"'For discomfort,' as then said he,
'Is the worst thing that may be;
For through mickle discomforting
Men fall oft into despairing.
And if a man despairing be,
Then truly vanquished is he.'"

Yet even while Bruce comforted his men he bade them be brave, and
said:--

"And if that them were set a choice,
To die, or to live cowardly,
They should ever die chivalrously."

He told them stories, too, of the heroes of olden times who,
after much suffering, had in the end won the victory over their
enemies. Thus the days passed, and winter settled down on the
bleak mountains. Then the case of Robert and his men grew worse
and worse, and they almost lost hope. But at length, with many
adventures, the winter came to an end. Spring returned again,
and with spring hope.







Chapter XXVII BARBOUR--"THE BRUCE," THE END OF THE STRUGGLE