driven off their cattle, which is their only property,, thousand men. With this force he penetrated into along with them. The English will find nothing the mountainous frontier of England, where an either to take away or to eat. The houses of the assault was least expected, and issuing forth near gentlemen are small towers, with thick walls, which Newcastle, fell upon the flat and rich country even fire will not destroy; as for the common people, around, slaying, plundering, burning, and loading they dwell in mere huts, and if the English choose his army with spoil. to burn them, a few trees from the wood is all that is necessary to build them up again." 66 But what will you do with your army if you do not fight?" said the Frenchman; "and how will your people endure the distress, and famine, and plunder, which must be the consequences of the invasion?" "You shall see that our army will not lie idle," said Douglas; and as for our Scottish people, they will endure pillage, and they will endure famine, and every other extremity of war; but they will not endure an English master.' The event showed the truth of what Douglas had said. The great army of England entered Scotland on the eastern side of the frontier, and marched on, much embarrassed and distressed for want of provisions, laying waste the villages and what property they found, but finding very little to destroy, and nothing to subsist upon. On the contrary, no sooner did the Scottish nobles learn that the English were fairly engaged in Scotland, than with a numerous army, consisting chiefly of light cavalry, like that led by Douglas and Randolph in 1327, they burst into the western counties of England, where they gained more spoil, and did more damage, in the course of a day or two's march, than the English could have done in Scotland, had they burned the whole country from the Border to Aberdeen. The English were quickly called back to the defence of their own country, and though there had been no battle, yet from bad roads, want of forage, scantiness of provisions, and similar causes, they had sustained a heavy loss of inen and horses; while the Scottish army, on the contrary, had kept good cheer in a country so much richer than their own, and were grown wealthy by plunder. This wise scheme of defence had been recommended to his posterity by the Bruce, as the only effectual mode of defending the Scottish frontier. As to the French auxiliaries, they quarrelled very much with the reception they met with. They complained that the nation which they came to assist treated them with no kindness or good-will, and that they withheld from them forage, provisions, and other supplies. The Scots replied, on the other hand, that their allies were an expense to them, without being of any use; that their wants were many, and could not be supplied in so poor a country as Scotland; and, finally, that they insulted the inhabitants, and pillaged the country wherever they durst. Nor would the Scots permit the French to leave Scotland till they gave security that they would pay the expenses of their own maintenance. The French knights, who had hoped to acquire both wealth and fame, returned in very bad humour from a kingdom where the people were so wild and uncivilized, and the country so mountainous and poor; where the patches of cultivated land bore no proportion to the extended wastes, and the wild animals were much more numerous than those which were trained to the use of man. Percy, Earl of Northumberland, an English noble of great power, and with whom the Douglas had frequently had encounters, sent his two sons, Sir Henry and Sir Ralph Percy, to stop the progress of this invasion. Both were gallant knights, but the first, who, from his impetuosity, was called Hotspur, was one of the most distinguished warriors in England, as Douglas was in Scotland. The brothers threw themselves hastily into Newcastle, to defend that important town; and as Douglas, in an insulting manner, drew out his followers before the walls, they came out to skirmish with the Scots. Douglas and Henry Percy encountered personally; and it so chanced that Douglas got possession in the struggle of Hotspur's spear, to the end of which was attached a small ornament of silk, embroidered with pearls, on which was represented a lion, the cognizance, as it is called, of the Percies. Douglas shook this trophy aloft, and declared that he would carry it into Scotland, and plant it on his castle of Dalkeith. "That," said Percy, shalt thou never do. I will regain my lance ere thou canst get back into Scotland." "Then," said Douglas, "come to seek it, and thou shalt find it before my tent." The Scots army, having completed the purpose of their expedition, began their retreat up the vale of the little river Reed, which afforded a tolerable road running towards the Scottish frontier. They encamped at Otterburn, about twenty miles from the frontier, on the 19th August, 1388. In the middle of the night, the alarm arose in the Scottish camp that the English host were coming upon them, and the moonlight showed the advance of Sir Henry Percy, with a body of men equal or superior in number to that of Douglas. He had already crossed the Reed water, and was advancing towards the left flank of the Scottish army. Douglas, not choosing to receive the assault in that position, drew his men out of the camp, and with a degree of military skill which could scarce have been expected when his forces were of such an undisciplined cha~ racter, he altogether changed the position of the army, and presented his troops with their front to the advancing English. Hotspur, in the mean time, marched his squadrons through the deserted camp, where there were none left but a few servants and stragglers of the army. The interruptions which the English troops met with, threw them a little into disorder, when the moon arising, showed them the Scottish army, who they fancied were retreating, drawn up in complete order, and prepared to fight. The battle commenced with the greatest fury; for Percy and Douglas were the two most distinguished soldiers of their time, and each army trusted in the courage and talents of their commanders, whose names were shouted on either side. The Scots, who were outnumbered, were at length about to give way, when Douglas, their leader, caused his banner to advance, attended by his best It was from prudence, not from want of courage, men. He himself, shouting his war-cry of " Dougthat the Scottish avoided great battles with the Eng-las!" rushed forward, clearing his way with the lish. They readily engaged in smaller actions, when blows of his battle-axe, and breaking into the very they fought with the utmost valour on both sides, thickest of the enemy. He fell, at length, under three till, as an old historian expresses it, sword and lance mortal wounds. Had his death been known, it would endure no longer, and then they would part would probably have decided the battle against the from each other, saying, "Good day; and thanks Scots; but the English only knew that some brave for the sport you have shown." A very remarkable man-at-arms had fallen. Mean time the other Scotinstance of such a desperate battle occurred in the tish nobles pressed forward, and found their General year 1388. dying, among several of his faithful esquires and pages, who lay slain around. A stout priest, called William of North-Berwick, the chaplain of Douglas, was protecting the body of his patron with a long lance. The Scottish nobles had determined upon an invasion of England on a large scale, and had assembled a great army for that purpose; but learning that the people of Northumberland were assembling an army on the eastern frontier, they resolved to limit their incursion to that which might be achieved by the Farl of Douglas, with a chosen band of four or five "How fares it, cousin?" said Sinclair, the first Scottish knight who came up to the wounded leader. "Indifferently," answered Douglas; "but blessed be God, my ancestors have died in fields of battle, not on down-beds. I sink fast; but let them still cry my war-cry, and conceal my death from my followers. There was a tradition in our family that a dead Douglas should win a field, and I trust it will this day be accomplished." The nobles did as he had enjoined; they concealed the Earl's body, and again rushed on to the battle, shouting "Douglas! Douglas!" louder than before. The English were weakened by the loss of the brave brothers Henry and Ralph Percy, both of whom were made prisoners, fighting most gallantly, and almost no man of note amongst the English escaped death or captivity. Hence a Scottish poet has said of the name of Douglas Hosts have been known at that dread sound to yield, And Douglas dead, his name has won the field." Sir Henry Percy became the prisoner of Sir Hugh Montgomery, who obliged him for ransom to build a castle for him at Penorn in Ayrshire. The battle of Otterburn was disastrous to the leaders on both sides -Percy being made captive, and Douglas slain on the field. It has been the subject of many songs and poems, and the great historian Froissart says that one other action only excepted, it was the best fought battle of that warlike time. Robert II. died 19th April, 1390. His reign did not approach in glory to that of his maternal grandfather Robert Bruce; but it was far more fortunate than that of David II. The claims of Baliol to the crown were not revived; and though the English made more than one incursion into Scotland, they never were able to retain long possession of the country. CHAPTER XV. Accession of Robert III-Disorderly state of the HighlandsConflict between the Clan Chattan and the Clan Kay, on the North Inch of Perth-Character and death of the Duke of Rothsay, the heir apparent-Capture of Prince James, by the English, and death of Robert III. THE eldest Son of Robert II. was originally called John. But it was a popular remark, that the Kings named John, both of France and England, had been unfortunate, and the Scottish people were very partial to the name of Robert, from its having been borne by the great Bruce, John Stewart, therefore, on ascending the Scottish throne, changed his name to that of Robert III. We shall see, however, that this poor King remained as unfortunate as if his name had been still John. sweeping blow at the armed knight with his twohanded sword. The stroke, made with all the last energies of a dying man, cut through Lindsay's stirrup and steel boot, and though it did not sever his leg from his body, yet wounded him so severely as to oblige him to quit the field. It happened, fortunately perhaps for the Lowlands, that the wild Highlanders were as much addicted to quarrel with each other as with their neighbours. Two clans, or rather two leagues or confederacies, composed each of several separate clans, fell into such deadly feud with each other, as filled the whole neighbourhood with slaughter and discord. When this feud or quarrel could be no otherwise ended, it was resolved the difference should be decided by a combat of thirty men of the Clan Chattan, against the same number of the Clan Kay; that the battle should take place on the North Inch of Perth, a beautiful and level meadow, in part surrounded by the river Tay; and that it should be fought in presence of the King and his nobles. Now, there was a cruel policy in this arrangement; for it was to be supposed that all the best and leading men of each can world desire to be among the thirty which were to fight for their honour, it was no less to expected that the battle would be very bloody and desperate. Thus, the probable event would be, that both clans, having lost very many of their best and bravest men, would be more easily managed in future. Such was probably the view of the King and his counsellors in permitting this desperate conflict, which, however, was much in the spirit of the times. The parties on each side were drawn out, armed with sword and target, axe and dagger, and stood looking on each other with fierce and savage aspects, when, just as the signal for fight was expected, the commander of the Clan Chattan perceived that one of his men, whose heart had failed him, had deserted his standard. There was no time to seek another man from the clan, so the chieftain, as his only resource, was obliged to offer a reward to any one who would fight in the room of the fugitive. Perhaps you think it might be difficult to get a man, who, for a small hire, would undergo the perils of a battle which was likely to be so obstinate and deadly. But in that fighting age, men valued their lives lightly. One Henry Wynd, a citizen of Perth, and a saddler by trade, a little bandy-legged man, but of great strength and activity, and well accustomed to use the broadsword, offered himself, for half a French crown, to serve on the part of the Clan Chattan in the battle of that day. The disturbances of the Highlands were one of the plagues of his reign. You must recollect that that The signal was then given by sound of the royal extensive range of mountains was inhabited by a trumpets, and of the great war bagpipes of the race of men different in language and manners from Highlanders, and the two parties fell on each other the Lowlanders, and divided into families called with the utmost fury, their natural ferocity of temper Clans. The English termed them the Wild Scots, being excited by feudal hatred against the hostile and the French the Scottish savages; and, in good clan, zeal for the honour of their own, and a contruth, very wild and savage they seem to have been.sciousness that they were fighting in presence of the The losses which the Low Country had sustained by King and nobles of Scotland. As they fought with the English wars had weakened the counties next to the two-handed sword and axe, the wounds they inthe Highlands so much, that they became unable to flicted on each other were of a ghastly size and repress the incursions of the mountaineers, who de- character. Heads were cloven asunder, limbs were scended from their hills, took spoil, burned and de- lopped from the trunk. The meadow was soon stroyed, as if in the country of an enemy. flooded with blood, and covered with dead and wounded men. In 1392, a large body of these Highlanders broke down from the Grampian Mountains. The chiefs were called Clan-Donnochy, or sons of Duncan, answering to the clan now called Robertson. A party of the Ogilvies and Lindsays, under Sir Walter Ogilvy, Sheriff of Angus, marched hastily against them, and charged them with their lances. But notwithstanding the advantage of their being mounted and completely sheathed in armour, the Highlanders defended themselves with such ferocity, as to slay the Sheriff and sixty of his followers, and repulse the Lowland gentlemen. To give some idea of their ferocity, it is told that Sir David Lindsay, having in the first encounter run his lance through the body of one of the Highlanders, bore him down and pinned him to the earth. In this condition, and in his dying agonies, the Highlander writhed himself upwards on the spear, and exerted his last strength in fetching a In the midst of this deadly conflict, the chieftain of the Clan Chattan observed that Henry Wynd, after he had slain one of the Clan Kay, drew aside, and did not seem willing to fight more. How is this," said he, "art thou afraid?" "Not I," answered Henry; "but I have done enough of work for half-a-crown." "Forward and fight," said the Highland chief; "he that doth not grudge his day's work, I will not stint him in his wages.' Thus encouraged, Henry Wynd again plunged into the conflict, and, by his excellence as a swordsman, contributed a great deal to the victory,, which at length fell to the Clan Chattan. Ten of the victors, with Henry Wynd, whom the Highlanders called the Gow Chrom, (that is, the crooked or bandy-legged smith, though he was saddler, for war-saddles were then made of steel,) were left alive, but they were all wounded. Only one of the Clan Kay survived, and he was unhurt. But this single individual dared not oppose himself to eleven men, though all more or less hurt, but throwing himself into the Tay, swam to the other side, and went off to carry to the Highlands the news of his clan's defeat. It is said, he was so ill received by his kinsmen that he put himself to death. Some part of the above story is matter of tradition, but the general fact is certain. Henry Wynd was rewarded to the Highland chieftain's best abilities; but it was remarked, that, when the battle was over, he was not able to tell the name of the clan he fought for, replying, when asked on which side he had been, that he was fighting for his own hand. Hence the proverb, "Every man for his own hand, as Harry Wynd fought." In the mean time troubles, to which we have formerly alluded, broke out in the family of Robert III. The King had been lamed in early youth by the kick of a horse, which had prevented his engaging in war. He was by disposition peaceful, religious, and just, but not firm of mind, and easily imposed on by those about him, and particularly by his brother the Duke of Albany, a man of an enterprising character, but crafty, ambitious, and cruel. This Prince, the next heir to the crown, if the King's children could be displaced, continued to sow strife and animosity betwixt his father and the Duke of Rothsay, the eldest son of Robert III., and heir to his kingdom. Rothsay was young, gay, and irregular, his father old, and strict in his principles; occasions of quarrel easily arose betwixt them, and Albany represented the conduct of the son to the father in the worst light. The King and Queen seem to have been of opinion, that the marriage of the Prince might put an end to his idle and licentious course of life. But Albany, whom they consulted, conducted this important affair in a manner disgraceful to the Royal Family. He proceeded upon the principle, that the Prince should marry the daughter of the Scottish noble who was willing to pay the largest sum of money for the honour of connecting himself with the royal family. The powerful George Earl of March, was at first the largest offerer. But although the Prince was contracted to the daughter of that nobleman, yet the match was broken off by Albany, when a still larger sum was offered by the Earl of Douglas, who, having himself married the King's sister, was now desirous that their daughter should wed the heir of the throne. They were married accordingly, but in an evil hour. The Prince continued to give offence by the levity of his conduct; Albany continued to pour his complaints into the King's ear, and Douglas became also the enemy of his royal son-in-law. The history of this reign being imperfect, we do not distinctly know what charges were brought against the Duke of Rothsay, or how far they were true or false. But it seems certain that he was delivered up by his father to the power of his uncle of Albany, and his father-in-law the Earl of Douglas, who treated him with the utmost cruelty. in the month of March 1402, of famine, the most severe and lingering mode among the many by which life may be ended. There is no evidence that the old King, infirm and simple-minded as he was, suspected the foul play which his son had received; but the vengeance of God seemed to menace the country in which such a tragedy had been acted. The Earl of March, incensed at the breach of the contract betwixt his daughter and the Prince, deserted the Scottish cause, and embraced that of England. He fled to Northumberland, and from thence made repeated incurIsions upon the Scottish frontier. The Earl of Douglas, placing himself at the head of ten thousand men, made an incursion into England, with banner displayed, and took great spoil. But he was waylaid in returning, by the celebrated Hotspur, who, with George of March and others, had assembled a numerous army. Douglas took his ground on an eminence called Homildon, where his numerous ranks were exposed to the English arrows, with the same infatuation as had been displayed at so many other battles, the Scots suffering great loss, for which they were unable to repay the enemy. While they were thus sustaining a dreadfully unequal combat, a bold Scottish knight, named Sir John Swinton, called with a loud voice, "Why do we remain here on this hillside, to be shot like stags with arrows, when we might rush down upon the English, and dispute the combat hand to hand?" There was a young nobleman in the host, called the Lord of Gordon. The person living whom he most detested was this same Sir John Swinton, because in some private quarrel he had slain Gordon's father. But when he heard him give such resolute and brave advice in that dreadful extremity, he required to be made a knight at Swinton's hand; "for," said he, "from the hand of no wiser leader or braver man can I ask that honour." Swinton granted his prayer, and that done, he and Gordon rushed down side by side with their followers, and made considerable slaughter amongst the English. But not being supported by other chiefs, they were overpowered and cut to pieces. The Scots lost the battle, sustaining a total defeat; and Douglas, wounded, and having lost an eye, fell into the hands of the English as a prisoner. Το A singular train of events followed, which belong rather to English than Scottish history, but which it is proper you should know. The Earl of Northumberland, father to Hotspur, had determined to rebel against Henry IV., then King of England. strengthen their forces, they gave Douglas his liberty, and engaged him to assist them in the civil war which was impending. Douglas came accordingly with a band of his countrymen, and joined Henry Percy, called Hotspur. They marched together into England, and fought a memorable battle with the royal forces, near Shrewsbury. As Henry IV. was personally present in the battle, Douglas resolved to seek him out, and end the contest by killing or making him prisoner. The King had, however, several other champions in the field, armed and mounted exactly like himself. Of these, Douglas killed no less than three, exclaiming with amazement, as they appeared one after another; so that when at length he encountered the real king, he called out, Where the devil do all these kings come from?" He attacked Henry himself with the same fury with which he had assaulted those who represented him, over threw the royal banner, slaying a valiant knight, Si Thomas Blunt, to whose care it had been committed, and was about to kill the King. But numbers, and especially the valiant Prince of Wales, his son, came to the King of England's assistance; and before Douglas could fight his way forward to Henry, Hotspur was killed by an arrow-shot, and his party were obliged to fly. Douglas at length condescended to fly also, but his horse stumbling in ascending a hill, he was again wounded and taken. A villain named Ramorgny, with the assistance of Sir William Lindsay, was furnished with a warrant for apprehending and confining the person of the heir apparent of Scotland. Armed with this authority, they seized upon him as he was journeying in Fife, without any suspicion-placed him upon an ordinary work-horse, and conducted him to the strong tower, or castle, of Falkland, belonging to Albany, It was a heavy fall of rain, but the poor Prince was allowed no other shelter than a peasant's cloak. When in that gloomy fortress, he was thrown into a dungeon and deprived of food. It is said that one woman, touched with his lamentations, contrived to bring him from time to time thin barley cakes, concealed in her veil, which she passed through the bars of his prison; and that another woman supplied him with milk from her own bosom. Both were disco-exhausted by age, infirmities, and family calamity. vered, and what scanty resources their charity could afford were intercepted, and the unhappy Prince died We return to poor King Robert, who was now He had still a remaining son, called James, about eleven years old, and he was probably afraid to in wise the Highlanders, at that time a wild and barbarous people, would have overrun and perhaps actually conquered, a great part of the civilized country. The battle of Harlaw was long remembered, owing to the bravery with which the field was disputed. trust him to the keeping of Albany, as his death | tle. This was fortunate for Scotland, since other would have rendered that ambitious Prince next heir to the throne. He resolved, therefore, to send the young Prince to France, under pretence that he would receive a better education there than Scotland could afford him. An English vessel took that on board of which the Prince was sailing to France, and James was sent to London. When Henry heard that the Prince of Scotland was in his power, he resolved to detain him a prisoner. This was very unjust, for the countries of England and Scotland were at peace together at the time. The king sent him to prison, however, saying, that " the Prince would be as well educated at his court as that of France, for that he understood French well." This was said in mockery, but Henry kept his sword in this point; and though the Scottish Prince was confined unjustly, he received an excellent education at the expense of the English monarch. This new misfortune, which placed the only remaining son of the poor old King in the hands of the English, seems to have broken the heart of Robert the Third, who died about a year afterwards, overwhelmed with calamities and infirmity. The Regent Albany died in 1419. He was succeeded in his high office by his son Murdac, Duke of Albany, a man who had neither the vices nor the virtues of his father. Duke Robert was active, crafty, suspicious. and, in one sense at least, wise. The son was indulgent, indolent, and at the same time simple and easy to be imposed upon. Many quarrels and feuds broke out in the country, and even in his own family, which had been suppressed by the strong hand of his father. Little memorable took place in the regency of Murdac, but it was remarkable for the great renown which the Scots won in the wars of France. I have told you how a body of French knights came to Scotland to assist the Scottish against the English; and you must now know how the Scottish repaid the obligation by sending over a body of men to assist Charles, King of France, who was in great danger of being completely conquered by Henry V. of England, who seemed on the point of expelling him from the kingdom, and possessing himself of the crown of France. A small army of about six or seven thousand chosen men had gone to France, under the command of John Stewart, Earl of Bu ALBANY, the brother of Robert III., was now Re-chan, the second son of the Regent Robert, Duke of gent of the kingdom, of which he had long possessed the supreme government. He was, it may be supposed, in no great hurry to obtain the release of his nephew Prince James, whose return to Scotland must have ended his own power. He was, as we have seen, a wicked, cruel, and ambitious man; yet he was regular in administering justice, and took great care not to lay any taxes on the people. Jedburgh Castle, which the English had kept ever since the battle of Durham, had been taken by the Teviotdale Borderers, and it was proposed that it should be pulled down, in order that it might not again afford the enemy a stronghold on the frontiers. To maintain the men engaged in demolishing this large and strong fortress, it was proposed to lay a small tax of two pennies on each hearth in Scotland, to defray the expense. But the Regent deter-men-at-arms on horseback. Having forced the pasmined to pay it out of his own and the King's revenue, resolved, as he said, that he would not begin his regency by a measure which must afflict the poor. In other respects, Albany was an unworthy character. He was not even brave, which was a failing uncommon in his age and family; and though he engaged in several wars with England, he did not gain either honour or success in any of them. One of the most remarkable events during his government was the battle of Harlaw. This was fought by a prince called Donald of the Isles, who possessed all the islands on the west side of Scotland. He was also the proprietor of great estates on the mainland, and aspired to the style of an independent sovereign. This Donald, in the year 1411, laid claim to the Earldom of Ross, then vacant, which the Regent had determined to bestow on a member of his own family. Donald of the Isles raised ten thousand men, all Highlanders like himself, and invading the north of Scotland, came as far as a place called Harlaw, about ten miles from Aberdeen. Here he was encountered by the Earl of Mar, at the head of an inferior army, but composed of Lowland gentlemen, better armed and disciplined than the followers of Donald. A most desperate battle ensued, in which both parties suffered great loss. On that of Donald, the chiefs of the clans, called Macintosh and Macclean, were both slain, with about a thousand men. Mar lost about five hundred brave gentlemen, amongst them Ogilvy, Scrymgeour, Irvine of Drum, and other men of rank. But the Highlanders had the worst, and were obliged to retreat after the bat Albany. He had under him Lindsay, Swinton, and other men of consequence and of fame. They gained an important victory over the English, then under command of the Duke of Clarence, brother to Henry V. This Prince, hearing that there was a body of Scots encamped at a town called Baugé, and enraged that the Scots should not only defend their own country from the English, but also come over to give them trouble in France, made a hasty march to surprise them. He left behind him those celebrated archers, who had usually afforded the English means of conquest over the enemy, because he relied upon the rapidity of his motions, as he understood the Scots were observing indifferent discipline, and not keeping a vigilant watch. He arrived at Baugé, followed only by the knights and sage of a bridge, Clarence was pressing forward at the head of his cavalry, distinguished by the richness of his armour, and by a rich golden coronet which he wore over his helmet. At this moment the Scottish knights charged the enemy. Sir John Swinton galloped against the Duke of Clarence, and unhorsed him with his lance, and the Earl of Buchan dashed out his brains with a battle-axe or mace. A great many English knights and nobles were slain at this rencounter, 22d March, 1421. The French King, to reward the valour of the Scots, created the Earl of Buchan Constable of France, (one of the highest offices in the kingdom.) and Count of Aubigny. The Scots, incited by the renown and wealth which their countrymen had acquired, came over to France in greater numbers, and the Earl of Douglas himself was tempted to bring over a little army, in which the best and noblest of the gentlemen of the south of Scotland of course enrolled themselves. They who did not go themselves, sent their sons and brothers. Sir Alexander Home of Home had intended to take this course; and his brother, David Home of Wedderburn, was equipped for the expedition. The chief himself came down to the vessel to see Douglas and his brother embark. But when the Earl saw his old companion in arms about to take leave of him, he said, "Ah! Sir Alexander, who would have thought that thou and I should ever have parted?".. "Neither will we part now, my lord," said Sir Alexander; and suddenly changing his purpose, he sent back his brother David to take care of his castle, family, and estate, and going to France with his old friend, died with him at the battle of Verneuil. CHAP. XVII.] SCOTTISH HISTORY. The Earl of Douglas, whose military fame was so great, received high honours from the King of France, and was created Duke of Touraine. The Earl was used to ridicule the Duke of Bedford, who then acted as regent for Henry VI. in France, and gave him the nickname of John with the leaden sword. Upon the 17th August, 1424, Douglas received a message from the Duke of Bedford, that he intended to come and dine and drink wine with him. Douglas well understood the nature of the visit, and sent back word that he should be welcome. The Scots and French prepared for battle, but the Earl of Douglas, who considered their situation as favourable, recommended that they should receive the attack of the English, instead of advancing to meet them. The French Count de Narbonne, however, insisted that they should attack instead of remaining in their position; and putting the French in motion, declared he would advance to the fight whether the Scots did so or not. Douglas was thus compelled to advance likewise, but it was in disorder. The English archers in the meantime showered their arrows on the French: their men-at-arms charged; and a total rout of the allied army was the consequence. Douglas and Buchan stood their ground, fought desperately, and died nobly. Home, Lindsay, Swinton, and far the greater part of that brave Scottish band of auxiliaries, were killed on the spot. The great Earl of Douglas, who was slain at Verneuil, was distinguished from the rest of his family by the name of Tine-man, that is Lose-man, as he was defeated in the great battles of Homildon, Shrewsbury, and finally in that of Verneuil, where he lost his life. His contemporary and rival, George Earl of March, was as remarkable for being fortunate; for whether he fought on the Scottish or English side, his party was always victorious. The slender remains of the Scottish forces were adopted by Charles of France as a life-guard; an establishment which was continued for a great many years. We return now to Scotland, where the Regent Murdac of Albany was so far from being able to guide the affairs of the state, that he could not control his own sons. There were two of them, haughty, licentious young men, who respected neither the authority of God nor man, and that of their father least of all. Their misbehaviour was so great, that Murdac began to think of putting an end to their bad conduct and his own government at the same time, by obtaining the deliverance of the King from English captivity. A singular piece of insolence, on the part of his eldest son, is said to have determined him to this CHAPTER XVII. State of the Highlands-Conspiracy against, and Murder of, THIS King James the First was also the first of The first vengeance of the laws fell upon Murdac, who, with his two sons, was tried and condemned at Stirling for abuse of the King's authority, committed while Murdac was Regent. They were beheaded at the little eminence at Stirling, which is still shown on the Castle-hill. The Regent from that elevated spot might have a distant view of the magnificent Castle of Doune, which he had built for regret their contempt of their father's authority, and his residence; and the sons had ample reason to to judge the truth of his words, when he said he would James afterwards turned his cares to the Highbring in one who would rule them all. lands, which were in a state of terrible confusion. He marched into those disturbed districts with a strong army, and seized upon more than forty of the chiefs, by whom these broils and quarrels were countenanced, put many of them to death, and obliged others to find security that they would be quiet in future. Alaster MacDonald, Lord of the Isles, enmeasures taken against him by James reduced his deavoured to oppose the royal authority; but the power so much, that he was at last obliged to submit to the King's mercy. For this purpose the humbled chief came to Edinburgh secretly, and suddenly appeared in the Cathedral Church, where the King was employed in his devotions upon Easter-day. He was without bonnet, armour, or ornaments, had his legs and arms bare, and his body only covered with a plaid. In this condition he submitted himself to the King's pleasure; and holding a naked sword in his hand by the point, he offered the hilt to the King, in token of his unreserved submission. James forgave Queen and nobles present, but he detained him a him his repeated offences, at the intercession of the prisoner in the strong Castle of Tantallon, in East Lothian. Yet, after this submission of the principal chief, the West Highlanders and people of the Isles again revolted, under the command of Donald Balloch, the kinsman of Alaster, who landed on the mainland with a considerable force, and defeated the Earls of Mar and of Caithness with great slaughter; but when he heard that James was coming against him, Donald thought it best to retreat to Ireland. James put to death many of his followers. Donald himself was afterwards killed in Ireland, and his head sent to the King. There is another story, which will show the cruelty Macdonald, head of a band in Ross-shire, had plunand ferocity of these Highland robbers. Another dered a poor widow woman, who, in her anger, exredress, should she travel to Edinburgh to seek him. claimed repeatedly that she would go to the King for Accordingly, he caused "It is a long journey," answered the barbarian; "and that you may perform it the better, I will have you shod for the occasion." a smith to nail shoes to the poor woman's feet, as if they had been those of a horse. The widow, however, being a woman of high spirit, was determined to keep her word; and as soon as her wounds permitted her to travel, she did actually go on foot to Edinburgh, and, throwing herself before James, acquainted him with the cruelty which had been exercised on her. James,, in great resentment, lowers, to be seized, and to have their feet shod with caused Macdonald, and twelve of his principal fol |