to meet
him, led, as at Northallerton and at Mitton, by the clergy of the
northern province. The battle was a repetition of Dupplin and Halidon
Hill, and a rehearsal of Homildon and Flodden. Scots and English alike
were drawn up in the usual three divisions; the left, centre, and right
being led respectively, on the one side, by Robert the Steward, King
David, and Randolph, and, on the other, by Rokeby, Archbishop Neville,
and Henry Percy. The English archers were, as usual, spread out so as to
command both the Scottish wings. They were met by no cavalry charge, and
they soon threw the Scottish left into confusion, and prepared the way
for an assault upon the centre. Randolph was killed; the king was
captured, and for eleven years he remained a prisoner in England.
Meanwhile Robert the Steward (still the heir to the throne, for David
had no children) ruled in Scotland. There is reason for believing that,
in 1352, David was allowed to go to Scotland to raise a ransom, and, two
years later, an arrangement was actually made for his release. But
Robert the Steward and David had always been on bad terms, and, after
everything had been formally settled, the Scots decided to remain loyal
to their French allies. Hostilities recommenced; in August, 1355, the
Scots won a small victory at Nesbit in Berwickshire, and captured the
town of Berwick. Early in the following year it was retaken by Edward
III, who proclaimed himself the successor of Balliol, and mercilessly
ravaged the Lowlands. So great was his destruction of churches and
religious houses that the invasion is remembered as the "Burned
Candlemas". Peace was made in 1357, and David's ransom was fixed at
100,000 marks. It was a huge sum; but in connection with the efforts
made to raise it the burgesses acquired some influence in the government
of the country.

David's residence in France and in England had entirely deprived him of
sympathy with the national aspirations of his subjects. He loved the
gay court of Edward III, and the Anglo-Norman chivalry had deeply
affected him. He hated his destined successor, and he had been charmed
by Edward's personality. Accordingly we find him, seven years after his
return to Scotland, again making a journey to England. It is a striking
fact that the son of the victor of Bannockburn should have gone to
London to propose to sell the independence of Scotland to the grandson
of Edward I. The difficulty of paying the yearly instalment of hi