"And when Glosyter and Hertfurd were, With their battle approaching near, Before them all there come riding, With helm on head and spear in hand, Sir Henry Boune, the worthy, That was a wight knight, and a hardy; And to the Earl of Hertfurd cousin; Armed in arms good and fine; Come on a steed, a bow-shot nere, Before all other that there were. And knew the King, for that he saw Him so range his men in row; And by the crown, that was set Also upon his bacinet, And towards him he went on haste. And the King so apertly Saw him come, forth all his feres[412] In hy[413] to him the horse he steers. And when Sir Henry saw the King Come on forouting abaysing,[414] To him he rode in full great hy[415] He thought that he should well lightly Win him and have him at his will, Since he him horsed saw so ill. Sprent[416] they came unto a ling,[417] Sir Henry missed the noble king. And he, that in his stirrups stood, With the axe, that was hard and good, With so great mayn[418] reached him a dint, That neither hat nor helm might stynt, The hewy dusche[419] that he him gave, That near the head to the harness clave. The hand-axe shaft fruschyt[420] in tow; And he down to the yird gan go All flatlyngs[421], for him failed might. This was the first stroke of the fight." Barbour, vol. ii. p. 122. The fine generousness of chivalry was very nobly displayed in another circumstance which preceded the great battle. It was a main object with the English to throw succours into the castle of Stirling; and Edward, therefore, commanded Sir Robert Clifford and eight hundred horsemen to make a circuit by the low grounds to the east, and approach the castle. Bruce, in anticipation of the Englishmen's purpose, had charged Randolph who commanded his left wing to prevent Stirling from being relieved; and when he saw the English troops holding on their gallant course unchecked, he cried, "A rose has fallen from thy chaplet, Randolph,"[422] and bitterly reproached him for his want of vigilance. Nothing but the utmost desperateness of valour could efface this shame; and gathering round him a few hundred bold spirits, the Scottish General advanced against the English. Clifford, in his pride of chivalry, thought that he could soon disperse a band of lightly armed troops of foot-soldiers, who were now being marshalled into a circle with their spears resting on the ground, the points protruded on every side. The English charged, but the resistance was more gallant than what they had foreseen. Still, however, the Scots seemed gradually sinking under the force of numbers; and Douglas, who saw the peril, requested the King's permission to go and join him. "You shall not move from your ground," cried the King: "let Randolph extricate himself as he best may. I will not alter my order of battle, and lose the advantage of my position." But Douglas reiterated his request,