Wyseby

92 WYSEB* : A LEGEND
bars yielded to the force of the foe. ' Defend the
stair !' shouted the chief.
" ' Follow me !' cried Walter ; and dashed through
the now open door ; the retainers followed. Surprised
by this fierce sally, the De Lacys give way ; the court
is cleared; the foes rally — when, clear and high, a
shout rose from the valley below ; — a hind had ob-
served the secret movements of the enemy ; he had
spread the alarm ; the clan mustered in force ; and
now, on they come. The De Lacys were scattered ;
the rescue of the Carrutherses was complete. And
Walter, — his brave liberator had been smitten down
at his side, — had no tie now to bind him to a dungeon
and disgrace ; he foresaw, too, that the attack of the
De Lacys would strengthen the opinion of his guilt.
In the deep darkness who of his clan was to recognise
him as their champion ? He sought his child, —
crossed the court rapidly, — and passed through the
still open gate ; then he paused ; — gazed wistfully
upon the dark tower ; — threw his sword into the
court-yard ; — and fled.
" At this time the imbecile Henry of England,
unable to wield a sceptre, but unwilling to relinquish
a throne, sought, by mercenary aid, to deluge the
land he could not rule in the blood of its children.
He had purchased the swords of several of the
Welsh barons ; and of the Scottish chiefs, the Comyn,
with the Lords of Galloway and Annandale, owned
the power of gold. The war banner of the Bruce —
the grandsire of our glorious sovereign — waved on
the turret of his ancestral castle ; in whose broad
halls veterans of every clan found fair welcome. At
sunrise Walter and his child stood before its gate,
and at noon he marched ia that gallant array of