Bruce attacked by sickness
Accordingly, soon after this, a defiance was brought to the youthful monarch from the King of Scotland; and the herald was commanded to inform him and his nobles, that the Scots were preparing to invade his kingdom with fire and sword. Bruce himself was about this time attacked by a mortal sickness, brought on by that excessive fatigue, and constant exposure to the inclemency of the seasons, which he had endured in his early wars.