CHAPTER V.

STATE OF SCOTLAND AFTER THE RETURN OF EDWARD.--VARIOUS EXPLOITS OF WALLACE.--BALIOL DELIVERED OVER TO THE POPE.--THE SCOTS BESIEGE STIRLING CASTLE.--EDWARD RAISES AN ARMY FOR ITS RELIEF.--THE ENGLISH BARONS REFUSE TO ACCOMPANY HIM.--SURRENDER OF STIRLING CASTLE.--CONDUCT OF CUMYN.

On retiring with his army, as stated in the last chapter, Edward left behind him a considerable force to protect that part of Scotland which lay contiguous to England, and which he seemed determined, if possible, to annex to his own dominions. Although his invasion had been productive of very disastrous consequences to the Scots, they did not suffer so much on this, as they had done on former occasions. The judicious orders issued by the Guardian, for driving the cattle--which formed the principal part of their wealth--to inaccessible parts of the country, contributed not only to their safety, but also to the disappointment and distress of the enemy. On the retreat, therefore, of the grand army of Edward, the inhabitants were far from being that wretched and disspirited race, which they had appeared after the battle of Dunbar. Several of the chieftains, it is true, had repeated their oaths of fidelity to the invader, but the defection from the cause of liberty was by no means general. The principal places of strength, with the exception of Stirling, were in the hands of the Scots; and the impregnable fortress of Dumbarton[33] had been given, by Wallace, in consequence of his services in the cause of his country, in charge to Sir John Stewart of Rusky, better known by the name of Menteith. This man had been present with Wallace at the burning of the barns of Ayr, as well as in many other situations of danger and difficulty. According to Henry, when the Guardian bestowed this charge upon him, he stipulated for the erection of a small house for himself within the fortress, in the building of which considerable progress had been made, when the English army entered Scotland. Some writers allege, that the reason which induced Wallace to make choice of such a situation, was the great friendship which existed between him and Menteith, to whose society, they say, he was much attached, and which, by this means, he would have a better opportunity of enjoying. With this opinion, however, we cannot agree. That Menteith was high in the confidence of Wallace, is sufficiently evident from his appointing him to so important a trust--for, besides the governorship of the castle, his situation naturally gave him the command of a considerable part of the district of Lennox--yet we conceive that Wallace had other motives for selecting such a place of retirement, than the mere pleasure of enjoying the society of a friend, however valued that friend might have been. The hostility which he had excited in the breast of Edward by his conduct in Scotland, as well as by his invasion of England, gave him every reason to dread the revenge of that haughty and crafty potentate; while the vacillating character of a great proportion of the nobility--joined to that inextinguishable jealousy which existed against him in the minds of some of the most powerful families--made it both desirable and prudent to look out for a place where, in the decline of life, he might be secure from the attempts of his country’s enemies, as well as the machinations of his own. The more immediate cause, however, may have been the safety of his surviving relations. The circumstance of so many of them having already suffered on his account, would, no doubt, make him consider it as a duty incumbent on him to provide for those that remained. His uncle, the parson of Dunipace, he had but recently relieved from a dungeon, into which the English had thrown him; and his mother had frequently been obliged to fly from the fortalice of Elderslie, in order to preserve herself from falling into the hands of the enemy. These, we presume, to have been the motives which induced him to stipulate for this little sanctuary, and not an overweening affection for the society of Menteith. His selection of him, however, for this purpose, shows the entire confidence he had in his fidelity.

With regard to the building itself,[34] we have it on record, that the workmen on one occasion had to desist from their operations, in consequence of the English having taken possession of the town: they were, however, soon dislodged by Wallace, who surprised them at midnight, and drove them out with great slaughter. This affair is supposed to have taken place after the battle of Falkirk.[35]

Aware that the approach of winter would render the conveyance of military stores almost impracticable, after his return to England, Edward lost no time in despatching to the castles of Stirling, Dumfries, Lochmaben, and the other fortressses in his possession, those necessaries of which they were most likely to be in want.[36] But the active and persevering character of the enemy he had to contend with, made him apprehensive that they would avail themselves of his absence, and the inclemency of the season, to recover the strengths they had lost in the last campaign; and in this he was not mistaken, for winter had scarcely commenced, before Wallace and the Scottish regents laid siege to, and recaptured, several places of importance.

During 1299, while hostilities were still going on, Baliol appears to have become an object of negociation between the Pope and the English court, although the Pontiff had solemnly and repeatedly declared his fixed determination never to interfere in the affairs of Scotland; assuring Edward of his conviction “that the Scots were a false and treacherous people,” and that he believed they had a design against his life. Still his liege-lord held the King of Scotland in unmitigated captivity,[37] till, at the urgent entreaty of the Pope, he was delivered over to the Papal Nuncio, with liberty to dispose of him and his English possessions as the Pontiff thought proper. It is possible that the renunciation of the guardianship on the part of Wallace, conduced as much as any thing else to Baliol’s release; and it is likely that the crafty usurper conceived the measure might distract the regency, by exciting anew the jealous competition among the former claimants of the crown. If this were his intention he must have felt grievously disappointed on learning that the regents, awed, no doubt, by the watchfulness and influence of the late Guardian, continued to act in concert, and had even laid siege to the strong castle of Stirling, which he had been at such pains to repair and provision.[38] The vigour with which the operations against this fortress were carried on, soon compelled the besieged to despatch messengers to Edward to acquaint him with their situation; and fully aware of the importance of the place, and determined to relieve it, the latter assembled his army at Berwick early in November. His barons, however, he found intractable. Certain charters had not been confirmed, and certain lands in Scotland had been gifted away to strangers without their consent and contrary to his engagements; in consequence of which they resolutely refused to proceed beyond Berwick, alleging, among other causes, the impolicy of undertaking a campaign beset with so many dangers, at such an advanced season of the year. Edward and his barons were alike obstinate, and the latter retired in dudgeon; while he, in the same humour, marched forward with the remains of his army to the relief of Stirling. He had not, however, proceeded far, before he became acquainted with the numbers and formidable position occupied by the Scots. Thus circumstanced, he retraced his steps, and allowed the garrison to negociate a surrender;[39] in consequence of which, the castle was shortly after given up to Lord Soulis, one of the Regents, who placed it under the charge of Sir William Olifant, a brave knight, who proved himself in every respect deserving of the trust reposed in him.

John Cumyn, the other Regent, is said to have also gained advantages over the enemy, and to have, in other respects, conducted himself so as in a great measure to efface the remembrance of his former offences. Indeed, so well pleased were the generality of his countrymen with his proceedings on the commencement of the regency, that we find some of the old historians applying to him the epithet of the “_Gude Scottisman_.” From this circumstance, some have supposed, that John Cumyn, the Regent here alluded to, was not the same who behaved with such treachery at the battle of Falkirk. In this opinion they at first sight appear to be countenanced by Wyntown, who styles him “_Jhon Comyn, that was Jhon Comyn’s swn_;” but, it must be recollected that there were three Cumyns of the name of John, father, son, and grandson.

The gleam of popularity which at this time shone out upon Cumyn, is not to be wondered at. Placed in a situation desirable, on account of the prospect it opened up to his ambition--and which he could only retain by a line of policy in unison with the spirit of liberty which his predecessor had infused into the people--he not only exerted himself against the common enemy, but used every effort in his power to gain the affections of his countrymen. His large possessions and great wealth, which, it is said, were never equalled by those of any family in Scotland, enabled him to relieve the people from various imposts necessary for the support of the government; while the applications which the Regency made to France, for troops to assist them in the defence of their independence, were answered by supplies of grain and wine, which, being a boon, were sold out to the people at half their current value.

This procedure would no doubt ensure him the good opinion of that class of his countrymen, who could not see the high price, which, in a national point of view, was paid for the comforts thus procured them. The more thinking party, however, saw through the policy of France, in thus attempting to cajole the Scots with a few cargoes of wine, instead of fulfilling the terms of the treaty, offensive and defensive, that existed between them. From the dissatisfaction which this conduct, on the part of their allies, occasioned among the Scottish nobility, it was determined to send commissioners to France, to demand that assistance which they were bound to afford; and, if unsuccessful, they were instructed to proceed to Rome, and lay their grievances at the feet of the Apostolic Father, and to solicit his interference to restrain the English monarch from renewing his aggressions upon their country.