osterity out of the throne. With these miserable thoughts they found
no peace, and Macbeth determined once more to seek out the weird
sisters, and know from them the worst.

He sought them in a cave upon the heath, where they, who knew by
foresight of his coming, were engaged in preparing their dreadful
charms, by which they conjured up infernal spirits to reveal to them
futurity. Their horrid ingredients were toads, bats, and serpents, the
eye of a newt, and the tongue of a dog, the leg of a lizard, and the
wing of the night-owl, the scale of a dragon, the tooth of a wolf, the
maw of the ravenous salt-sea shark, the mummy of a witch, the root
of the poisonous hemlock (this to have effect must be digged in the
dark), the gall of a goat, and the liver of a Jew, with slips of the
yew tree that roots itself in graves, and the finger of a dead child:
all these were set on to boil in a great kettle, or cauldron, which,
as fast as it grew too hot, was cooled with a baboon's blood: to these
they poured in the blood of a sow that had eaten her young, and they
threw into the flame the grease that had sweaten from a murderer's
gibbet. By these charms they bound the infernal spirits to answer
their questions.

It was demanded of Macbeth, whether he would have his doubts resolved
by them, or by their masters, the spirits. He, nothing daunted by the
dreadful ceremonies which he saw, boldly answered, "Where are they?
let me see them." And they called the spirits, which were three.
And the first arose in the likeness of an armed head, and he called
Macbeth by name, and bid him beware of the thane of Fife; for which
caution Macbeth thanked him: for Macbeth had entertained a jealousy of
Macduff, the thane of Fife.

And the second spirit arose in the likeness of a bloody child, and he
called Macbeth by name, and bid him have no fear, but laugh to scorn
the power of man, for none of woman born should have power to hurt
him: and he advised him to be bloody, bold, and resolute. "Then live,
Macduff!" cried the king; "what need I fear of thee? but yet I will
make assurance doubly sure. Thou shall not live; that I may tell
pale-hearted fear it lies, and sleep in spite of thunder."

That spirit being dismissed, a third arose in the form of a child
crowned, with a tree in his hand. He called Macbeth by name, and
comforted him against conspiracies, saying, that he should never be
vanquished, until the wood of Birnam to Dunsinane-Hill should c