Scotland/Scots > Life of Sir William Wallace, Knight of Ellerslie, and Guardian of Scotland

SIR WILLIAM WALLACE.
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arm of the youthful warrior; and the rest seemed
so averse to come within his reach, that Wallace
had time to regain a little copse, in the neigh¬
bourhood, where he had left his horse before he
entered the town—and, bounding into the sad¬
dle, the hardy trooper was soon beyond the
reach of any fresh assistance they might procure.
Horse and foot were, however, soon on the alert,
but, after a long and fruitless pursuit in the di¬
rection he appeared to have taken, they were
obliged to return—some of them, who had al¬
ready witnessed his prowess, no ways displeased
at their want of success.
Wallace, bespattered with the blood of the
oppressors of his country, appeared at sunset
before the gate of the castle of Auchincruive—
the well-known sound of his bugle soon gained
him admission to the hospitable mansion of his
kinsman, and refreshments, of which he
stood much in want, were placed before
him. After recounting the adventures of
the day, he heard, with indignation, a detail of
fresh exactions which had been made upon his
relative and some other respectable proprietors
in the neighbourhood, by means of Cressingham,
who, about this time, was making a circuit of
the principal parts of the country, and levying