[following formidable title:--MONRO his Expedition with the worthy by Sir Walter Scott]@TWC D-Link book
following formidable title:--MONRO his Expedition with the worthy

CHAPTER VII
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But it is not strength alone that wins the fight; it is the head of the commander, as well as the arm of the soldier, that brings victory.

I ask of you who is to raise and sustain the banner under which we are invited to rise and muster ourselves?
Will it be expected that we should risk our children, and the flower of our kinsmen, ere we know to whose guidance they are to be intrusted?
This were leading those to slaughter, whom, by the laws of God and man, it is our duty to protect.

Where is the royal commission, under which the lieges are to be convocated in arms?
Simple and rude as we may be deemed, we know something of the established rules of war, as well as of the laws of our country; nor will we arm ourselves against the general peace of Scotland, unless by the express commands of the King, and under a leader fit to command such men as are here assembled." "Where would you find such a leader," said another Chief, starting up, "saving the representative of the Lord of the Isles, entitled by birth and hereditary descent to lead forth the array of every clan of the Highlands; and where is that dignity lodged, save in the house of Vich Alister More ?" "I acknowledge," said another Chief, eagerly interrupting the speaker, "the truth in what has been first said, but not the inference.

If Vich Alister More desires to be held representative of the Lord of the Isles, let him first show his blood is redder than mine." "That is soon tried," said Vich Alister More, laying his hand upon the basket hilt of his claymore.

Lord Menteith threw himself between them, entreating and imploring each to remember that the interests of Scotland, the liberty of their country, and the cause of their King, ought to be superior in their eyes to any personal disputes respecting descent, rank, and precedence.


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