"Twixt this and fupper. Go not my horse the better, I must become a borrower of the night

For a dark hour or twain..

Macb. Fail not our feaft.

Ban. My lord, I will not.

Macb. We hear, our bloody Coufins are beftow'd!
In England, and in Ireland; not confeffing
Their cruel Paricide, filling their hearers
With ftrange invention; but of That to morrow;
When therewithal we shall have cause of State,.
Craving us jointly. Hie to horfe :: adieu,
Till you return at night. Goes Flance with you?
Ban. Ay, my good lord; our time does call upon us.
Macb. I wifh your horfes fwift, and fure of foot:
And fo I do commend you to their backs.

Farewel.
Let ev'ry man be mafter of his time. (13)
'Till feven at night; to make fociety

[Exit Banquo.

The fweeter welcome, we will keep our felfTM

"Till fupper-time alone: till then, God be with you. [Exeunt Lady Macbeth, and Lords.

Manent Macbeth, and a Servant.

Sirrah, a word with you: attend those men

Our pleasure ?

Ser. They are, my lord, without the Palace-gate..

(13) Let ev'ry Man be Mafier of bis Time

Till fev'n at night, to make Society

The fweeter welcome: We will keep our felf

Till Supper Time alone.] I am furpriz'd, none of the Editors fhould quarrel with the Pointing. How could ev'ry Man's being Master of his own Time till Night, make Society then the sweeter? for, fo, every Man might have gone into Company in the mean while, and pall'd himself for the Night's Entertainment. My Regulation, I. dare warrant, retrieves the Poet's Meaning, "Let every Man (fays the King,) be Master "of his own time till Seven o' Clock: and that I may have the * ftronger Enjoyment of your Companies then, I'll abstain from "all Company till Supper-time.”

Mack

Macb. Bring them before us

nothing;

But to be fafely thus.

To be thus, is

[Exit ferv..

Our fears in Banqua

Stick deep; and in his Royalty of Nature

Reigns That, which would be fear'd. 'Tis much he: dares,

And to that dauntless temper of his mind,

He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour
To act in fafety. There is none but he,
Whofe Being I do fear: and, under him,.
My Genius is rebuk'd; as, it is faid,
Antony's was by Cafar. He chid the Sifters,.
When first they put the name of King upon me,
And bade them fpeak to him; then, Prophet-like,,
They hail'd him father to a line of Kings.
Upon my head they plac'd a fruitless Crown,
And put a barren Scepter in my gripe,
Thence to be. wrench'd with an unlineal hand,.
No fon of mine fucceeding, If 'tis fo,
For Banquo's iffue have I fil'd my mind:
For them, the gracious Duncan have I murther'd::
Put rancours in the veffel of my Peace
Only for them and mine eternal jewel.
Giv'n to the common enemy of man,.

To make them Kings: the Seed of Banquo Kings:
Rather than fo, come Fate into the lift,
And champion me to th' utterance!

who's there?,

Enter Servant, and two Murtherers.
Go to the door, and stay there, 'till we call.

Was it not yesterday we spoke together?
Mur. It was, fo please your Highness.
Macb. Well then, now

[Exit Servants.

You have confider'd of my fpeeches ? know,
That it was he, in the time paft, which held you.
So under fortune; which, you thought, had been
Our innocent felf; this I made good to you
In our last conf'rence, palt in probation with you:
How you were borne in hand, how croft; the inftruments;

Whe

Who wrought with them: and all things else, that might To half a foul, and to a notion craz'd,

Say, thus did Banquo.

1 Mur. True, you made it known.

Mach. I did fo; and went further, which is now
Our point of fecond meeting. Do you find
Your Patience fo predominant in your nature,
That you can let this go? are you fo gospell'd,
To pray for this good man and for his iffue,
Whofe heavy hand hath bow'd you to the Grave,
And beggar'd yours for ever?

1 Mur. We are men, my liege.

Mach. Ay, in the catalogue ye go for men,
As hounds, and greyhounds, mungrels, fpaniels, curs,
Showghes, water-rugs, and demy-wolves are cleped
All by the name of dogs; the valued file
Diftinguishes the fwift, the flow, the subtle,
The houfe-keeper, the hunter; every one
According to the gift which bounteous Nature
Hath in him clos'd; whereby he does receive
Particular addition, from the bill

That writes them all alike: and fo of men.
Now, if you have a station in the file,
And not in the worst rank of manhood, say it;
And I will put that business in your bosoms,
Whofe execution takes your enemy off;
Grapples you to the heart and love of us,
Who wear our health but fickly in his life,
Which in his death were perfect.

2 Mur. I am one,

Whom the vile blows and buffets of the world
Have fo incens'd, that I am reckless what
I do, to fpite the world.

1 Mur. And I another,

So weary with difafters, tugg'd with fortune,,
That I would fet my life on any chance,

To mend it, or be rid on't.

Macb. Both of you

Know, Banque was your enemy.

Mur. True, my lord.

Macb

Mach. So is he mine: and in fuch bloody distance, That every minute of his Being thrusts

Against my near'ft of life; and though I could
With bare-fac'd Power sweep him from my fight,
And bid my Will avouch it; yet I must not,
For certain friends that are both his and mine,
Whofe loves I may not drop; but wail his Fall,
Whom I my self ftruck down: and thence it is,
That I to your affistance do make love,
Masking the bufinefs from the common eye
For fundry weighty reasons.

2 Mur. We fhall, my lord, Perform what you command us. 1 Mur. Though our lives

Mach. Your fpirits shine through you. In this hour at most,

I will advise you where to plant your felves;
Acquaint you with the perfect spy o'th' time,
The moment on't; (for't must be done to night,
And something from the Palace: always thought,
That I require a Clearnefs:) and with him,
(To leave no rubs nor botches in the Work)
Fleance his fon, that keeps him company,
(Whose absence is no lefs material to me,
Than is his father's) muft embrace the fate
Of that dark hour. Refolve your felves a-part,
I'll come to you anon.

Mur. We are refolv'd, my lord.

Mach. I'll call upon you straight; abide within.

[Exeunt Murtherers. It is concluded;-Banquo, thy Soul's flight, If it find heav'n, must find it out to-night.

[Exit.

SCENE, another Apartment in the Palace.

Enter Lady Macbeth, and a Servant.

S Banque gone from Court?

Lady.

Is

Serv. Ay, Madam, but returns again to night.

Lady.

Lady. Say to the King, I would attend his leifure For a few words.

Serv. Madam, I will.

Lady. Nought's had, all's spent, Where our defire is got without content:: 'Tis fafer to be That which we destroy,

Than by deftruction dwell in doubtful joy.
Enter Macbeth.

How now, my lord, why do you keep alone?
Of forrieft fancies your companions making,

[Exit

Ufing thofe thoughts, which fhould, indeed, have dy'd With them they think on? things without all remedy Should be without regard; what's done, is done.

Macb. We have fcotch'd the fnake, not kill'd it—(14) She'll clofe, and be herfelf; whilst our poor malice

(14) We bave fcorch'd the Snake, not kill'd it,

She'll clofe, and be berfelf; ] This is a Paffage, which has all along paffed current thro' the Editions, and yet, I dare affirm, is not our Author's Reading. What has a Snake, clofing again, to do with its being fcorch'd? Scorching would never either feparate, or dilate, its Parts; but rather make them inftantly contract and frivel. SHAKESPEARE, I am very well perfuaded, had this Notion in his head; that if you cut a Serpent or Worm afunder, in feveral Pieces, there is fuch an unctuous Quality in their Blood, that the difmember'd Parts, being only placed near enough to touch one another, will cement and become as whole as before the Injury receiv'd. The Application of this Thought is to Duncan, the murder'd King, and his furviving Sons. Macbeth confiders them fo much as Members of the Father, that tho' he has cut off the Old Man, he would fay, he has not entirely kill'd him, but he'll revive again in the Lives of his Sons. Can. we doubt therefore but that the Poet wrote, as I have reftor'd to the Text,

We bave fcotch'd the Snake, not kill'd it?

To fcotch, however the generality of our Dictionaries happen to omit the Word, fignifies, to notch, flash, back, cut, with Twigs, Swords, &c, and fo our Poet more than once has used it in his Works..

Remains