Publications of the Clan Lindsay Society - Electric Scotland

14 THE HOUSE OF DUNROD.
of Bothwell and others of the national party. On the
death of Moray, and when he was only in his twenty-
second year, the Steward became sole regent, and the
burden of the national cause rested on him. By his
vigorous action, the strongholds still remaining in the
hands of Baliol—Perth, Cupar, Stirling, and Edinburgh—were
taken, so that by the year 1341 it was
considered safe for King David to return to Scotland,
and on his arrival the Regent laid down his oiiice.
In 1346 King David invaded England, was defeated
and taken prisoner at Nevill's Cross, and the Southern
Lowlands of Scotland were once more overrun by the
English. Again the Steward assumed the Regency.
By great effort and by slow degrees all that had been
lost by the defeat was regained, so that King Edward
of England, distracted by his wars in France, was fain
to agree to the restoration of the Scots King on
payment of ransom. King David returned with an
umbrage against his nephew, the Regent, for his
alleged defection at the battle of Nevill's Cross, and he
intrigued to set aside his claim to the succession in
favour of an English prince. David, moreover, diverted
to his private uses the money that had been raised to
pay his ransom. The Steward, with the Earls of
Douglas and March, fell into rebellion, but the rising
was suppressed, and he had to sue for pardon. Later,
he and one of his sons were in prison, perhaps on
account of another rebellion ; and it was not until after
1370-71, when he had come into his own as parliamentary
heir to the Crown, that his life was blessed
with comparative peace.
It was in the course of these events, and no doubt
for the part he played in them, that John Lindsay of