Edward, however, had scarcely arrived in London, before accounts from the North convinced him of the uncertain nature of his conquest, so long as Wallace remained at large in the country; and as neither threats nor promises could subdue his inflexible fidelity to the liberties of his native land, large rewards were offered for securing his person, dead or alive. Influenced by the great promises held out to him, Ralph de Haliburton,[64] one of the prisoners whom Edward had carried with him into England, undertook the perfidious office, and for that purpose was allowed to return to Scotland. Of his after proceedings, we have, however, but a very imperfect outline; and from all that we can collect, his exertions in his villanous mission appear to have been limited to one or two attempts; in the last of which, from his knowledge of Wallace and his retreats, he contrived to have him beset by a strong body of cavalry, in a situation where he had no way of escape, but by springing his horse over a precipice. This he effected; and his pursuers, drawing back with horror, left him to pursue his retreat on foot, his gallant steed having perished in the fearful enterprise.
After this, it is supposed that Haliburton, alarmed for the consequence of his conduct, and dreading the vengeance of his countrymen, returned with precipitation to England.
CHAPTER XI.
STATE OF THE COUNTRY.—BRUCE INVITED TO TAKE THE CROWN.—CONDUCT OF CUMYN TOWARDS BRUCE.—NOTICE OF CUMYN.—TRADITION RESPECTING THE CLAN CUMYN.—NOTICE OF KERLE.—WALLACE BETRAYED BY MENTEITH.
The situation of Scotland, after the departure of Edward, was such as well warranted the representation that had been transmitted to England. Though there had as yet been no open insurrection, still there was that in the bearing of the people, which betokened any thing but good will towards the existing state of things. The national sports and customs of the English, which it had been attempted to introduce among them, were shunned and disregarded by the oppressed and scowling population; while those chiefs who had formerly shown the greatest attachment to the cause of independence, were seldom heard of, except when discovered holding their conferences in those sequestered retreats, where they considered themselves secure from all, save the wandering spies employed by the faithless part of their own countrymen.
Wallace now saw that the state of the country required a different remedy from that which had hitherto been applied. Baliol, whom he had acknowledged as his righteous sovereign, though detained a prisoner in England, had, through the menaces of Edward, made over to that monarch his right to the crown and kingdom of Scotland. This act, in the opinion of Wallace, released him from his allegiance to one who had all along acted a part unworthy of his attachment; for, though he admitted his right to resign the crown, yet he could not recognise a right to transfer it to a stranger, to the exclusion of the lawful heir; and as Edward, the son of Baliol, was also the prisoner and tool of the King of England, he naturally fixed his attention on Bruce, as the person best fitted, from his birth and talents, to infuse that confidence in the people which necessarily arises from the presence of a person invested with lawful authority. Having found no difficulty in impressing Sir Simon Frazer, and those other chiefs who adhered to him, with the same sentiments, a negociation was entered into with Edward Bruce, for inviting his brother from England to assume the crown; and it is also said, that a special herald[65] from Wallace and his confederates found his way to Bruce in disguise, who appointed to meet with our hero on a certain night on the burrow-muir of Glasgow.
1305. In the meantime, Wallace and his friends were active in organizing the insurrection, which was to burst forth as soon as Bruce appeared among them, and who was at the same time to have been proclaimed king. How far Cumyn was consulted on the occasion, by Wallace and his associates, does not appear. From the very little intercourse which seems to have subsisted between them since the fatal battle of Falkirk, it is highly probable that the accession of our patriot and his party, to the proposal for placing Bruce on the throne, was communicated to Cumyn through the medium of Edward Bruce—the fiery temperament of whose mind, was not always in unison with those maxims of sound policy necessary for conducting affairs of such moment. Whether Cumyn had ever been sincere in the agreement entered into with the Earl of Carrick, or whether he afterwards repented of the bargain he had made, is a point not easily to be ascertained; but with a duplicity worthy of his conduct on a former occasion, he is said to have despatched the bond between himself and Bruce to Edward; urging, at the same time, the arrestment of his rival, as necessary to prevent the disturbance that was on the eve of breaking out in Scotland.
It might be considered by our readers an omission, were we to bring our labours to a close, without embodying in our pages a more particular account of this subtile and talented baron, than what has hitherto appeared in the course of the narrative. To obviate this objection, perhaps the following brief outline, in addition to what has already been stated, may suffice.
John Cumyn, or as he is called by the Gaël, Ian Ruadh Mhac Ian Ruadh Chiumein (Red John, the son of Red John Cumming), was Lord of Badenoch, Lochaber, and other extensive districts, and the head of the most potent clan that ever existed in Scotland. His power was more formidable than any of his fellow-competitors for the crown. Upwards of 60 belted knights and their vassals were bound to follow his banner; and the influence of the family was such, that during the minority of Alexander III., after driving from Scotland a strong faction, formed and supported by the interest of England, the Cumyns and their adherents negociated a treaty with Llewellyn, a prince of Wales. In this instrument, John, the father of the subject of the present notice, appears as Justiciary of Galloway. This document is preserved in Rymer’s Fœdera, vol. i. p. 653. Those, however, who may not have access to that work, may have their curiosity gratified, by referring to Tytler’s History of Scotland, vol. i. p. 424.