granite," said one. "And five arrows' flight high," said
another. "And seventy round the base," said the first. "All the power
of earth and hell to boot are unmeet to the task," added the third. In
an imperious manner, the master declared the thing must be done. "I
know my conditions; they are sealed and subscribed, and I am not to be
disobeyed," continued he. The three pages began singing:

"Pick and spade
To our aid!
Flaught and flail,
Fire and hail:
Winds arise, and tempests brattle,
And, if you will, the thunders rattle.
Come away,
Elfin grey,
Much to do ere break of day!
Come with spade, and sieve, and shovel;
Come with roar, and rout, and revel;
Come with crow, and come with crane,
Strength of steed, and weight of wain.
Crash of rock, and roar of river,
And, if you will, with thunders shiver!
Come away,
Elfin grey;
Much to do ere break of day."

As they sang the last line, they sped away, in the forms of three
crows, toward Eildon Hill.

That night was a dreadful one. A storm burst forth in all its fury,
sweeping over hill and dale. The woods roared and crashed before the
blast, and a driving rain dashed with such violence on the earth, that
it seemed as if a thousand cataracts poured from the western heaven to
mix with the tempest below. Now and again eldritch shrieks, as of some
one perishing, were heard, and then the voices of angry spirits,
yelling through the tempest, reached the ear. One of the inmates of
the castle was reminded, by the raging storm, of the warlocks' hymn:

"Pother, pother,
My master and brother,
Who may endure thee,
Thus failing in fury?
King of the tempest that travels the plain
King of the snow, and the hail, and the rain,
Lend to thy lever yet seven times seven,
Blow up the blue flame for bolt and for levin,
The red forge of hell with the bellows of heaven!
With hoop and with hammer!
With yell and with yammer,
Hold them in play
Till the dawn of day!
Pother, pother!
My sovereign and brother.
O strain to thy lever,
This world to sever
In two or in three--
What joy it would be!
What toiling and mailing, and mighty commotions!