The Story of William Wallace(8)

Wallace was taken to London. Three weeks after his capture he was brought to trial in Westminster Hall. He was accused of treason(背叛) against King Edward, his master. Treason was the crime of fighting against your own king. Wallace said that he was a loyal subject of the king of Scots and the English had no right to accuse him of treason. Wallace had always loyally fought for his own king, John of Scotland. But Edward was determined to have his revenge against the man who had given him so much trouble. Defiant to the end, Wallace was brutally（残忍地） executed in London. He was alone, abandoned by his countrymen, in the power of his worst enemy, surrounded by the jeering London mob. That was on 23rd August in the year 1305.

Edward’s victory now seemed complete. His control of Scotland was even stronger than when Wallace had first begun to fight back. But after Wallace’s example, the Scottish people were not prepared to submit meekly. Less than a year later, Robert Bruce, who had first supported Wallace then changed sides to help Edward, once again defied the power of Edward. He was crowned king of Scots in the ancient abbey of Scone. So the struggle went on for seven more years, until the Battle of Bannockburn ensured Scotland’s independence. And William Wallace, the younger son of a country laird, who saved his country’s honour in its darkest days, will not be forgotten as long as Scotland exists.