and mainspring of that deed, which, with all its accompanying
struggles of conscience, he has so minutely pictured to us as having
been, during that period, enacted? But besides this negative
argument, we have a positive one for his non-reliance upon their
promises in the fact that he attempts to outwit them by the murder of
Fleance even after the fulfilment of the second prophecy.

The fifth scene opens with Lady Macbeth's perusal of her husband's
narration of his interview with the witches. The order of our
investigation requires the postponement of comment upon the contents
of this letter. We leave it for the present, merely cautioning the
reader against taking up any hasty objections to a very important
clause in the enunciation of our view by reminding him that, contrary
to Shakspere's custom in ordinary cases, we are made acquainted only
with a _portion_ of the missive in question. Let us then proceed to
consider the soliloquy which immediately follows the perusal of this
letter:

"I do fear thy nature.
It is too full o' the milk of human kindness,
To catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great;
Art not without ambition; but without
The illness should attend it. That thou wouldst highly,
That wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false
And yet wouldst wrongly win: thou'dst have, great Glamis,
That which cries this thou must do if thou have it,
And that which rather thou dost fear to do,
Thou wishest should be undone."

It is vividly apparent that this passage indicates a knowledge of the
character it depicts, which is far too intimate to allow of its being
other than a _direct_ inference from facts connected with previous
communications upon similar topics between the speaker and the
writer: unless, indeed, we assume that in this instance Shakspere has
notably departed from his usual principles of characterization, in
having invested Lady Macbeth with an amount of philosophical
acuteness, and a faculty of deduction, much beyond those pretended to
by any other of the female creations of the same author.

The above passage is interrupted by the announcement of the approach
of Duncan. Observe Lady Macbeth's behaviour upon receiving it. She
immediately determines upon what is to be done, and all without (are
we to suppose?) in any way consulting, or being aware of, the wishes
or inclinations of her husband! Observe too, that neither does _she_
appear to regard the witches' prophecies