In vain his terrified countrymen saw him rush into the thickest of the
carnage; in vain he called to them, by all that was sacred to man, to
stand to the last. He was a foreigner, and they had no confidence in
his exhortations; death was before them, and they turned to fly. The
fate of his country was hung on an instant. The last rays of the
setting sun shone full on the rocky promontory of the hill which
projected over the field of combat. He took his resolution; and
spurring his steed up the steep ascent, stood on the summit, where he
could be seen by the whole army then taking off his helmet, he waved it
in the air with a shout, and having drawn all eyes upon him, suddenly
exclaimed, "Scots! you have this day vanquished the Southrons twice! if
you be men, remember Cambus-Kenneth, and follow William Wallace to a
third victory!" The cry which issued from the amazed troops was that
of a people who beheld the angel of their deliverance. "Wallace!" was
the chargeword of every heart. The hero's courage seemed
instantaneously diffused through every breast; and, with braced arms
and determined spirits, forming at once into the phalanx his thundering
voice dictated, the Southrons again felt the weight of the Scottish
steel; and a battle ensued, which made the bright Eske run purple to
the sea, and covered the pastoral glades of Hawthorndean with the
bodies of its invaders.
Pages:
996
997
998
999
1000
1001
1002
1003
1004
1005
1006
1007
1008
1009
1010
1011
1012
1013
1014
1015
1016
1017
1018
1019
1020