The shattered ruins of this
celebrated fortress still overhang a tremendous rock on the coast of
East Lothian.]
[Footnote 13: Edgebucklin, near Musselburgh.]
The pertinacious opposition of Angus to his doom irritated to the
extreme the fiery temper of James, and he swore, in his wrath, that a
Douglas should never serve him; an oath which he kept in circumstances
under which the spirit of chivalry, which he worshipped[14], should
have taught him other feelings.
[Footnote 14: I allude to the affecting story of Douglas of
Kilspindie, uncle to the Earl of Angus. This gentleman had been placed
by Angus about the king's person, who, when a boy, loved him much, on
account of his singular activity of body, and was wont to call him his
_Graysteil_, after a champion of chivalry, in the romance of _Sir Eger
and Sir Grime_. He shared, however, the fate of his chief, and, for
many years, served in France. Weary, at length, of exile, the aged
warrior, recollecting the king's personal attachment to him, resolved
to throw himself on his clemency. As James returned from hunting in
the park at Stirling, he saw a person at a distance, and, turning
to his nobles, exclaimed, "Yonder is my _Graysteil_, Archibald of
Kilspindie!" As he approached, Douglas threw himself on his knees, and
implored permission to lead an obscure life in his native land.
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