Books: Heroes Every Child Should Know

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The good King Robert Bruce, who was always watchful and vigilant,
received some information of the intention of the party to come upon
him suddenly and by night. Accordingly, he quartered his little
troop of sixty men on the side of a deep and swift-running river,
that had very steep and rocky banks. There was but one ford by which
this river could be crossed in that neighbourhood, and that ford was
deep and narrow, so that two men could scarcely get through abreast;
the ground on which they were to land, on the side where the King
was, was steep, and the path which led upward from the water's edge
to the top of the bank, extremely narrow and difficult.

Bruce caused his men to lie down to take some sleep, at a place
about half a mile distant from the river, while he himself, with two
attendants, went down to watch the ford. He stood looking at the
ford, and thinking how easily the enemy might be kept from passing
there, provided it was bravely defended, when he heard, always
coming nearer and nearer, the baying of a hound. This was the
bloodhound which was tracing the King's steps to the ford where he
had crossed, and two hundred Galloway men were along with the
animal, and guided by it. Bruce at first thought of going back to
awaken his men; but then he reflected that it might be only some
shepherd's dog. "My men," said he, "are sorely tired; I will not
disturb their sleep for the yelping of a cur, till I know something
more of the matter." So he stood and listened; and by and by, as the
cry of the hound came nearer, he began to hear a trampling of
horses, and the voices of men, and the ringing and clattering of
armour, and then he was sure the enemy were coming to the river
side. Then the King thought, "If I go back to give my men the alarm,
these Galloway men will get through the ford without opposition; and
that would be a pity, since it is a place so advantageous to make
defence against them." So he looked again at the steep path, and the
deep river, and he thought that they gave him so much advantage,
that he himself could defend the passage with his own hand, until
his men came to assist him. He therefore sent his followers to waken
his men, and remained alone by the river.

The noise and trampling of the horses increased, and the moon being
bright, Bruce beheld the glancing arms of two hundred men, on the
opposite bank. The men of Galloway, on their part, saw but one
solitary figure guarding the ford, and the foremost of them plunged
into the river without minding him. But as they could only pass the
ford one by one, the Bruce, who stood high above them on the bank
where they were to land, killed the foremost man with a thrust of
his long spear, and with a second thrust stabbed the horse, which
fell down, kicking and plunging in his agonies, on the narrow path,
and so prevented the others who were following from getting out of
the river. Bruce had thus an opportunity of dealing his blows among
them, while they could not strike at him. In the confusion, five or
six of the enemy were slain, or, having been borne down with the
current, were drowned. The rest were terrified, and drew back.

But when the Galloway men looked again, and saw they were opposed by
only one man, they themselves being so many, they cried out, that
their honour would be lost forever if they did not force their way;
and encouraged each other, with loud cries, to plunge through and
assault him. But by this time the King's soldiers came up to his
assistance, and the Galloway men gave up their enterprise.

About the time when the Bruce was yet at the head of but few men,
Sir Aymer de Valence, who was Earl of Pembroke, together with Sir
John of Lorn, came into Galloway, each of them being at the head of
a large body of men. John of Lorn had a bloodhound with him, which
it was said had formerly belonged to Robert Bruce himself; and
having been fed by the King with his own hands, it became attached
to him, and would follow his footsteps anywhere, as dogs are well
known to trace their master's steps, whether they be bloodhounds or
not. By means of this hound, John of Lorn thought he should
certainly find out Bruce, and take revenge on him for the death of
his relation Comyn.

The King saw that he was followed by a large body, and being
determined to escape from them, he made all the people who were with
him disperse themselves different ways, thinking thus that the enemy
must needs lose trace of him. He kept only one man along with him,
and that was his own foster-brother, or the son of his nurse. When
John of Lorn came to the place where Bruce's companions had
dispersed themselves, the bloodhound, after it had sniffed up and
down for a little, quitted the footsteps of all the other fugitives,
and ran barking upon the track of two men out of the whole number.
Then John of Lorn knew that one of these two must needs be King
Robert. Accordingly, he commanded five of his men that were speedy
of foot to chase after him, and either make him prisoner or slay
him. The Highlanders started off accordingly, and ran so fast, that
they gained sight of Robert and his foster-brother. The King asked
his companion what help he could give him, and his foster-brother
answered he was ready to do his best. So these two turned on the
five men of John of Lorn, and killed them all.

But by this time Bruce very much fatigued, and yet they dared not
sit down to take any rest; for whenever they stopped for an instant,
they heard the cry of the bloodhound behind them, and knew by that,
that their enemies were coming up fast after them. At length, they
came to a wood, through which ran a small river. Then Bruce said to
his foster-brother, "Let us wade down this stream for a great way,
instead of going straight across, and so this unhappy hound will
lose the scent; for if we were once clear of him, I should not be
afraid of getting away from the pursuers." Accordingly, the King and
his attendant walked a great way down the stream, taking care to
keep their feet in the water, which could not retain any scent where
they had stepped. Then they came ashore on the further side from the
enemy, and went deep into the wood before they stopped to rest
themselves. In the meanwhile, the hound led John of Lorn straight to
the place where the King went into the water, but there the dog
began to be puzzled, not knowing where to go next. So, John of Lorn,
seeing the dog had lost track, gave up the chase, and returned to
join with Aymer de Valence.

But King Robert's adventures were not yet ended. It was now near
night, and he went boldy into a farmhouse, where he found the
mistress, an old, true-hearted Scotswoman, sitting alone. Upon
seeing a stranger enter she asked him who and what he was. The King
answered that he was a traveller, who was journeying through the
country.

"All travellers," answered the good woman, "are welcome here, for
the sake of one."

"And who is that one," said the King, "for whose sake you make all
welcome?"

"It is our rightful King, Robert the Bruce," answered the mistress,
"and although he is now pursued and hunted after with hounds and
horns, I hope to live to see him King over all Scotland."

"Since you love him so well, madame," said the King, "know that you
see him before you. I am Robert the Bruce."

"You!" said the good woman, in great surprise; "and wherefore are
you thus alone? where are all your men?"

"I have none with me at this moment," answered Bruce, "and therefore
I must travel alone."

"But that shall not be," said the brave old dame, "for I have two
stout sons, gallant and trusty men, who shall be your servants for
life and death."

So she brought her two sons, and though she well knew the dangers to
which she exposed them, she made them swear fidelity to the King.

Now, the loyal woman was getting everything ready for the King's
supper, when suddenly there was a great trampling of horses heard
round the house. They thought it must be some of the English, or
John of Lorn's men, and the good wife called upon her sons to fight
to the last for King Robert. But shortly after, they heard the voice
of the good Lord James of Douglas, and of Edward Bruce, the King's
brother, who had come with a hundred and fifty horsemen, according
to the instructions that the King had left with them at parting.

Robert the Bruce was right joyful to meet his brother, and his
faithful friend Lord James; and had no sooner found himself once
more at the head of such a considerable body of followers, than he
forgot hunger and weariness. There was nothing but mount and ride;
and as the Scots rushed suddenly into the village where the English
were quartered, they easily dispersed and cut them to pieces.

The consequence of these successes of King Robert was that soldiers
came to join him on all sides, and that he obtained several
victories over English commanders; until at length the English were
afraid to venture into the open country, as formerly, unless when
they could assemble themselves in considerable bodies. They thought
it safer to lie still in the towns and castles which they had
garrisoned.

Edward I would have entered Scotland at the head of a large army,
before he had left Bruce time to conquer back the country. But very
fortunately for the Scots, that wise and skilful, though ambitious
King, died when he was on the point of marching into Scotland. His
son Edward II neglected the Scottish war, and thus lost the
opportunity of defeating Bruce, when his force was small. But when
Sir Philip Mowbray, the governor of Stirling, came to London, to
tell the King, that Stirling, the last Scottish town of importance
which remained in possession of the English, was to be surrendered
if it were not relieved by force of arms before midsummer, then all
the English nobles called out, it would be a sin and shame to permit
the fair conquest which Edward I had made, to be forfeited to the
Scots for want of fighting.

King Edward II, therefore, assembled one of the greatest armies
which a King of England ever commanded. There were troops brought
from all his dominions, many brave soldiers from the French
provinces, many Irish, many Welsh, and all the great English nobles
and barons, with their followers. The number was not less than one
hundred thousand men.

King Robert the Brace summoned all his nobles and barons to join
him, when he heard of the great preparations which the King of
England was making. They were not so numerous as the English by many
thousand men. In fact, his whole army did not very much exceed
thirty thousand, and they were much worse armed than the wealthy
Englishmen; but then, Robert was one of the most expert generals of
the time; and the officers he had under him, were his brother
Edward, his faithful follower the Douglas, and other brave and
experienced leaders. His men had been accustomed to fight and gain
victories under every disadvantage of situation and numbers.

The King, on his part, studied how he might supply, by address and
stratagem, what he wanted in numbers and strength. He knew the
superiority of the English in their heavy-armed cavalry, and in
their archers. Both these advantages he resolved to provide against.
With this purpose, he led his army down into a plain near Stirling.
The English army must needs pass through a boggy country, broken
with water-courses, while the Scots occupied hard dry ground. He
then caused all the ground upon the front of his line of battle, to
be dug full of holes, about as deep as a man's knee. They were
filled with light brushwood, and the turf was laid on the top, so
that it appeared a plain field, while in reality it was as full of
these pits as a honeycomb is of holes. He also, it is said, caused
steel spikes, called calthrops, to be scattered up and down in the
plain, where the English cavalry were most likely to advance,
trusting in that manner to lame and destroy their horses.

When the Scottish army was drawn up, the line stretched north and
south. On the south, it was terminated by the banks of the brook
called Bannockburn, which are so rocky, that no troops could attack
them there. On the left, the Scottish line extended near to the town
of Stirling. Bruce reviewed his troops very carefully. He then spoke
to the soldiers, and expressed his determination to gain the
victory, or to lose his life on the field of battle. He desired that
all those who did not propose to fight to the last, should leave the
field before the battle began, and that none should remain except
those who were determined to take the issue of victory or death, as
God should send it. When the main body of his army was thus placed
in order, the King dispatched James of Douglas, and Sir Robert
Keith, the Mareschal of the Scottish army, in order that they might
survey the English force. They returned with information, that the
approach of that vast host was one of the most beautiful and
terrible sights which could be seen--that the whole country seemed
covered with men-at-arms on horse and foot.

It was upon the twenty-third of June, 1314, the King of Scotland
heard the news, that the English army was approaching Stirling. The
van now came in sight, and a number of their bravest knights drew
near to see what the Scots were doing. They saw King Robert dressed
in his armour, and distinguished by a gold crown, which he wore over
his helmet. He was not mounted on his great war-horse, because he
did not expect to fight that evening. But he rode on a little pony
up and down the ranks of his army, putting his men in order, and
carried in his hand a sort of battle-axe made of steel. When the
King saw the English horsemen draw near, he advanced a little before
his own men, that he might look at them more nearly.

There was a knight among the English, called Sir Henry de Bohun, who
thought this would be a good opportunity to gain great fame to
himself, and put an end to the war, by killing King Robert. The King
being poorly mounted, and having no lance, Bohun galloped on him
suddenly and furiously, thinking, with his long spear, and his tall,
powerful horse, easily to bear him down to the ground. King Robert
saw him, and permitted him to come very near, then suddenly turned
his pony a little to one side, so that Sir Henry missed him with the
lance-point, and was in the act of being carried past him by the
career of his horse. But as he passed, King Robert rose up in his
stirrups, and struck Sir Henry on the head with his battle-axe so
terrible a blow, that it broke to pieces his iron helmet as if it
had been a nut-shell, and hurled him from his saddle. He was dead
before he reached the ground. This gallant action was blamed by the
Scottish leaders, who thought Bruce ought not to have exposed
himself to so much danger, when the safety of the whole army
depended on him. The King only kept looking at his weapon, which was
injured by the force of the blow, and said, "I have broken my good
battle-axe."

The next morning the English King ordered his men to begin the
battle. The archers then bent their bows, and began to shoot so
closely together, that the arrows fell like flakes of snow on a
Christmas day. They killed many of the Scots, and might have decided
the victory; but Bruce was prepared for them. A body of men-at-arms,
well mounted, rode at full gallop among them, and as the archers had
no weapons save their bows and arrows, which they could not use when
they were attacked hand to hand, they were cut down in great numbers
by the Scottish horsemen, and thrown into total confusion. The fine
English cavalry then advanced to support their archers. But coming
over the ground which was dug full of pits the horses fell into
these holes and the riders lay tumbling about, without any means of
defence, and unable to rise, from the weight of their armour.

While the battle was obstinately maintained on both sides, an event
happened which decided the victory. The servants and attendants on
the Scottish camp had been sent behind the army to a place afterward
called the Gillies' hill. But when they saw that their masters were
likely to gain the day, they rushed from their place of concealment
with such weapons as they could get, that they might have their
share in the victory and in the spoil. The English, seeing them come
suddenly over the hill, mistook this disorderly rabble for a new
army coming up to sustain the Scots, and, losing all heart, began to
shift every man for himself. Edward himself left the field as fast
as he could ride.

The English, after this great defeat, were no longer in a condition
to support their pretensions to be masters of Scotland, or to
continue to send armies into that country to overcome it. On the
contrary, they became for a time scarce able to defend their own
frontiers against King Robert and his soldiers.

Thus did Robert Bruce arise from the condition of an exile, hunted
with bloodhounds like a stag or beast of prey, to the rank of an
independent sovereign, universally acknowledged to be one of the
wisest and bravest Kings who then lived. The nation of Scotland was
also raised once more from the situation of a distressed and
conquered province to that of a free and independent state, governed
by its own laws.

Robert Bruce continued to reign gloriously for several years, and
the Scots seemed, during his government, to have acquired a complete
superiority over their neighbours. But then we must remember, that
Edward II who then reigned in England, was a foolish prince, and
listened to bad counsels; so that it is no wonder that he was beaten
by so wise and experienced a general as Robert Bruce, who had fought
his way to the crown through so many disasters, and acquired in
consequence so much renown.

In the last year of Robert the Bruce's reign, he became extremely
sickly and infirm, chiefly owing to a disorder called the leprosy,
which he had caught during the hardships and misfortunes of his
youth, when he was so frequently obliged to hide himself in woods
and morasses, without a roof to shelter him. He lived at a castle
called Cardross, on the beautiful banks of the river Clyde, near to
where it joins the sea; and his chief amusement was to go upon the
river, and down to the sea in a ship, which he kept for his
pleasure. He was no longer able to sit upon his war-horse, or to
lead his army to the field.

While Bruce was in this feeble state, Edward II, King of England,
died, and was succeeded by his son Edward III. He turned out
afterward to be one of the wisest and bravest Kings whom England
ever had; but when he first mounted the throne he was very young.
The war between the English and the Scots still lasted at the time.

But finally a peace was concluded with Robert Bruce, on terms highly
honourable to Scotland; for the English King renounced all
pretensions to the sovereignty of the country.

Good King Robert did not long survive this joyful event. He was not
aged more than four-and-fifty years, but his bad health was caused
by the hardships which he sustained during his youth, and at length
he became very ill. Finding that he could not recover, he assembled
around his bedside the nobles and counsellors in whom he most
trusted. He told them, that now, being on his death-bed, he sorely
repented all his misdeeds, and particularly, that he had, in his
passion, killed Comyn with his own hand, in the church and before
the altar. He said that if he had lived, he had intended to go to
Jerusalem to make war upon the Saracens who held the Holy Land, as
some expiation for the evil deeds he had done. But since he was
about to die, he requested of his dearest friend and bravest
warrior, and that was the good Lord James Douglas, that he should
carry his heart to the Holy Land. Douglas wept bitterly as he
accepted this office--the last mark of the Brace's confidence and
friendship.

The King soon afterward expired; and his heart was taken out from
his body and embalmed, that is, prepared with spices and perfumes,
that it might remain a long time fresh and uncorrupted. Then the
Douglas caused a case of silver to be made, into which he put the
Bruce's heart, and wore it around his neck, by a string of silk and
gold. And he set forward for the Holy Land, with a gallant train of
the bravest men in Scotland, who, to show their value of and sorrow
for their brave King Robert Bruce, resolved to attend his heart to
the city of Jerusalem. In going to Palestine Douglas landed in
Spain, where the Saracen King, or Sultan of Granada, called Osmyn,
was invading the realms of Alphonso, the Spanish King of Castile.
King Alphonso received Douglas with great honour and distinction,
and easily persuaded the Scottish Earl that he would do good service
to the Christian cause, by assisting him to drive back the Saracens
of Granada before proceeding on his voyage to Jerusalem. Lord
Douglas and his followers went accordingly to a great battle against
Osmyn, and had little difficulty in defeating the Saracens. But
being ignorant of the mode of fighting among the cavalry of the
East, the Scots pursued the chase too far, and the Moors, when they
saw them scattered and separated from each other, turned suddenly
back, with a loud cry of ALLAH ILLAH ALLAH, which is their shout of
battle, and surrounded such of the Scottish knights and squires as
were dispersed from each other.

In this new skirmish, Douglas saw Sir William St. Clair of Roslyn
fighting desperately, surrounded by many Moors, who were having at
him with their sabres. "Yonder worthy knight will be slain," Douglas
said, "unless he have instant help." With that he galloped to his
rescue, but presently was himself also surrounded by many Moors.
When he found the enemy press so thick round him, as to leave him no
chance of escaping, the Earl took from his neck the Bruce's heart,
and speaking to it, as he would have done to the King, had he been
alive--"Pass first in fight," he said, "as thou wert wont to do, and
Douglas will follow thee, or die."

He then threw the King's heart among the enemy, and rushing forward
to the place where it fell, was there slain. His body was found
lying above the silver case, as if it had been his last object to
defend the Bruce's heart.

Such of the Scottish knights as remained alive returned to their own
country. They brought back the heart of the Bruce, and the bones of
the good Lord James. The Bruce's heart was buried below the high
altar in Melrose Abbey. As for his body, it was laid in the
sepulchre in the midst of the church of Dunfermline, under a marble
stone. The church afterward becoming ruinous, and the roof falling
down with age, the monument was broken to pieces, and nobody could
tell where it stood. But when they were repairing the church at
Dunfermline, and removing the rubbish, lo! they found fragments of
the marble tomb of Robert Bruce. Then they began to dig farther,
thinking to discover the body of this celebrated monarch; and at
length they came to the skeleton of a tall man, and they knew it
must be that of King Robert, both as he was known to have been
buried in a winding sheet of cloth of gold, of which many fragments
were found about this skeleton, and also because the breastbone
appeared to have been sawed through, in order to take the heart. A
new tomb was prepared into which the bones were laid with profound
respect.

CHAPTER XVII

GEORGE WASHINGTON

On the 4th of March, 1797, Washington went to the inauguration of
his successor as President of the United States. The Federal
Government was sitting in Philadelphia at that time and Congress
held sessions in the courthouse on the corner of Sixth and Chestnut
Streets.

At the appointed hour Washington entered the hall followed by John
Adams, who was to take the oath of office. When they were seated
Washington arose and introduced Mr. Adams to the audience, and then
proceeded to read in a firm clear voice his brief valedictory--not
his great "Farewell Address," for that had already been published. A
lady who sat on "the front bench," "immediately in front" of
Washington describes the scene in these words:

"There was a narrow passage from the door of entrance to the room.
General Washington stopped at the end to let Mr. Adams pass to the
chair. The latter always wore a full suit of bright drab, with loose
cuffs to his coat. General Washington's dress was a full suit of
black. His military hat had the black cockade. There stood the
'Father of his Country' acknowledged by nations the first in war,
first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen. No
marshals with gold-coloured scarfs attended him; there was no
cheering, no noise; the most profound silence greeted him as if the
great assembly desired to hear him breathe. Mr. Adams covered his
face with both his hands; the sleeves of his coat and his hands were
covered with tears. Every now and then there was a suppressed sob. I
cannot describe Washington's appearance as I felt it--perfectly
composed and self-possessed till the close of his address. Then when
strong, nervous sobs broke loose, when tears covered the faces, then
the great man was shaken. I never took my eyes from his face. Large
drops came from his eyes. He looked as if his heart was with them,
and would be to the end."

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