200 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT 



ment was appointed to be made at midnight, on 

 Eildon, at a place called the Lucken Howe. When 

 the coin, which was of ancient and forgotten 

 mintage, had been duly handed over, the old man 

 invited the other to view his dwelling. They 

 passed within the hill, where the stranger was 

 surprised to see ranks of steeds ready caparisoned : 

 a silent cavalier in armour standing by the side of 

 each. ' These will wake for Shirramuir,' said his 

 guide. In the cave hung a sword and a horn. 

 ' The sound of this horn,' the old man told him, 

 'will break the spell of their slumber.' The 

 countryman caught it to his lips and blew a blast. 

 The horses neighed, pawed the ground, and shook 

 their trappings, while the knights stirred, and the 

 place rang again with the sound of their arms. He 

 dropped the horn in fear, and heard a voice which 

 said : 'Woe to him who does not unsheathe the 

 sword ere he has blown the horn.' He was then 

 carried back again to the hillside, and could never 

 more discover the entrance to that subterranean 

 realm. 1 



An English form of the same tale has been pre- 

 served, and is worth notice as containing what 

 may possibly be a reference to Michael Scot's 

 prediction regarding Frederick's death ' at the iron 

 gates.' The story says that ' in the neighbourhood 

 of Macclesfield, on Monk's Heath, is a small inn 

 known by the designation of ' The Iron Gates/ 

 the sign representing a pair of ponderous gates of 

 that metal opening at the bidding of a figure 

 enveloped in a cowl, before whom kneels another, 

 more resembling a modern yeoman than one of the 



1 See also Leyden's Scenes of Infancy, pt. ii. 



