which I have quoted thus:--

"Till he disbursed, at Saint Colme's-kill Isle,"

instead of "Saint Colmes ynch," as the old folio edition prints it. But
there is no doubt whatever about the reading, nor that the island
mentioned in Macbeth is Inchcolm in the Firth of Forth. For the site of
the defeat of the Norwegian host was in the adjoining mainland of Fife,
as the Thane of Ross tells the Scotch king that, to report his victory,
he had come from the seat of war--

"from Fife,
Where the Norwegian banners flout the sky."

The reference to Inchcolm by Shakspeare becomes more interesting when we
follow the poet to the original historical foundations upon which he
built his wondrous tragedy. It is well known that Shakspeare derived the
incidents for his story of Macbeth from that translation of Hector
Boece's _Chronicles of Scotland_, which was published in England by
Raphael Holinshed in 1577. In these Chronicles, Holinshed, or rather
Hector Boece, after describing the reputed poisoning, with the juice of
belladonna, of Sueno and his army, and their subsequent almost complete
destruction, adds, that shortly afterwards, and indeed while the Scots
were still celebrating this equivocal conquest, another Danish host
landed at Kinghorn. The fate of this second army is described by
Holinshed in the following words:--

"The Scots hauing woone so notable a victorie, after they had
gathered and diuided the spoile of the field, caused solemne
processions to be made in all places of the realme, and thanks to be
giuen to almightie God, that had sent them so faire a day ouer their
enimies. But whilest the people were thus at their processions, woord
was brought that a new fleet of Danes was arriued at Kingcorne, sent
thither by Canute, King of England, in reuenge of his brother Suenos
ouerthrow. To resist these enimies, which were alreadie landed, and
busie in spoiling the countrie, Makbeth and Banquho were sent with
the Kings authoritie, who hauing with them a conuenient power,
incountred the enimies, slue part of them, and chased the other to
their ships. They that escaped and got once to their ships, obteined
of Makbeth for a great summe of gold, that such of their friends as
were slaine at this last bickering, might be buried in Saint Colmes
Inch. In memorie whereof, manie old sepultures are yet in the said
Inch, there to be seene grauen wi