The majority of your nobles now find a vice in
the virtue they once extolled; and seeing its power, no longer needful,
seek to destroy my upholders with myself. I therefore remove the cause
of contention. I quit the regency; and I bequeath your liberty to the
care of your chiefs. But should it be again in danger, remember, that
while life breathes in this heart, the spirit of William Wallace will
be with you still!"
With these words he descended the mound, and mounted his horse, amidst
the cries and tears of the populace. They clung to his garments as he
rode along; and the women, with their children, throwing themselves on
their knees in his path, implored him not to leave them to the inroads
of a ravager; not to abandon them to the tyranny of their own lords;
who, unrestrained by a king, or a regent like himself, would soon
subvert his good laws, and reign despots over every district in the
country. Wallace answered their entreaties with the language of
encouragement; adding, that he was not their prince, to lawfully
maintain a disputed power over the legitimate chiefs of the land.
"But," he said, "a rightful sovereign may yet be yielded to your
prayers; and to procure that blessing, daughters of Scotland, night and
day invoke the Giver of every good gift.
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