knowledged the claim again. Edward declared John Balliol to be the true heir of Alexander. Balliol accordingly did homage to Edward, and was crowned King of Scotland.

4. Edward subdues Scotland.—In the time of Edward the Elder, the submission of the Scots did not bring with it any strong duty of obedience. The England of the Edward who now reigned was far stronger than the England of those earlier days, and Edward I. meant his superiority to be marked by the submission of Scotland to the English Courts of Law. When men went to law in Scotland, those who lost their cause asked that it might be heard again in England, and Edward insisted that it should be as they asked. The Scots were very angry. They declared that they had never meant anything of the kind. Rather than submit they forced Balliol to lead them in war against England. Edward was wrathful when he heard the news of what he called rebellion. He marched to Scotland, overpowered Balliol, and deposed him. He left Scotland to be ruled by English governors, and he carried off that stone on which the Scottish kings had always been crowned at Scone, and which now is to be seen under the coronation chair of the sovereign of Great Britain in Westminster Abbey. The fable ran that it was the very stone on which Jacob laid his head when he saw the angels ascending and descending at Bethel. Scotsmen boldly prophesied that wherever that stone was found kings of Scottish blood would reign. Three centuries later their descendants boasted that the prophecy had been

fulfilled in the accession of a Scottish king to the throne of England.

5. Resistance of William Wallace. Edward wished to rule Scotland fairly and justly. But it is impossible to rule a nation fairly and justly when it is determined not to be ruled at all. Englishmen were sent to keep order, and many of them ill-treated the Scots. A Scot, named William Wallace, was insulted by some of them. He gathered his friends and attacked them in return. By-and-by all Scotland was in insurrection. Wallace gathered an army and brought it to the north end of a narrow bridge near Stirling. The English despised him, and began to cross over the bridge. When half of them were over, Wallace attacked those who had reached the north bank before the rest could press over the bridge to help them. Wallace gained a complete victory, drove the English out of Scotland, crossed the border and plundered and burnt English houses in Northumberland. Edward and the English were very angry. In Scotland Wallace was regarded as a true patriot. In England he was held to be no better than an infamous robber. Edward again invaded Scotland, where Wallace had few except foot soldiers to oppose to him, and these he gathered together at Falkirk. He formed them in a ring with their pikes stretched out before them. Englishmen had by this time learnt the use of the bow which had done such service to the Normans at Hastings. They boasted that an Englishman's cloth-yard shaft was longer, and his bow stronger, than that of any other nation. On every village green the small landowner learnt

to shoot at the butts. About a century later a great poet pointed it out as the mark of one of these small landowners that 'in his hand he bore a mighty bow.' At Falkirk the flight of English arrows cleared a gap in the Scottish ranks. The English horsemen dashed in; and the brave Scotsmen died grimly where they stood. Before long all further resistance was put down. Wallace's rule was at an end. He fled, and remained in hiding till he was captured some years later. It is said that he was betrayed by a Scot named Menteith who gave a signal to the English soldiers by turning the loaf on the table with the bottom uppermost. For a long time it was held to be an insult to any one of the name of Menteith to turn a loaf the wrong way in his presence. Wallace was taken to London and brutally executed on Tower Hill as a traitor. Englishmen and Scotsmen can join now in honouring the memory of one who fought bravely for his native land. Edward united Scotland with England, and directed that Scottish representatives should take part in the English Parliament.

6. The Confirmation of the Charters.-The English parliament had become, in the midst of the struggle with Scotland, what it has ever since been. In 1295 the first complete parliament met. Either then, or at least not long afterwards, the parliament was divided into two Houses. The barons with the bishops and abbots formed the House of Lords, whilst the men chosen by the counties and towns formed the House of Commons. Edward found that if he was to expect money from parliament for his wars, he must promise never to take money without the consent of par

liament, and in 1297 he swore to articles known as the Confirmation of the Charters, in which he promised to levy no more money without a grant from parliament. At the same time that Edward was obliged to give way to parliament, he found himself strong enough to resist the clergy. The pope gave orders that the clergy should not pay taxes to kings, who were only laymen. Edward did not get in a passion as Henry II. had done when Becket displeased him, but quietly let the clergy know that if they did not pay taxes he should not protect them. The consequence was that if a clergyman was robbed the judges refused to punish the thief, and the clergy discovered that it was safer for them to pay taxes. The clergy after this always brought their complaints to the king and the parliament, instead of separating themselves from them. Every one saw that Edward would do his best to do what was just, and the clergy therefore did not find as much support in the people as they had in the time of Henry II. and Becket.

7. Rise of Robert Bruce.-Scotland would have nothing to do with Edward's government, however good it might be. The Scots wanted to manage their own affairs without him. The nation found a new leader in Robert Bruce, the grandson of one of the competitors at Norham. Bruce was hardy and audacious. In the church of Dumfries he stabbed Comyn, another of the competitors. I doubt,' he said, as he rushed from the sacred building, 'I have slain the red Comyn.' 'I will make sure,' was the reply of one of his followers, who went into the church and completed the murder. It was just the