History of the house and race of Douglas and Angus

]Q4 HISTORY OF THE
ethers, the 2d of November, he set upon the convoy of the
English that were carrying victuals to the castle of Hermitage,
as they were in Melross, or near to it, and defeated them,
but not without great slaughter of his own men; and so hav-
iug got the victuals, he went and besieged the castle of Her-
mitage, took it, and did victual it with the same victuals which
he had taken at Melross.
He vanquished also Lawrence Vauch, alias Holland Vauch,
a very valiant man, with a great company of Englishmen.
And in the year following, 1839, he fought five times in
one day with Lawrence, or William Abernethie, a leader un-
der Baliol, and having been put to the worse four times, saith
Hollinshed, Boetius, five times, at the sixth time vanquished
him, and slew all his men, and took himself prisoner, and
thereafter presented him to Robert Stewart, who sent him to
the castle of Dumbarton. For these, and such other exploits
atchieved by him, he was highly esteemed of all men, and
got the name which is commonly used of him, The Flower
ofChevalry.
He was after this sent ambassador into France, to inform
Kins David of the state of the realm, and to confer with him
about weighty matters, being either chosen for his worth, or
only sent by Robert Stewart as his colleague, and so fittest
for that employment. While he was there he obtained par-
don of the King of France, and peace for one Hugh Hambel
a famous pirate.
During his absence in France, Robert Stewart had laid siege
to St. Johnston in the year 1339, and had divided his army
into four squadrons, under four chief captains, each captain
commanding; a part, of which he himself was one, the Earl of
March another, William Earl of Ross the third, and Magnus
Mowbray, Lord of Clydesdale, the fourth. It was divers
times assaulted, but they were repulsed with loss, it being
valiantly defended by the English that were within. They
had lain at it ten weeks without doing any good, and were
now almost quite out of hope to take it; so that they began
to think of leaving off,, when, in the very mean time, the