Everything about this expedition was indeed extraordinary, and even the Scots themselves did not know who was in command. Lord Maxwell, warden of the western marches, was present, and to him that office naturally belonged; but neither he nor the troops knew anything at all about the matter. At ten o’clock an unexpected event occurred. The Scots finding themselves on English ground at Solway, the trumpets were sounded, the army halted, and the royal flag was displayed and floated in the midst of them. The wretched Oliver Sinclair mounted on a kind of shield formed by lances which rested on the shoulders of some of the soldiers. He presented letters which had been sent him by the king. This prince, in the belief that this worthless courtier was a great captain, had named him commander-in-chief. These letters were read to the army, and the favorite had himself proclaimed lieutenant-general, with orders to render obedience to him as to the king himself. By what the courtiers said, to put Sinclair at the head of the army was to make victory certain. James would not rely upon any of his nobles. Not one of them was to have the glory of the expedition; it was to be the achievement of James, to whom the command belonged. Maxwell was present at that ceremony, seeing everything, hearing everything, and he was astounded at it, ‘but he thought more than he spoke.’[254] Other lords who were present did the same. No sooner had the proclamation been read than murmurs, discouragement, and disorder spread through the army. At the same time the English took up arms in all haste, ten in one company, twenty in another. Carlisle closed its gates, and shortly after about five hundred horsemen appeared on the neighboring heights for the purpose of reconnoitring the Scottish force.[255] The Scots took these horsemen for the advance guard of the army of the duke of Norfolk, and being seized with a panic terror, many of them broke from the ranks. Some wanted to fight, others wanted to fly. Everything was disorder and confusion. The troops disbanded and took to flight in all directions. Lord Maxwell, who had foreseen from the first moment the end of this mad business, alighted from his horse and spoke to some friends. ‘To horse and fly,’ they said to him. ‘Nay,’ replied he, ‘I will rather abide here the chance that it shall please God to send me than to go home and then be hanged.’[256] The Scots, both horse and foot, threw away their arms and ran with all their might. A great number of them were taken prisoners by the soldiers of Henry VIII., and some were captured by Scottish adventurers and sold to the English.[257] To such a degree had James’s soldiers lost heart, that those who did not fall into the hands of men rushed into houses and surrendered themselves to women.[258] The water had to be recrossed: the tide was high, the river deep. Many were drowned, and a good number of those who escaped the river perished in the marshes. Oliver Sinclair, who was ‘fleeing