Sends his Queen to Kildrummie castle
Having thus again escaped, a council was held, and it was resolved that the queen and her ladies should be conducted to the strong castle of Kildrummie, in Mar, under an escort, commanded by young Nigel Bruce, the king's brother, and John earl of Athole. The king, with only two hundred men, and beset on all sides by his enemies, was left to make his way through Lennox to Kentire, a district which, from the influence of Sir Neil Campbell, who was then with him, he expected would be somewhat more friendly. He now gave up all the horses to those who were to escort the women, and having determined to pursue his way on foot, took a melancholy farewell of his queen.It was the last time he ever saw his brother, who soon after was taken, and fell a victim to the implacable revenge of Edward. Bruce, meanwhile, pressed on through Perthshire to Loch Lomond. On the banks of this lake his progress was suddenly arrested. To have travelled round it, would have been accomplished at great risk, when every hour, which could convey him beyond the pursuit of his enemies, was of value. After some time, they succeeded in discovering a little boat, which, from its crazy and leaky state, could hold but three persons, and that not without danger of sinking. In it, the king, Sir James Douglas, and another, who rowed them, first passed over. They then despatched it in return for the rest, so that the whole band at length succeeded in reaching the other side. Amid these complicated dangers and distresses, the spirit of their royal master wonderfully supported his followers. His memory was stored with the tales of romance, so popular in that chivalrous age; and in recounting the sufferings of their fabled heroes, he is said to have diverted the minds of his friends from brooding too deeply on their own.