'I am that prior,' continued the pilgrim; 'and having been
born on the Douglas lands, he well knew the claim he had to my
fidelity. He gave me this packet, and conjured me to lose no time in
conveying it to you. The task was difficult; and, as in these
calamitous seasons we hardly know whom to trust, I determined to
execute it myself.'
"I inquired whether Lord Douglas had actually sailed. 'Yes,' replied
the father; 'I stood on the beach till the ship disappeared.'"
A half-stifled groan burst from the indignant breast of Wallace. It
interrupted Monteith for an instant, but without noticing it he
proceeded:
"Not only the brave Douglas was then wrested from his country, with our
king, but also that holy pillar of Jacob** which prophets have declared
to be the palladium of Scotland!"
**The tradition respecting this stone is as follows: Hiber, or Iber,
the Phoenician, who came from the Holy Land to inhabit the coast of
Spain, brought this sacred relic along with him. From Spain he
transplanted it with the colony he sent to people the south of Ireland;
and from Ireland it was brought into Scotland by the great Fergus, the
son of Ferchard.
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