The life of Sir William Wallace, the governor general of Scotland, and hero of the Scottish chiefs. By Peter Donaldson.

CO THE LIFE OF
disappointed lover, and the pale hand of death sealed
up her closing eyes! Alas for Marion! stretched on
the cold ground, and her offspring doomed never to see
the light of day! Alas for pregnant Marion, cruelly
murdered by the enemy of her husband and her coun~
try, and her promising race concealed forever in
~atures womb.
Quick as on the wings of the wind, the unhappy
news reached the ears of loving Wallace, and chil
led his heart with the dismal catastrophe of his dear
Marion. All his warriors sympathized in tears ot
sorrow; Graham with all his mourning band could
not withstand the shock; but Wallace beheld their
tears and bade them cease to weep for departed Ma
rion. " Why all this waste of tears, cried the noble
Wallace; will they recall her fleeting shade? Let
tears give way to nobler toils of war, and swords per
form in strictest justice, what words would express
Hear me, O brave Graham, thou companion of my
arms! to thee I swear, that this claymore shall not be
sheathed till I revenge the death of my dearest,
dearest Marion! Heavens! what toils of death and
war, rivers of floating blood, and hills of slain, shall
mark our course; and for her sake ten thousand shall
welter on the plain."
While thus the chieftain spoke, his melancholy
troops gazed on him to catch the sound of war with
pleasing anguish. Fierce vengeance steeled every
warrior's heart, martial fire bent every bow, and pas
sion nerved every hand of those true hearted Scots
"Come, says the chief, to yonder Lanerk let us
wing our course in the silence of the night, and let us
surprise those murderers in their sleep, that ven