Makes wing to the rooky wood: 5
Good tisings of dav begin to droop and drowze;
Whiles night's black agents to their prey

their prey do rouse.

Again, io Spenfer's Calender, 1579:

" But Ice, the welkin thicks apace,
" And stouping Pvæbus fteepes his face ;

" li's lime 1o halte us bome- ward." MALONE.

Makes wing to the rooky wood: Rooky may mean damp, misly, feaming with ext alatians. Il is only a North couutry variation of dialca fiom reely. in Coriolanus, Shakspeare mevtions

the rock of th' ro ten feos.” And, in Caltha Poetarum, &c. 1599:

Comes in a vapour like a rookish ryme." Rooky wood, indeed, may figuify a inokery, the wood that abounds with ro'ks; yet, meiely tó fay of the cross that he is flying to a wood inhabiied by rooks, is to add 'iule immediately pertinent to the lucceeding observation, viz. that

– things of day begin to droop and diowze."
I cannot therefore help suppoling: our author wrote

makes wing to 190k Ï' th' wood."
i. e. to rooft in ii So, in K. Henry VI. P. 1. t& V. (c. vi:

The raven rook'd her on the chimney's top.”
See pole on thi: passage.
Again, in Gower De Confeffione Amantis. Lib. IV. fol. 72:

l'ut how their rucken in her neit.'
Again, in the 15th book of Å. Golding's Translation of Ovid's
Metamorphos:

He rucketh down upon the same, and in the spices dies." Again, in The Contention betuyate Churchzeard and Camell, &c. 1560 :,

" All day 19 rucken on my taile, and posen on a booke." Such an unfaiiliar verb as rook, might (ispecially in a playhoule copy) become calily corrupted. STEEVENS.

6 Whiles might's black agents to their prey do rouse. ] This appears to be laid with reference to those dænious who were supposed to remain in their feveral places of confinement all day, but at the close of it were relealed; such indeed as are mentioned in The Tempeli, as rejoicing " To hear the solenn curfew," because it announced the hour of their freedom. So also, in Sydney's Aftrophel and Stella:

" In pight, of sprites the ghastly powers do ftir." The old copy reads - prey's, ȘTEEVENS.

N

Thou marvell’st at my words: but hold thee ftill;
Things, bad begun, make strong themselves by ill:
So, prychee, go with me,

[Exeunt.

S CE N E VII,

The same. A Park or lawn, with a gate leading to

the Palace,

Enter three Murderers.

í

1. Mur. But who bid thee join with as ?' 3. MUR,

Macbeth 2. Mur. He needs not our mistrust; since he de

livers
Our offies, and what we have to do,
To the direction just.
1. MUR.

Then stand with us,
The west yet glimmers with some fireaks of day:
Now spurs the lated ' traveller apace,

? But who did bid thee join with us?] The meaning of this abrupt dialogue is this. The perfect spy, mentioned by Macbeih in the foregoing Icene, has, before they enter upon the stage, given them the diredions which were promiled at the time of their agreement; yet one of the murderers suborded, suspeds him of intending to betray them ; the other observes, ibat, by his exa& knowledge of what they were to do, he appears to be employed by Macbeth, and needs not to be mistrusted. JOHNSON.

The third assaslın seems to have been fent to join the others, from Macbeth's superabundant caution. From the following dialogue it appears that some conversation has passed between them before Their preleni entry on the stage. MALONE.

The third murderer enters only to tell them where they should place themselves. Steevens.

lated – ] i. e. belated, benighted. So again, in Antony and Cleopatra:

" I am so lated in the world, that I
Have lost my way for ever." STEEVENS,

8

To gain the timely inn; and near approaches
The subject of our watch.
3. Mur.

Hark! I hear horses.
BAN. [within.] Give us a light there, ho!
2. Mur.
MUR

Then it is he ; the rest That are within the note of expectation,' Already are i’the court.8 1. Mur.

His horses go about. 3. Mur. Almost a mile : but he does usually, So all men do, from hence to the palace gate Make it their walk.

?

Enter Banquo, and FLEANCE ; a Servant with a

torch preceding them.

2. Mur.

A light, a light ! 3. MUR.

?Tis he. 1. Mur. Stand to't, Ban. It will be rain to-night. 1. Mur,

Let it come down. [asaults BANQUO.

7

the note of expectation,] i. c. they who are set down in the list of guests, and expe&ed to supper. STEEVENS. 8 Then it is he; the rest

That are within the note of expe&tation,

Already are i’the court.) Perhaps this passage, before it fell into the hands of the players, stood thus:

" Then it is he ;
6. The rest within the note of expe&ation,

" Are i'the court.'' The hafty recurrence of are in the lat line, and the redundancy of the metre, seem to support my conje&ure. Numberless are the instances in which the player editors would not permit the necessary something to be supplied by the reader. They appear to liave been utterly unacquainted witlı an ellipsis. STEEVENS.

!

Ban. O, treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly,

fly;
Thou may'st revenge. --O flave!

[Dies. Fleance and Servant escape."
3. Mur. Who did strike out the light?
1.
MUR.

Was't not the way ?

? 1

! 3. Mur. There's but one down; the son is fled. 2. MUR. We have lost best half of our affair. 1. Mur. Well, let's away, and say how much is done.

Exeunt,

1.

SCENE IV.

A Room of sate in the Palace.

A banquet prepared. Enter Macbeth, Lady Mac

BETH, ROSSE, LENOX, Lords, and Attendants.

MacB. You know your own degrees, sit down:

at first,
And last, the hearty welcome.

3

9 Fleance &c. efcape.] Fleance, after the assassination of his father, fled into Wales, where by the daughter of the Prince of that country he had a lon named Walter, who afterwards became Lord High Steward of Scotland, and from thence assumed the name of Walter Steward. From him in a dire& line King James I. was de. scended ; in compliment to whom our auihor has cho to describe Banquo, who was equally concerned with Macbeth in the murder of Duncan, as innocent of that crime. MALONE.

Was't not the way?] i. e. the best means we could take to
evade discovery. STEEVENS.
Rather, to effect our purpose. Ritson.

You know your own degrees, sit down : at first,
And last, the hearty welcome.] I believe the true reading is :

You know your own degrees, sit down. To first
And last the hearty welcome.

LORDS.

Thanks to your majesty.
MacB. Ourself will mingle with society,
And play the humble holt.
Our hostess keeps her state; 4 but, in best time,
We will require her welcome.
LADY M. Pronounce it for me, fir, to all our

friends;
For my heart speaks, they are welcome.

/

Macb. See, they encounter thee with their hearts'

thanks :
Both sides are even: Here I'll fit i'the midlt:
Be large in mirth; anon, we'll drivk a measure
The table round. There's blood upon thy face.

4

All of whatever degree, from the highest to the lowest, may be assured that their visit is well received. Johnson.

Our hoflefs keeps her state, &c.] i. e. continues in her chair of state at the head of the table. This idea' might have been borrowed from Holindhed, p. 805 : " The king (Henry Vill.) caused the queene in keepe the cute, and then sat the ainballadouis and ladies as they were marihalled by the king, who would not fit, but walked from place to place, making cheer," &c.

To keep flate is a phrale perpetually occurring in our ancient dramas, &c. So Ben Jonson in his Cynthia's Revels :

" Seated in thy Glver chair

- State in wonied manner keep."
Again, in Beaumont and Fletcher's Wild Goose Chase:

" What a state she keeps! how far off shey fit from her!"
Many more instances, to the same purpose, wight be given.

STEEVENS.
A state appears to have been a royal chair with a canopy over
it. So, in K. Henry IV. P. 1:

in This chair (liall be my ftate."
Again, in Sir T. Herbert's Memoirs of Charles I: " where
being set, the king under a llate," &c. Again, in The View of
France, 1598 : " efpying the chayre not to stand well under
the state, he mended it handsomely himself." MALONE.