Virgil And The Three Shepherds

“And, warrior, I could tell to thee
The words which split Eildon Hill in three,
And bridled the Tweed with a curb of stone;
But to speak them were a deadly sin,
And for having but thought them my heart within
A treble penance must be done.”—SCOTT.

Miss Roma Lister, when residing in Florence, having written to her old nurse Maria, in Rome, asking her if she knew, or could find, any tales of Virgil, received after a while the following letter, written out by her son, who has evidently been well educated, to judge by his style and admirable handwriting:

“ROME, _January_ , .

“MIA BUONA SIGNORINA,

“I have been seeking for some old person, a native of the Castelli
Romani, who knew something relative to the magician Virgil, and I
found in a street of the new quarters of Rome an old acquaintance, a
man who is more than eighty years of age; and on asking him for what
I wanted, he, after some reflection, recalled the following story:

“‘I was a small boy when my parents told me that in the Montagna
della Sibilla there was once an old man who was indeed so very old
that the most ancient people had ever known him as appearing of the
same age, and he was called the magician Virgilio.

“‘One day three shepherds were in a cabin at the foot of the
mountain, when the magician entered, and they were at first afraid of
him, knowing his reputation. But he calmed them by saying that he
never did harm to anyone, and that he had come down from the mountain
to beg a favour from them.

“‘“There is,” he continued, “half-way up the mountain, a grotto, in
which there is a great serpent which keeps me from entering.
Therefore I beg you do me the kindness to capture it.”

“‘The shepherds replied that they would do so, thinking that he
wanted them to kill the snake, but he explained to them that he
wished to have it taken in a very large bottle (_grandissimo
boccione_) by means of certain herbs which he had provided.

“‘And the next day he came with the bottle and certain herbs which
were strange to them, and certainly not grown in the country. And he
said:

“‘“Go to the grotto, and lay the bottle down with its mouth towards
the cavern, and when the serpent shall smell the herbs he will enter
the bottle. Then do ye close it quickly and bring it to me. And all
of this must be done without a word being spoken, else ye will meet
with disaster.”

“‘So the three shepherds went their way, and after a time came to the
grotto, which they entered, and did as the magician had ordered.
Then, after a quarter of an hour, the serpent, smelling the herbs,
came forth and entered the bottle. No sooner was he in it than one
of the shepherds adroitly closed it, and cried unthinkingly:

“‘“Now you’re caught!”

“‘When all at once they felt the whole mountain shake, and heard an
awful roar, and crashing timber round on every side, so that they
fell on the ground half dead with fear. When they came to their
senses each one found himself on the summit of a mountain, and the
three peaks were far apart. It took them several days to return to
their cabin, and all of them died a few days after.

“‘From that time the magician Virgil was no more seen in the land.’

“This is all which I could learn; should I hear more I will write at
once to you.”