Macb. Hark!-who lies i' th' fecond chamber?
Lady. Donalbain.

Macb. This is a forry fight.

[Looks on his bands.

Lady. A foolifh thought to fay, a forry fight.

Macb. There's one did laugh in's fleep, and one cry'd,
Murder!

They wak'd each other; and I ftood and heard them;
But they did fay their prayers, and address them
Again to fleep.

Lady. There are two lodg'd together.

Macb. One cry'd, " God blefs us!" and, " Amen!” the other;

As they had feen me with thefe hangman's hands.
Listening their fear, I could not say, Amen,
When they did fay, God blefs us.

Lady. Confider it not fo deeply.

Macb. But wherefore could not I pronounce, Amen? I had moft need of bleffing, and Amen

Stuck in my throat.

Lady. Thefe deeds muft not be thought, After these ways; fo, it will make us mad.

Mac. Methought, I heard a voice cry, "Sleep no more!" Macbeth doth murder Sleep; the innocent fleep; Sleep, that knits up the ravell'd fleeve of care, The death of each day's life, fore labour's bath, Balm of hurt minds, great nature's fecond course, Chief nourisher in life's feaft.

Lady. What do you mean?

Mach. Still it cry'd, fleep no more, to all the house; Glamis hath murder'd fleep, and therefore Cawdor Shall fleep no more; Macbeth fhall fleep no more! Lady. Who was it, that thus cry'd? why, worthy Thane, You do unbend your noble ftrength, to think So brain-fickly of things; go, get fome water, And wash this filthy witnefs from your hand. Why did you bring thefe daggers from the place? They muft lie there. Go, carry them, and smear The fleepy grooms with blood.

Macb. I'll go no more;

I am afraid to think what I have done;

Look

Look on't again, I dare not.

Lady. Infirm of purpose!

Give me the daggers; the fleeping and the dead
Are but as pictures; 'tis the eye of childhood,
That fears a painted devil. If he do bleed,
I'll gild the faces of the grooms withal.
For it must seem their guilt.

Knocks within.

Macb. Whence is that knocking!

[Exit.

[Starting.

How is it with me, when every noise appalls me ?

What hands are here? hah! they pluck out mine eyes.
Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood

Clean from my hand? no, this my hand will rather
Thy multitudinous fea incarnadine,

Making the green one red

Enter Lady Macbeth.

Lady. My hands are of your colour; but I fhame To wear a heart fo white; I hear a knocking [Knock.. At the fouth entry. Retire we to our chamber;

A little water clears us of this deed.

How easy is it then? your conftancy
Hath left you unattended-

hark, more knocking!

Get on your night-gown, left occafion call us,
And fhew us to be watchers; be not loft

So poorly in your thoughts.

[Knock.

Macb. To know my deed, 'twere best not know myself, Wake, Duncan, with this knocking: 'would, thou couldft! [Exeunt.

Enter a Porter.

[Knocking within,] Port. Here's a knocking, indeed: if a man were porter of hell-gate, he fhould have old turning the key. [Knock] Knock, knock, knock. Who's there, i' th' name of Belzebub? here's a farmer, that hang'd himself on the expectation of plenty: come in

time, have napkins enough about you, here you'll fweat for't. [Knock Knock, knock. Who's there, i'th' other devil's name? faith, here's an equivocator, that could fwear in both the scales againft either fcale, who committed treafon enough for God's fake, yet could not equivocate to heav'n: oh, come in, equivocator. [Knock] Knock, knock, knock, Who's there? 'faith, here's an English taylor come hither for ftealing out of a French hofe: come in, taylor, here you may roaft your goofe. [Knock] Knock, knock. Never at quiet! what are you? but this place is too cold for hell. I'll devil-porter it no further: I had thought to have let in fome of all profeffions, that go the primrofe way to th' everlasting bonfire. [Knock] Anon, anon, I pray you, remember the porter.

Enter Macduff, and Lenox.

Macd. Was it fo late, friend, ere you went to bed, That you do lie fo late?

Port.'Faith, Sir, we were caroufing 'till the fecond cock: And Drink, Sir, is a great provoker of three things. Macd. What three things doth drink especially provoke?

Port. Marry, Sir, nofe-painting, fleep, and urine. Lechery, Sir, it provokes, and unprovokes; it provokes the defire, but it takes away the performance. Therefore much drink may be faid to be an equivocator with lechery; it makes him, and it mars him, it fets him on, and it takes him off; it perfuades him, and disheartens him; makes him stand to, and not stand to; in conclufion, equivocates him into a sleep, and, giving him the lie, leaves him.

Macd. I believe, drink gave thee the lie laft night. Port. That it did, Sir, i'th' very throat o' me; but I requited him for his lie; and, I think, being too ftrong for him, though he took up my legs fome time, yet I made a fhift to caft him.

Macd. Is thy master stirring?

Our knocking has awak'd him; here he comes.
Len. Good-morrow, noble Sir.

Enter

Enter Macbeth.

Macb. Good-morrow, both.

Macd. Is the King ftirring, worthy Thane?

Mach. Not yet.

Macd. He did command me to call timely on him; I've almost flipt the hour.

Mach. I'll bring you to him.

Macd. I know, this is a joyful trouble to you: But yet, 'tis one.

Macb. The labour, we delight in, phyficks pain; This is the door.

Macd. I'll make so bold to call, for 'tis my limited

fervice.

Len. Goes the King hence to-day?

Macb. He did appoint fo.

[Exit Macduff.

Len. The night has been unruly; where we lay, Our chimneys were blown down And, as they fay, Lamentings heard i'th' air, ftrange fcreams of death And prophefying with accents terrible

Of dire combuftion, and confus'd events,
New hatch'd to th' woeful time:

The obfcure bird clamour'd the live-long night.
Some fay, the earth was fev'rous, and did fhake.
Macb. 'Twas a rough night.

Len. My young remembrance cannot parallel
A fellow to it,

Enter Macduff.

Macd. O horror! horror! horror!

Nor tongue, nor heart, cannot conceive, nor name theeMacb. and Len. What's the matter?

Macd. Confufion now hath made his mafter-piece;

Moft facrilegious murder hath broke ope

The Lord's anointed temple, and stole thence

The life o'th' building.

Mach. What is't your fay? the life?.

Len. Mean you his Majefty?.

Macd. Approach the chamber, and deftroy your fight

VOL. VI.

N

With

With a new Gorgon. -Do not bid me speak ;
See, and then speak yourselves: awake! awake!

Ring the alarm-bell

[Exeunt Macbeth and Len. -murder! and treafon!

Banquo, and Donalbain! Malcolm! awake!

Shake of this downy fleep, death's counterfeit,

And look on death itfelf

The great Doom's image

As from your graves rife up,

-up, up, and fee Malcolm! Banquo! and walk like sprights,

(11) To countenance this horror.

Bell rings. Enter Lady Macbeth.

Lady. What's the bufinefs,

That fuch an hideous trumpet calls to parley

The fleepers of the house

Macd. Gentle lady,

speak.

"Tis not for you to hear what I can speak. The repetition in a woman's ear

Would murder as it fell.-O Banquo, Banquo!

Enter Banquo.

Our royal master's murder'd.

Lady. Woe, alas!

What, in our house ?

Ban. Too cruel, any where.

Macduff, I pr'ythee, contradict thyself,
And fay, it is not fo.

(11) To countenance this borror. Ring the bell.]

I have ventur'd to throw out these last Words, as no part of the Text. Macduff had faid at the beginning of his Speech, Ring out th' Alarm Bell; but if the Bell had rung out immediately, not a Word of what he fays could have been diftinguish'd. Ring the Bell, I fay, was a Marginal Direction in the Prompter's Book for him to order the Bell to be rung, the Minute that Macduff ceafes fpeaking. In proof of this, we may obferve, that Hemiftich ending Macduff's fpeech, and that beginning Lady Macbeth's, make up a compleat Verfe. Now if Ring the Bell had been a part of the Text, can we imagine the Poet would have begun the Lady's fpeech with a broken Line?

Enter