Having
made our selection and fastened the door, we were soon asleep,
notwithstanding the dreadful stories we had heard that day, and the
great battlefields we had visited--haunted, no doubt, by the ghosts of
legions of our English ancestors who had fallen therein!
(_Distance walked seventeen miles_.)
_Saturday, October 7th._
Falkirk, which stands on a gentle slope on the great Carse of Forth, is
surrounded by the Grampian Hills, the Ochills, and the Campsie Range.
Here King Edward I entirely routed the Scottish Army in the year 1298.
Wallace's great friend was slain in the battle and buried in the
churchyard, where an inscription recorded that "Sir John de Grahame,
equally remarkable for wisdom and courage, and the faithful friend of
Wallace, being slain in the battle by the English, lies buried in this
place."
We left the inn at six o'clock in the morning, the only people visible
being workmen turning out for their day's work. The last great fair of
the season was to be held that day, and we had the previous day seen the
roads filled with cattle making for Falkirk Fair, perhaps one of the
largest fairs in the kingdom. We had been told by the drovers that the
position was well adapted for the purpose, as the ground was very sandy
and therefore not so liable to be trampled into mud by the animals'
feet.
Pages:
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305