My ancestors were ever faithful to the blood of Alexander,
and in the same fidelity I will die."
The firmness with which he
spoke, and the determined expression of his noble countenance, convinced
Loch-awe that he was not to be shaken; arid rising from his knee, he bowed
in silence. March whispered to Buchan, "Behold the hypocrite! But we
shall unmask him. He thinks to blind us to his towering ambition, by this
affected moderation. He will not be called a king; because, with our crown,
certain limitations are laid on the prerogative; but he will be our
Regent, that he may be our dictator; and every day demand gratitude for
voluntary services, which, performed: as a king, could only be considered
as his duty!"
When the council broke up, these
sentiments were actively disseminated amongst the disaffected throng; and
each gloomy recess in the woods murmured with seditious meetings. But
every lip in the country at large, breathed the name of Wallace, as they
would have done a god’s; while the land that he had blessed, bloomed on
every hill and valley like a garden.
Stirling now
exhibited a constant carnival; peace was in every heart, and joy its
companion. As Wallace had commanded in the field, he decided in the
judgment-haIl; and while all his behests were obeyed with a promptitude,
which kept the machine of state constantly moving in the most beautiful
order, his bitterest enemies could not but secretly acknowledge the
perfection they were determined to destroy.
His munificent hand
stretched itself far and near, that all who had shared the sufferings of
Scotland might drink largely of her prosperity. The good abbot of Scone
was invited from his hermitage; and when he heard from the ambassadors
sent to him, that the brave young warrior whom he had entertained, was the
resistless Wallace, he no longer thought of the distant and supine Bruce,
but centred every wish for his country in the authority, of her deliverer.
A few days brought him to Stirling; and wishing to remain near the most
constant residence of his noble friend, he requested that, instead of
being restored to Scone, he might be installed in the vacant monastery of
Cambus-Kenneth. Wallace gladly acquiesced; and the venerable abbot being
told that his late charge; the Lady Helen, was in the palace, went to
visit her; and as he communicated his exultation and happiness, she
rejoiced in the benedictions which his grateful spirit invoked on the head
of her almost worshipped sovereign. Her heart gave him the title; which
she believed, the not to be repressed affection of the people would at
last force him to accept.
The wives and families of
the Lanark veterans were brought. from Loch Doine, and again planted in
their native valleys; thus, nought in the kingdom appeared different from
its most prosperous days, but the Widowed heart of the dispenser of all
this good. And yet, so fully did he engage himself in the creation of
these benefits, that no time seemed left to him for regrets; but they
haunted him like persecuting spirits, invisible to all but himself.
During the performance of
these things, the Countess of Mar, though apparently lost to all other
pursuits than the peaceable enjoyment of her reflected dignities, was
absorbed in the one great object of her passion, Eager to be rid of so
dangerous a spy, and adversary, as she deemed Edwin to be, she was
labouring day and night to effect by clandestine schems, his banishment,
when an unforeseen circumstance carried him far away. Lord Ruthven, while
on an embassy to the Hebrides, fell ill. As his disorder was attended with
extreme danger, he sent for his wife and Edwin, impelled by love for his
father, and anxiety to soothe the terrified suspense of his mother,
readily left the side of his friend; to accompany her to the isles.
Lady Mar had now no scrutinising eye to fear; her nephew Murray was still
on duty in Clydesdale; the Earl her husband trusted her too implicitly,
even to turn on her a suspicious look; and Helen, she contrived, should be
as little in her presence as possible.
Busy, then, as this lady
was, the enemies of the Regent were not less active in the prosecution of
their plans. The Earl of March had arrived at Dunbar; and having
dispatched his treasonable proposals to Edward, had received letters from
that monarch by sea; accepting his services, and promising every reward
that could satisfy his ambition, and the cupidity of those whom he could
draw over to his cause. The wary King then told the Earl, that if he would
send his wife and family to London, as hostages for his faith, he was
ready to bring a mighty army to Dunbar; and, by that gate, once more enter
Scotland. These negociations backwards and forwards from London to Dunbar,
and from Dunbar to the treacherous lords at Stirling, occupied much time;
and the more, as great precaution was necessary to escape the vigilant
eyes of Wallace, which seemed to be present in. every part of the kingdom
at once. So careful was he, in overlooking, by his well chosen officers
civil and military, every transaction, that the slightest dereliction from
the straight order of things was immediately seen and examined into. Many
of these trusty magistrates having been placed in the Lothians, before
March took the government, he could not now remove them without exciting
suspicion; and therefore, as they remained, great circumspection was used
to elude their watchfulness.
From the time, that Edward
had again entered into terms with the Scottish chiefs, Lord March sent
regular tidings to Lord Soulis of the progress of their negociation. He
knew that nobleman would gladly welcome the recall of the King of England;
for ever since the revolution in favour of Scotland, he had remained
obstinately shut up within his castle of Hermitage. Chagrin at having lost
Helen, was not the least of his mortifications; and the wounds he bad
received from the invisible hand which had released her, having been given
with all the might of the valiant arm which directed the blow, were not
even now healed; his passions kept them still inflamed; and their smart
made his vengeance burn the fiercer against Wallace, who he now learnt was
the mysterious agent of her rescue.
While treason secretly
prepared to spring its mine beneath the feet of the Regent, he,
unsuspicious that any could be discontented, where all were free and
prosperous, thought of no enemy to the tranquil fulfilment of his duties,
but the minor persecutions of Lady Mar. No day escaped without bringing
him letters, either to invite him to Snawdoun, or to lead her to the
citadel, where he resided. In every one of these epistles, she declared
that it was no longer the wildness of passion, which impelled her to seek
his society, but the moderated regard of a friend. And though perfectly
aware of all that was behind these asseverations, (for she had deceived
him once into a belief of this plea, and had made him feel its falseness,)
he found himself forced at times, out of the civility due to her sex. to
comply with her invitations, indeed her conduct never gave him reason to
hold her in any higher respect; for whenever they happened to be left
alone, her behaviour exhibited anything but the chaste affection to which
she made pretensions. The frequency of these scenes, at last made him
never go to Snawdoun unaccompanied; (for she rarely allowed him to have
even a glimpse of Helen;) and by this precaution he avoided much of her
solicitations. But, strange to say, even at the time that this conduct, by
driving her to despair, might have excited her to some desperate act, her
wayward heart threw the blame of his coldness upon her trammels with Lord
Mar; and flattering herself, that were he dead, all would happen as she
wished, she panted for that hour with an impatience which oft tempted her
to precipitate the event.
Things were in this
situation, when Wallace, one night, received a hasty summons from his
pillow by a page of Lord Mar’s, requesting him to immediately repair to
his chamber. Concluding that something alarming must have happened, he
threw on his brigandine and plaid, and entered the apartments of the
governor. Mar met him with a countenance, the herald of a dreadful matter.
"What has happened?" inquired Wallace.—"Treason,"
answered Mar; "but from what point, I cannot guess. My daughter has
braved a dark and lonely walk from Snawdoun, to bring the proofs."
While speaking, he led the chief into the room where Helen sat, like some
fair spectre of the night, her long hair, disordered by the winds of
a nocturnal storm mingling with the grey folds of the mantle which
enveloped her. Wallace hastened forward—she now no longer flitted away,
scared from his approach by the frowning glances of her step-mother. He
had once attempted to express his grateful regrets for what she had
suffered in her lovely person for his sake, but the Countess had then
interrupted him, and Helen disappeared. Now he beheld her in a presence,
where he could declare all his gratitude, without subjecting its gentle
object to one harsh word in consequence; and almost forgetting his errand
to the governor, and the tidings he had just heard, he remembered only the
manner in which she had shielded his life with her arms; and he bent his
knee respectfully, before her, as she rose to his approach. Blushing, and
silent, she extended her hand to him to rise. He pressed it
warmly,—" Sweet excellence !" said he, "I am happy in
this opportunity, however gained, to again pour out my acknowledgments to
you: and though I have been denied that pleasure
until now, yet the memory of your generous interest in the friend of your
father, is one of the most cherished sentiments of my heart."
"It is my happiness,
as well as my duty, Sir William Wallace," replied she, "to
regard you and my country as one: and that, I hope, will excuse the,
perhaps, rash action of this night." As she spoke, he rose, and
looked at Lord Mar for explanation.
The Earl held a roll of
vellum towards him. "This writing," said he, "was found
this evening, by my daughter. She was enjoying with my wife, and other
ladies, a moonlight walk on the shores of the Forth behind the palace;
when having strayed at some distance from her friends, she saw this
packet, lying in the path before her as if it had been just dropt. It bore
no direction, she therefore opened it; and part of the contents soon told
her she must conceal the whole, till she could reveal them to me. Not even
to my wife, did she intrust the dangerous secret; nor would she run any
risk, by sending it by a messenger. As soon as the family were gone to
rest, she wrapped herself in her plaid; and finding a passage through one
of the low embrasures of Snawdoun, with a fleet step made her way to the
citadel, and to me. She gave me the packet; Read it, my friend, and judge
if we do not owe ourselves to Heaven, for so critical a discovery."
Wallace took the scroll,
and read as follows :— "Our trusty fellows will bring you this, and
deliver copies of the same to the rest. We shall be with you in
four-and-twenty hours after it arrives. The army of our liege lord is now
in the Lothians; passing through them under the appellation of succours
for the Regent from the Hebrides! Keep all safe, and neither himself nor
any of his adherents, shall have a head on their shoulders by this day
week."
Neither superscription,
name, nor date, was to this letter; but Wallace immediately knew the
hand-writing to be that of Lord March. "Then, we must have traitors,
even within these walls!" exclaimed Mar; "none but the most
powerful chiefs, would the proud Cospatrick admit into his conspiracies.
And what are we to do? for by tomorrow’s evening, the army, this traitor
has let into the heart of the country, will be at our gates!"
"No," cried
Wallace, "thanks to God, and this guardian angel !" fervently
clasping Helen’s hand as he spoke, "we must not be intimidated by
treachery! Let us but be faithful to ourselves, my veteran friend, and all
will go well. It matters not who the other traitors are; they must soon
discover themselves, and shall find us prepared to counteract their
machinations. Sound your bugles, my lord, to summon the beads of our
council."
At this command, Helen
arose; but replaced herself in chair, on Wallace exclaiming, "Stay,
Lady Helen; let the sight of such virgin delicacy, braving the terrors of
the night, to warn betrayed Scotland, nerve every heart with redoubled
courage to breast this insidious foe!" Helen did indeed feel her soul
awake to all its ancient patriotic enthusiasm; and thus, with a
countenance, pale, but resplendent with the light of her thoughts, she sat
the angel of her heroic inspiration. Wallace often turned to look on her;
while her eyes, unconscious of the adoring admiration which spoke in their
beams, followed his godlike figure, as it moved through the room with a
step that declared the undisturbed determination of his soul.
The lords Bothwell,
Loch-awe, and Badenoch, were the first that obeyed the call. They started
at sight of Helen; but Wallace in a few words related the cause of her
appearance; and the portentous letter was laid before them. All were
acquainted with the hand-writing of Lord March; and all agreed in
attributing, to its real motive, his late solicitude to obtain the command
of the Lothians; ‘What!" cried Bothwell, "but to open his
castle-gates to the enemy!"
"And to repel him,
before he reaches ours, my brave chiefs," replied Wallace, "I
have summoned you! Edward will not make this, attempt, without tremendous
powers. He knows what he risks; his men, his life, and his honour. We must
therefore expect a resolution in him, adequate to such an enterprise. Lose
not then a moment; even tonight, this instant, go out, and bring in your
followers! I will call up mine from the banks of the Clyde, and be ready
to meet him, ere he crosses the Carron."
While he gave these orders,
other nobles thronged in; and Helen, being severally thanked by them all,
became so agitated, that stretching out her hand to Wallace, who was
nearest to her, she softly whispered, "Take me hence." He read,
in her blushing face, the oppression her modesty sustained in such a
scene; and with faltering steps she leaned upon his arm, as he conducted
her to an interior chamber. Overcome by her former tears, and the emotions
of the last hour, she sunk into a chair, and burst into tears. Wallace
stood near her; and as he looked on her, he thought, "If aught on
earth ever resembeld the beloved of my soul, it is Helen Mar!" And
all the tenderness which memory gave to his almost adored wife, and all
the grateful complacency with which he regarded Helen, beamed at once from
his eyes. She raised her head,—she felt that look,—it thrilled to her
soul. For a moment, every former thought seemed lost in the one
perception, that he then gazed on her as he had never looked on any woman
since his Marion. Was she then beloved?
The impression was
evanescent: "No, no!" said she to herself; and waving her hand
gently to him, with her head bent down; "Leave me, Sir William
Wallace. Forgive me—but I am exhausted; my frame is weaker than my
mind." She spoke this at intervals; and Wallace respectfully touching
the hand she extended, pressed it to his breast. "I obey you, dear
Lady Helen; and when next we meet, it will, I hope, be to dispel every
fear in that gentle bosom." She bowed her head without looking up;
and Wallace left the room.
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