Song in the Air. Come away, come away; Hecate, Hecate, come away. Hec. I come, I come, I come, I come, With all the speed I may. [Above.] Here. Hec. Where's Puckle? And Hoppo too, and Hellwain too: Hec. I will but 'noint, and then I mount. A Spirit like a Cat descends. [Above.]There's one come down to fetch his dues; A kiss, a coll, a sip of blood: And why thou stay'st so long, I muse, I muse, Since the air's so sweet and good. Hec. O, art thou come? What news, what news? Spirit. All goes still to our delight: Either come, or else Refuse, refuse. Hec. Now I am furnish'd for the flight. Fire. Hark, hark, the Cat sings a brave treble in her own Hec. [Going up.] Now I go, now I fly, O, what a dainty pleasure 'tis When the moon shines fair, And sing, and dance, and toy, and kiss! We fly by night 'mongst troops of Spirits. your [language. kindness; you mus Gamboling in the air, and leave me to walk hero like a A Duchess consults the Witch about inflicting a sudden Death. Hec. What death is 't you desire for Almachildes ? Hec. Then I've fitted you. Here lie the gifts of both; sudden and subtle : Duch. In what time prithee? Hec. Perhaps in a moon's progress. Duch. What, a month? Out upon pictures, if they be so tedious! Hec. Then seek no farther. Duch. This must be done with speed, despatch'd this night, If it be possible. Hec. I have it for you: Here's that will do 't: stay but perfection's time, Duch. Canst thou do this? Hec. Can I? Duch. I mean, so closely ? Hec. So closely do you mean too? Duch. So artfully, so cunningly ? Hec. Worse and worse. Doubts and incredulities, They make me mad. Let scrupulous creatures know: Can you doubt me then, daughter; That can make mountains tremble, miles of woods walk, Fire. I know as well as can be when my mother's mad, and our Great cat angry; for one spits French then, and the other spits Latin. Duch. I did not doubt you, Hec. No! what, did you? mother. My power's so firm, it is not to be question'd. Duch. Forgive what's past; and now I know the offensiveThat vexes art, I'll shun the occasion ever. Hec. Leave all to me and my five sisters, daughter. It shall be convey'd in at howlet-time. [ness Take you no care. My spirits know their moments : But they call in (I thank 'em) and they lose not by 't. They shall have semina cum sanguine, Their gorge cramm'd full, if they come once to our house: Fire. They fare but too well when they come hither: they ate up as much the other night as would have made me a good conscionable pudding. Hec. Give me some lizard's brain, quickly, Firestone. Where's grannam Stadlin, and all the rest of the sisters ? And fetch three ounces of the red-hair'd girl Fire. Whereabout, sweet mother? Hec. Hip; hip, or flank. Where's the Acopus ? Hec. Stir, stir, about; whilst I begin the charm. Hec. Black spirits and white, red spirits and grey; Fire-drake, Puckey, make it lucky; Liard, Robin, you must bob in. Round, around, around, about, about, about; All Ill come running in, all Good keep out. First Witch. Here's the blood of a bat. Hec. Put in that, O, put in that. Hec. Put in again. First Witch. The juice of toad; the oil of adder. Fire. Nay, here's three ounces of the red-hair'd wench. Hec. So, so, enough: into the vessel with it. There; 't hath the true perfection: I am so light' But is a tune methinks. Fire. A tune! 'tis to the tune of damnation then, I warrant And that song hath a villanous burthen. [you, Hec. Come, my sweet sisters, let the air strike our tune; Whilst we show reverence to yon peeping moon. [The Witches dance, et Exeunt. [Though some resemblance may be traced between the Charms in Macbeth and the Incantations in this Play, which is supposed to have preceded it, this coincidence will not detract much from the originality of Shakspeare. His witches are distinguished from the witches of Middleton by essential differences. These are creatures to whom man or woman plotting some dire mischief might resort for occasional consultation. Those originate deeds of blood, and begin bad impulses to men. From the moment that their eyes first meet with Macbeth's, he is spell-bound. That meeting sways his destiny. He can never break the fascination. These witches can hurt the body: those have power over the soul.-Hecate in Middleton has a Son, a low buffoon: the hags of Shakspeare have neither child of their own, nor seem to be descended from any parent. They are foul Anomalies, of whom we know not whence they are sprung, nor whether they have beginning or ending. As they are without human passions, so they seem to be without human relations. They come with thunder and lightning, and vanish to airy music. This is all we know of them.— Except Hecate, they have no names; which heightens their mysteriousTheir names, and some of the properties, which Middleton has given to his hags, excite smiles. The Weird Sisters are serious things. Their presence cannot co-exist with mirth. But in a lesser degree, the Witches of Middleton are fine creations. Their power too is, in some measure, over the mind. They raise jars, jealousies, strifes, like a thick scurf o'er life.] ness. 1 Light-hearted. THE WITCH OF EDMONTON: A TRAGI-COMEDY, BY WILLIAM ROWLEY, THOMAS DECKER, JOHN FORD, &c. MOTHER SAWYER (before she turns Witch) alone. Saw. And why on me? why should the envious world Throw all their scandalous malice upon me? 'Cause I am poor, deform'd, and ignorant, And like a bow buckled and bent together By some more strong in mischiefs than myself; Must I for that be made a common sink For all the filth and rubbish of men's tongues To fall and run into? Some call me Witch And being ignorant, of myself, they go About to teach me how to be one: urging That my bad tongue (by their bad usage made so) Forespeaks their cattle, doth bewitch their corn, Themselves, their servants, and their babes at nurse: This they enforce upon me; and in part Make me to credit it1. BANKS, a Farmer, enters. Banks. Out, out upon thee, Witch. Saw. Dost call me Witch? Banks. I do, Witch, I do: And worse I would, knew I a name more hateful. Saw. Gather a few rotten sticks to warm me. Saw. You won't? churl, cut-throat, miser: there they be. Would they stuck cross thy throat, thy bowels, thy maw, thy midriff Banks. Say'st thou me so? Hag, out of my ground. Saw. Dost strike me, slave, curmudgeon? Now thy bones aches, thy joints cramps, And convulsions stretch and crack thy sinews. Banks. Cursing, thou hag? take that, and that. [Exit. Saw. Strike, do: and wither'd may that hand and arm Whose blows have lamed me, drop from the rotten trunk. Abuse me! beat me! call me hag and witch! What is the name, where, and by what art learn'd? This soliloquy anticipates all that Addison has said in the conclusion of the 117th Spectator. |