on that service, he determined to push forward his expedition into Argyleshire. Having assembled his forces at the bridge of Stirling, and found them to amount to two thousand men, ‘worthi and wycht,’ he hastened forward on his way. Duncan of Lorn acted as his guide; and while they pursued their march, he sent forward his man Gillemichel to discover intelligence of the enemy. Blind Harrie proceeds to relate, that as the army proceeded, it became fatigued with its march, that a great part of the men and horses were incapable to continue their way with that speed which the urgency of the expedition required. Upon this Wallace determined to divide the weary from the strong, and to hasten forward with the latter only, and surprise the enemy before they could have the opportunity of choosing a position, where their superiority of numbers could be displayed to its advantage. For this purpose he divided his host into two bodies; the first, consisting of seven hundred men, he chose to haste forward with himself; and the second, which contained but five hundred, and which was spent with fatigue, he left in the rear to follow as well as they might. Before they continued their march Wallace again separated the first division into three companies; the first, consisting of one hundred men, his own chosen West country veterans, he led in person as the advance guard; the second, of the same numbers, he committed to Sir John the Græme; and the last, to the amount of five hundred, he gave to Richard of Lundi, with whom he joined Wallace of Richardtown, his cousin. After this disposition, the two grand divisions separated: that under the leading of Wallace hastened forward on its march, and, crossing the mountain in their front, lost sight of their feeble comrades. In Glen-Dochart they were met by Gillemichel the scout; with him came Sir Niel Campbell, who had escaped from Craiganuni, and at the head of his three hundred clansmen had hastened to join the approaching aid of Wallace. “In this part of Blind Harrie’s poem there is an error, which throws some confusion upon the traces of the march of Wallace. It appears, however, to have been the fault of the transcriber or reciter, and I think may be satisfactorily explained. The mistake consists in the contradiction of the name of the place where the host of Wallace began to fail with fatigue, and of that in which it is said, that he afterwards met Sir Niel Campbell. The words of the poem are thus:-- “Be our party was passit _Straithfulan_, Ye small fute folk began to irk ilk ane.” _Book vii._ l. 763. To which it is subsequently said, “In _Glendowchar_ yair spy met yaim agayne, With lord Cambell,” &c. _Ib._ l. 785.