85 



all might yet have been well with Scotland. The elevation 

 of the patriot chief, though purchased by so great merit, 

 and such eminent services, was not, however, agreeable to 

 the nobility ; they could not brook that a private gentle- 

 man should be raised above them by his rank, still less 

 by his wisdom and reputation. Wallace himself, sensible 

 of their jealousies, and fearing for the safety of his 

 country, resigned his authority, and retained only the 

 command over that small troop, many of whom had 

 been his companions in their boyhood days, whose 

 parents had dwelt with his, beside the Oak of Ellerslie, and 

 who refused to follow the standard of any other leader. 

 Nobly, therefore, did he consent to serve under the Steward 

 of Scotland, and Cummin of Badenoch, into whose hands 

 the great chieftains had devolved the guardianship of 

 their country. Meanwhile another army crossed the 

 Forth, and the two commanders proposed to await its 

 coining up on the banks of Falkirk river. Wallace was 

 also there with his chosen band. In this battle the Scots 

 were worsted, and it seemed to those who heard of it, that 

 the ruin of Scotland was inevitable. 



Wallace, although he continually exposed himself in 

 the hottest of the fray, was enabled by his military 

 skill and great presence of mind, to keep his men 

 together. Retiring behind the Carron, he marched 

 along the banks of the river, which protected him from 

 the enemy. The country on either side was wild and 

 picturesque ; the yellow gorse was in blossom, and the 



