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

SIR WILLIAM WALLACE. 115
stroke cut down the treacherous knight and bid him
to purchase a grave for himself. Then the fifty-five
Gallic warriors surrounded Wallace and his fifteen
men, who like brave Scots, with noble hearts and true,
fought boldly and cut down heaps of Frenchmen.The knight's brother fought long and bravely, but
they were all cut down at last. In sight of this bloody
contest nine Frenchmen were mowing hay, who,
wnen they saw their countrymen worsted and stretched on the plain advanced with all speed, each armed
with a sharp scythe, and made a dreadful attack, as
if nothing could impede their fury. Wallace, as soon
as he descried the scythe men coming, immediately
advanced in head of his men towards the clowns.The first of them made a dreadful cut at Wallace,
but he being strong, tight and swift, overleaped his
scythe, and cut his head from his shoulders with a
back stroke of his claymore. He jumped over the
next fellow's scythe, and clave his shoulder more than
half a yard. He leaped over the third's scythe, and
killed him also, and the fourth he clave through the
body, and the fifth he pursued and slew also. So
having despatched five and put the other four to flight,
he returned to his brave men who had, by that time,
slain forty-nine of the Frenchmen-and seven fled
off the field of battle.
The King of France was exceedingly glad at the
success and victory of Wallace over such a treacherous murderer, and invited him earnestly to remain at
court as one of his own household, and live happy
and secure under his royal protection. Wallace ac