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of private life is uncertain; but it is presumed to have been about the period of the battle of Dunbar, where the discipline of Edward’s soldiers triumphed over the loose violence of the Scottish army, as much as his political finesse overcame the wisdom of the Scottish nobility in other spheres of contention.
After the humiliation of Scotland, Wallace returned to Dundee, (if in fact he had been engaged in the war), for the purpose of studying under the superintendance of his tutor, Blair. He beheld the oppression of his countrymen with horror and indignation; he sympathized with the sufferings of individuals, and he mourned the degradation of his native land. While these sentiments animated his bosom, he was, in an accidental rencounter, insulted by a young Englishman, son of Selby, the constable of Dundee. Though a stripling, he possessed inconceivable bodily strength; he overcame young Selby in a scuffle that ensued, and killed him with his own dagger, in presence of a number of his followers. This action exposed him to the rage of the English, compelled to seek refuge in retirement from the punishment which would have followed. Having slain all Selby's attendants who
