meet him, with the deliberate
intention of slaying him; others have represented the meeting as
accidental, and the slaying of Comyn as the result of an outburst
of passion on the part of Bruce; but no one who weighs the facts,
and considers the circumstances in which Comyn was placed, can feel
the least question that the latter is the true hypothesis.

Bruce, whose whole course shows him to have been a man who acted
with prudence and foresight, would have been nothing short of mad had
he, just at the time when it was necessary to secure the goodwill
of the whole of the Scotch nobles, chosen that moment to slay Comyn,
with whom were connected, by blood or friendship, the larger half
of the Scotch nobles. Still less, had he decided upon so suicidal
a course, would he have selected a sanctuary as the scene of the
deed. To slay his rival in such a place would be to excite against
himself the horror and aversion of the whole people, and to enlist
against him the immense authority and influence of the church.
Therefore, unless we should conclude that Bruce--whose early
career showed him to be a cool and calculating man, and whose future
course was marked throughout with wisdom of the highest character--was
suffering from an absolute aberration of intellect, we must
accept the account by those who represent the meeting as accidental,
and the slaying as the result of an outburst of passion provoked
by Comyn's treachery, as the correct one.

When Bruce saw Comyn approaching he bade his followers stop where
they were and advanced towards Comyn, who was astonished at his
presence.

"I would speak with you aside, John Comyn," Bruce said; and the
two withdrew into the church apart from the observation of others.

Then Bruce broke into a torrent of invective against Comyn for his
gross act of treachery in betraying him by sending to Edward a copy
of their agreement.

"You sought," he said, "to send me to the scaffold, and so clear
the way for yourself to the throne of Scotland."

Comyn, finding that dissimulation was useless, replied as hotly.
Those without could hear the voices of the angry men rise higher
and higher; then there was a silence, and Bruce hurried out alone.

"What has happened?" Archie Forbes exclaimed.

"I fear that I have slain Comyn," Bruce replied in an agitated
voice.

"Then I will make sure," Kirkpatrick, one of his retainers, said;
and accompanied by Lindsay and another of his companions he ran in