We then walked some distance to see Wallace's Monument, the most
conspicuous object for many miles round, and which had only just been
erected to perpetuate the memory of that great warrior, having been
opened by the Duke of Atholl in 1869. We paid twopence each for
admission, and in addition to climbing the hill to reach the entrance
to the monument we had to ascend a further 220 feet by means of a flight
of 246 steps before we could reach the top. There were several rooms in
the basement, in one of which we found an enthusiastic party of young
Scots who were vociferously singing:
Scots, wha hae wie Wallace bled,
Scots, wham Bruce has often led,
Welcome to your gory bed,
Or to victorie.
* * * * *
Lay the proud usurpers low!
Tyrants fall in every foe!
Liberty's in every blow!
Let us do or die!
These were the first and last verses of the poem written by the immortal
Burns to represent Robert Bruce's address to his army before the Battle
of Bannockburn. We did not reveal our nationality to the uproarious
Scots, but, after listening to the song, which we had never heard sung
before, and the cheers which followed it, in which we ourselves joined,
we went quietly past them, for fear they might treat us as the
"usurpers" named in the last verse and "lay _us_ low.
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