50 The Scalacronica. 



work. It is not generally well understood how the disease germi- 

 nates, but in the case of Annan Police Station the cause is 

 sufficiently defined ; and there cannot, 1 think, be much doubt that 

 the impurity of the soil tended to bring about the decay in St. 

 Michael's Church, especially considering that other similar cases 

 have occurred elsewhere. In respect to the mansion-hou.se, the 

 site was deficient in drainage, and to this may be added the 

 irregularity of the occupation, by way of inferring the origin 

 of the decay. 



The Scalacronica. By Dr E. J. Chinnock, LL.B. 



Part II. 



Extracts from Sir Thomas Gray's Scalacronica (Ladder of Time) 

 relating to Scotland. 



[Part I., see Vol. xxi., N.S., pp. 60-87.] 



At that time Thomas de Gray was Warden of the Castle of 

 Coupir and of Fife on behalf of the King of England. When he 

 was returning from England from the Coronation of King Edward 

 II. to the said Castle, Walter de Bickertoun, a Knight of Scot- 

 land, was lying in ambush with more than 400 men on the road 

 by which the said Thomas had arranged to pass. The announce- 

 ment of this was made to Thomas hardly more than half a league 

 from the ambuscade. He had with him only 26 men-at-arms. 

 Perceiving that he could not escape without disaster, with the 

 assent of his men, he took the road towards the ambuscade, after 

 entrusting his banner to the serving-men and directing them to 

 come on in a body behind him and not to flee too soon. The 

 enemy mounted their horses and came on in battle-array, thinking 

 that they could not escape. The said Thomas, with his men who 

 were very well mounted, spurred his charger and went straight 

 to meet the mass of the enemy. In his charge he bore several to 

 the ground with the shock of his horse and lance. He turned 

 the rein, returned in the same way, went back and again returned 

 against the densest mass. This so emboldened his men that they 

 all followed his example, and overthrew man}- of the enemy. 

 Their horses ran about in crowds, and the riders rising from the 

 ground perceived the serving-men of the said Thomas coming in 

 array ; so they all began to flee to a thick peat-bog, which was 



