6 



BRUCE. 



Bruce, 

 Robert. 



on the 1 1th of July 1274. He was the son of Bruce, 

 Lord of Annandale, and Martha, Countess of Car- 

 rick, and the grandson of Robert Bruce, the com- 

 petitor with Baliol for the Scottish throne. Exiled 

 from his native country by the ambition of his fa- 

 ther, he passed his youth at the court of England. 

 In expectation of obtaining a crown, the elder Bruce 

 had enlisted under the banners of Edward, and car- 

 ried arms against his countrymen. After the battle 

 of Falkirk, he agreed to a conference with Sir Wil- 

 liam Wallace. * On the banks of the Carron, that 

 undaunted warrior vented the indignant feelings of 

 his generous spirit. He upbraided Bruce as the mean 

 hireling of a foreign master, who, to gratify his am- 

 bition, had sacrificed the welfare and independence 

 of his native land ; and who, instead of courting 

 the glorious distinction of delivering his country, or 

 of falling in asserting her liberties, had cowardly de- 

 serted that post which his birth and fortune had en- 

 titled him to assume. These reproaches sunk deep 

 into the heart of Bruce. They opened his eyes to 

 the degeneracy of his conduct, and it is said that he 

 died soon after of grief, occasioned by reflecting 

 on his past meanness. He, however, bequeathed to his 

 son the legacy of atonement, and exhorted him, with 

 his dying breath, to revenge the injuries of his suf- 

 fering country. Young Bruce was eminently quali- 

 fied for becoming the champion of independence. 

 Educated at the court of a warlike monarch, few 

 could equal him in the exercise of arms ; and with a 

 mind intrepid and enterprizing, he possessed a con- 

 stitution capable of bearing the deprivations and 

 hardships of a military life. The injunctions of his 

 dying father were engraven on his heart ; and the 

 death of Wallace, leaving the Scottish patriots with- 

 out a leader, opened the way for Bruce's exaltation 

 to that arduous station. From that hour he thought 

 only of delivering his country from oppression, and 

 his whole soul was absorbed by the mighty attempt, 

 dimming, Lord of Badenoch, who had been Re- 

 gent of Scotland in the name of Baliol, and who 

 had often fought by the side of Wallace in resisting 

 the tyranny of the English, was his only rival for 

 the throne, and the chief bar to the success of his 

 design ; and he could not but perceive, that openly 

 to assert his right to the crown in the face of such a 

 powerful adversary, was only to involve his country 



in deeper misery, and to expose his cause to certain 

 destruction. It was necessary, therefore, to secure 

 the co-operation of Gumming in this great under- 

 taking, and accordingly he entered into a compro- 

 mise with that nobleman, by which he agreed to re- 

 sign to him all his family estates, on condition that 

 he would give him his utmost assistance and support 

 in the execution of his design, f But the treachery 

 of Gumming relieved him from his engagement ; and, 

 by exposing him to the suspicions of the King of 

 England, hastened the accomplishment of his de- 

 termined purpose. Bruce, being secretly informed 

 of the hostile intentions of Edward, who had at- 

 tempted to draw his brothers into his power, and 

 had determined to free himself from future uneasi- 

 ness, by extirpating the whole family, found means 

 to elude his vigilance, and hastening to Scotland, as- 

 sembled his friends in the castle of Lochmaben, and 

 avowed to them his intention of assuming the crown. 

 They all swore to live and die in his service -they 

 acknowledged him as their sovereign, and immedi- 

 ately proceeded to take measures for restoring liber- 

 ty to their country. Their safety and success im- 

 periously demanded the death of Gumming. His 

 treachery and his power rendered him obnoxious to 

 their cause, and they could not expect that he would 

 abandon the interests of Edward to support the pre- 

 tensions of a rival. Though the circumstances at- 

 tending his death have been disputed by historians, 

 yet it is allowed by all that he fell by the hand of 

 Bruce. This deed sealed the revolt of the patriots. 

 The honour and the interest of Edward called loud- 

 ly for vengeance ; and the open violence with which 

 it was executed, deprived them of all possibility of 

 reconciliation. Bruce had now no alternative left 

 but death^or a crown ; and he determined to persist, 

 at every hazard, in his design, rather than expose 

 himself to the ignominy of submission. He was 

 crowned at Scone, on the 27th of March 1306. But 

 such a series of disasters succeeded, as had almost 

 crushed his exertions and his hopes. His wife and 

 daughter fell into the hands of the English, and he 

 himself and a few followers, after having endured 

 all the extremities of hunger and fatigue, were at 

 last compelled to take refuge from the fury of their 

 enemies in the island of Rachrin. J Here he and 

 his party were hospitably received, and provided 



Bruce, 

 Robert. 



* Though this conference has been mentioned by all the Scotch writers, yet it has been represented by Lord Hailes as a 

 Ktory absurd in itself, and without any foundation in truth. Where its absurdity lies, we leave our readers to discover. 

 With regard to its validity, we may observe, that his Lordship's remarks refer entirely to young Bruce, and consequently 

 i-annot here apply ; and we may mention, that some historians not only affirm that the elder Bruce was in the battle of Fal- 

 kirk, but that he was at the head of the Galloway men, his vassals, and that it was owing to his attacking the Scottish army 

 in the rear, that the brave Wallace was compelled to retreat. Guthrie's Hist, of Scot. vol. ii. p. 116. 



j- Some historians have been inclined to suspect the truth of any agreement between Bruce and Gumming relating to the 

 throne; and they account for the quarrel between these noblemen, by supposing that when Bruce demanded of Gumming 

 whether he would befriend him in his design, Gumming dropped some warm words, which occasioned his being wounded by 

 Bruce. Guthrie's Hist, of Scot. vol. ii. p. 173. Others again deny that Bruce had any design of asserting his claim to the 

 crown, and that the death of Gumming was the consequence of a hasty quarrel between these proud-spirited rivals. Hailes' 

 Annals, vol. i. p. 292. This agreement, however, is mentioned both by Barbour, 17, and Fordun, xii. 5 ; and Hemingford 

 seems also to insinuate treachery on the part of Gumming ; for, when speaking of the conference between these noblemen-, 

 he says of Bruce, " Ccepit improperare ei de seditions sua, quod eum accusaverat apud Regem Anglice, et suam conditionem de- 

 terioraverat in damn,vm ipsius." T. i. p> 219. We believe that the real nature of this fatal quarrel is unknown. In such 

 circumstances, therefore, we thought it best to follow the common tradition. 



J This island lies off the coast of Ireland, and it is said that Bruce here composed a Latin consolatory poem, of w.hlch 

 two lines are only now extant. 



" JVi me Scotor-um libertas prisca moveret, . 

 Non tantum fattrer orbis ob imperiwmS\' 



