The king and his army advanced beyond Dur-ham, Ne wcaftle-on- Tyne, and through Northum-berland to Berwick, of which fir Matthew Red-man was governor. He received him with all due refpect ; but the king did not ftay there long : he continued his march, and the whole army cfdfs-ed the river Tweed, which comes from Roxburgh and the mountains in Northumberland, and took up his quarters in the abbey of Melrofe. • This monaftery, in all the preceding wars of Eng-land and Scotland, had been fpared, but it was _ now burnt and deftroyed ; for it had been deter-mined by the Englifh to ruin every thing in Scotland before they returned home, because the Scots had allied thehifelves with the French. The admiral of France, on learning that the king of England and his army had crofted the Tyne and Tweed, and were now at LambirLaw, . faid to the Scottifh barons, ( Why do we remain here, and not reconnoitre our enemies to fight them ? You told us, before we came into this country, that if you had a thoufand, or there* abouts, of good men at arms from France, you would be fufficiently ftrong to combat the Eng~ lifti. I will warrant you have now a thoufand, r£» not more, and five hundred crofs-bows ; and I muft x tell you, that the knights and fquires who have accompanied me are determined men at arms*, the flower of knighthood, who will not fly but abide the event, fuch as God may pleafe to order it.* The barons of Scotland, who Well knew the ftrength of the Englifh army, and had not any VOL VII. f \ defim 65