p; he was too familiar with death.

Presently a messenger told him that he saw Birnam Wood on the march.
Macbeth called him a liar and a slave, and threatened to hang him if he
had made a mistake. "If you are right you can hang me," he said.

From the turret windows of Dunsinane Castle, Birnam Wood did indeed
appear to be marching. Every soldier of the English army held aloft a
bough which he had cut from a tree in that wood, and like human trees
they climbed Dunsinane Hill.

Macbeth had still his courage. He went to battle to conquer or die, and
the first thing he did was to kill the English general's son in single
combat. Macbeth then felt that no man could fight him and live, and when
Macduff came to him blazing for revenge, Macbeth said to him, "Go back;
I have spilt too much of your blood already."

"My voice is in my sword," replied Macduff, and hacked at him and bade
him yield.

"I will not yield!" said Macbeth, but his last hour had struck. He fell.

Macbeth's men were in retreat when Macduff came before Malcolm holding a
King's head by the hair.

"Hail, King!" he said; and the new King looked at the old.

So Malcolm reigned after Macbeth; but in years that came afterwards the
descendants of Banquo were kings.

THE COMEDY OF ERRORS

AEGEON was a merchant of Syracuse, which is a seaport in Sicily. His
wife was AEmilia, and they were very happy until AEgeon's manager died,
and he was obliged to go by himself to a place called Epidamnum on the
Adriatic. As soon as she could AEmilia followed him, and after they had
been together some time two baby boys were born to them. The babies were
exactly alike; even when they were dressed differently they looked the
same.

And now you must believe a very strange thing. At the same inn where
these children were born, and on the same day, two baby boys were born
to a much poorer couple than AEmilia and AEgeon; so poor, indeed, were
the parents of these twins that they sold them to the parents of the
other twins.

AEmilia was eager to show her children to her friends in Syracuse,
and in treacherous weather she and AEgeon and the four babies sailed
homewards.

They were still far from Syracuse when their ship sprang a leak, and the
crew left it in a body by the only boat, caring little what became of
their passengers.

AEmilia fastened one of her children to a mast and tied one of the
slave-children to him; AEgeon followed her example with the remainin