BRUCE. 



Bruce, \vith every necessary ; andherchesoeffcctuallyconceal- 

 Kobm. t . ( l himself, that lu- wan ^nx-rally l>< -lirved to be dead. 

 - ~v -- l'\M,m.,, however, that Riich a report might dis- 

 courage 1 his adherents in Scotland, and induce them 

 ubinit to Edward, he resolved to make another 

 effort for the recovery of his rights. Passing secret- 

 ly over into Arran, he dispatched a faithful domes- 

 tic into Carrick to discover how his ancient vassals 

 stood affected to his cause. He himself, with his 

 friends, soon after followed. Upon their landing, 

 they immediately learnt that the whole country was 

 in the possession of the English, and that there ap- 

 peared no hope of assibtance. Surrounded with 

 dangers, Bruce hesitated fora moment upon what to re- 

 solve; but his valour and despair soon dispelled every 

 consideration of danger. 



" Here shall no peril that may be 

 Drive me iTtoons unto the sea ; 

 Mine aventure here take will I, 

 \Vhether it be easeful or angry." 



HARBOUR, p. 91. 



With three hundred followers, he surprised the 

 English in their cantonments, took the castle of 

 Turnberry, and put the garrison to the sword. From 

 that day his party rapidly increased ; and, after eight 

 years of incessant warfare, attended by the most 

 glorious successes, the decisive battle of Bannock- 

 burn blasted the hopes of Edward, and secured the 

 independence of Scotland. Bruce was now firmly 

 established upon the throne, and from being a wan- 

 dering outcast, fighting for his very existence against 

 the tyranny of Edward, he became a powerful mo- 

 narch, carrying terror and desolation into the terri- 

 tories of his adversary. The remainder of his life 

 was, in a great measure, spent in active warfare, but 

 his offensive operations were too extensive to be com- 

 pletely successful ; and his attempt upon Ireland was 

 undertaken, not so much to harass his enemy, or to 

 extend his power, as to gain a kingdom for his bro- 

 ther Edward, whose ambition, unable to brook the 

 authority of a superior, would otherwise have em- 

 broiled his country in a civil war. Worn out, at 

 length, with the fatigues and exertions of an event- 

 ful life, and after having concluded a peace with 

 England, most advantageous and honourable to 

 Scotland, and worthy of her long struggle for inde- 

 pendence, Bruce died at Cardross, on the 7th of 

 June, 1329, in the 55th year of his age, and the 

 24-th of his reign. On his death-bed, he request- 

 ed, that as he had often purposed to visit the Holy 

 Land, his heart should be carried thither, and depo- 

 sited at the sepulchre of our Saviour. Sir James 

 Douglas, who had been long his companion in arms, 

 and his faithful adherent through every variety of 

 fortune, was chosen to fulfil the wishes of his dying 

 master. But this mournful duty was never perform- 

 ed ; for we are informed by Barbour, that Doug- 

 las, on his way to Jerusalem, landed in Spain, where 

 he fell in battle against the Moors. The royal heart 

 was brought back to Scotland, and burkd in the 

 church of Melrose. 



Bruce was twice married ; first to Isabella, daugh- 

 ter of Donald, Earl of Mar, by whom he had Mar- 

 jory, married to Walter, the Stewart of Scotland, 



whose on, Robert II. was the firbt monarch of the 

 line of Start. By his second wife, Elizabeth, 

 daughter oi Aymer de Burgh, Earl of Ulster, he 

 had David II. who succeeded him, and two daugh- 

 ters. 



As a warrior, Robert Bruce found no equal in 

 the age in which he lived ; and it is impossible, by 

 any delineation of ours, to do justice to that un- 

 daunted valour which no dangers could dismay ; to 

 that energy of soul which roe superior to every 

 misfortune; and to that unwearied perseverance which, 

 under circumstances the most adverse and distressful, 

 led him, with a steady step, to the accomplishment 

 of his design. In Scotland, his name will ever be 

 remembered with gratitude and admiration. From 

 the many salutary regulations which he introduced 

 into his government, he seems to have had a sincere 

 affection for the liberties of his subjects ; and, by a 

 wise and vigorous administration, he curbed the ir- 

 regularities of a people who had been long accus- 

 tomed to anarchy, bloodshed, and plunder. See 

 Guthrie's Hist, of Scot, vol.ii. p. 163, &c.; Hume's 

 Hist, of Eng. vol. ii. p. 323, &c. ; Hailes' Annalt 

 of Scot. ; and Barbour's Life of Bruce. (; ) 



BRUCE, JAMES, one of the most enterpnzing of 

 modern travellers, was born at Kinnaird, the residence 

 of his family, in the county of Stirling, in Scotland, 

 on the 14th day of December, 1730. Bi uce's family 

 was ancient and respectable, and many of his ancestors 

 had made a distinguished figure both in church and 

 state. Of the early life of Bruce few particulars are 

 known ; though strongly formed, he did not promise, 

 when a child, that athletic constitution and stature 

 which he attained in manhood : and his temper, con- 

 trary to what he afterwards assumed, was gentle and 

 quiet ; as he advanced in life, it became bold, hasty, 

 and impetuous, accompanied however with a manly 

 openness, that shewed a warm and generous heart. 

 When about twelve years of age, he was sent to the 

 school at Harrow on the Hill, in the vicinity of Lon- 

 don ; where he is said to have made rapid progress 

 in classical literature. He was particularly attentive 

 in acquiring the accomplishments of fashionable life ; 

 he spent most of his leisure time in sports of the field, 

 and attained great dexterity in shooting.: a qualifica- 

 tion which he turned to good account in the course 

 of his hazardous travels. He was intended originally 

 for the profession of the law ; he does not appear to 

 have been fond of this profession ; and hii copy of 

 Heineccius's Institutes, which is still in the possession 

 of the family, is scribbled over with verses from the 

 Italian poets. At last he relinquished the study of 

 the law altogether, and turned his thoughts towards 

 India ; he was prevented however from carrying his 

 intentions into execution, by forming an acquaintance 

 with the family of a Mrs Allan, the widow of an 

 eminent wine merchant, whose daughter he married ; 

 in consequence of this connection he settled in Lon- 

 don, as a partner in the wine trade with Mrs Allan's 

 son. In a few mouths after their marriage, Mrs 

 Bruce exhibited evident symptoms of consumption ; 

 and it was deemed necessary to try the mild climate 

 of the south of France. She expired, however, at 

 Paris; and such was the bigotry of the Roman Ca- 

 tholics at that time, that she was scarcely permitted 



Bruce, 

 June*. 



