reat from Scotland, Robert Bruce left his
fastnesses, in which he intended to have sheltered his feeble army; and
supplying his defect of strength by superior vigor and abilities, he
made deep impression on all his enemies, foreign and domestic. He chased
Lord Argyle and the chieftain of the Macdowals from their hills, and
made himself entirely master of the high country; he thence invaded
with success the Cummins in the low countries of the north: he took
the castles of Inverness, Forfar, and Brechin; he daily gained some new
accession of territory; and what was a more important acquisition, he
daily reconciled the minds of the nobility to his dominion, and enlisted
under his standard every bold leader, whom he enriched by the spoils
of his enemies. Sir James Douglas, in whom commenced the greatness and
renown of that warlike family, seconded him in all his enterprises:
Edward Bruce, Robert's own brother, distinguished himself by acts of
valor; and the terror of the English power being now abated by the
feeble conduct of the king, even the least sanguine of the Scots began
to entertain hopes of recovering their independence; and the whole
kingdom, except a few fortresses which he had not the means to attack,
had acknowledged the authority of Robert.

In this situation, Edward had found it necessary to grant a truce to
Scotland; and Robert successfully employed the interval in consolidating
his power, and introducing order into the civil government, disjointed
by a long continuance of wars and factions. The interval was very short;
the truce, ill observed on both sides, was at last openly violated, and
war recommenced with greater fury than ever. Robert, not content with
defending himself, had made successful inroads into England, subsisted
his needy followers by the plunder of that country, and taught them to
despise the military genius of a people who had long been the object of
their terror. Edward at last, roused from his lethargy, had marched an
army into Scotland, and Robert, determined not to risk too much against
an enemy so much superior, retired again into the mountains. The king
advanced beyond Edinburgh; but being destitute of provisions, and being
ill supported by the English nobility, who were then employed in framing
their ordinances, he was soon obliged to retreat, without gaining any
advantage over the enemy. But the appearing union of all the parties in
England, after the death of Gavaston, seemed to re