Frasers of Philorth > Volume 2

38 THE ABERNETHIES OF SALTOUN, LORDS SALTOUN.
advantage they might gain, at nightfall they still held their ground, and had
checked the torrent that threatened destruction to thern and their country.
Both armies rested for the night in the positions they had occupied in the
morning, anticipating a renewal of the fearful struggle with the return of day.
But it was not so to be ; during the night dissensions arose among the
chiefs of the Highland tribes, many of whom, according to their general
custom, wished to retire to their fastnesses with the booty they had already
obtained, rather than risk the loss of it and their lives together ; and Donald
himself, having seen his numerous host repulsed and all but defeated by a
comparatively small body of troops, could scarcely avoid the conviction that
he had undertaken an enterprise beyond his power, or be free from appre-
hension as to what might be the result when his adversaries should receive
reinforcements, or when he should encounter the whole force of the kingdom.
On the morrow, instead of renewing the combat, the Lord of the Isles
commenced his retreat, which he effected without interruption, his opponents
having suffered so severely as to be unable to pursue him ; but he was
quickly abandoned by most of the Highland tribes, and his army was almost
dispersed.
Such was the battle of Harlaw, fought on the eve of St. James the
Apostle's day, in July 1411, of which event some historians appear not to
have understood the importance, for had the Lord of the Isles been able to
continue his victorious career, and to penetrate into the heart of the kingdom,
the consequences might have been very serious at that time, when King
James I., as yet a minor, was a prisoner in England, and the government was
in the hands of the sagacious but unpopular Eegent Albany ; and Scotland
owes a deep tribute of gratitude to the memory of the brave men who
repelled an invasion, the success of which might have retarded the civilisa-
tion and prosperity of the country for many a day.
But the victory was not gained without severe loss among the conquerors,
and the voice of lamentation was heard in many a home, whether of the
proud nobles of the land or the humbler citizens of Aberdeen. Of these latter,
who had proved themselves worthy to fight side by side with the best
warriors of their day, five hundred, with their gallant Provost, Sir Bobert
Davidson, at their head, were slain ; and in the list of the dead, in company