SIR WILLIAM WALLACE. 19 north to his obedience ; and joining with the lord James Douglas, returning from the fouth with his two captives, he took St, Johnftoun by furprizal: from thence he paf- ed into Lorn, the Lord whereof had ambufhed two thou- fand men, on the fide of a deep hill, where the King be- hoved to enter through a navrow paffgae: but Sir James Douglas, with Sir Alexander Frazer; and Sir Andrew Gray, climbing the hill, came fuddenly on their backs, and put them to flight. John of Lorn fled into England by fea: his father, Lord Alexander M'Dougal, yielded himfelf and the caftle of Dunftaffnage to the King. By thefe means, all on the north fide of Forth was re- dduced to obedience; Sir Edward, his brother, in the mean time, who by long and hard fighting, bad conquered Gal loway, James Douglas, by a ftratagem, furprifed the ftrong caftle of Roxburgh on the Faften’s-even, while all the gar- rifon (after the cuftom of the time) were feafting and play- ing the riot. The report whereof, fo whetted the viliant Thomas Randal newly reftored to his uncle’s favour, and made earl of Murray, that having befieged the caftle of E- dinburgh for fome months, he fet himfelf by all means to carry the fame, which he obtained by a narrow paffage up throngh the rock, difcovered by him : by which he and fundry ftout gentlemen fecretly paffed up, and fcaling the wall, after long and dangerous fighting, made themfelves maftets of the place. The garrifons of Rutherglen, La- nerk, Dumfries, Air, Dundee, and Bute, hearing this, yielded up thefe caftles, which were all razed. The ifle of Man, alfo returned to the obedience of the crown of Scot- land. Sir Edward Bruce, having befirged Stirling caftle three months, agreed with the captain, Sir Philip Mou- bray, that if the King of England did not refcue him with in ,2 months thereafter, the caftle fhould be yielded to King Robert. Albeit this fcemed a rafh provocation of fo mighty a King as Edward Longfhanks: (but far degener- ate from his valour) having not only England and Ireland, and many Englifhed Scots, with the duchy of Guienne, Bourdeaux, and other parts of France fubject to him, but alfo the low countries ftrictly confederate with him: yet King Robert prepared himfelf to encounter him in the fields, and gathered 35,000 men, few, but valiant. The king of England had above 100,000 foot, and 10,000 horfe : with which multitude, intending to deftroy the in- habitants of Scotland, and to divide the land to his follow- ers, ’he came to Bannockburn, two miles from Stirling,) where on June (illegible text) 1314- he was encountered by the Sects, and after long and hard fighting, his great army put to the rout : himfelf with a fmall company, fleeing in- to Dunbar, was fent by the Earl of March into England
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