MACBETH. ACT I. SCENE I. An open Place. Thunder and lightning. Enter three Witches. 1 Witch. When shall we three meet again, In thunder, lightning, or in rain ? 2 Witch. When the hurlyburly's done', When the battle's lost and won. 3 Witch. That will be ere the set of sun. Upon the heath: i When the HURLYBURLY's done,] “Hurlyburly" generally means tumultuous uproar : it occurs in the unique poem by John Drout, “The Pityful Historie o: Two Loving Italians," 1570 : " Then hurly burly did begin, great rumors straight was raysde." A few years afterwards “ hurlyburly" was used on the stage in the interlude of “ Appius and Virginia,” by R. B., 1575, Sign. E: “Thus in hurly burly from pillar to poste Poore Haphazard daily was toste." In "The Garden of Eloquence," by H, P., 1577, it is explained, “hurlyburly, an uprore, and tumultuous stirre.” In G. Whetstone's "Censure of a Loyal Subject,” 1587, we read, “Andrea and Viscounte were both slaine in the hurley burley of the people.” Sign. E 3. 2 Paddock calls :] “Paddock" is the old word for a toad, supposed to be one of the familiars of the Witches, like the cat, Graymalkin, in the preceding line. In the Townley Miracle-play called “ Lazarus," we meet with this line, “And ees out of your hede thus-gate shalle paddokes pyke." VOL. V. CC Fair is foul, and, foul is fair: [Witches vanish. SCENE II. A Camp near Fores. Alarum within. Enter King DUNCAN, MALCOLM, DONALBAIN, LENOX, with Attendants, meeting a bleeding Captain'. This is the sergeant, Doubtful it stood; 3 – a bleeding Captain.] This “ Soldier,” as he is called in modern editions, is a Captain in the stage-direction of the old copies ; but by the dialogue it appears that he was a Sergeant. Sergeant seems formerly to have been a considerably higher rank in arms than at present. * (Worthy to be a rebel, for to that] i. e. “ Because the multiplying villainies,” &c. Mr. Singer takes credit for restoring the punctuation of the folio, 1623,—"I follow the punctuation of the first folio.” If he had examined “the first folio," he would have seen that his punctuation differs from it, and that our's represents it truly. It is however here a matter of little moment. 5 Of KERNES and GallowGLASSEs is supplied ;] We have had “Gallowglasses and stout Irish Kernes" spoken of in “ Henry VI., Part II.,” Vol. iv. p. 93: we need add nothing here to our former note. 6 — damned QUARRY] i, e. His army doomed, or damned, to become the “quarry," or prey, of his enemies. This is the reading of all the old copies, which has been deserted by most editors, although giving an obvious and striking meaning, much more forcible than quarrel, which, at Johnson's instance, they substituted for “ quarry.” It is also amended to quarrel in the corr. fo. 1632, the old annotator, or the actor whose word he repeated, perhaps, not understanding “ quarry" so applied. Respecting “ quarry," see Vol. iv. p. 607. Show'd like a rebel's whore: but all's too weak; Dun. Oh, valiant cousin! worthy gentleman ! Capt. As whence the sun 'gins his reflexion Dismay'd not this Yes ; Dun. So well thy words become thee, as thy wounds: [Exit Captain, attended. Enter Rosse and Angus. The worthy thane of Rosse. 1- and direful thunders BREAK] In the folio, 1623, the line ends at " thunders," and being obviously defective, the folio, 1632, inserted breaking ; but the present tense, and not the participle, is wanted, and it is found in the margin of the corr. fo. 1632: Pope also printed “break.” 8 Enter Rosse and Angus.] Rosse only speaks, and is spoken of and to; but they both enter, and subsequently execute the commission they had in charge from the king. Modern editors (Mr. Singer, like our former impression, excepted) omit Angus, although his name is found in every old stage-direction. Len. What a haste looks through his eyes ! Rosse. God save the king! Whence cam’st thou, worthy thane ? Great happiness! Dun. No more that thane of Cawdor shall deceive Rosse. I'll see it done. [Exeunt. SCENE III. A Heath. Thunder. Enter the three Witches. 1 Witch. Where hast thou been, sister? 2 Witch. Killing swine. 9 So should he look that comes to speak things strange.] “Comes" is from the corr. fo. 1632, and it is there substituted for seems, for which it was a misprint: seems is hardly intelligible unless we suppose it to mean seems to come. 1 - Saint Colmes' Inch,] Colmes'-inch, now called Inchcomb (says Steevens), is a small island, lying in the Firth of Edinburgh, with an abbey upon it dedicated to St. Columb; called by Camden Inch Colm, or The Isle of Columbo. 3 Witch. Sister, where thou ? 1 Witch. A sailor's wife had chesnuts in her lap, And mounch’d, and mounch’d, and mounch’d: “Give me,” quoth I: 2 Witch. I'll give thee a wind. 1 Witch. I myself have all the other; 2 Witch. Show me, show me. 1 Witch. Here I have a pilot's thumb, Wreck'd as homeward he did come. [Drum within. 2 “AROINT thee, witch!”] The meaning of the word is quite obvious; viz. begone, or stand off, and it is still used in the Craven district, and generally in the north of England, as well as in Cheshire. In some places it has assumed the form of rynt, but it is the same word. Various conjectures have been indulged respecting its etymology, and we meet with “aroint,” used in the same way, in “King Lear," A. iii. sc. 4, “ Aroint thee, witch, aroint thee!” 3 – ronyon] i. e. Scabby or mangy woman. Fr. rogneur, royne, scurf. In “ As You Like It,". Vol. ii. p. 372, the adjective roynish is employed, which has the same etymology as “ ronyon.” 4 Her husband's to Aleppo gone, master o' the Tiger ;] In Hakluyt's “ Voyages," 1589 and 1599, are printed several letters and journals of a voyage to Aleppo in the ship Tiger of London : it took place in 1583. For this note we are indebted to Sir W. C. Trevelyan, Bart., who observes that Shakespeare may from thence have derived the name of the place, as well as of the ship. 5 I' the shipman's card to show.] “To show" is obtained from the corr. fo. 1632: the line is imperfect, ending with “ card," and we may feel sure that we thus recover two words Shakespeare wrote, but which had dropped ont in the press. |