ive sovereign that he
was obliged to surrender the castle next day, so Edward was fain to fly
through the Torwood, closely pursued by Douglas with a body of cavalry.
An odd circumstance happened during the chase, which showed how loosely
some of the Scottish barons of that day held their political opinions:
As Douglas was riding furiously after Edward, he met a Scottish knight,
Sir Laurence Abernethy, with twenty horse. Sir Laurence had hitherto
owned the English interest, and was bringing this band of followers to
serve King Edward's army. But learning from Douglas that the English
king was entirely defeated, he changed sides on the spot, and was easily
prevailed upon to join Douglas in pursuing the unfortunate Edward, with
the very followers whom he had been leading to join his standard.

Douglas and Abernethy continued the chase, not giving King Edward time
to alight from horseback even for an instant, and followed him as far as
Dunbar, where the English had still a friend in the governor, Patrick,
Earl of March. The earl received Edward in his forlorn condition, and
furnished him with a fishing skiff, or small ship, in which he escaped
to England, having entirely lost his fine army, and a great number of
his bravest nobles.

The English never before or afterward, whether in France or Scotland,
lost so dreadful a battle as that of Bannockburn, nor did the Scots ever
gain one of the same importance. Many of the best and bravest of the
English nobility and gentry lay dead on the field; a great many more
were made prisoners; and the whole of King Edward's immense army was
dispersed or destroyed.

The English, after this great defeat, were no longer in a condition to
support their pretensions to be masters of Scotland, or to continue, as
they had done for nearly twenty years, to send armies into that country
to overcome it. On the contrary, they became for a time scarce able to
defend their own frontiers against King Robert and his soldiers.

Thus did Robert Bruce arise from the condition of an exile, hunted with
bloodhounds like a stag or beast of prey, to the rank of an independent
sovereign, universally acknowledged to be one of the wisest and bravest
kings who then lived. The nation of Scotland was also raised once more
from the situation of a distressed and conquered province to that of a
free and independent state, governed by its own laws, and subject to its
own princes; and although the country was after the B