THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT — CONCLUSION 211 



of the English king, and so on with the rest. 

 Jacopo della Lana repeats the same story, but with 

 certain variations.^ According to this commen- 

 tator, Michael Scot always kept the best company, 

 living in all respects as a gentleman and cavalier. 

 In his tricks of the table he did not spare even his 

 own master, but, while choosing his boiled meat 

 from Paris, and his roasts from London, would 

 always procure his entrees from the King of Sicily's 

 provision. The anonymous Florentine adds another 

 tale to the same purpose, saying that his guests 

 once asked Scot to show them a new marvel. The 

 month was January, yet, in spite of the season, he 

 caused vines with fresh shoots and ripe clusters of 

 grapes to appear on the table. The company were 

 bidden each of them to choose a bunch, but their 

 host warned them not to put forth their hands till 

 he should give the sign. At the word ' cut,' lo, 

 the grapes disappeared, and the guests found them- 

 selves each with a knife in one hand, and in the 

 other his neighbour's sleeve. Francesco da Buti 

 adds the significant note, ' all this was nothing but 

 a cheat ; for they only seemed to feast, and either 

 did not really do so, or else took the dishes for 

 something quite other than they really were.' This 

 is enough to show that the sense we have given 

 to Dante's words is one which found favour in 

 early times. 



Boccaccio, commencing his lectures on Dante in 

 the Church of San Stefano at Florence in October 

 1373, proceeded in them no further, unfortunately, 

 than the seventeenth canto of the Inferno, so that 



^ Inferno di Dante col Gomento di Jacopo della Lana, Bologna, 

 1866, vol. i. p. 351. 



