"Earl," exclaimed Wallace, "though I granted your life in the field with reluctance, yet here I am ashamed to put it in danger.

But your own people compel me.

Look at that spectacle.

A venerable father, in the midst of his family; he and they doomed to an ignominious and instant death, unless I betray my country and abandon these walls.

Were I weak enough to purchase their lives at such an expense, they could not survive that disgrace.