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

SIR WILLIAM WALLACE
83
Sum demys it to ill, and othyr sum to gud s
And I say her, into thir termyss rude,
Bettir it was he did as thinkis me.
First to the hunde it mycht grite stoppyn be.
Als Fawdoun was haldyn at great suspicion.
For he was haldyn of brokill complexion.
Byeht stark he was, and had hot litill gane.
Thus Wallace wist: had he beyne left allayne.
And he war fals, to enemyes he wald ga;
Gyff he war trew, the Southron wald him sla;
Mycht he do ocht bot tyne him as it was ?”
On the first view of the case, there appears a
degree of barbarity in the conduct of Wallace,
which is quite at variance with that affection and
tenderness which he had uniformly displayed
towards his followers, and one cannot help con¬
demning the sternness of that policy which
could thus deprive a follower of his life, because
worn out with toil, and disabled by wounds,
he could no longer keep up with his companions.
But on reflection, we find the lives of Wallace
and his few remaining followers placed in jeop¬
ardy, by one, who, from his reluctance to make
a little farther exertion, when assured that a
place of safety was at hand, gave good grounds
to suspect he had become unsound at the core.
It may also be remarked, that being acquainted
with the places where the plunder taken from
the English was concealed, Wallace had an ad¬
ditional reason for suspecting his motives for
wishing to be left behind; and what may like-