ENGLAND UNDER EDWARD THE FIRST, CALLED LONGSHANKS
IT was now the year of our Lord one thousand two hundred and seventy-two; and Prince Edward, the heir to the throne, being away in the Holy Land, knew nothing of his father's death. The Barons1, however, proclaimed him King, immediately after the Royal funeral; and the people very willingly consented, since most men knew too well by this time what the horrors of a contest for the crown were. So King Edward the First, called, in a not very complimentary3 manner, LONGSHANKS, because of the slenderness of his legs, was peacefully accepted by the English Nation.
His legs had need to be strong, however long and thin they were; for they had to support him through many difficulties on the fiery4 sands of Asia, where his small force of soldiers fainted, died, deserted5, and seemed to melt away. But his prowess made light of it, and he said, 'I will go on, if I go on with no other follower6 than my groom7!'
A Prince of this spirit gave the Turks a deal of trouble. He stormed Nazareth, at which place, of all places on earth, I am sorry to relate, he made a frightful8 slaughter9 of innocent people; and then he went to Acre, where he got a truce10 of ten years from the Sultan. He had very nearly lost his life in Acre, through the treachery of a Saracen Noble, called the Emir of Jaffa, who, making the pretence11 that he had some idea of turning Christian12 and wanted to know all about that religion, sent a trusty messenger to Edward very often - with a dagger13 in his sleeve. At last, one Friday in Whitsun week, when it was very hot, and all the sandy prospect14 lay beneath the blazing sun, burnt up like a great overdone15 biscuit, and Edward was lying on a couch, dressed for coolness in only a loose robe, the messenger, with his chocolate-coloured face and his bright dark eyes and white teeth, came creeping in with a letter, and kneeled down like a tame tiger. But, the moment Edward stretched out his hand to take the letter, the tiger made a spring at his heart. He was quick, but Edward was quick too. He seized the traitor16 by his chocolate throat, threw him to the ground, and slew17 him with the very dagger he had drawn18. The weapon had struck Edward in the arm, and although the wound itself was slight, it threatened to be mortal, for the blade of the dagger had been smeared19 with poison. Thanks, however, to a better surgeon than was often to be found in those times, and to some wholesome20 herbs, and above all, to his faithful wife, ELEANOR, who devotedly21 nursed him, and is said by some to have sucked the poison from the wound with her own red lips (which I am very willing to believe), Edward soon recovered and was sound again.
As the King his father had sent entreaties22 to him to return home, he now began the journey. He had got as far as Italy, when he met messengers who brought him intelligence of the King's death. Hearing that all was quiet at home, he made no haste to return to his own dominions23, but paid a visit to the Pope, and went in state through various Italian Towns, where he was welcomed with acclamations as a mighty24 champion of the Cross from the Holy Land, and where he received presents of purple mantles25 and prancing26 horses, and went along in great triumph. The shouting people little knew that he was the last English monarch27 who would ever embark28 in a crusade, or that within twenty years every conquest which the Christians29 had made in the Holy Land at the cost of so much blood, would be won back by the Turks. But all this came to pass.
There was, and there is, an old town standing30 in a plain in France, called Ch僱ons. When the King was coming towards this place on his way to England, a wily French Lord, called the Count of Ch僱ons, sent him a polite challenge to come with his knights32 and hold a fair tournament with the Count and HIS knights, and make a day of it with sword and lance. It was represented to the King that the Count of Ch僱ons was not to be trusted, and that, instead of a holiday fight for mere33 show and in good humour, he secretly meant a real battle, in which the English should be defeated by superior force.
The King, however, nothing afraid, went to the appointed place on the appointed day with a thousand followers34. When the Count came with two thousand and attacked the English in earnest, the English rushed at them with such valour that the Count's men and the Count's horses soon began to be tumbled down all over the field. The Count himself seized the King round the neck, but the King tumbled HIM out of his saddle in return for the compliment, and, jumping from his own horse, and standing over him, beat away at his iron armour35 like a blacksmith hammering on his anvil36. Even when the Count owned himself defeated and offered his sword, the King would not do him the honour to take it, but made him yield it up to a common soldier. There had been such fury shown in this fight, that it was afterwards called the little Battle of Ch僱ons.
The English were very well disposed to be proud of their King after these adventures; so, when he landed at Dover in the year one thousand two hundred and seventy-four (being then thirty-six years old), and went on to Westminster where he and his good Queen were crowned with great magnificence, splendid rejoicings took place. For the coronation-feast there were provided, among other eatables, four hundred oxen, four hundred sheep, four hundred and fifty pigs, eighteen wild boars, three hundred flitches of bacon, and twenty thousand fowls37. The fountains and conduits in the street flowed with red and white wine instead of water; the rich citizens hung silks and cloths of the brightest colours out of their windows to increase the beauty of the show, and threw out gold and silver by whole handfuls to make scrambles38 for the crowd. In short, there was such eating and drinking, such music and capering39, such a ringing of bells and tossing of caps, such a shouting, and singing, and revelling40, as the narrow overhanging streets of old London City had not witnessed for many a long day. All the people were merry except the poor Jews, who, trembling within their houses, and scarcely daring to peep out, began to foresee that they would have to find the money for this joviality41 sooner or later.
To dismiss this sad subject of the Jews for the present, I am sorry to add that in this reign42 they were most unmercifully pillaged43. They were hanged in great numbers, on accusations44 of having clipped the King's coin - which all kinds of people had done. They were heavily taxed; they were disgracefully badged; they were, on one day, thirteen years after the coronation, taken up with their wives and children and thrown into beastly prisons, until they purchased their release by paying to the King twelve thousand pounds. Finally, every kind of property belonging to them was seized by the King, except so little as would defray the charge of their taking themselves away into foreign countries. Many years elapsed before the hope of gain induced any of their race to return to England, where they had been treated so heartlessly and had suffered so much.
If King Edward the First had been as bad a king to Christians as he was to Jews, he would have been bad indeed. But he was, in general, a wise and great monarch, under whom the country much improved. He had no love for the Great Charter - few Kings had, through many, many years - but he had high qualities. The first bold object which he conceived when he came home, was, to unite under one Sovereign England, Scotland, and Wales; the two last of which countries had each a little king of its own, about whom the people were always quarrelling and fighting, and making a prodigious45 disturbance46 - a great deal more than he was worth. In the course of King Edward's reign he was engaged, besides, in a war with France. To make these quarrels clearer, we will separate their histories and take them thus. Wales, first. France, second. Scotland, third.
LLEWELLYN was the Prince of Wales. He had been on the side of the Barons in the reign of the stupid old King, but had afterwards sworn allegiance to him. When King Edward came to the throne, Llewellyn was required to swear allegiance to him also; which he refused to do. The King, being crowned and in his own dominions, three times more required Llewellyn to come and do homage47; and three times more Llewellyn said he would rather not. He was going to be married to ELEANOR DE MONTFORT, a young lady of the family mentioned in the last reign; and it chanced that this young lady, coming from France with her youngest brother, EMERIC, was taken by an English ship, and was ordered by the English King to be detained. Upon this, the quarrel came to a head. The King went, with his fleet, to the coast of Wales, where, so encompassing48 Llewellyn, that he could only take refuge in the bleak49 mountain region of Snowdon in which no provisions could reach him, he was soon starved into an apology, and into a treaty of peace, and into paying the expenses of the war. The King, however, forgave him some of the hardest conditions of the treaty, and consented to his marriage. And he now thought he had reduced Wales to obedience50.
But the Welsh, although they were naturally a gentle, quiet, pleasant people, who liked to receive strangers in their cottages among the mountains, and to set before them with free hospitality whatever they had to eat and drink, and to play to them on their harps51, and sing their native ballads53 to them, were a people of great spirit when their blood was up. Englishmen, after this affair, began to be insolent54 in Wales, and to assume the air of masters; and the Welsh pride could not bear it. Moreover, they believed in that unlucky old Merlin, some of whose unlucky old prophecies somebody always seemed doomed55 to remember when there was a chance of its doing harm; and just at this time some blind old gentleman with a harp52 and a long white beard, who was an excellent person, but had become of an unknown age and tedious, burst out with a declaration that Merlin had predicted that when English money had become round, a Prince of Wales would be crowned in London. Now, King Edward had recently forbidden the English penny to be cut into halves and quarters for halfpence and farthings, and had actually introduced a round coin; therefore, the Welsh people said this was the time Merlin meant, and rose accordingly.
King Edward had bought over PRINCE DAVID, Llewellyn's brother, by heaping favours upon him; but he was the first to revolt, being perhaps troubled in his conscience. One stormy night, he surprised the Castle of Hawarden, in possession of which an English nobleman had been left; killed the whole garrison56, and carried off the nobleman a prisoner to Snowdon. Upon this, the Welsh people rose like one man. King Edward, with his army, marching from Worcester to the Menai Strait, crossed it - near to where the wonderful tubular iron bridge now, in days so different, makes a passage for railway trains - by a bridge of boats that enabled forty men to march abreast57. He subdued58 the Island of Anglesea, and sent his men forward to observe the enemy. The sudden appearance of the Welsh created a panic among them, and they fell back to the bridge. The tide had in the meantime risen and separated the boats; the Welsh pursuing them, they were driven into the sea, and there they sunk, in their heavy iron armour, by thousands. After this victory Llewellyn, helped by the severe winter-weather of Wales, gained another battle; but the King ordering a portion of his English army to advance through South Wales, and catch him between two foes59, and Llewellyn bravely turning to meet this new enemy, he was surprised and killed - very meanly, for he was unarmed and defenceless. His head was struck off and sent to London, where it was fixed60 upon the Tower, encircled with a wreath, some say of ivy61, some say of willow62, some say of silver, to make it look like a ghastly coin in ridicule63 of the prediction.
David, however, still held out for six months, though eagerly sought after by the King, and hunted by his own countrymen. One of them finally betrayed him with his wife and children. He was sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered; and from that time this became the established punishment of Traitors64 in England - a punishment wholly without excuse, as being revolting, vile65, and cruel, after its object is dead; and which has no sense in it, as its only real degradation66 (and that nothing can blot67 out) is to the country that permits on any consideration such abominable68 barbarity.
Wales was now subdued. The Queen giving birth to a young prince in the Castle of Carnarvon, the King showed him to the Welsh people as their countryman, and called him Prince of Wales; a title that has ever since been borne by the heir-apparent to the English throne - which that little Prince soon became, by the death of his elder brother. The King did better things for the Welsh than that, by improving their laws and encouraging their trade. Disturbances69 still took place, chiefly occasioned by the avarice70 and pride of the English Lords, on whom Welsh lands and castles had been bestowed71; but they were subdued, and the country never rose again. There is a legend that to prevent the people from being incited72 to rebellion by the songs of their bards73 and harpers, Edward had them all put to death. Some of them may have fallen among other men who held out against the King; but this general slaughter is, I think, a fancy of the harpers themselves, who, I dare say, made a song about it many years afterwards, and sang it by the Welsh firesides until it came to be believed.
The foreign war of the reign of Edward the First arose in this way. The crews of two vessels74, one a Norman ship, and the other an English ship, happened to go to the same place in their boats to fill their casks with fresh water. Being rough angry fellows, they began to quarrel, and then to fight - the English with their fists; the Normans with their knives - and, in the fight, a Norman was killed. The Norman crew, instead of revenging themselves upon those English sailors with whom they had quarrelled (who were too strong for them, I suspect), took to their ship again in a great rage, attacked the first English ship they met, laid hold of an unoffending merchant who happened to be on board, and brutally76 hanged him in the rigging of their own vessel75 with a dog at his feet. This so enraged77 the English sailors that there was no restraining them; and whenever, and wherever, English sailors met Norman sailors, they fell upon each other tooth and nail. The Irish and Dutch sailors took part with the English; the French and Genoese sailors helped the Normans; and thus the greater part of the mariners78 sailing over the sea became, in their way, as violent and raging as the sea itself when it is disturbed.
King Edward's fame had been so high abroad that he had been chosen to decide a difference between France and another foreign power, and had lived upon the Continent three years. At first, neither he nor the French King PHILIP (the good Louis had been dead some time) interfered79 in these quarrels; but when a fleet of eighty English ships engaged and utterly80 defeated a Norman fleet of two hundred, in a pitched battle fought round a ship at anchor, in which no quarter was given, the matter became too serious to be passed over. King Edward, as Duke of Guienne, was summoned to present himself before the King of France, at Paris, and answer for the damage done by his sailor subjects. At first, he sent the Bishop81 of London as his representative, and then his brother EDMUND, who was married to the French Queen's mother. I am afraid Edmund was an easy man, and allowed himself to be talked over by his charming relations, the French court ladies; at all events, he was induced to give up his brother's dukedom for forty days - as a mere form, the French King said, to satisfy his honour - and he was so very much astonished, when the time was out, to find that the French King had no idea of giving it up again, that I should not wonder if it hastened his death: which soon took place.
King Edward was a King to win his foreign dukedom back again, if it could be won by energy and valour. He raised a large army, renounced82 his allegiance as Duke of Guienne, and crossed the sea to carry war into France. Before any important battle was fought, however, a truce was agreed upon for two years; and in the course of that time, the Pope effected a reconciliation83. King Edward, who was now a widower84, having lost his affectionate and good wife, Eleanor, married the French King's sister, MARGARET; and the Prince of Wales was contracted to the French King's daughter ISABELLA.
Out of bad things, good things sometimes arise. Out of this hanging of the innocent merchant, and the bloodshed and strife85 it caused, there came to be established one of the greatest powers that the English people now possess. The preparations for the war being very expensive, and King Edward greatly wanting money, and being very arbitrary in his ways of raising it, some of the Barons began firmly to oppose him. Two of them, in particular, HUMPHREY BOHUN, Earl of Hereford, and ROGER BIGOD, Earl of Norfolk, were so stout86 against him, that they maintained he had no right to command them to head his forces in Guienne, and flatly refused to go there. 'By Heaven, Sir Earl,' said the King to the Earl of Hereford, in a great passion, 'you shall either go or be hanged!' 'By Heaven, Sir King,' replied the Earl, 'I will neither go nor yet will I be hanged!' and both he and the other Earl sturdily left the court, attended by many Lords. The King tried every means of raising money. He taxed the clergy87, in spite of all the Pope said to the contrary; and when they refused to pay, reduced them to submission88, by saying Very well, then they had no claim upon the government for protection, and any man might plunder89 them who would - which a good many men were very ready to do, and very readily did, and which the clergy found too losing a game to be played at long. He seized all the wool and leather in the hands of the merchants, promising90 to pay for it some fine day; and he set a tax upon the exportation of wool, which was so unpopular among the traders that it was called 'The evil toll91.' But all would not do. The Barons, led by those two great Earls, declared any taxes imposed without the consent of Parliament, unlawful; and the Parliament refused to impose taxes, until the King should confirm afresh the two Great Charters, and should solemnly declare in writing, that there was no power in the country to raise money from the people, evermore, but the power of Parliament representing all ranks of the people. The King was very unwilling92 to diminish his own power by allowing this great privilege in the Parliament; but there was no help for it, and he at last complied. We shall come to another King by-and-by, who might have saved his head from rolling off, if he had profited by this example.
The people gained other benefits in Parliament from the good sense and wisdom of this King. Many of the laws were much improved; provision was made for the greater safety of travellers, and the apprehension93 of thieves and murderers; the priests were prevented from holding too much land, and so becoming too powerful; and Justices of the Peace were first appointed (though not at first under that name) in various parts of the country.
And now we come to Scotland, which was the great and lasting94 trouble of the reign of King Edward the First.
About thirteen years after King Edward's coronation, Alexander the Third, the King of Scotland, died of a fall from his horse. He had been married to Margaret, King Edward's sister. All their children being dead, the Scottish crown became the right of a young Princess only eight years old, the daughter of ERIC, King of Norway, who had married a daughter of the deceased sovereign. King Edward proposed, that the Maiden95 of Norway, as this Princess was called, should be engaged to be married to his eldest96 son; but, unfortunately, as she was coming over to England she fell sick, and landing on one of the Orkney Islands, died there. A great commotion97 immediately began in Scotland, where as many as thirteen noisy claimants to the vacant throne started up and made a general confusion.
King Edward being much renowned98 for his sagacity and justice, it seems to have been agreed to refer the dispute to him. He accepted the trust, and went, with an army, to the Border-land where England and Scotland joined. There, he called upon the Scottish gentlemen to meet him at the Castle of Norham, on the English side of the river Tweed; and to that Castle they came. But, before he would take any step in the business, he required those Scottish gentlemen, one and all, to do homage to him as their superior Lord; and when they hesitated, he said, 'By holy Edward, whose crown I wear, I will have my rights, or I will die in maintaining them!' The Scottish gentlemen, who had not expected this, were disconcerted, and asked for three weeks to think about it.
At the end of the three weeks, another meeting took place, on a green plain on the Scottish side of the river. Of all the competitors for the Scottish throne, there were only two who had any real claim, in right of their near kindred to the Royal Family. These were JOHN BALIOL and ROBERT BRUCE: and the right was, I have no doubt, on the side of John Baliol. At this particular meeting John Baliol was not present, but Robert Bruce was; and on Robert Bruce being formally asked whether he acknowledged the King of England for his superior lord, he answered, plainly and distinctly, Yes, he did. Next day, John Baliol appeared, and said the same. This point settled, some arrangements were made for inquiring into their titles.
The inquiry99 occupied a pretty long time - more than a year. While it was going on, King Edward took the opportunity of making a journey through Scotland, and calling upon the Scottish people of all degrees to acknowledge themselves his vassals100, or be imprisoned102 until they did. In the meanwhile, Commissioners103 were appointed to conduct the inquiry, a Parliament was held at Berwick about it, the two claimants were heard at full length, and there was a vast amount of talking. At last, in the great hall of the Castle of Berwick, the King gave judgment104 in favour of John Baliol: who, consenting to receive his crown by the King of England's favour and permission, was crowned at Scone105, in an old stone chair which had been used for ages in the abbey there, at the coronations of Scottish Kings. Then, King Edward caused the great seal of Scotland, used since the late King's death, to be broken in four pieces, and placed in the English Treasury106; and considered that he now had Scotland (according to the common saying) under his thumb.
Scotland had a strong will of its own yet, however. King Edward, determined107 that the Scottish King should not forget he was his vassal101, summoned him repeatedly to come and defend himself and his judges before the English Parliament when appeals from the decisions of Scottish courts of justice were being heard. At length, John Baliol, who had no great heart of his own, had so much heart put into him by the brave spirit of the Scottish people, who took this as a national insult, that he refused to come any more. Thereupon, the King further required him to help him in his war abroad (which was then in progress), and to give up, as security for his good behaviour in future, the three strong Scottish Castles of Jedburgh, Roxburgh, and Berwick. Nothing of this being done; on the contrary, the Scottish people concealing108 their King among their mountains in the Highlands and showing a determination to resist; Edward marched to Berwick with an army of thirty thousand foot, and four thousand horse; took the Castle, and slew its whole garrison, and the inhabitants of the town as well - men, women, and children. LORD WARRENNE, Earl of Surrey, then went on to the Castle of Dunbar, before which a battle was fought, and the whole Scottish army defeated with great slaughter. The victory being complete, the Earl of Surrey was left as guardian110 of Scotland; the principal offices in that kingdom were given to Englishmen; the more powerful Scottish Nobles were obliged to come and live in England; the Scottish crown and sceptre were brought away; and even the old stone chair was carried off and placed in Westminster Abbey, where you may see it now. Baliol had the Tower of London lent him for a residence, with permission to range about within a circle of twenty miles. Three years afterwards he was allowed to go to Normandy, where he had estates, and where he passed the remaining six years of his life: far more happily, I dare say, than he had lived for a long while in angry Scotland.
Now, there was, in the West of Scotland, a gentleman of small fortune, named WILLIAM WALLACE, the second son of a Scottish knight31. He was a man of great size and great strength; he was very brave and daring; when he spoke111 to a body of his countrymen, he could rouse them in a wonderful manner by the power of his burning words; he loved Scotland dearly, and he hated England with his utmost might. The domineering conduct of the English who now held the places of trust in Scotland made them as intolerable to the proud Scottish people as they had been, under similar circumstances, to the Welsh; and no man in all Scotland regarded them with so much smothered112 rage as William Wallace. One day, an Englishman in office, little knowing what he was, affronted113 HIM. Wallace instantly struck him dead, and taking refuge among the rocks and hills, and there joining with his countryman, SIR WILLIAM DOUGLAS, who was also in arms against King Edward, became the most resolute114 and undaunted champion of a people struggling for their independence that ever lived upon the earth.
The English Guardian of the Kingdom fled before him, and, thus encouraged, the Scottish people revolted everywhere, and fell upon the English without mercy. The Earl of Surrey, by the King's commands, raised all the power of the Border-counties, and two English armies poured into Scotland. Only one Chief, in the face of those armies, stood by Wallace, who, with a force of forty thousand men, awaited the invaders115 at a place on the river Forth116, within two miles of Stirling. Across the river there was only one poor wooden bridge, called the bridge of Kildean - so narrow, that but two men could cross it abreast. With his eyes upon this bridge, Wallace posted the greater part of his men among some rising grounds, and waited calmly. When the English army came up on the opposite bank of the river, messengers were sent forward to offer terms. Wallace sent them back with a defiance117, in the name of the freedom of Scotland. Some of the officers of the Earl of Surrey in command of the English, with THEIR eyes also on the bridge, advised him to be discreet118 and not hasty. He, however, urged to immediate2 battle by some other officers, and particularly by CRESSINGHAM, King Edward's treasurer119, and a rash man, gave the word of command to advance. One thousand English crossed the bridge, two abreast; the Scottish troops were as motionless as stone images. Two thousand English crossed; three thousand, four thousand, five. Not a feather, all this time, had been seen to stir among the Scottish bonnets120. Now, they all fluttered. 'Forward, one party, to the foot of the Bridge!' cried Wallace, 'and let no more English cross! The rest, down with me on the five thousand who have come over, and cut them all to pieces!' It was done, in the sight of the whole remainder of the English army, who could give no help. Cressingham himself was killed, and the Scotch121 made whips for their horses of his skin.
King Edward was abroad at this time, and during the successes on the Scottish side which followed, and which enabled bold Wallace to win the whole country back again, and even to ravage122 the English borders. But, after a few winter months, the King returned, and took the field with more than his usual energy. One night, when a kick from his horse as they both lay on the ground together broke two of his ribs123, and a cry arose that he was killed, he leaped into his saddle, regardless of the pain he suffered, and rode through the camp. Day then appearing, he gave the word (still, of course, in that bruised124 and aching state) Forward! and led his army on to near Falkirk, where the Scottish forces were seen drawn up on some stony125 ground, behind a morass126. Here, he defeated Wallace, and killed fifteen thousand of his men. With the shattered remainder, Wallace drew back to Stirling; but, being pursued, set fire to the town that it might give no help to the English, and escaped. The inhabitants of Perth afterwards set fire to their houses for the same reason, and the King, unable to find provisions, was forced to withdraw his army.
Another ROBERT BRUCE, the grandson of him who had disputed the Scottish crown with Baliol, was now in arms against the King (that elder Bruce being dead), and also JOHN COMYN, Baliol's nephew. These two young men might agree in opposing Edward, but could agree in nothing else, as they were rivals for the throne of Scotland. Probably it was because they knew this, and knew what troubles must arise even if they could hope to get the better of the great English King, that the principal Scottish people applied127 to the Pope for his interference. The Pope, on the principle of losing nothing for want of trying to get it, very coolly claimed that Scotland belonged to him; but this was a little too much, and the Parliament in a friendly manner told him so.
In the spring time of the year one thousand three hundred and three, the King sent SIR JOHN SEGRAVE, whom he made Governor of Scotland, with twenty thousand men, to reduce the rebels. Sir John was not as careful as he should have been, but encamped at Rosslyn, near Edinburgh, with his army divided into three parts. The Scottish forces saw their advantage; fell on each part separately; defeated each; and killed all the prisoners. Then, came the King himself once more, as soon as a great army could be raised; he passed through the whole north of Scotland, laying waste whatsoever128 came in his way; and he took up his winter quarters at Dunfermline. The Scottish cause now looked so hopeless, that Comyn and the other nobles made submission and received their pardons. Wallace alone stood out. He was invited to surrender, though on no distinct pledge that his life should be spared; but he still defied the ireful King, and lived among the steep crags of the Highland109 glens, where the eagles made their nests, and where the mountain torrents129 roared, and the white snow was deep, and the bitter winds blew round his unsheltered head, as he lay through many a pitch-dark night wrapped up in his plaid. Nothing could break his spirit; nothing could lower his courage; nothing could induce him to forget or to forgive his country's wrongs. Even when the Castle of Stirling, which had long held out, was besieged130 by the King with every kind of military engine then in use; even when the lead upon cathedral roofs was taken down to help to make them; even when the King, though an old man, commanded in the siege as if he were a youth, being so resolved to conquer; even when the brave garrison (then found with amazement131 to be not two hundred people, including several ladies) were starved and beaten out and were made to submit on their knees, and with every form of disgrace that could aggravate132 their sufferings; even then, when there was not a ray of hope in Scotland, William Wallace was as proud and firm as if he had beheld133 the powerful and relentless134 Edward lying dead at his feet.
Who betrayed William Wallace in the end, is not quite certain. That he was betrayed - probably by an attendant - is too true. He was taken to the Castle of Dumbarton, under SIR JOHN MENTEITH, and thence to London, where the great fame of his bravery and resolution attracted immense concourses of people to behold135 him. He was tried in Westminster Hall, with a crown of laurel on his head - it is supposed because he was reported to have said that he ought to wear, or that he would wear, a crown there and was found guilty as a robber, a murderer, and a traitor. What they called a robber (he said to those who tried him) he was, because he had taken spoil from the King's men. What they called a murderer, he was, because he had slain136 an insolent Englishman. What they called a traitor, he was not, for he had never sworn allegiance to the King, and had ever scorned to do it. He was dragged at the tails of horses to West Smithfield, and there hanged on a high gallows137, torn open before he was dead, beheaded, and quartered. His head was set upon a pole on London Bridge, his right arm was sent to Newcastle, his left arm to Berwick, his legs to Perth and Aberdeen. But, if King Edward had had his body cut into inches, and had sent every separate inch into a separate town, he could not have dispersed138 it half so far and wide as his fame. Wallace will be remembered in songs and stories, while there are songs and stories in the English tongue, and Scotland will hold him dear while her lakes and mountains last.
Released from this dreaded139 enemy, the King made a fairer plan of Government for Scotland, divided the offices of honour among Scottish gentlemen and English gentlemen, forgave past offences, and thought, in his old age, that his work was done.
But he deceived himself. Comyn and Bruce conspired140, and made an appointment to meet at Dumfries, in the church of the Minorites. There is a story that Comyn was false to Bruce, and had informed against him to the King; that Bruce was warned of his danger and the necessity of flight, by receiving, one night as he sat at supper, from his friend the Earl of Gloucester, twelve pennies and a pair of spurs; that as he was riding angrily to keep his appointment (through a snow-storm, with his horse's shoes reversed that he might not be tracked), he met an evil-looking serving man, a messenger of Comyn, whom he killed, and concealed141 in whose dress he found letters that proved Comyn's treachery. However this may be, they were likely enough to quarrel in any case, being hot- headed rivals; and, whatever they quarrelled about, they certainly did quarrel in the church where they met, and Bruce drew his dagger and stabbed Comyn, who fell upon the pavement. When Bruce came out, pale and disturbed, the friends who were waiting for him asked what was the matter? 'I think I have killed Comyn,' said he. 'You only think so?' returned one of them; 'I will make sure!' and going into the church, and finding him alive, stabbed him again and again. Knowing that the King would never forgive this new deed of violence, the party then declared Bruce King of Scotland: got him crowned at Scone - without the chair; and set up the rebellious142 standard once again.
When the King heard of it he kindled143 with fiercer anger than he had ever shown yet. He caused the Prince of Wales and two hundred and seventy of the young nobility to be knighted - the trees in the Temple Gardens were cut down to make room for their tents, and they watched their armour all night, according to the old usage: some in the Temple Church: some in Westminster Abbey - and at the public Feast which then took place, he swore, by Heaven, and by two swans covered with gold network which his minstrels placed upon the table, that he would avenge144 the death of Comyn, and would punish the false Bruce. And before all the company, he charged the Prince his son, in case that he should die before accomplishing his vow145, not to bury him until it was fulfilled. Next morning the Prince and the rest of the young Knights rode away to the Border-country to join the English army; and the King, now weak and sick, followed in a horse-litter.
Bruce, after losing a battle and undergoing many dangers and much misery146, fled to Ireland, where he lay concealed through the winter. That winter, Edward passed in hunting down and executing Bruce's relations and adherents147, sparing neither youth nor age, and showing no touch of pity or sign of mercy. In the following spring, Bruce reappeared and gained some victories. In these frays148, both sides were grievously cruel. For instance - Bruce's two brothers, being taken captives desperately149 wounded, were ordered by the King to instant execution. Bruce's friend Sir John Douglas, taking his own Castle of Douglas out of the hands of an English Lord, roasted the dead bodies of the slaughtered150 garrison in a great fire made of every movable within it; which dreadful cookery his men called the Douglas Larder151. Bruce, still successful, however, drove the Earl of Pembroke and the Earl of Gloucester into the Castle of Ayr and laid siege to it.
The King, who had been laid up all the winter, but had directed the army from his sick-bed, now advanced to Carlisle, and there, causing the litter in which he had travelled to be placed in the Cathedral as an offering to Heaven, mounted his horse once more, and for the last time. He was now sixty-nine years old, and had reigned152 thirty-five years. He was so ill, that in four days he could go no more than six miles; still, even at that pace, he went on and resolutely153 kept his face towards the Border. At length, he lay down at the village of Burgh-upon-Sands; and there, telling those around him to impress upon the Prince that he was to remember his father's vow, and was never to rest until he had thoroughly154 subdued Scotland, he yielded up his last breath.
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barons
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| 男爵( baron的名词复数 )； 巨头； 大王； 大亨 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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complimentary
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| adj.赠送的，免费的，赞美的，恭维的 | |
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fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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follower
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| n.跟随者；随员；门徒；信徒 | |
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groom
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| vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁 | |
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frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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truce
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| n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束 | |
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pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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overdone
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| v.做得过分( overdo的过去分词 )；太夸张；把…煮得太久；（工作等）过度 | |
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traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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slew
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| v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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smeared
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| 弄脏； 玷污； 涂抹； 擦上 | |
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wholesome
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| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
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devotedly
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| 专心地； 恩爱地； 忠实地； 一心一意地 | |
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entreaties
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| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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dominions
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| 统治权( dominion的名词复数 )； 领土； 疆土； 版图 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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mantles
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| vt.&vi.覆盖（mantle的第三人称单数形式） | |
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prancing
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| v.（马）腾跃( prance的现在分词 ) | |
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monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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embark
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| vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机 | |
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Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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knights
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| 骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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anvil
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| n.铁钻 | |
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fowls
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| 鸟( fowl的名词复数 )； 禽肉； 既不是这； 非驴非马 | |
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scrambles
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| n.抢夺( scramble的名词复数 )v.快速爬行( scramble的第三人称单数 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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capering
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| v.跳跃，雀跃( caper的现在分词 )；蹦蹦跳跳 | |
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revelling
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| v.作乐( revel的现在分词 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉 | |
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joviality
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| n.快活 | |
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42
reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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43
pillaged
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| v.抢劫，掠夺( pillage的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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accusations
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| n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名 | |
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prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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47
homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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48
encompassing
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| v.围绕( encompass的现在分词 )；包围；包含；包括 | |
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49
bleak
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| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 | |
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50
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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51
harps
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| abbr.harpsichord 拨弦古钢琴n.竖琴( harp的名词复数 ) | |
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52
harp
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| n.竖琴；天琴座 | |
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53
ballads
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| 民歌，民谣，特别指叙述故事的歌( ballad的名词复数 )； 讴 | |
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54
insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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55
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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56
garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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57
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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58
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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59
foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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60
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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61
ivy
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| n.常青藤，常春藤 | |
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62
willow
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| n.柳树 | |
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63
ridicule
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| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
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64
traitors
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| 卖国贼( traitor的名词复数 )； 叛徒； 背叛者； 背信弃义的人 | |
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65
vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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66
degradation
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| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
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67
blot
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| vt.弄脏（用吸墨纸）吸干；n.污点，污渍 | |
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68
abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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69
disturbances
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| n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍 | |
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avarice
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| n.贪婪；贪心 | |
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71
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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72
incited
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| 刺激，激励，煽动( incite的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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73
bards
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| n.诗人( bard的名词复数 ) | |
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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75
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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76
brutally
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| adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地 | |
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enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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mariners
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| 海员，水手（mariner的复数形式） | |
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interfered
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| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
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80
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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81
bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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82
renounced
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| v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃 | |
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83
reconciliation
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| n.和解，和谐，一致 | |
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84
widower
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| n.鳏夫 | |
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85
strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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88
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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89
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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90
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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91
toll
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| n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟) | |
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unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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95
maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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commotion
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| n.骚动，动乱 | |
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renowned
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| adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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100
vassals
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| n.奴仆( vassal的名词复数 )；（封建时代）诸侯；从属者；下属 | |
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101
vassal
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| n.附庸的；属下；adj.奴仆的 | |
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102
imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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103
commissioners
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| n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官 | |
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104
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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scone
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| n.圆饼，甜饼，司康饼 | |
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106
treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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107
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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108
concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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highland
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| n.(pl.)高地，山地 | |
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guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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111
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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112
smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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113
affronted
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| adj.被侮辱的，被冒犯的v.勇敢地面对( affront的过去式和过去分词 )；相遇 | |
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114
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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115
invaders
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| 入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 ) | |
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116
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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117
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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118
discreet
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| adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的 | |
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119
treasurer
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| n.司库，财务主管 | |
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120
bonnets
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| n.童帽( bonnet的名词复数 )；（烟囱等的）覆盖物；（苏格兰男子的）无边呢帽；（女子戴的）任何一种帽子 | |
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121
scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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122
ravage
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| vt.使...荒废，破坏...；n.破坏，掠夺，荒废 | |
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123
ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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124
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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125
stony
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| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
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126
morass
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| n.沼泽，困境 | |
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127
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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128
whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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129
torrents
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| n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断 | |
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130
besieged
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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131
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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132
aggravate
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| vt.加重(剧)，使恶化；激怒，使恼火 | |
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133
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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134
relentless
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| adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的 | |
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135
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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136
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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137
gallows
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| n.绞刑架，绞台 | |
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138
dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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139
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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140
conspired
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| 密谋( conspire的过去式和过去分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致 | |
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141
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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142
rebellious
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| adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的 | |
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143
kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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144
avenge
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| v.为...复仇，为...报仇 | |
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145
vow
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| n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓 | |
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146
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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147
adherents
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| n.支持者，拥护者( adherent的名词复数 )；党羽；徒子徒孙 | |
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148
frays
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| n.（使布、绳等）磨损，磨破( fray的名词复数 )v.（使布、绳等）磨损，磨破( fray的第三人称单数 ) | |
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149
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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150
slaughtered
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| v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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151
larder
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| n.食物贮藏室，食品橱 | |
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152
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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153
resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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154
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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