ucceed; which the French glossers expound to be the realm of France, and
that this law was made by King Pharamond: whereas yet their owne authors
affirme that the land Salike is in Germanie, between the rivers of Elbe
and Sala," &c. p. 545.

It hath lately been repeated from Mr. Guthrie's _Essay upon English
Tragedy_, that the _Portrait_ of Macbeth's _Wife_ is copied from Buchanan,
"whose spirit, as well as words, is translated into the Play of
Shakespeare: and it had signified nothing to have pored only on Holingshed
for _Facts_."--"Animus etiam, per se ferox, prope quotidianis conviciis
uxoris (quae omnium consiliorum ei erat conscia) stimulabatur."--This is the
whole that Buchanan says of the _Lady_; and truly I see no more _spirit_
in the Scotch than in the English Chronicler. "The wordes of the three
weird Sisters also greatly encouraged him [to the Murder of Duncan], but
specially his wife lay sore upon him to attempt the thing, as she that was
very ambitious, brenning in unquenchable desire to beare the name of a
Queene." Edit. 1577. p. 244.

This part of Holingshed is an Abridgment of Johne Bellenden's translation
of the _noble clerk_, Hector Boece, imprinted at Edinburgh, in Fol. 1541.
I will give the passage as it is found there. "His wyfe impacient of lang
tary (_as all wemen are_) specially quhare they ar desirus of ony purpos,
gaif hym gret artation to pursew the thrid weird, that sche micht be ane
quene, calland hym oft tymis febyl cowart and nocht desyrus of honouris,
sen he durst not assailze the thing with manheid and curage, quhilk is
offerit to hym be beniuolence of fortoun. Howbeit sindry otheris hes
assailzeit sic thinges afore with maist terribyl jeopardyis, quhen they
had not sic sickernes to succeid in the end of thair laubouris as he had."
p. 173.

But we can _demonstrate_ that Shakespeare had not the Story from Buchanan.
According to _him_, the Weird-Sisters salute Macbeth, "Una Angusiae Thamum,
altera Moraviae, tertia _Regem_."--Thane of Angus, and of Murray, &c., but
according to Holingshed, immediately from Bellenden, as it stands in
Shakespeare: "The first of them spake and sayde, All hayle Makbeth, Thane
of Glammis,--the second of them said, Hayle Makbeth, Thane of Cawder; but
the third sayde, All hayle Makbeth, that hereafter shall be _king of
Scotland_." p. 243.

_1 Witch_. All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!

_2 Witch_. All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane