TYTLERS LIVES OF SCOTTISH WORTHIES.
THE first volume of this work appeared, we think, more than a year ago. The volume before us contains the conclusion of the life of ROBERT BRUCE, the lives of the three old Scottish chroni- clers, BARBOUR, WYNTON, and FonnuN, and the commencement of the life of JAMES the First.
In the lives of BRUCE and King JAMES, the author aoes over the same ground through which he has travelled in his k'istory of Scotland; but, having a different object in view, he judiciously proceeds in a different manner. In his great work, he makes bio- graphy subservient to the ends of history ; here, he makes history lend her aid to the elucidation of biography. The personal adven- tures of his heroes, which, in his History, he sketches with rapi- dity, yet with spirit, are here related with all the minuteness of detail which the ancient chronicles furnish; while they are con- nected, and rendered intelligible, by a concise yet clear view of the history of the times. The life of ROBERT BRUCE is a most spirit-stirring narrative of chivalrous adventure. Mr. TYTLER has much of eSir WALTER SCOTT'S felicitous manner of describing battles, by placing before our eyes the sights and filling our ears with the sounds of the bloody field. The account of the day of Bannockburn is by far the most graphic and animated we have ever met with. It is too long for our columns. The followinae passage, from the account e of the siege of Berwick by the English in 1319, gives a curious picture of the nature and action of the military engines of those days.
This unsuccessful attack was, after five days' active preparation, followed by another still more desperate, in which the besiegers made use of a huge machine moving upon wheels, and including- several platforms or stages, which held va- rious parties of armed soldiers, who were defended by a strong roofing of boards and hides, beneath which they could work their battering-rams with impunity. To co-operate with this unwieldy and bulky instrument, which, from its shape and covering, they called a "sow," moveable scaffolds had been constructed, of such a height as to overtop the walls, from which they proposed to storm the town ; and, instead of a single vessel, as on the former occasion, a squadron of ships, with their top castles manned by picked bodies of archers, and their armed boats slung mast high, were ready to sail in with the tide, and anchor beneath the walls. Aware of these great preparations, the Scots, under the encou- ragement and direction of their Governor, laboured incessantly to be in a situa- tion to render them unavailing. By Crab, the Flemish engineer, machines simi- lar to the Roman catapult, moving on wheels, and of enormous strength and dimensions, were constructed and placed on the walls at the spot where it was expected the sow would make her approach. In addition to this, they fixed. a 'crane upon the rampart, armed with iron chains and grappling-hooks; and large masses of combustibles and fire-faggots, shaped like tuns, and composed of pitch and flax, bound strongly together with tar-ropes, were piled up in readiness' for the attack. At different intervals, on the walls, were fixed the espringalds for the discharge of their heavy darts, which carried on their barbed points little bundles of flaming tow dipped in oil or sulphur ' - the ramparts were lined by the archers, spearmen, and crossbows ; and to each leader was assigned a certain station, to which he could repair on a moment's warning.
Having inspected his whole works, the Steward cheerfully and confidently awaited the attack ; to which the English moved forward in great strength, and led by the King in person, on the 13th of September. Irritated by their late repulse, and animated by the presence of their nobility, the different squad- rons rushed forward with an impetuosity which at'first defied all efforts to repel them ; so that the ladders were fixed, the ditch filled up by fascines, and the ramparts attacked, with an impetuous valour which promised to carry all before it. But the Scots, who knew their own strength, allowed this ebullition of gallantry to expend itself; and, after a short interval, advanced with levelled spears in close array, and with a weight and resolution which effectually checked the enemy. Considerable ground, however, had been gained in the first assault; and the battle was maintained, from sunrise till noon, with excessive obstinacy on both sides ; but it at last concluded in favour of the resolution and endurance of the Scots, who repulsed the enemy on every quarter, and cleared their ram- parts of theirassailants. At this moment, by Edward's orders, the sow began its advance towards the walls; and the cran, or catapult, armed with a mass of rock, was seen straining its timbers, and taking its aim against the approaching monster. On the first discharge the stone flew far beyond ; and, as its con- ductors hurried forward the immense machine, the second missile fell short of it. A third block of granite was now got ready, and an English engineer who had been taken prisoner was commanded, on pain of death, to direct the aim; whilst the sow was moving forward with a rapidity which in a, few seconds must have brought it to the foot of the walls. All gazed on for an instant in breathless suspense,—but only for an instant. The catapult was discharged,— • a loud booming noise in the air accompanied the progress of itstleadly projec- tile,—and, in a moment afterwards, a tremendous crash, mingled. with the shrieks of the victims and the shouts of the soldiers from the-walls, declared'the destruction of the huge machine. It had been hit so truly, that the stone passed through the roofs, shivering, its timbers into a thousand. pieces;, and crushing and mangling in a.frightful manner the unhappy soldiers who manned its different platforms. As-those amongst them who escaped rushed out from its broken fragments, the Scottish soldiers, imitating the witticism of, black. Agnes at the siege of Dunbar, shouted out that the English sow had . farrowed. Crab now cast his chains and grappling-hooks over the ruins ofithe. machine: and, dragging`. it nearat.tlaewalls, poured.donta his combustibles. iststach.nnairtilly, that it W. soon consumed to ashes. The complete failure in this land attack seems to have cast a damp over the naval operations ; and, although the ships attempted to move on to the walls at flood-tide, they were driven back without difficulty ; whilst a last effort to enter the city by burning the gate of St. Mary's was re- ulsed by the Steward in person. It was now near nightfall ; and,• foiled on every side, the English entirely withdrew from the assault.
The following sketch of the celebrated battle of Otterburn—a name which, to this day, resounds along the " wild and willowed shores " of the Scottish border streams--is full of spirit.
The conflict deserves a moment's notice, as illustrative of the manners of the times. It arose out of the circumstance of Douglas having seized :he pennon of Percy before the walls of Berwick ; adding a defiance to its master which he imagined himself bound in honour to accept. Hotspur hastily collected a chosen body of men ; overtook his enemy by a forced march; and arriving at their en- campment late in a serene evening in August, instantly attacked him. As the battle continued, the moon rose ; and Percy and Douglas, who enjoyed the re- putation of being the best soldiers in their respective nations, obstinately refused to be separated. Douglas, a man of great strength and stature, fought with a battle.axe, which he wielded with both hands, cutting a lane into the press of English knights, and, in the excitation and madness of romantic valour, reck- lessly despising both numbers and danger. Followed only by a few of his men, amongst whom was Lundie, his chaplain, a gigantic priest, clothed in full ar- mour, he was at last borne to the earth by the irresistible strength of the English spears, and mortally wounded in the head and neck : Lundit, however, who fought by his side, lastrode his dying • master, and cleared a small space where he lay. At this moment he was discovered by his kinsman' Sir James Lindsay, who ran eagerly forward, and embracing him, inquired how it fired with him. a Poorly enough," said Douglas ; "I am dying, but I thank God it is in my armour, as my fullers have done, and not in my bed : but, dear kinsman, if you love me, raise my banner ; for he who should bear it lies slain beside me; and, I beseech you, conceal my death. There is a prophecy in our house, that a dead Douglas shall gain a field ; and would you but light a little longer, it might happen that I should be the man." As he said this, Douglas expired ; and his heroic injunctions were obeyed. A mantle was thrown over the body ; his banner was again raised; and with renewed shouts of "Douglas! Douglas !" the English were attacked with an overwhelming enthusiasm, which compelled them to break into disorder, and at last concluded in a total rout. Hotspur was made prisoner, and nearly the whole chivalry of -Northumberland either slain or taken captive.
One of the most remarkable circumstances in the life of JAMES the First, is the stern and unrelenting vengeance he took upon the family of the Duke of ALBANY, who had murdered his elder brother the Duke of ROTHSAY, and been the cause of his own de- tention for eighteen years in England. • On his return, he con- ducted himself with the most profound dissimulation ; carefully concealing his designs, and behaving to this unfortunate family with an appearance of unreserved kindness, till he had matured his plans of revenge : he then had thorn all apprehended in one day. The following is the account of the catastrophe.
In the palace of Stirling, on the 24th of May, the Parliament was opened with great solemnity. Armed in the consciousness of power, the King appeared seated on his throne. He was clothed in his royal robes. He wore his crown ; and bearing the sceptre in his hand, and surrounded by his chief officers, pre- sided as the supreme judge of his people. Walter Stewart, the eldest son of the Duke of Albany, was then brought to trial, found guilty, and led to instant exe- cution in front of the castle. All record of the trial or of the evidence has, un- fortunately, perished ; but we know, from the expression of an ancient chro- nicle, that he was convicted of " robbery ;" and it is probable that under this term may have been included the dilapidation of crown lands, and the spoliatory expeditions in which, relying on his feudal right of private war, he had in- dulged. His trial and execution occupied a single day ; and it is a remarkable circumstance that, amongst the twenty-six names which we find on the jury, are not a few of his own near connexions, and seven of the nobles who had been arrested and imprisoned in the late Parliament ; a clear demonstration that James had overawed these last, by the threat of a similar fate, and compelled them to co-operate in the destruction of his enemies, as the price of their liberation.
On the following day, the Duke of Albany, Alexander Stewart, his second son, and the Earl of Lennox, father-in-law to the Duke, were tried by the same jury and found guilty. Of the charges against Stewart and Lennox no record remains; but it may be presumed, on strong grounds, that the crime of Albany was his usurpation of the office of Governor ; and it cannot be denied that his assumption of the supreme power, immediately after the death of his father, without the intervention or sanction of the three estates, was an act of treason. Upon this charge there could be no want of evidence ; for every transaction in which he engaged, from his accession till the period of the King's return, was ille- gal and treasonable. He was accordingly found guilty; the same sentence was passed upon his son : the Earl of Lennox was next condemned ; and, with a rapi- dity which left not a moment for an appeal to mercy, these noble and unfortunate persons were led to the eminence in front of the Castle of Stirling, still known by the name of the Heading Hill, and there executed amidst an immense con- course of the people. The severity of this sentence—the striking contrast which was offered between the gentleness and courtesy of the former deportment of the monarch, and the stern composure with which he selected and devoted to de- struction those who had so lately been honoured with marks of the royal favour and regard,—struck an awe and terror into the great body of the aristocracy, which compelled their fear, if it did not conciliate their affection.
Amongst the people, the shedding of so much noble blood excited a sympathy and commiseration for which James was not prepared. Albany and his two sons, Walter and Alexander Stewart, were men whose appearance and manners, in a feudal age, were peculiarly fitted to command popularity. Their stature was almost gigantic; their countenances cast in the-mould of manly beauty ; and their air so dignified and warlike that, when the father and the two sons as- cended the scaffold, it was impossible to behold the scene without a feeling of in- voluntaiy pity and admiration. Behind them came the Earl of Lennox, a venerable nobleman in his eightieth year; and, when he laid his head upon the block, and his grey hairs were stained with blood, a thrill of horror ran through the crowd, which, in spite of the respect or terror for the royal name, broke out into expressions of indignation at the unsparing severity of the vengeance. Had the victim of James's resentment been the elder Albany, the arehtraitor who was stained with his brother's blood, and whose successful intrigues had doomed him to a captivity of eighteen years, the utmost severity of the law would not have excited any other feelings than those of approval and satisfaction; but he
treasured up the wrath which ought to have fallen upon the father, and dise charged it with unmitigated fury upon the children and grandchildren : and it cannot be denied, that, making every allowance for the necessity of asserting the offended dignity of the laws, and producing before the eyes of 'a people to long accustomed to regard them with contempt a memorable example of inflexible justice, there was yet a cruelty in the whole proceedings, and a continuity and and dried:. Dir.. GRIGGS was confined but four weeks, and the
concentration of vindictive feeling, which forms a deep stain urea the character of the King. .
We expect with much interest the concluding volnme-of this work; which we hope will appear after a shorter interval, thaa has occurred between the first and second.
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