Meantime, the scattered fugitives were either fall ing under the sword of their enemies, or seeking safety in the speed of their flight. A body of Welsh men appeared nearly naked, having been induced to throw aside their upper garments, in order to fight with the greater freedom; and now were the easiest victims. Same, continued to conceal themselves in the w.00dy parts of the neighbourhood in hopes of mercy; and Sir Marmaduke Twenge, after lurking through the night in a bush, surrendered himself to Robert, personally, by whom he was courteously treated.
There are two things which it is equally difficult to ascertain, the numbers who fell, and the duration of the engagement. The victors are always pione to magnify their conquest ; the vanquished to diminish their defeat, and to exaggerate its difficulty. If it be true that Edward fled on the same day to Dunbar, the conflict, though from dawn, could not be very long ; yet, it is not easy to conceive how the un wieldy mass of the English army could be brought into action unless by slow operations. The loss on - both sides was certainly very great. Barbour asserts that of the English to have been 30,000 men, and that 200 knights were killed. But the truth of this cal - culation is disputable, especially as it is said elsewhere, that only 42 knights were slain, and 60 made prison ers. Barbour also affirms, that only two of note fell on the occasion, Sir William Vipont and Sir Walter Ross. The king bitterly regretted the Earl of Gloucester, for he was his own near relative, and historians maintain, that had the Scots known him he would not have fallen that day. He caused his body to be carried to St Ninian's church, and watched all night, and then sent with that of Lord Clifford to England. The more distinguished slain received inter ment in consecrated ground, the others were thrown into pits. The booty taken in the battle was immense ; so great, indeed, as to disseminate riches the kingdom, which may well be believed, as the English anticipated nothing less than discomfiture. " 0 day of vengeance and fatality," one of their his torians exclaims, " hateful accursed day, to be blot ted from the circle of the year ; a day which tar nished the glory of England, despoiled our nation, and enriched its enemies to the amount of L.200,000.
How many valiant youths and illustrious nobles, how many excellent horses and beautiful arms, how many precious vestments and golden vessels, were lost in that single unfortunate day !" The privy-seal of Ed ward was also among the spoils, but restored by Ro bert, who used his victory with such clemency and moderation, as to gain the applauses even of the hos tile nation. Among the pr;coners was Balton, a Carmelite friar, said to have been brought by Edward to celebrate his expected conquest ; he now obtained his freedom on condition of paying a similar ransom, but in favour of his enemies. His poem probably merits more attention and confidence than ought to be bestowed on any other narrative of the battle, be cause he-alone was contemporary with it, and most probably was a spectator of many of the incidents which happened twenty years before Barbour was born. But we must again regret that it fell to the share of poets only to perpetuate the remembrance of events so important and interesting.
The immediate consequences of this great victory were the surrender of all the fortresses of Scotland to their lawful owners, the liberation of the inhabi tants from a foreign yoke, and the firm establishment of the sovereign on the throne. Many inconsider able engagements have been magnified into battles,. but this may probably vie with those most celebrated in history, though fought at a period when the na tion was, without all doubt, almost in a savage state. Some memorials of it still remain on the spot ; armour and weapons have been frequently dug up from the neighbourhood ; and at an interval of 500 years, the inhabitants of the vicinity met on the 24th of June 1814, to celebrate the triumph of their ancestors, the memory of which has been sedulously preserved among them. (s4