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SIR W. WALLACE AND THE PIRATE.
" During the brief career of the celebrated patriot
Sir William Wallace, and when his arms had for a
time expelled the English invaders from his native
country, he is said to have undertaken a voyage to
France, with a small band of trusty friends, to try
what his presence (for he was respected through all
countries, for his prowess) might do to induce the
French monarch to send to Scotland a body of auxili-
ary forces, or other assistance, to aid the Scots in re-
gaining their independence.
" The Scottish Champion was on board a small
vessel, and steering for the port of Dieppe, when a
sail appeared in the distance, which the mariners re-
garded with doubt and apprehension, and at last with
confusion and dismay. Wallace demanded to know
what was the cause of the alarm. The captain of the
ship informed him that the tall vessel which was
bearing down, with the purpose of boarding that
which he commanded, was the ship of a celebrated
rover, equally famed for his courage, strength of body,
and successful piracies. It was commanded by a
gentleman named Thomas de Longuville, a French-
man by birth, but by practice one of those pirates
who called themselves friends to the sea, and enemies
to all who sailed upon that element. He attacked and
plundered vessels of all nations, like one of the an-
cient Norse Sea kings, as they were termed, whose
dominion was upon the mountain waves. The mas-
ter added, that no vessel could escape the rover by
flight, so speedy was the bark he commanded ; and
that no crew, however hardy, could hope to resist him
when, as was his usual mode of combat, he threw him-
self on board at the head of his followers.
" Wallace smiled sternly, while the master of the
ship, with alarm in his countenance, and tears in his
eyes, described to him the certainty of their being
captured by the Red Rover, a name given to De
Longueville, because be usually displayed the blood
red flag, which he had now hoisted.
" ' I will clear the narrow seas of this rover,' said
Wallace.
" Then calling together some ten or twelve of his
own followers, Boyd, Kellie, Seton, and others, to
whom the dust of the most desperate battle was like
the breath of life, he commanded them to arm them-
selves, and lie flat upon the deck, so as to be out of
sight. He ordered the mariners below, excepting
such as were absolutely necessary to manage the ves-
sel ; and he gave the master instructions, upon pain
of death, so to steer as that while the vessel had an
appearance of attempting to fly, he should in fact per-
mit the Red Rover to come up with them and do his
worst. Wallace himself then lay down on the deck,
that nothing might be seen which could intimate any
purpose of resistance. In a quarter of an hour De
Longueville's vessel ran on board that of the Cham-
pion, and the Red Rover casting out grappling irons
to make sure of his prize, jumped on the deck in
complete armour, followed by his men, who gave a
terrible shout, as if victory had been already secured.
But the armed Scots started up at once, and the rover
found himself unexpectedly engaged with men ac-
customed to consider victory as secure, when they
were only opposed as one to two or three. Wallace
himself rushed on the pirate captain, and a dreadful
strife began betwixt them with such fury, that the
others suspended their own battle to look on, and
seemed by common consent to refer the issue of the
strife to the fate of the combat between the two
chiefs. The pirate fought as well as man could do ;
but Wallace's strength was beyond that of ordinary
mortals. He dashed the sword from the rover's
hand, and placed him in such peril that, to avoid be-
ing cut down he was fain to close with the Scottish
Champion, in hopes of overpowering him in the grap-
ple. In this also he was foiled. They fell on the
deck, locked in each other's arms, but the French-
man fell undermost ; and Wallace fixing his grasp
upon his gorget, compressed it so closely, notwith-
standing it was made of the finest steel, that the
blood gushed from his eyes, nose, and mouth, and he
was only able to ask for quarter by signs. His men
threw down their weapons and begged for mercy,
when they saw their leader thus severely handled.
The victor granted them all their lives, but took po-
ssession of their vessel, and detained them prisoners.
" When he came in sight of the French harbour,
Wallace alarmed the place by displaying the rover's
colours, as if De Longueville was coming to pillage
the town. The bells were rung backward, horns
were blown, and the citizens were hurrying to arms,
when the scene changed. The Scottish Lion on his
shield of gold was raised above the piratical flag, and
announced that the Champion of Scotland was ap-
proaching, like a falcon with his prey in his clutch.
He landed with his prisoner, and carried him to the
court of France, where, at Wallace's request, the
robberies which the pirate had committed were for-
given, and the King even conferred the honour of
knighthood on Sir Thomas de Longueville, and offer-
ed to take him into his service. But the rover had
contracted such a friendship for his generous victor,
that he insisted on uniting his fortunes with those of
Wallace, with whom he returned to Scotland, and
fought by his side in many a bloody battle.—Chro-
nicles of the Canongate, 2d series.
HORSE RADISH.—The best way to get horse
radish is to make holes a couple of feet deep with a
bar, and to toss little bits down to the bottoms of the
holes and then fill them up again. You will soon
have a plantation of horse radish, the roots long,
strait, thick and tender. A square rod of ground,
with the roots in it planted a foot apart every way,
will, if kept clear of weeds, as it always ought to be
and never is, produce enough for a family that eats
roast beef every day of their lives. Every autumn
that part of the ground which has been cleared during
the year, which might be about one third part of the
piece, ought to be deeply dug up and replanted as
before, and thus there will be a succession of long
young roots ; for after the horse radish has borne
seed once or twice, its root becomes hard, brown on
the outside, not juicy, when it is scraped, and eats
more like little chips than like a garden vegetable ;
so that at taverns and eating houses, there frequently
seems to be a rivalship on the point of toughness,
between the horse radish and the beef steak, and it
would be well if this inconvenient rivalship never dis-
covered itself any where else.—Cobbett's English
Gardener.
THE WEATHER.—When the clouds are due in the
west, with a tint of purple, it portends fine weather
because the air when dry refracts more red or heat-
making rays ; and as dry air is not perfectly transpa-
rent, they are again reflected in the horizon. A cop-
pery or yellow sunset, generally foretells rain ; but as
an indication of wet weather approaching, nothing is
more certain than a halo round the moon, which is
produced by the precipitated water ; and the larger
the circle, the nearer the clouds, and consequently the
more ready to fall. As to the rainbow, the old pro-
verb is correct,—
A rainbow in the morning
Is the shepherd's warning :
A rainbow at night
Is the shepherd's delight.
For anglers in spring, it is always unlucky to see
single magpies, but two may be always regarded as a
favourable omen ; and the reason is that in cold and
stormy weather, one magpie alone leaves the nest for
food, the other remaining sitting upon the eggs, or
the young ones ; but when two go out together, it
is only when the weather is warm and mild, and fa-
vourable for fishing.—Salmonia, by Sir Humphrey
Davy.
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