of his army who escaped were put to flight, and returned to England; many were drowned in the rout. So the said William happily gained the victory; and here the noble Andrew Murray fell by the sword, with a few others of Scottish birth. After this, however, William Wallace returned to the siege of Dundee Castle, and brought that place under his sway; and, finding there much treasure of the King of England, he generously distributed it among his companions in arms. Thereupon so great fear and trembling fell upon the enemy, that some of the wardens of castles left their castles and fled from the fortified places, while others, after sacking the castles, demolished the strongest towers and withdrew to their own country. Now from lack of grain there was a great dearth before the autumn, on account of which the General gave orders that the army should make its way into England and live there at the expense of the enemy, so as to save their own provisions and keep them for the winter. The aforesaid William Wallace likewise appointed that a gallows should be set up in every domain, so that all under orders to fight, if absent or flying from battle at a critical time without leave or reasonable cause, might be hanged thereon without mercy. When these matters had been settled and completed, he made his way towards England, and overran and ravaged the whole of Northumberland as far as Newcastle; thus he wintered in England at the expense of the enemy, and saved his country's substance; and he got home again safely with much riches and honour.... During the time of his rule the Kingdom of Scotland prospered wonderfully in happiness and in manifold ways; everyone dwelt in safety with his own, and agriculture began to thrive everywhere. In spite, however, of all his good deeds and deserts in the interests of the state and the independence of the crown, certain sons of wickedness and imps of the devil conspired and devised mischief against him, framing lies and backbiting him behind his back while speaking him fair to his face and meditating treachery, saying within their hearts, "We will not have this man reign over us." But the lower orders and the populace were exceedingly fond of him, as were also a good many of the older and wiser of the great men of the kingdom. For God of His loving-kindness sent this leader to snatch them from the snare of the fowler; and, whereas the whole of Scotland was unable at that time to defend herself, he, supported by the help of God and aided by the assistance of S. Andrew and S. Cuthbert, did his best to free her from the chain of perpetual slavery, and strove to exalt her with uplifted arm. So the death of the guileless lamb was devised by those envious haters of the happiness of mankind; and hard upon his death there followed struggles, the shipwreck of the clergy of Scotland, the ruin of the people, the downfall of the kingdom, and the destruction of the state. THE CONFIRMATION OF THE CHARTERS (1297).