"
Edwin threw himself on the neck of his friend; "My benefactor!" was all
he could utter. Wallace pressed him silently to his bosom.
"Who is this youth?" inquired Graham; "to which of the noble companions
of my captive father is he son?"
"To William Ruthven," answered Wallace; "the valiant lord of the Carse
of Gowry. And it is a noble scion from that glorious root. He it was
that enabled me to win Dumbarton. Look up, my brother!" cried Wallace,
trying to regain so tender a mind from the paralyzing terrors which had
seized it; "Look up, and hear me recount the first fruits of your
maiden arms, to our gallant friend.
Covered with blushes, arising from anxious emotion, as well as from a
happy consciousness of having wont he praises of his general, Edwin
rose from his breast, and bowing to Sir John, still leaned his head
upon the shoulder of Wallace. That amiable being, who, when seeking to
wipe the tear of affliction from the cheek of others, minded not the
drops of blood which were distilling in secret from his own heart,
began the recital of his first acquaintance with his young Sir Edwin.
He enumerated every particular; his bringing the detachment from
Bothwell, through the enemy-encircled mountains, to Glenfinlass; his
scaling the walls of Dumbarton to make the way smooth for the Scots to
ascend; and his after prowess in that well-defended fortress.
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