The earl of Angus
alone seems to have taken rapid steps in the same course of ambition
which had been pursued by his kinsmen and rivals, the earls of
Douglas. Archibald, sixth earl of Angus, called _Bell-the-Cat_, was,
at once, warden of the east and middle marches, Lord of Liddisdale
and Jedwood forest, and possessed of the strong castles of Douglas,
Hermitage, and Tantallon. Highly esteemed by the ancient nobility,
a faction which he headed shook the throne of the feeble James
III., whose person they restrained, and whose minions they led to
an ignominious death. The king failed not to shew his sense of these
insults, though unable effectually to avenge them. This hastened his
fate: and the field of Bannockburn, once the scene of a more glorious
conflict, beheld the combined chieftains of the border counties
arrayed against their sovereign, under the banners of his own son.
The king was supported by almost all the barons of the north; but the
tumultuous ranks of the Highlanders were ill able to endure the steady
and rapid charge of the men of Annandale and Liddisdale, who
bare spears, two ells longer than were used by the rest of their
countrymen. The yells, with which they accompanied their onset,
caused the heart of James to quail within him. He deserted his host,
[Sidenote: 1488] and fled towards Stirling; but, falling from his
horse, he was murdered by the pursuers.
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