CHAPTER X.
EDWARD’S POLICY RESPECTING THE SETTLEMENT OF SCOTLAND.—ENDEAVOURS TO GAIN WALLACE TO HIS INTEREST.—SIEGE OF STIRLING.—IT SURRENDERS.—CONDUCT OF EDWARD TOWARDS THE PRISONERS.—HALIBURTON UNDERTAKES TO BETRAY WALLACE.

Edward having returned from the bleak regions of the North, took up his quarters in Dunfermline,[59] judging that his presence in the country, during the winter, would contribute much towards establishing his authority, as he had formerly observed, that the places he had conquered from the Scots in summer, were generally retaken when the severe weather set in. He accordingly took every precaution for the comfort of his troops; large supplies of provisions being ordered, both by sea and land, that his army might not be placed in such difficulties as had formerly compelled him to retreat into England.

In order, also, to secure his present conquest, he began to assimilate the state of the country as much as possible to that of his other dominions; and, for this purpose, he abrogated all the old laws and customs—substituting those of England in their steed.[60] In the prosecution of this object, he announced a parliament at St Andrew’s, which was attended by all Scotsmen of any note, except Sir William Wallace, Sir Simon Frazer, and Sir William Oliphant, governor of Stirling Castle, the latter of whom refused either to appear or surrender the trust, which had been committed to him by Lord Soulis, who happened then to be in France. Of this fortress, which was now the only one that held out against him, Edward determined to gain possession as soon as the season would permit. As to Wallace, it is said, that, at this time, among other great offers, he tendered him the crown of Scotland, provided he would accept of it in fee of the crown of England; to which, with his usual dignity, Wallace replied, that as he had been born a free man, he was determined to die one; and that he preferred rather to be the subject of his lawful sovereign, than the crowned slave of one who had no right to his allegiance.[61] That Edward was sincere in this offer, is a matter of considerable doubt;—he had already cajoled others by similar proposals, and he might naturally conceive, that although Wallace should not be caught by the bait, the offer would have the effect of exciting the suspicions of his countrymen, and thereby weakening his influence among them. But whatever his motives may have been, Wallace sternly rejected all compromise, and remained the only Scotsman who never acknowledged his authority. On the present occasion, Sir Simon Frazer followed his example, for which the tyrant passed sentence of banishment and outlawry against him. This gallant gentleman, who now adhered to the fortunes of Wallace, had given great offence to Edward, by the conspicuous part he had acted at the battle of Roslin, as it was generally believed to have been owing principally to him that the English sustained the mortifying defeat.

1304. Early in the spring Edward discovered, that, through the exertions of Wallace and Frazer, a body of troops had been got together; in order to disperse which, before it became too formidable, he took the field, and proceeded towards Stirling, in the neighbourhood of which it had assembled. The force under the patriots, however, when compared with the enemy, was so very insignificant, that they prudently retreated to their former places of refuge. On the 21st April the siege of Stirling commenced, and continued without intermission till the 24th July; thus occupying Edward and his army for three months and three days, during which time every artifice was put in practice, and every piece of mechanism then known was directed against the besieged.

The stubbornness of the garrison, however, seemed to increase as the means of annoyance multiplied around them; and the anxiety of Edward to gain this last stronghold of the liberties of Scotland was displayed, by his close and unremitting attendance on the details of the siege. Though now advanced in years, he is represented as exposing himself with all the imprudent gallantry of a youthful warrior; and on one or two occasions he had nearly fallen a victim to his temerity. While riding near the walls, a stone, from one of the engines at work on the rampart, struck the ground before him with so much violence, that his horse backed, and fell under him; and at another time, a javelin, thrown by a soldier on the wall, struck him on the breast, and stuck between the plates of his armour. The point of the missile, however, had not pierced the skin. Pulling it out with his hand, he shook it in defiance, and loudly proclaimed that he would hang the villain who had hit him. In the mean time, the engines belonging to the castle were so well managed, and the enormous stones which they threw, so skilfully directed, that great numbers of the besiegers were destroyed.

Edward now saw, that, without still greater efforts, the place was not likely soon to capitulate. He therefore wrote to London, and other towns in England, ordering the most powerful engines to be sent him, with supplies of javelins, quarrells, and other missiles; and the lead was torn from the roof of the Cathedral of St Andrew’s to furnish materials for the siege. Thirteen engines of the largest size were at last brought to bear upon the castle, one of which, called by Langtoft “the Ludgare,[62] or Lurdare of Strivelyn,” was of the most formidable description. This “hidous engyn,” when put in operation, made tremendous breaches in the walls, which the besieged in vain attempted to repair; and after many destructive sallies, and “fulle and hard affrays,” and a siege unparalleled in the history of the war—their provisions exhausted, and their walls torn to pieces—Sir William Oliphant and his brave little garrison were forced to surrender at discretion. Every possible indignity which a tyrannical mind destitute of generosity, and exasperated by opposition, could inflict, was now heaped upon the gallant defenders. They were compelled to go in procession to the tent of Edward, and—denuded of every garment save their shirts, their heads and feet uncovered—on their bended knees, with uplifted hands, had thus to implore his clemency; upon which their magnanimous conqueror condescended to spare their lives, and sent them to expiate their offences in the dungeons of England. The garrison, according to Langtoft, consisted of Sir William Oliphant, Sir William Duplin, twenty gentlemen of inferior degree, a preaching friar, a monk, and thirteen “maydens and ladies.” The common soldiers are said to have amounted to 140, whose names, it is to be regretted, have not been preserved. The following are all that remain on record:

The proceedings of Edward at length gave umbrage to Cumyn and Bruce. These chieftains, after Baliol, had the nearest pretensions to the crown, and they had both been amused by Edward with hopes of the kingdom. In the destruction, however, of the fortresses, and the alterations he had made in the constitution of the country, they saw little that tended towards the fulfilment of the promises he had made them. Cumyn, therefore, having found an opportunity, broke the matter to Bruce, by lamenting the state to which their country was reduced by the power or policy of Edward, who endeavoured to sow discord among those whose interest it was to be friends; and by taking advantage of the animosities he thus excited, furthered his own ambitious and tyrannical designs.

These remarks begat the confidence of his rival, who communicated without reserve the promises that had been held out to him by Edward; which drew from Cumyn a proposal for the delivery of their country, in which he offered to give Bruce his estates, on condition that he relinquished his claim, and assisted him to gain the crown; or to accept of Bruce’s estates on the same terms. Bruce, who considered his claim to be better founded than that of Cumyn, agreed to make over his estates on attaining to the kingdom through the assistance of Cumyn; and a private bond was entered into between them for this purpose.[63] In order to cover their intentions, Bruce agreed to accompany Edward to London, and leave his brother, Edward Bruce, to attend to his interest in Scotland.

The English monarch having now, as he thought, completely depressed the spirit of the Scots, and brought them effectually under his yoke, began to make preparations for his return to England; and with this view, he appointed Adomer de Valence regent or viceroy of the kingdom, filling all places of trust with Englishmen, or such creatures among the Scots as he found suitable to his purpose. Having made these, and such other arrangements as his policy suggested, he returned home in triumph, firmly persuaded that he had finally reduced the kingdom of Scotland to the condition of a province of England.