Bruce and his friends driven into the mountains

Bruce and his friends now began to feel the miseries of outlaws. A high price was set on his head, and he was compelled to harbour in the hills, deprived of the common comforts of life. He and his followers presented a ragged and wretched appearance. Their shoes were worn off their feet by constant toil in a mountainous country; and hunting, in better days a joyful pastime, became a necessitous occupation. At length want and.distress drove him and his little band into the low country; and at Aberdeen, his brother, Sir Nigel Bruce, met him with his queen and other ladies, determined to share the pains of war and banishment with their husbands and their fathers.Here, after enjoying a short season of solace and respite, a report was brought of the near advance of the English; and the king and his friends, accompanied by their faithful women, retreated into Breadalbane.

And now, if already they had experienced distress, it was, we may believe, greatly aggravated by the presence of those whose constitutions were little able to struggle against cold and hunger, and whose love, as it was of that sterling kind which was ready to share in every privation, only made the hearts of their husbands and fathers more keenly alive to their sufferings. An ancient author has given a striking account of their mode of life. The roots and berries of the woods, the venison caught in the chase, the fish which abounded in the mountain rivers, supplied them with food—the warm skins of deer and roe with bedding—and all laboured to promote their comfort, but none with such success as the brave and gallant Sir James Douglas. This young soldier, after the imprisonment and death of his father, had been educated at the polished court of France,  and whilst his indefatigable perseverance in the chase afforded them innumerable comforts, his sprightly temper and constant gaiety, comforted the king, and amused his forlorn companions!