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

Her. Come my fweet fifters; let the aire ftrike our tune, Whilft we fhow reverence to yond peeping moone.

[Here they daunce. The Witches dance & Exeunt.

**THE following Songs are found in Sir William D'Avenant's alteration of this play, printed in 1674. The first and fecond of them were, I believe, written by him, being introduced at the end of the fecond act, in a scene of which he undoubtedly was the author. Of the other fong, which is fung in the third act, the first words (Come away) are in the original copy of Macbeth, and the whole is found at length in Middieton's play, entitled The Witch, which has been lately printed from a manufcript in the collection of Major Pearfon. Whether this fong was written by Shakspeare, and omit

ted, like many others, in the printed copy, cannot now be ascert tained. MALONE.

ACT II.

FIRST SONG BY THE WITCHES.

1. Witch. Speak, fister, speak; is the deed done?
2. Witch. Long ago, long ago:

Above twelve glaffes fince have run.

3. Witch. Ill deeds are feldom flow;

Nor fingle: following crimes on former wait:
The worst of creatures fafteft propagate.
Many more murders must this one enfue,
As if in death were propagation too.

2. Witch. He will

1. Witch. He fhall

3. Witch. He muft fpill 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 fhould rejoice when good kings bleed.
When cattle die, about we go;

What then, when monarchs perish, fhould 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 fhew,
Having no mufick but our mew:
Sometimes we dance in fome old mill,
Upon the hopper, ftones, and wheel,
To fome old faw, or bardish rhyme,
Where ftill the mill-clack does keep time.
Sometimes about an hollow tree,
Around, around, around dance we:
Thither the chirping cricket comes,
And beetle, finging drowsy hums:
Sometimes we dance o'er fens and furze,
To howls of wolves, and barks of curs:
And when with none of those we meet,
We dance to the echoes of our feet.
At the night-raven's dismal voice,
Whilft others tremble, we rejoice;
And nimbly, nimbly dance we ftill,
To the echoes from an hollow hill.

ACT III. SCENE V.

HECATE and the three WITCHES.

MUSICK and SONG.

[Within.] Hecate, Hecate, Hecate! O come away!
Hec. Hark, I am call'd, my little spirit, fec,
Sits in a foggy cloud, and ftays for me. =

[Within.] Come away, Hecate, Hecate! O come away!
Hec. I come, I come, with all the speed I may,

With all the speed I may.

Where's Stadling?

2. Here. [within.]

Hec. Where's Puckle?

3. Here; [within.]

And Hopper too, and Helway too.*

We want but you, we want but you:

Come away, make up the count.

Hec. I will but 'noint, and then I mount;

I will but 'noint. &c.

[Within.] Here comes down one to fetch his dues,

[A Machine with Malkin in it defcends.

A kifs, a coll, a fip of blood;

And why thou ftay'ft fo long, I muse,
Since the air's fo fweet and good,

Hec. O, art thou come? What news?
[Within.] All goes fair for our delight:
Either come, or else refuse.

Hec. Now I'm furnifh'd for the flight;

[Hecate places herself in the Machine.

Now I go, and now I fly,

Malkin, my fweet fpirit, and I.

O, what a dainty pleasure's this,

To fail i'the air,

While the moon fhines fair;

To fing, to toy, to dance and kiss!

Over woods, high rocks, and mountains;

Qver hills, and misty fountains; §

*And Hopper too, and Helway too ] In The Witch, these perfonages are called Hoppo and Hellwayne, MALONE.

This ftage direction I have added. In The Witch there is here the following marginal note: A foirit like a cat defcends. In Sir W. D'Avenant's alteration of Macbeth, printed in 1974, this song, as well as all the rest of the pisse, is printed very incorrectly. I have endeavoured to diftribute the different parts of the fong before us, as, I imagine, the author intended. MALONE

Over hills, &c] In The Witch, instead of this line we find:

Over feas, our mistrefs' fountains. MALONE.

Over fteeples, towers, and turrets,

We fly by night 'mongst troops of fpirits.
No ring of bells to our ears founds,

No howls of wolves, nor yelps of hounds;

No, not the noise of water's breach,

Nor cannon's throats our height can reach. [Hecate afcends.
1. Witch. Come, let's make hafte; fhe'll foon be back again.
2. Witch. But whilst she moves through the foggy air,
Let's to the cave, and our dire charms prepare. [Exeunt.

Notes omitted (on account of length) in their proper places.
[See p. 78.]

his two chamberlains

Will I with wine and waffel fo convince, &c.
Will it not be receiv'd,

When we have mark'd with blood thofe fleepy two

Of his own chamber, and us'd their very daggers,

That they have don't?] In the original Scottish Hiftory by Boethius, and in Holinfhed's Chronicle, we are merely told that Macbeth flew Duncan at Inverness. No particulars whatsoever are mentioned. The circumftance of making Duncan's chamberlains drunk, and laying the guilt of his murder upon them, as well as fome other circumftances, our author has taken from the history of Duffe, king of Scotland, who was murdered by Donwald, Captain of the caftle of Fores, about eighty years before Duncan afcended the throne. The fact is thus told by Holinfhed, in p. 150. of his Scottish Hiftory (the hiftory of the reign of Duncan com. mences in p. 168): "Donwald, not forgetting the reproach which his linage had fufteined by the execution of thofe his kinfmen, whom the king for a fpectacle to the people had caufed to be hanged, could not but fhew manifeft tokens of great griefe at home amongst his familie: which his wife perceiving, ceafed not to trawell with him till fhe understood what the caufe was of his displeasure. Which at length when he had learned by his owne relation, she, as one that bare no leffe malice in hir heart, for the like caufe on his behalfe, than hir husband did for his friends, counfelled him, (fith the king used oftentimes to lodge in his house without anie gard about him other than the garrifon of the caftle, [of Fores,] which was wholie at his commandement) to make him awaic, and Jhowed him the meanes whereby he might fooneft accomplish it.

Donwald, thus being the more kindled in wrath by the words of his wife, determined to follow hir advice in the execution of fo heinous an a&t. Whereupon devifing with bimfelfe for a while, which way hee might beft accomplish his curfed intent, at length gat opportunitie, and fped his purpofe as followeth. It chanced that the king upon the daie before he purposed to depart foorth of the

caftell was long in his oratorie at his praiers, and there continued ill it was late in the night. At the laft, commning foorth, he called such afore him as had faithfullie served him in purfute and apprehenfion of the rebels, and giving them heartie thanks he beflowed Sundrie honourable gifts amongst them, of the which number Donwald was one, as he that had been ever accounted a most faithful fervant to the king.

At length, having talked with them a long time he got him into his privie chamber, onlie with two of his chamberlains, who having brought him to bed, came foorth againe, and then fell to banketting with Donwald and his wife, who had prepared diverse delicate difhes, and fundrie forts of drinks for their reare fupper or collation, whereat they fate up fo long, till they had charged their flomachs with fuch full gorges, that their heads were no fooner got to the pillow, but afleepe they were fo faft, that a man might have removed the chamber over them, fooner than to have awaked them out of their drunken fleepe.

Then Donwald, though he abhorred the a&t greatlie in heart, yet through inftigation of his wife, he called foure of his fervants unto him, (whom he had made privie to his wicked intent before, and framed to his purpofe with large gifts,) and now declaring unto them, after what fort they should worke the feat, they gladlie obeyed his inftru&tions, and fpeedilie going about the murther, they enter the chamber in which the king laie, a little before cocks crow, where they fecretlie cut his throte as he lay fleeping, without anie bufkling at all: and immediately by a pofterne gate they car ried foorth the dead bodie into the fields, and throwing it upon a horse there provided for that purpose, they convey it unto a place about two miles diftant from the caftell..

Donwald, about the time that the murther was in dooing, got him amongst them that kept the watch, and fo continued to companie with them all the refidue of the night. But in the morning when the noife was raifed in the kings chamber, how the king was flaine, his bodie conveied awaie, and the bed all bewraied with bloud, he with the watch ran thither, as though he had known nothing of the matter; and breaking into the chamber, and finding cakes of bloud in the bed, and on the floore about the fides of it, he forthwith flew the chamberlains, as guiltie of that heinous murther, and then like a madman running to and fro, he raufacked everie corner within the cattell, as though it had beene to have feene if he might have found either the bodie, or any of the mur therers hid in auie privie place: but at length comming to the pofterne gate, and finding it open, he burdened the chamberlains, whom he had flaine, with all the fault, they having the keyes of the gates committed to their keeping all the night, and therefore it could not be otherwife (faid he) but that they were of counfell in the committing of that molt deteftable murther.