exculpation. But that very night Bruce was warned by his kinsman, the earl of Gloucester, of a design to seize his person, and accompanied by a single attendant, he fled into Scotland. He was still ignorant of the person who had betrayed him, though his suspicions must have been directed towards Comyn; but on his way to the north he met a person whom he recognized as a servant of that baron, and who, on being searched, proved to be the bearer of letters from his master to Edward, urging the immediate imprisonment of his rival. The messenger was immediately slain, and his letters seized. With these documents in his possession, Bruce continued his flight, and after halting for a brief space at Lochmaben, he proceeded to Dumfries, where Comyn, along with the other barons of the district, was in attendance upon the English justiciaries, who, at that time, were holding their sittings in the town. The two rivals met in the church of the Greyfriars, 10th February, 1305-6. A warm altercation took place, in the course of which Bruce reproached his associate for his treachery. "It is a falsehood you utter," retorted Comyn; on which Bruce instantly stabbed him with his dagger on the steps of the high altar; and appalled at his deed, he hurried out of the sanctuary in a state of the greatest excitement. The wounded noble was immediately dispatched by two of Bruce's followers, Lindsay and Kirkpatrick, and his uncle, Sir Robert Comyn, and some of his adherents shared his fate. This atrocious deed cut off all hope of reconciliation with the English king, and Bruce felt that he must either assert at once his right to the crown, or sink into the condition of an outlaw and a fugitive, excommunicated by the church, and a price set upon his head. His decision was speedily taken. Summoning hastily to his assistance the friends and adherents of his family, with a few nobles who were known to be favourable to the cause of Scottish independence, he rode to Scone, and was there solemnly crowned on the 27th of March, 1306. As the regalia of the kingdom had been carried off by Edward, a small circlet of gold, probably borrowed from the brow of some virgin or martyr, was substituted for the royal crown, and the coronation robes were supplied from his own wardrobe by Wishart, bishop of Glasgow. Two days later, Isabella, countess of Buchan, and sister of Duncan, earl of Fife, appeared at Scone, and (in the absence of her brother, who with her husband was in the English interest) claimed the hereditary privilege of her family, who since the days of Malcolm Canmore had enjoyed the distinction of placing the Scottish kings on the celebrated Stone of Destiny. Bruce at once complied, and on the 29th of March he was a second time placed upon the throne by the countess, who was afterwards cruelly punished by Edward for her adventurous and patriotic act.
When the news of this insurrection reached the English king, in spite of his age and infirmities, he took immediate measures to avert the dangers which threatened his northern conquests. The earl of Pembroke was appointed guardian of Scotland, and despatched in all haste to his post; and the pope was induced, by the solicitation of Edward, to pronounce sentence of excommunication against Bruce and his adherents; but the Scottish ecclesiastics, who were strenuous defenders of their country's rights, paid no respect to the mandates of the pontiff. Pembroke, on reaching Scotland, took possession of the important town of Perth with a powerful army. Bruce, who had in the meantime been visiting different parts of the country favourable to his interests, appeared before that town, and though his forces were greatly outnumbered by those of his adversary, in the chivalrous spirit of the age he challenged the earl to fight him in the open field. Pembroke having answered that he would meet him on the morrow, Bruce drew off his men, in full reliance on this solemn promise, which, according to the usages of chivalry it was held dishonourable to violate, and encamped in the wood of Methven, about six miles distant from Perth. Pembroke, however, led out his troops that same evening (18th June), and fell upon the Scots, who were completely taken at unawares, one-third of them having been sent out in search of forage. After a desperate resistance, they were ultimately routed with great slaughter, and Bruce, who was thrice unhorsed in the action, with considerable difficulty effected his escape into the wilds of Athol with the small remnant of his force, amounting to about five hundred men. Driven from Athol by the want of provisions, he descended into the low country of Aberdeenshire, where he was joined by his queen and other ladies, determined to share in the dangers and privations of their husbands and fathers. On the approach of a superior force of the enemy, this small band of fugitives withdrew to the mountains of Breadalbane, where they subsisted for some time on wild berries and the produce of fishing and the chase. Retreating by the head of Loch Tay, they now approached the shire of Argyle, the country of the M'Dougals of Lorn, whose chief was allied by marriage to the Red Comyn, and was eager to avenge his murder. On receiving intelligence of the approach of Bruce and his adherents, this powerful chieftain collected his vassals, and attacked the little band of fugitives in a narrow defile at Dalry, near Teyndrum, in Strathfillan, and after a severe engagement, in which Bruce performed prodigies of valour, compelled them to retreat. This repulse greatly aggravated the difficulties under which the patriots already laboured. The approach of winter rendered it impossible for the ladies any longer to subsist amid those barren wilds, and they were accordingly sent to the castle of Kildrummie in Aberdeenshire, under the escort of the earl of Athol, and of Nigel Bruce, the king's brother. Bruce himself and a few of his adherents, after encountering great difficulties and dangers, found means to pass over to the small island of Rachrin, on the northern coast of Ireland, where he lurked in concealment during the winter of 1306.
In the meantime, ruin fell upon the greater part of his friends and adherents. His queen and daughter were forcibly taken from the sanctuary of St. Duthac at Tain, and committed to close confinement in England. The heroic countess of Buchan, who had placed the king upon the coronation chair, was immured in a cage in one of the outer turrets of the castle of Berwick. One of Bruce's sisters was confined in a similar cage in Roxburgh castle, the other was shut up in a convent. Nigel Bruce, a beautiful and accomplished youth, after a gallant defence, was compelled to surrender the castle of Kildrummie, and being sent in irons to Berwick, was there executed as a traitor. Sir Christopher Seton, the king's brother-in-law, was put to death at Dumfries, and his brother John at Newcastle. The earl of Athol and the brave Sir Simon Fraser, the last friend and companion of Wallace, were executed at London with circumstances of shocking barbarity, as were also many other barons and knights. The bishops of St. Andrews and Glasgow, and the abbot of Scone, were put in irons and conveyed to prison in England. A formal sentence of excommunication was at this time pronounced by the papal legate against the Scottish king and his adherents, and their estates were confiscated and bestowed on different English nobles.
On the approach of spring. Bruce quitted his retreat in Rachrin, and passed over to the isle of Arran. He now meditated an attempt to wrest his ancestral domains in Carrick from the hands of the English, and accordingly effected a landing on the headland beneath Turnberry Castle, which was occupied by a strong garrison, commanded by Lord Percy. Under cover of night he attacked the English troops quartered in careless security in the hamlet of Turnberry, and put most of them to the sword. A rich booty fell into the hands of the assailants, who, after this exploit withdrew to the mountainous parts of the surrounding country. Percy soon after evacuated Turnberry castle and retreated into England. This success was counterbalanced by a grievous disaster which at this juncture befell two of Bruce's brothers, Thomas and Alexander, who had been despatched to Ireland for the purpose of collecting reinforcements in that country. On their return, having landed at Loch Ryan in Galloway with a force of seven hundred men, they were attacked and routed by Macdowall, a powerful chief of that country, who was in the English interest. The two brothers, along with Sir Reginald Crawford, who were all severely wounded, were taken prisoners, and carried to the English king at Carlisle. With his habitual inhumanity, he ordered them to be instantly executed. For some time after this disaster Bruce was in a very critical situation, and on several occasions narrowly escaped being taken prisoner, as he skulked from one hiding-place to another among his native mountains. His enemies hunted him like a beast of prey, and even had the baseness to lay plots for his assassination. From these perils, however, he succeeded in extricating himself by his indomitable courage, and his skill in the use of his weapons; and gaining ground step by step, he at length succeeded in expelling the English from the whole of Ayrshire. In the beginning of May, 1307, his old antagonist, the earl of Pembroke, advanced into this district with a body of three thousand cavalry, and challenged the king to give him battle. Bruce,
