The Sun.
London, England, 1830-05-24 00:00:00

THE CAPTURE OF WALLACE.

The means which were employed to accom-
plish the destruction of Bruce, would have been
of very little avail towards securing the objects
intended, so long as his brother and our hero—
who had now identified himself with the inte-
rest of the Brucian party—remained to head the
insurrection that was expected to break out ; and
as all the magnificent promises of Edward had
been unable to subdue the stern virtue of the
patriot, his emissaries now bethought themselves
of assailing the fidelity of those friends in whom
he seemed chiefly to confide. Unfortunately for
the cause of liberty, their allurements were but
too successful ; and the honour of his early
friend, Sir John Menteith, gave way to the arts
of the tempter.
On the night of the sth of August, 1305,
Sir William and his faithful friend Kerle, ac-
companied by the youth before mentioned, had
betaken themselves to their lonely retreat at Rob-
royston ; to which place their steps had been
watched by a spy, who, as soon as he had ob-
served them enter, returned to his employers.
At the dead hour of midnight, while the two
friends lay fast asleep, the youth, whose turn it was
to watch, cautiously removed the bugle from the
neck of Wallace, and conveyed it, along with
his arms, through an aperture in the wall; then
slowly opening the door, two men-at-arms
silently entered, and, seizing upon Kerle, hur-
ried him from the apartment, and instantly put
him to death. Wallace, awakened by the noise,
started to his feet, and, missing his weapons,
became sensible of his danger, but grasping
a large piece of oak, which had been used
for a seat, he struck two of his assailants
dead on the spot, and drove the rest head-
long before him. Seeing the fury to which he
was roused, and the difficulty they would have
in taking him alive, Menteith now advanced to
the aperture, and represented to him the folly of
resistance, as the English, he said, having heard
of his place of resort, and of the plats he had in
contemplation, were collected in too large a force
to be withstood ; that if he would accompany
him a prisoner to Dumbarton, he would under-
take for the safety of his person ;—that all the
English wished, was to secure the peace of the
country, and to be free from his molestation ;
adding, that if he consented to go with him, he
should live in his own house in the castle, and
he, Menteith, alone should be his keeper ;—that
even now he would willingly sacrifice his life in
his defence, but that his attendants were too
few, and too ill appointed, to have any chance
of success in contending with the English. He
concluded by assuring Wallace, that he had
followed in order to use his influence with his enc•
mies in his behalf, and that they had listened to
him on condition of an immediate surrender;
but that if he did not instantly comply, the house
would soon be in flames about him. These,
and other arguments, were urged with all the
seeming sincerity of friendship ; and eur patriot,
confiding in early recollections, and the private
understanding that subsisted between them,
allowed himself to be conducted to Dumbarton
Castle.

On the morrow, however, no Menteith ap-
peared to exert his influence, in order to prevent
the unfortunate hero from being carried from
the fortress ; and strongly fettered, and guarded
by a powerful escort, under the command of
Robert de Clifford and Amer de Valiance, he
was hurried_ to the South, by the line of road
least exposed to the chance of a rescue.--Con-
stable's Miscellany, Vol. LIV. Life of Sir
William Wallace.

So rapid has been the alteration in his MA-
JESTY'S health, that some well-informed persons are san-
guine enough to indulge is the hope that his MAJESTY
will be sufficiently recovered to attend the Ascot Meeting.
The favourable change in the KING'S health took place in
the course of last Friday night; and the evident improve-
ment in personal appearance was the subject of general
remark on Saturday and Sunday. Throughout the whole
e about
sad
tix e
of the SovEssioN's indisposition, he has possessed his
usual Row of animal spirits, and these, chhibined more
especially with a sound religious confidence, baire supported
him in the midst of excruciating suffering. Trade is now
mill St
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ei
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ha el all theutshue characteristic
mouth,a win Drawing-room
oat which
featuresnhh will
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f take thep
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will most likely preside.--Berke Chronicle.