J. F. Campbell Collection > Minstrelsy of the Scottish border > Volume 1

Vm INTRODUCTION.
his prince. His brother, Earl James, appeai-s nei-
ther to have possessed the abilities nor the ambition
of his ancestors. He drew, indeed, against his prince,
the formidable sword of Douglas, but with a timid
and hesitating hand. Procrastination ruined his
cause ; and he was deserted, at Abercorn, by the
knight of Cadyow, chief of the Hamiltons, and by
his most active adherents, after they had ineffectual-
ly exhorted him to commit his fate to the issue of a
1453 battle. The Border chiefs, who longed for indepen-
dence, shewed little inclination to follow the decli-
1455 ning fortunes of Douglas. On the contrary, the most
powerful clans engaged and defeated him, at Ark-
inholme, in Annandale, when, after a short resi-
dence in England, he again endeavoured to gain a
footing in his native country.* The spoils of Dou-
glas were libei'ally distributed among his conquer-
ors, and royal grants of his forfeited domains effec-
tually interested them in excluding his return. An
1457 attempt on the East Borders by " the Percy and the
" DouglaSi both together^ was equally unsuccess-
* At the battle of Arkinholme, the Earl of Angus, a near
kinsman of Douglas, commanded the royal forces ; and the