WALKERWALLACE. 



865 



investiture, but, as the king's eldest son, is, by in- 

 heritance, duke of Cornwall, without any new 

 creation. To compass or conspire the death of the 

 prince of Wales, is as much high treason as to con- 

 spire the death of the king. The eldest daughter 

 of the king is styled the princess royal, unless there 

 are no sons, when she is created princess of Wales. 

 The arms of the prince of Wales are the royal arms, 

 with the addition of the motto Ich dien (I serve,) 

 said to have been adopted by the Black Prince, 

 from a prince of Bohemia, whom he slew at Cressy. 

 Another account says Edward I. presented his in- 

 fant son to the Welsh, who had agreed to accept a 

 native prince from him, with the words Eich dyn, 

 (This is your man.) 



WALKER, JOHN, a philological writer, was 

 born in 1732, and joined with a Mr Usher, about 

 the year 1767, in setting up a school at Kensing- 

 ton ; but the speculation not succeeding to his 

 wishes, he settled in London, where he gave lec- 

 tures on elocution, having, it is said, in the earlier 

 part of his life, studied the art with a view to mak- 

 ing the stage his profession, although his ill success 

 on the boards had induced him to adopt another 

 calling. Mr Walker died in 1807. He is known 

 as the author of several useful elementary works, 

 such as a Rhetorical Grammar, (8vo) ; a Pronoun- 

 cing Dictionary, (8vo) ; Elements of Elocution ; 

 Key to the correct Pronunciation of Greek, Latin, 

 and Scriptural Names, (8vo.) ; and a Rhyming 

 Dictionary. 



WALKYRIAS, OR VALKYRIAS. See Nor- 

 thern Mythology. 



WALL. See Architecture. 



WALL-FLOWER (cheiranthus cheiri ;) a cru- 

 ciferous plant, which grows in the clefts of rocks 

 and old walls, in most parts of Europe. The stem 

 is naked, hard, and almost woody at the base, di- 

 viding above into leafy branches. The floAvers are 

 large, of a fine golden-yellow in the wild-plant, and 

 agreeably scented. In the cultivated plant, the 

 flowers are of various and brilliant colours, and at- 

 tain a much larger size. Double and semi-double 

 varieties are common in gardens. It is a beautiful 

 and favourite ornamental plant. Being an acrid 

 and hardy evergreen, it is sometimes sown in pas- 

 tures, together with parsley, thyme, &c., as a pre- 

 ventive of the rot in sheep. About thirty species 

 of cheiranthus are known, several of which have 

 been long cultivated in gardens. 



WALLACE, Sm WILLIAM; a celebrated Scot- 

 tish patriot, and warrior, was the son of a small 

 landlord of an ancient family in the west of Scot- 

 land. His father was knight of Elderslie and 

 Auchinbothie in Renfrewshire ; and his mother, 

 daughter of Sir Raynauld Crawford, in the shire of 

 Ayr. He was born, probably about the middle of 

 the reign of Alexander III., or the year 1270. He 

 received the rudiments of his education at Duni- 

 pace, in Stirlingshire, under the guardianship of his 

 uncle, a wealthy ecclesiastic there. From Dunipace 

 he was removed to a public seminary at Dundee, 

 where he contracted a friendship with John Blair, 

 a Benedictine monk, who afterwards became his 

 chaplain. Blair, being an eye-witness to most of 

 his actions, composed a history of them in Latin ; 

 but the work has not, unfortunately, come down to 

 us, though a liberal use has evidently been made of 

 it in the vernacular metrical work of Blind Harry. 



The miserable state to which Scotland was re- 

 duced at this period, by the tyranny of the Eng- 

 lish, will be found recorded in the historical section 



VI. 



of the article Scotland. Possessing great strength 

 of body, and undaunted courage, as well as a warm 

 attachment to his native country, Wallace beheld 

 its subjugation by the English king, Edward I., with 

 the utmost impatience, and resolved to undertake 

 the task of liberating Scotland from a foreign yoke. 

 Having collected a small band of followers, he com- 

 menced an irregular warfare with the English 

 troops left to secure the conquests of Edward ; and 

 his enterprising spirit and local knowledge soon ren- 

 dered him a formidable foe. In 1297, he planned 

 an attack on the English justiciar at Scone ; but 

 that officer and his colleagues eluded the danger by 

 flight. Many of the barons, encouraged by this 

 success, joined the standard of Wallace, or secretly 

 favoured his designs. Earl Warenne, the governor 

 of Scotland under king Edward, assembled an army 

 of 40,000 men, with which he marched against the 

 Scottish champion, who retreated to Cambusken- 

 neth, on the banks of the Forth, where the Eng- 

 lish were defeated with great slaughter ; and their 

 commander fled, with the remains of his army, into 

 England. Wallace was now declared regent of Scot- 

 land, under the captive king, John Baliol. The 

 English monarch, alarmed at the reverses which his 

 partizans had experienced, hastened from Flanders 

 to oppose Wallace, against whom he led an army of 

 90,000 men. Jealousy at his elevation had already 

 thinned the ranks of the Scottish hero, who, hav- 

 ing resigned the regency, retained his command 

 only over his particular followers. The Scottish 

 army, under the steward of the kingdom, and 

 Comyn, of Badenoch, waited the approach of Ed- 

 ward at Falkirk, where an engagement took place 

 in the summer of 1298, in which the English were 

 completely victorious. Wallace retired to the 

 mountains, resumed his system of predatory war- 

 fare, and maintained his independence at the head 

 of those who still continued attached to him. King 

 Edward at length, on the 5th August, 1305, ob- 

 tained possession of the person of his formidable 

 adversary, through the treachery of Sir John Men- 

 teith. Wallace was first taken to Dumbarton 

 castle, then under the command of Menteith, and 

 afterwards carried to London, heavily fettered, and 

 guarded by a powerful escort. On reaching Lon- 

 don, he was (23d August, 1305,) taken to West- 

 minster Hall, accompanied by the mayor, sheriffs, 

 and aldermen of the city, and there arraigned of 

 treason. A crown of laurel was m mockery placed 

 on his head, because, as was alleged, he had been 

 ambitious of the Scottish crown. The king's jus- 

 tice, Sir Peter Mallorie, then impeached him as a 

 traitor to Edward, and as having burned villages, 

 stormed castles, and slain many subjects of Eng- 

 land. " I could not be a traitor to the king of 

 England," said Wallace, " for I was never his sub- 

 ject, and never swore fealty to him. It is true I 

 have slain many Englishmen ; but it was in the 

 defence of the rights and liberties of my native 

 country of Scotland." Notwithstanding the truth 

 and justice of his plea, Wallace was found guilty, 

 and condemned to a cruel death. It is a stain on 

 the character of Edward, and a reproach to the 

 spirit of his age and country, that, while he par- 

 doned, and even favoured many who had repeatedly 

 violated their oaths of allegiance to him, he not 

 only bestowed no mercy on this brave and true- 

 hearted man, who had never professed allegiance, 

 but, with an enmity which showed how little 

 sympathy he had for his noble qualities, added in- 

 sult to injustice, and endeavoured to heap indignity 

 Si 



