Aware, from former experience, of the difficulty of bringing Wallace to action if he were not so inclined, Percy and Clifford appear to have withdrawn their forces, satisfied with having detached the aristocracy from his standard; none remaining with our hero save the gallant Sir Andrew Murray, Sir John Graham, and a few of his own personal friends.
But the system which Wallace had organised for the emancipation of his country, was not liable to any material derangement, in consequence of the defection of a few timid and interested barons. It is true, the desertion of such men as Sir William Douglas must have occasioned him considerable regret, being thereby prevented from meeting the enemy openly in the field, with such an equality of force as would have insured success. This feeling, however, did not retard his exertions, but rather stimulated him to fresh undertakings; for we find that he shortly afterwards surprised and garrisoned the Castle of Dunotter. Tyber,[109] or Tibber, on the banks of the Nith, he also took and destroyed. Forfar, Brechin and Montrose, were either taken, or deserted by their garrisons on his approach. Aberdeen, which the enemy set on fire, and then retreated to their ships, afterwards fell into his hands. He then led his troops against the Castle of Dundee, and had already made considerable progress in the siege of that strong-hold, when he was apprised of the advance of an English army under the Earl of Warren, and Cressingham the treasurer.
Edward, dissatisfied with the imperfect measures which had been taken for the suppression of the Scottish revolt, and irritated by the accounts which were daily received of the operations of the insurgents, had despatched peremptory orders for Warren to proceed in person to the North. He also directed his writs to the Bishop and Sheriff of Aberdeenshire, commanding them to adopt strong and effectual means for extinguishing the flame of rebellion within the boundaries of their jurisdiction. They were likewise required to furnish whatever supplies might be wanted by William de Warren[110] for the defence of the Castle of Urquhart, a strong and extensive fortress on the banks of Loch Ness, of which he was governor. Warren was also ordered to be at his post, and fully prepared to meet any attempt of the enemy.
On learning the movements of the English, Wallace collected those of the burgesses of Dundee who were able to bear arms, and, placing them under the command of their townsman, Sir Alexander Scrymgeour, enjoined them, at the peril of “lyf and lyme,”[111] to continue the siege. He then retired, with his followers, who were now considerably increased, to watch the motions of the advancing army.
In cases of invasion, a favourite plan adopted by the Scots for the defence of their country, was to convey their cattle and other valuables to the more inaccessible districts north of the Forth. By this measure, they not only secured their own suppplies, but, by depriving their enemies of the means of subsistence, compelled them to an early retreat as the only resource against the miseries of starvation. On the present occasion the usual precaution was not omitted.[112]
The success which had attended our hero, since the affair of Irvine, and the formidable character of the well-disciplined force which now adhered to his banner, occasioned a wavering among a number of those barons who had so shamefully submitted to the usurper. Their situation, it must be allowed, had become one of great difficulty. The character of Wallace was stern and decisive. The punishment he inflicted on such offenders, they had reason to know was seldom mitigated by any consideration for the high rank of the parties;[113] and the English had repeatedly shown, that they were unable to protect the serviles from the vengeance of their indignant countrymen. It was therefore with no slight alarm that the party heard of the house of the Bishop of Glasgow being attacked, and pillaged, and his family carried off they knew not whither. The selection which Wallace had made of Wishart, as an example to the others, had no doubt been suggested partly by the ingratitude of that churchman, in deserting the cause, after having been, by means of the patriots, so lately restored to his diocese; and partly from his being so instrumental in the disgraceful negociation with the enemy. The sacredness attached to his character, as a priest, would speedily disappear before the heinous offence of assisting to detach, in the hour of need, the swords of a Douglas, a Lundin, and a Bruce, from the service of their country. Meanwhile the hostages for their fidelity had been carelessly exacted; and when soon after called for by Warren, (whose remiss conduct had so far incurred the displeasure of Edward, that he sent Brian Fitz Alan to supersede him as lieutenant), he found them more inclined for a new arrangement, than willing to fulfil the terms of the former. They wished, in particular, to introduce some stipulations respecting the liberty of Scotland, a proposal no doubt made for the purpose of allaying in some degree the indignation of their patriotic countrymen. The continued obstinacy, and increasing power of Wallace, was made a pretext for their non-compliance; and they could now with apparent justice decline the final ratification of a deed of treason against the independence of their country, when protection from the consequences was so extremely uncertain.
In this dilemma the Steward and the Earl of Lennox sought permission of Warren to open a communication with the leader of the Scots, under pretext of bringing him over to the interests of Edward. In consequence of this arrangement, these chiefs ventured to visit the Scottish army, which, by this time, had reached the neighbourhood of Stirling, and taken up a strong position near the bridge, where it appeared determined to wait the approach of the English. The retiring population had left little behind them that could be useful to the enemy; all their cattle and provisions being now secured in the rear of the protecting columns of their countrymen. This rendered the position of Wallace still more valuable, prepared, as he was, in the event of a defeat, to fall back to certain supplies, while his opponents would be still farther removed from their resources.
But if feuds had rendered the Scots inert and submissive to the enemy at Irvine, the councils of the English were now, in their turn, distracted from the same cause. The mind of Warren appeared more occupied in brooding over his late disgrace, than in attending to the details of the campaign; while Cressingham,[114] a haughty, ambitious, and imperious churchman, assumed additional importance on learning that his colleague had incurred the royal displeasure. Conflicting measures, supported by querulous and acrimonious language, engendered a dangerous spirit of animosity between them. Cressingham, on the plea of economy, ordered the disbanding of a body of eight thousand foot and three hundred cavalry, commanded by Lord Henry Percy, a force which Warren wished to retain as a reserve; and during the altercations which this occasioned, the communications of the Steward and the Earl of Lennox with the Scottish camp were injudiciously allowed to continue.
On the arrival, however, of the English in front of the position occupied by the Scots, those noblemen returned. With well feigned displeasure they announced their inability to make any pacific impression on Wallace and his followers; and then took their leave, for the alleged purpose of bringing up a number of their mounted vassals to join the English, who were to defile along the bridge in the morning.
Five thousand foot and a body of Welsh archers had passed the bridge before Warren had left his bed.[115] Whether this sluggishness on the part of the English general arose from indisposition or chagrin, is not explicitly stated. The troops, however, on finding that they were not supported by the rest of the army, returned to their station. Warren, who arose about an hour after,—feeling, perhaps, reluctant to attack the Scots in their present position, and not deeming it prudent to calculate on the recurrence of the same mistake which had given him so easy a victory at Dunbar,—despatched two friars to make a last attempt at pacification.