late towards the third Edward the loyalty which his father had shown towards Edward's grandsire. He did, indeed, attend the parliament held by Baliol, in February 1334. But probably her husband's conduct was little to the liking of Randolph's daughter; and it is not difficult to comprehend how a man in Earl Patrick's position-doubting, hesitating, and full of regret for the past, uneasiness as to the present, and apprehensions for the future-might be influenced by a young and beautiful wife, of remarkable energy and ardent patriotism. In any case, in December 1334, when Edward was advancing through the Merse at the head of an army, the earl renounced his allegiance, and joined the Scots.

Edward, as events hurried on, experienced much inconvenience from having Dunbar as a foe. Most of the earl's fortresses, indeed, were in no condition to resist such an assailant as the King of England; but the idea of besieging his principal castle was one which the bravest warrior might well decline to entertain. In fact, the castle of Dunbar, founded on a rugged rock washed by the sea, with fortifications of immense strength, and strongly garrisoned, was, in that age, deemed impregnable. Situated as it was, however, in a territory that had yielded to Edward, the stronghold proved a sore nuisance to the English king. The excursions of the garrison annoyed the adjacent country; and the port, under shelter of the walls, was particularly convenient for the reception of supplies from France and other countries on the continent. Such being the state of the case, Edward, when preparing for his war with France, resolved on attempting its reduction, and entrusted the operation to his warlike baron, William Montacute, Earl of Salisbury.

"The king destroyed the greatest part of the country,' says Froissart, and took many more forts than his people had achieved from the Scots for a long time. He placed in them several able and expert knights and esquires; among

whom were Sir William Montacute, and Sir Walter Manny, who made many severe skirmishes and attacks upon the Scots, and, according to custom, were always victorious.'

'In order the better to secure their entrance and retreat, and to harass the country, Sir William Montacute fortified the tower of Roxburgh, upon the borders of Scotland, and made it a strong castle, able to resist any attack. He gained so much favour by his enterprises that the king created him Earl of Salisbury, and married him to a noble and honourable lady. True it is that the Scots did greatly disturb the English; they kept themselves in the wild parts of Scotland, among marshes and forests, where no one could follow them, and harassed the English so constantly that there were skirmishes almost every day, in one of which the Earl of Salisbury lost an eye by his too great boldness.'

It was in the month of January 1338, while affairs were in this posture, that Salisbury, accompanied by several English nobles, appeared before Dunbar, and laid siege to the castle. Earl Patrick was then with the Scottish army beyond the Forth; but Black Agnes, quite undismayed by the approach of the foe, prepared to hold out against all comers. It soon appeared that, like the Countess of Montfort, she 'possessed the courage of a man and the heart of a lion,' and, like the Countess of Salisbury, the art of making the garrison exert themselves to the very utmost of their power. Her nature was so fearless that no peril could daunt her; her vigilance such, that no stratagem could take her by surprise.

Among the engines of war which Salisbury brought to this celebrated siege, was a huge machine called 'a sow.' The sow appears to have been a large fabric, constructed of wood, and moved on wheels. Being well roofed, and having stages within, it served the double purpose of conveying miners to the foot of the wall, and armed men to the storm. Once, when the pioneers advanced under cover of this machine to mine the wall, Black Agnes looked over the

battlements. Look well to your sow,' she cried,' or I will make her cast her pigs.' When the engine, having failed to make the impression desired by the besiegers, was destroyed by the garrison, and hastily evacuated by the miners and soldiers, she exclaimed: Methinks, Montacute, your sow has farrowed her pigs;' and when the stones thrown by the engines of war shook the tower, and produced some confusion on the ramparts, she sent one of her ladies, in the splendid and picturesque attire of the period, with a white handkerchief, to wipe off the mark which had been made near the ramparts.

Ere long Salisbury began to despair of taking Dunbar by force. Foiled in every effort by the countess, who celebrated her successful defence by addressing to the assailants biting taunts and scoffs, the English earl had recourse to stratagem, and attempted to find his way into the fortress by bribing the porter. Accordingly, the porter having been bribed, agreed, at a certain hour, to admit Salisbury and his soldiers; and the earl congratulated himself on his certainty of success. But there is much between the cup and the lip. Everything, indeed, appeared to go smoothly; and, at the time appointed, the gate was opened. Salisbury immediately rushed in; but John Copeland, his squire, forced him back. My lord,' said he, 'we are betrayed; this is a snare;' and he succeeded in saving Salisbury at the expense of his own liberty. In fact, the porter had revealed the whole business to the countess; and as Salisbury, much crestfallen, retired from the attempt, she looked over the wall, waved her hand, and cried, 'Adieu! Monsieur Montacute!'

Notwithstanding this failure, Salisbury was not without hope. The besiegers had blocked up the harbour with two Genoese galleys and other ships; and it was believed that the garrison would soon have to choose between surrender and starvation. But Sir Alexander Ramsay, a warrior celebrated as 'the flower of knighthood,' undertook to relieve