they defeated the Earl of Chester, and Gilbert Strongbow, the two most powerful of the English subjects. In those times, the Scottish kings had possessions in England, for which they did homage to the kings of England; and, in consequence of this, they often thought it their duty to take part in the wars of those kings. On the occasion of Alexander's visit to King Henry, he readily agreed to lead an army into Wales, where he defeated one of the chieftains, and reduced him to great difficulties; but could not prevent his escaping to Griffith, prince of North Wales, to whom he was nearly allied. Henry also marched against the Welsh, but was much less successful than Alexander, for he lost two-thirds of his army, and almost all his baggage, by fatigue, famine, and the attacks of the enemy. This loss, however, he made up for, in a great measure, by his policy; for he found means to raise a jealousy between the two Welsh chiefs, and then induced them separately to conclude a peace with him; he was, however, obliged to restore all his lands to one of them, and to pay a large sum of money to the other. Alexander the Fierce died in 1124, after reigning seventeen years, and was buried at Dumfermline.

CHAPTER VII.

DAVID I.

SURNAMED THE SAINT.

Began to reign, 1124. Died, 1153.

BATTLE OF THE STANDARD.

DAVID the First succeeded his brother Alexander the Fierce, and, interfering in the affairs of England, took part with the empress Maud, his niece, in the civil war which she carried on against her cousin Stephen, who had usurped her crown. In the year 1136, David and Stephen met at Durham; but as neither of them wished to venture a battle, they entered into a negotiation, and a treaty was concluded. This treaty, however, was soon broken; and, the following year, David again invaded England, defeated Stephen, and forced him to retreat, in great haste, with the loss of half his army. Next year, David returned to England; and, though he was himself a man of great mildness and humanity, yet he suffered his troops to commit such outrages, that the English united firmly to oppose him. His grand-nephew, William, cut to pieces the vanguard of the English army, at Clithero, in Lancashire; after which he ravaged the country, with such cruelty, that the inhabitants became greatly enraged against him. The English army, having received large rein

forcements from the south, advanced to Northallerton in Yorkshire, where they reared their famous standard. The body of this standard was a kind of box, set upon wheels, from which arose the mast of a ship, with a silver cross upon its top; and round it were hung the banners of St. Peter, St. John de Beverly, and St. Wilfred. Standards of this kind were much used at that time on the continent of Europe; and the English had so much confidence in their's, that they now thought themselves invincible. They had, however, better ground for confidence, in being much better armed than their adversaries. The armies met at a place called Culton Moor, and the Scots were divided into three lines, or bodies, under different commanders. The English soldiers, having ranged themselves round their standard, dismounted from their horses, in order to avoid the long lances of the first line of the Scots. Their first line was intermixed with archers; and a body of cavalry, ready for pursuit, was stationed at a little distance. The Scots, besides their lances, made use of targets; but when the English closed with them, they were soon thrown into disorder, and driven back upon the centre, where king David commanded in person. His son made a gallant resistance, but was at last forced to yield; and David, seeing the victory decided

D

against him, ordered some of his men to save themselves by throwing away their badges, which, it seems, Maud's party had worn, and to mingle with the English; after which, he retreated with his shattered forces, towards Carlisle. It is said, the Scots were totally defeated in this battle, and lost ten thousand men; but that could hardly have been the case, since the English did not pursue, and the Scots were able to carry on the war again the next year. There were, however, no great exploits performed on either side, and a peace was concluded, by which Henry, prince of Scotland, was put in possession of Huntingdon and Northumberland, and took an oath of fealty, or allegiance, to Stephen. David continued faithful to his niece, the empress Maud, as long as he lived; and died at Carlisle, in the year 1153, after a splendid reign of rather more than twenty-nine years.

CHAPTER VIII.

WILLIAM I.

SURNAMED THE LION.

Began to reign, 1165. Died, 1214.

ADVENTURES OF GILCHRIST.

MALCOLM the Fourth succeeded his grandfather David; he was a weak superstitious prince,

and died of melancholy in the year 1165. His brother, William the First, succeeded him, and immediately entered into a war with Henry the Second, king of England, on account of the earldom of Northumberland, which his brother Malcolm had given up. Henry's affairs being in a very embarrassed state, he consented to return that county to William, rather than continue the miseries of war, on condition that the latter should pay him homage In the year 1172, William took advantage of the unnatural war, which king Henry's sons were carrying on against their father, and invaded England. He divided his army into three columns: the first of which besieged Carlisle; the second he led himself into Northumberland; and his brother David advanced with the third into Leicestershire. William took several castles, and then joined that part of his army which was besieging Carlisle. The place was reduced to such great distress, that the governor agreed to surrender on a certain day, provided it were not relieved before that time. On this, the king, leaving some troops to continue the siege, and sending a strong reinforcement to his brother David, went to invest a castle, with some of the forces he had under his command; by doing this, he was left with a very small army, when he received intelligence that a large body of English were advancing to surprise