Keith, the mareschal of the Scottish army, in order that they might survey, as nearly as they could, the English force, which was now approaching from Falkirk. They returned with information that the approach of that vast host was one of the most beautiful and terrible sights which could be seen-that the whole country seemed covered with men-at-arms on horse and foot-that the number of standards, banners, and pennons (all flags of different kinds), made so gallant a show, that the bravest and most numerous host in Christendom might be alarmed to see King Edward moving against them. It was upon the 23rd of June 1314, the King of Scotland heard the news, that the English were approaching Stirling. He drew out his army, therefore, in the order which he had before resolved on. After a short time, Bruce, who was looking out anxiously for the enemy, saw a body of English cavalry trying to get into Stirling from the eastward. This was the Lord Clifford, who, with a chosen body of 800 horse, had been detached to relieve the castle. 'See, Randolph,' said the king to his nephew, there is a rose fallen from your chaplet.' By this he meant, that Randolph had lost some honour, by suffering the enemy to pass where he had been stationed to hinder them. Randolph made no reply, but rushed against Clifford with little more than half his number. The Scots were on foot. The English turned to charge them with their lances, and Randolph drew up his men in close order to receive the onset. He seemed to be in so much danger, that Douglas asked leave to go and assist him. The king refused him permission. 'Let Randolph,' he said, 'redeem his own fault; I cannot break the order of battle for his sake.' Still the danger appeared greater, and the English horse seemed entirely to encompass the small handful of Scottish infantry. So please you,' said Douglas to the king, 'my heart will not suffer me to stand idle and see Randolph perish-I must go to his assistance.' rode off accordingly; but long before they had reached the place of combat, they saw the English horses galloping off, many with empty saddles. He 'Halt!' said Douglas to his men, 'Randolph has gained the day; since we were not soon enough to help him in the battle, do not let us lessen his glory by approaching the field.' Now, that was nobly done, especially as Douglas and Randolph were always contending which should rise highest in the good opinion of the king and the nation. The van of the English army now came in sight, and a number of their bravest knights drew near to see what the Scots were doing. They saw King Robert dressed in his armour, and distinguished by a gold crown which he wore over his helmet. He was not mounted on his great war-horse, because he did not expect to fight that evening. But he rode on a little pony up and down the ranks of his army, putting his men in order, and carried in his hand a sort of battle-axe made of steel. When the king saw the English horsemen draw near, he advanced a little before his own men, that he might look at them more nearly. There was a knight among the English, called Sir Henry de Bohun, who thought this would be a good opportunity to gain great fame to himself, and put an end to the war, by killing King Robert. Tke king being poorly mounted, and having no lance, Bohun galloped on him suddenly and furiously, thinking with his long spear, and his tall powerful horse, easily to bear him down to the ground. King Robert saw him, and permitted him to come very near, then suddenly turned his pony a little to one side, so that Sir Henry missed him with the lance-point, and was in the act of being carried past him by the career of his horse. But as he passed, King Robert rose up in his stirrups, and struck Sir Henry on the head with his battle-axe so terrible a blow, that it broke to pieces his iron helmet as if it had been a nut-shell, and hurled him from his saddle. He was dead before he reached the ground. This gallant action was blamed by the Scottish leaders, who thought Bruce ought not to have exposed himself to so much danger when the safety of the whole army depended on him. The king only kept looking at his weapon, which was injured by the force of the blow, and said, 'I have broken my good battle-axe.' The next morning, being the 24th of June, at break of day, the battle began in terrible interest. The English as they advanced saw the Scots getting into line. The Abbot of Inchaffray walked through their ranks barefooted, and exhorted them to fight for their freedom. They kneeled down as he passed, and prayed to heaven for victory. King Edward, who saw this, called out, 'They kneel down-they are asking forgiveness.' 'Yes,' said a celebrated English baron called Ingelram de Umphraville, 'but they ask it from God, not from us-these men will conquer, or die upon the field.' The English king ordered his men to begin the battle. The archers bent their bows, and began to shoot so closely together, that the arrows fell like flakes of snow on a Christmas day. They killed many of the Scots, and might, as at Falkirk and other places, have decided the victory; but Bruce, as I told you before, was prepared for them. He had in readiness a body of men-at-arms, well mounted, who rode at full gallop among the archers, and as they had no weapons save their bows and arrows, which they could not use when they were attacked hand to hand, they were cut down in great numbers by the Scottish horsemen, and thrown into total confusion. The fine English cavalry then advanced to support their archers, and to attack the Scottish line. But coming over the ground which was dug full of pits, the horses fell into these holes, and the riders lay tumbling about, without any means of defence, and unable to rise, from the weight of their armour. The Englishmen began to fall into general disorder; and the Scottish king, bringing up more of his forces, attacked and pressed them still more closely. On a sudden, while the battle was obstinately maintained on both sides, an event happened which decided the victory. The servants and attendants on the Scottish camp had, as I told you, been sent behind the army, to a place afterwards called the 'Gillies' Hill.' But when they saw that their masters were likely to gain the day, they rushed from their place of concealment with such weapons as they could get, that they might have their share in the victory and in the spoil. The English, seeing them come suddenly over the hill, mistook this disorderly rabble for another army coming to sustain the Scots, and, losing all heart, began to shift every man for himself. Edward left the field as fast as he could ride. A valiant knight, Sir Giles de Argentine, much renowned in the wars of Palestine, attended the king till he got him out of the press of the combat. But he would retreat no farther. 'It is not my custom,' he said, 'to fly.' With that he took leave of the king, set spurs to his horse, and calling out his war-cry of 'Argentine Argentine!' he rushed into the thickest of the Scottish ranks and was killed. The young Earl of Gloucester was also slain, fighting valiantly. The Scots would have saved him, but as he had not put on his armorial bearings, they did not know him, and he was cut to pieces. Edward first fled to Stirling castle, and entreated admit-· tance; but Sir Philip Mowbray, the governor, reminded the fugitive sovereign that he was obliged to surrender the castle next day, so Edward was fain to fly through the Torwood, closely pursued by Douglas with a body of cavalry. An odd circumstance happened during the chase, which showed how loosely some of the Scottish barons of the day held their political opinions. As Douglas was riding furiously after Edward, he met a Scottish knight, Sir Lawrence Abernethy, with twenty horse. Sir Lawrence had hitherto owned the English interest, and was bringing this band of followers to serve King Edward's army. But learning from Douglas that the English king was entirely defeated, he changed sides on the spot, and was easily persuaded upon to join Douglas in pursuing the unfortunate Edward, with the very followers whom he had been leading to join his standard. Douglas and Abernethy continued the chase, not giving King Edward time to alight from horseback even for an instant, and followed him as far as Dunbar, where the English had still a friend in the governor, Patrick, Earl of March. The earl received Edward in his forlorn condition, and furnished him with a fishing skiff, or small ship, in which he escaped to England, having entirely lost his fine army, and a great number of his bravest nobles. CIRCULATING DECIMALS. Find the value correct to six places of decimals of X (1) 74-297 × 26; 54′04 × 6·973; 28-857 × 72; ·6329 × 6·23. SCIENTIFIC EXTRACTS. (From Timbs's' Curiosities of Science.') COMPRESSION OF BODIES. ang-ment'-ed, increased in-fla'-ted, filled with air in-ha-la-tion, the act of breathing in col-lapse', to close by falling together SIR JOHN LESLIE observes, that air, compressed into the fiftieth part of its volume, has its elasticity fifty times augmented; if it continued to contract at that rate, it would, from its own incumbent weight, acquire the density of water at the depth of thirty-four miles. But water itself would have its density doubled at the depth of ninety-three miles, and would attain the density of quicksilver at the depth of three hundred and sixty-two miles. In descending, therefore, towards the centre, though nearly four thousand miles, the condensation of ordinary substances would surpass the utmost powers of conception. Dr. Young says, that steel would be compressed into one-fourth, and stone into one-eighth of its bulk at the earth's centre. INERTIA ILLUSTRATED. Many things of common occurrence (says Professor Tyndall) are to be explained by reference to the quality of inactivity. We will here state a few of them. When a railway train is moving, if it strike against any obstacle which arrests its motion, the passengers are thrown forward in the direction in which the train was proceeding. Such accidents often occur on a small scale, in attaching carriages at railway stations. The reason is, that the passengers share the motion of the train, and, as matter, they tend to persist in motion. When the train is suddenly checked, this tendency exhibits itself by the falling forward referred to. In like manner, when a train previously at rest is suddenly set in motion, the tendency of the passengers to remain at rest evinces itself by their falling in a direction opposed to that in which the train moves. LIFTING HEAVY PERSONS. One of the most extraordinary pages in Sir David Brewster's Letters on Natural Magic is the experiment in which a heavy man is raised with the greatest facility, when he is lifted up the instant that his own lungs, and those of the persons who raise him, are inflated with air. Thus the heaviest person in the party lies down upon two chairs, his legs being supported by the one and his back by the other. Four persons, one at each leg, and one at each shoulder, then try to raise him-the person to be raised giving two signals, by clapping his hands. At the first signal he himself and the four lifters begin to draw a long and full breath; and when the inhalation is completed, or the lungs filled, the second signal is given for raising the person from the chair. To his own surprise, and that of his bearers, he rises with the greatest facility, as if he were no heavier than a feather. Sir David Brewster states that he has seen this inexplicable experiment performed more than once, and he appealed for testimony to Sir Walter Scott, who had repeatedly seen the experiment, and performed the part both of the load and of the bearer. It was first shown in England by Major H., who saw it performed in a large party at Venice, under the direction of an officer of the American navy. Sir David Brewster (in a letter to 'Notes and Queries, 'No. 143) further remarks, that 'The inhalation of the lifters the moment the effort is made, is doubtless essential, and for this reason, when we make a great effort, either in pulling or lifting, we always fill the chest with air previous to the effort; and when the inhalation is completed we close the rima glottidis to |