government was assigned to men of whose devotedness he could have no doubt-Henry de Percy, John de Hodleston, and, ultimately, to Alanus la Sousche, who also had jurisdiction over a great portion of the surrounding territory.* Nithsdale and its chief town had, since the light of history was cast upon them, experienced many changes; but never till this period had they been placed under the foot of an oppressive conqueror. The Selgovæ, as we have seen, were not tyrannized over by the Romans; and the succeeding races who took root in the district fraternized with and did not trample upon the resident population. It was a new as well as a painful thing, therefore, for the people to know and feel that they were in a state of thraldom. Their native rulers were displaced; foreign lords occupied their lands and castles; and the "crown of the causeway" was usurped by an insolent soldiery, who paid no respect to gentle or simple, but were the rude enforcers of the English usurpation, and, as such, bent on breaking down the spirit of the people, and impoverishing them both in mind and body.

Though a great amount of license was given to the soldiers, they were required to respect ecclesiastical property of all kinds-Edward being anxious to keep on good terms with the Pope. He also sent letters to men of influence, enjoining them to protect abbeys, priories, monasteries, and other religious houses. Communications of this nature were addressed to the “Earls of Strevelyn, Dunfres, Edinburgh, and Berwick,"† in favour of the Abbot "de Sancta Cruce;" and to the Governor of Dumfries, on behalf of the Prioress of Lincluden, "Dungallus, Abbot de Sacro Nemore (Holywood), Andreas, vicar of Dalgarnock, Walter Lilleslief, parson of Kylebride, and Robertus filius Rodulphi, parson of the Church of St. Cuthbert de Ewytesdale." §

Throughout Dumfriesshire and Scotland generally, the yoke of vassalage was impatiently borne; and if the conqueror, when at Perth praying and carousing by turns, really cheated himself into the belief that, though foiled at first, he had now with the

* Redpath's Border History, p. 201; and Rotuli Scotia, p. 30.
+ Rymer's Foedera.

‡ Dungal was probably one of the family of Dunegal of Stranid.

§ Rymer's Fœdera.

strong hand fairly quenched the fire of Scottish independence, he was soon undeceived. He had succeeded in putting down all show of opposition; and, in order to retain his hold upon the country, he strengthened its garrisons, and took means for overawing its most turbulent portion, the Border district, by appointing wardens to govern it, with special powers applicable to its frontier position. Having to all appearance realized his utmost wishes in Scotland, he proceeded to France, to try if haply he might meet with the same good fortune there. He aimed at making that country also acknowledge the superiority of his arms; and while engaged in the fallacious effort-pursuing a shadow-the substance he had already acquired eluded his

grasp.

CHAPTER VI.

APPEARANCE OF WALLACE AS THE CHAMPION OF SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCEVISIT OF THE PATRIOT CHIEF TO ANNANDALE-HE REPEATEDLY DEFEATS ITS ENGLISH OCCUPANTS, AND TAKES FROM THEM THE CASTLE OF LOCHMABEN-EXPLOITS OF SIR WILLIAM DOUGLAS IN UPPER NITHSDALE, AND CAPTURE BY HIM OF THE CASTLES OF DURISDEER AND SANQUHAR RETURN OF WALLACE TO DUMFRIESSHIRE-HE DEFEATS THE ENEMY NEAR DUMFRIES, AND PURSUES THEM THROUGH THE TOWN-SCOTLAND FREED FROM FOREIGN DOMINATION, IS AGAIN PARTIALLY SUBJECTED TO IT ON. THE DEFEAT OF WALLACE AT FALKIRK — ARTFUL POLICY OF EDWARD TOWARDS THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS.

KING EDWARD had not been long gone across the Channel till the Earl of Surrey, his guardian of Scotland, sent pressing despatches urging him to return. The King thus learned, to his surprise and regret, that rebel bands (as they were termed) had risen up in numerous directions, who were galling the English with guerilla attacks; and that if they were allowed to concentrate their efforts, and were not summarily put down, they might possibly undo all that it had cost so much blood and treasure to accomplish. One Walays or Wallace figured prominently in these urgent letters to King Edward.

That patriot, afterwards so famous, was at first heard of by his enemies as a bold, daring malcontent, who was always ready against any odds to assert his own personal independence, and proclaim his country's rights by word and deed. He would, doubtless, be deemed by them a mere foolhardy bravo, till his more private scuffles with the insolent soldiery at Ayr and Dundee gave place to skirmishes on a wider scale; in which, sallying forth with a handful of followers as recklessly defiant as himself, he encountered large bands of English with unvarying Wallace, in this way, gradually became a felt power in the land; his name, before Edward returned from France, had become the watchword of freedom, and had been heard sounding as such not merely in the east and west, but in Nithsdale

success.

and Annandale-where, notwithstanding the special precaution taken by the Government, a spirit of revolt was beginning to show itself.

For the purpose of keeping it in check, Lord Clifford proceeded from Carlisle into Dumfriesshire, and devastated the country, putting many of its suspected inhabitants to death. Patriotism, however, was not uprooted from it by this sanguinary process: the plant deluged by blood retained its vitality. Soon after Clifford had finished his cruel mission, John de St. John* became keeper of the district-his rule extending southwards to Carlisle and eastwards to Roxburghshire; but though he appears to have had a numerous force, he never succeeded in securing the thorough submission of the people. St. John, while pretty safe in the strong Castle of Dumfries, was liable to be every now and then alarmed by rumours of risings, true or false, against his authority; and he did not know the moment when the rebels of the town and neighbourhood might muster in full force to strike for liberty and revenge. This officer, when lording it over the district, must have lived in great style. We learn from the wardrobe accounts of Edward I., that St. John was allowed forty caparisoned horses, the maintenance of which was £5 3s. 6d. a day; and that for his personal following he had a knight banneret, six knights, and thirty esquires, whose pay was from 4s. a day to 1s.-large sums, though seemingly small, since their value with reference to all commodities was at least ten times as great as the same amounts at the present day.

Lord Clifford was always at hand, however, to assist St. John in case of need; and a second time he made a terrorist raid across the Border, in which he burnt and sacked the town of Annan, with its church, and treated in a similar way no fewer than ten villages in the vicinity, most of which never again rose out of their ashes. These merciless proceedings had a certain amount of present influence; but when a reaction came, it was thereby rendered more decisive and overwhelming: and, meanwhile, preparations for it were rapidly going on, for Wallace himself, leaving Ayrshire, appeared in the neighbourhood of * Caledonia, vol. iii., p. 82.

+ Knighton, p. 2522; Haile's Annals of Scotland, p. 263; and Redpath's Border History, p. 212.

Dumfries, calling the people to arms, and sounding there as elsewhere the knell of Edward's hated dominion.

Under what particular circumstances the hero was led to leave his native shore, the scene of his chief efforts about this time, and proceed southward, we cannot say. Tradition and history combine to show that in 1297, or the following year, before he fairly appeared as the national champion, he had several affrays with the enemy in the neighbourhood of Lochmaben.* On one occasion, it is said, a party of Englishmen maltreated the horses of himself and followers by cutting off their tails-for which he took ample vengeance. Sir Hugh Moreland, hearing of what had occurred, hurried after the Scots, being able to trace them to Knockwood, in the neighbouring parish of Kirkmichael, by the blood which streamed from their wounded horses. Wallace, reinforced by sixteen friends, who had been lurking in the wood, turned upon his pursuers and put them to the rout. Several large stones may still be seen in Knockwood, at a place called "The Six Corses," which are supposed to mark the spot where Sir Hugh Moreland and five of his followers fell; and near by there are slight remains of fortifications visible, one of which is said to have been occupied by Wallace, in order to protect himself from another English force which hastened from Lochmaben Castle on being apprized of the conflict that had occurred.

This body, consisting of three hundred horsemen, commanded by an officer named Graystock, surrounded the fortlet; but its occupants managed to effect their escape, and it was not till a day or two afterwards that the latter were overtaken. Then ensued a stoutly contested engagement. The Scots, whilst on their retreat, had been joined by Sir John Graham and Sir Roger Kirkpatrick, each bringing with them a few retainers; and, but for this circumstance, even the herculean prowess of Wallace might have been of little avail against the enemy's superior force. During the thick of the fight, the English leader fell mortally wounded; and his surviving followers forthwith fled, seeking refuge in the Forest of Knockwood, from which the Scots had previously withdrawn. Wallace did not follow far in pursuit ; but, collecting his men together, turned in the direction of Lochmaben Castle, fired with the ambition of seizing that important * Blind Harry, book v.