Hec. Prepare to fight then : I'll over-take you swiftly.

Stad. Hye thee Heccat : We shal be up betimes.

Hec. I'll reach you quickly.

Fire. They are all going a birding to-night. They talk of fowles i'th'aire, that fly by day: I am sure they'll be a company of fowle slutts there to night. Yf we have not mortallitie affer'd, I'll be hang'd, for they are able to putryfie, to infect a whole region. She spies me now.

Hec. What Fire-Stone, our sweet son ?

Fire. A little sweeter then some of you; or a doong hill were too good for me.

Hec. How much hast here?

Fire. Nineteene, and all brave plump ones; besides six lizards, and three serpentine eggs.

Hec. Deere and sweet boy: what herbes hast thou ?
Fire. I have some Mar-martin, and Man-dragon.
Hec. Marmaritin, and Mandragora, thou wouldst say.

Fire. Heer's Pannax too: I thanck thee, my pan akes I am sure with kneeling downe to cut 'em.

Hec. And Selago,
Hedge hisop too: how neere he goes my cuttings?
Were they all cropt by moone-light?

Fire. Every blade of 'em, or I am moone-calf (Mother).

Hec. Hye thee home with 'em.
Looke well to the house to night: I am for aloft.

Fire. Aloft (quoth you?) I would you would breake your neck once, that I might have all quickly. Hark, hark, mother; they are above the steeple alredy, Aying over your head with a noyse of musitians. Hec. They are they indeed. Help me, help me; I'm too late

els.
Song. Come away, come away; } in the aire.

Heccat, Heccat, come away.
Hec. I come, I come, I come, I come,

With all the speed I may,

With all the speed I may.
Wher's Stadlin?

Heere in the aire.
Wher's Puckle ?

Heere :
And Hoppo too, and Hellwaine too:

: S in the aire.
We lack but you; we lack but you ;
Come away, make up the count.
Hec. I will but noynt, and then I mount.

[A spirit like a Cat descends.

dues ; } above.

Ther's one comes downe to fetch his dues ; )
A kisse, a coll, a sip of blood :
And why thou staist so long

I muse, I muse,
Since the air's so sweet and good.
Hec. Oh, art thou come,

What newes, what newes ?
All goes still to our delight,
Either come, or els

Refuse, refuse.
Hec. Now I am furnish'd for the flight.

Fire. Hark, hark, the Catt sings a brave treble in her owne language. Hec. going up.] Now I goe, now I fie,

Malkin my sweete spirit and I.
Oh what a daintie pleasure tis

To ride in the aire

When the moone shines faire,
And sing and daunce, and toy and kiss :

Over woods, high rocks, and mountaines,
Over seas, our mistris fountaines,
Over steepe towres and turretts
We fly by night, 'mongst troopes of spiritts.
No ring of bells to our eares sounds,
No howles of wolves, no yelpes of hounds;
No, not the noyse of water's-breache,
Or cannon's throat, our height can reache.

No Ring of bells, &c. } above. Fire. Well mother, I thanck your kindnes : You must be gambolling i’ th' aire, and leave me to walk here like a foole and a mortall.

[Exit.

ACT V. SCENE II.

Enter Duchesse, Heccat, Firestone.
Hec. What death is't you desire for Almachildes ?
Duch. A sodaine and a subtle.

Hec. Then I have fitted you.
Here lye the guifts of both; sodaine and subtle :
His picture made in wax, and gently molten
By a blew fire, kindled with dead mens' eyes,
Will waste him by degrees.
Duch. In what time, pree-thee ?

Hec. Perhaps in a moone's progresse.

Duch. What ? a moneth ?
Out upon pictures ! if they be so tedious,
Give me things with some life.

Hec. Then seeke no farther.

Duch. This must be don with speed, dispatch'd this night,
If it may possible.

Hec. I have it for you :
Here's that will do't: stay but perfection's time,
And that's not five howres hence.

Duch. Canst thou do this ?
Hec. Can I ?
Duch. I meane, so closely.
Hec. So closely doe you meane too?
Duch. So artfully, so cunningly.

Hec. Worse and worse; doubts and incredulities,
They make me mad. Let scrupulous creatures know

Cum volui, ripis ipsis mirantibus, amnes
In fontes rediere suos ; concussaq. sisto,
Stantia concutio cantu freta; nubila pello,
Nubilaq. induco : ventos abigoq. vocoq.
Vipereas rumpo verbis et carmine fauces;
Et silvas moveo, jubeoq. tremiscere montes,
Et mugire solum, manesq. exire sepulchris.

Te quoque Luna traho.
Can you doubt me then, daughter,
That can make mountains tremble, miles of woods walk ;
Whole earth's foundation bellow, and the spiritts
Of the entomb'd to burst out from their marbles ;
Nay, draw yond moone to my envolv'd designes ?

Fire. I know as well as can be when my mother's mad and our great catt angrie; for one spitts French then, and thother spitts Latten.

Duch. I did not doubt you, Mother.

Hec. No? what did you,
My powre's so firme, it is not to be question'd.

Duch. Forgive what's past : and now I know th' offensivenes That vexes art, I'll shun th’occasion ever.

Hec. Leave all to me and my five sisters, daughter.
It shall be convaid in at howlett-time.
Take you no care. My spiritts know thir moments :
Raven, or screitch-owle never fly by th' dore
But they call in (I thanck 'em) and they loose not by't.
I give 'em barley soakd in infants' blood :
They shall have semina cum sanguine,
Their gorge cramd full if they come once to our house :
We are no niggard.

· Fire. They fare but too well when they come heather: they
eate up as much tother night as would have made me à good
conscionable pudding.
· Hec. Give me some lizard's-braine : quickly Firestone.
Wher's grannam Stadlin, and all the rest o' th' sisters ?

Fire. All at hand forsooth.
Hec. Give me Marmaritin ; some Beare-breech : when ?
Fire. Heer's Beare-breech, and lizards-braine forsooth.

Hec. In to the vessell;
And fetch three ounces of the red-hair'd girle
I kill'd last midnight..

Fire. Whereabouts, sweet Mother ?
Hec. Hip; hip or flanck. Where is the Acopus ?
Fire. You shall have Acopus, forsooth.
Hec. Stir, stir about; whilst I begin the charme.

A charme Song, about a Vessell.
Black spiritts, and white : Red spiritts, and gray;
Mingle, mingle, mingle, you that mingle may.

Titty, Tiffin, keepe it stiff in ;
Fire-drake, Puckey, make it luckey;

Liard, Robin, you must bob in.
Round, around, around, about, about;
All ill come running in, all good keepe out !
1. Witch. Heer's the blood of a bat.

Hec. Put in that; oh put in that.
2. Heer's libbard's-bane.
Hec. Put in againe.

The juice of toad ; the oile of adder. . 2. Those will make the yonker madder.

Hec. Put in ; ther's all, and rid the stench.
Fire. Nay heer's three ounces of the red-hair'd wench.

All. Round, around, around, &c.
Hec. So, soe, enough : into the vessell with it.
There, 't hath the true perfection : I am so light
At any mischief: ther's no villany
But is a tune methinkes.

Fire. A tune! 'tis to the tune of dampnation then, I warrant you; and that song hath a villanous burthen.

Hec. Come my sweet sisters ; let the aire strike our tune, Whilst we show reverence to yond peeping moone.

[Here they daunce the Witches dance, and Exeunt.

*** The following Songs are found in Sir William D'Avenant's alteration of this play, printed in 1674. The first and second of them were, I believe, written by him, being introduced at the end of the second Act, in a scene of which he undoubtedly was the author. Of the other song, which is sung in the third Act, the first words (Come away) are in the original copy of Macbeth, and the whole is found at length in Middleton's play, entitled The Witch, which has been lately printed from a manuscript in the collection of Major Pearson. Whether this song was written by Shakspeare, and omitted, like many others, in the printed copy, cannot now be ascertained. MALONE.

АСТ II.

First Song by the Witches,
1 Witch. Speak, sister, speak; is the deed done ?

2 Witch. Long ago, long ago : Above twelve glasses since have run.

3 Witch. ill deeds are seldom slow;
Nor single; following crimes on former wait :
The worst of creatures fastest propagate.
Many more murders inust this one ensue,
As if in death were propagation too.

2 Witch. He will
1 Witch. He shall-

3 Witch. He must spill much more blood; And become worse, to make his title good.

1 Witch. Now let's dance.
2 Witch. Agreed.
3 Witch. Agreed.
4 Witch. Agreed.

Chor. We should rejoice when good kings bleed.
When cattle die, about we go ;
What then, when monarchs perish, should we do?

Second Song.
Let's have a dance upon the heath ;
We gain more life by Duncan's death.
Sometimes like brinded cats we shew,
Having no musick but our mew :
Sometimes we dance in some old mill,
Upon the hopper, stones, and wheel,
To some old saw, or bardish rhyme
Where still the mill-clack does keep time.