ded peoples.

19. =Robert Bruce. 1306.=--It was better even for England that
Edward's hopes should fail. Scotland would have been of little worth
to its more powerful neighbour if it had been cowed into subjection;
whereas when, after struggling and suffering for her independence, she
offered herself freely as the companion and ally of England to share
in common duties and common efforts, the gift was priceless. That
Scotland was able to shake off the English yoke was mainly the work of
Robert Bruce, the grandson of the Robert Bruce who had been one of the
claimants of the Scottish crown at Norham. The Bruces, like Balliol,
were of Norman descent, and as Balliol's rivals they had attached
themselves to Edward. The time was now come when all chances of
Balliol's restoration were at an end, and thoughts of gaining the
crown stirred in the mind of the younger Bruce. After Edward's last
settlement of Scotland it was plain that there was no longer room for
a Scottish vassal king, and Bruce was therefore driven to connect his
own aspirations with those of the Scottish nation. He had, however,
one powerful rival amongst the nobles. John Comyn--the Red Comyn, as
he was called--had been one of the many claimants of the throne who
appeared before Edward at Norham, and he still looked with a jealous
eye upon all who disputed his title. He was, however, persuaded in
=1306= to meet Bruce in the Grey Friars Church at Dumfries. As Bruce
pleaded his own right to the crown, Comyn denounced him as a traitor
to Edward. Bruce answered by driving his dagger into him. "I doubt,"
cried Bruce, as he rushed from the church, "that I have slain the Red
Comyn." "I will mak sicker" (_make sure_), said Kirkpatrick, who was
in attendance upon him, and, going in, completed the murder. Bruce
made for Scone and was crowned king of Scotland in the presence of
many of the chief nobility.

20. =Edward's Last March on Scotland and Death. 1306--1307.= Edward,
to whom Bruce was but a rebel and a murderer, despatched against him
the Earl of Pembroke who routed his forces at Methven. The revolt was
suppressed and Bruce's supporters were carried off to English prisons,
and their lands divided amongst English noblemen. The Countess of
Buchan, who had taken a prominent part in Bruce's coronation, was
subjected to an imprisonment of great severity in the castle of
Berwick. Bruce almost alone escaped. He knew now that he had the
greater part of the nobility as wel