a tree's deep shadow, and there draw
His magic circle--in its orb describe
Signs, cycles, characters of uncouth shapes;
And with imperious voice his demons call.
Four devils come--one from the golden west,
Another from the east; another still
Sails onwards from the south--and last of all
Arrives the northern devil; by their aid
He forms a wondrous bridle, which he fits
Upon a jet black steed, whose back, nor clothes,
Nor saddle, e'er encumber'd--Up he mounts,
Cleaves the thin air like shaft from Turkish bow,
Eyes with contemptuous gaze the fading earth,
And caprioles amongst the painted clouds.
Oft, too, with rites unhallow'd, from the neck
Of his dark courser he will pluck the locks,
And burn them as a sacrifice to Him
Who gives him power o'er Nature: next he limns
With silver wand upon the smooth firm beach
A mimic ship--look out, where ocean's verge
Meets the blue sky, a whitening speck is seen,
That nears and nears--her canvass spreads to heav'n;
Fair blows the wind, and roaring through the waves,
On comes the Demon ship, in which he sails
To farthest Ind--but this adventure needs
A sacrifice more potent--human marrow
Scoop'd from the spine, and burnt to the dark power
Whom he must serve. 'Tis said that he who wears
His magic cap, invisible may walk,
And none so lynx-eyed as detect his presence,
In the most peopled city--yet beware,
Let him not, trusting to the demon's power,
Cross the white splendour of the sun, for there,
Although no palpable substance is discern'd,
His shadow will betray him."

Such is a somewhat free translation of the verses of the pretended
Merlinus Coccaius.[8] It is well known that many traditions are still
prevalent in Scotland concerning the extraordinary powers of the Wizard;
and if we consider the thick cloud of ignorance which overspread the
country at the period of his return from the continent, and the very
small materials which are required by superstition as a groundwork for
her dark and mysterious stories, we shall not wonder at the result. The
Arabic books which he brought along with him, the apparatus of his
laboratory, his mathematical and astronomical instruments, the Oriental
costume generally worn by the astrologers of the times, and the
appearance of the white-haired and venerable sage, as he sat on the roof
of his tower of Balwearie, observing the face of the heavens, and
conversing with the sta