Shakespeare's Tragedy of Macbeth Author:William Shakespeare Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Scene II. — A Camp near Forres. Alarum within. Enter Duncan, Malcolm, Donalbain, Lennox, with Attendants, meeting a bleeding Sergeant. Dun. What bloody ma... more »n is that ? He can report, As seemeth by his plight, of the revolt The newest state.1 Mai. This is the sergeant,2 Who like a good and hardy soldier fought 5 'Gainst my captivity. — Hail, brave friend ! Say to the King thy knowledge of the broil As thou didst leave it. Serg. Doubtful it stood ; As two spent swimmers, that do cling together And choke their art. The merciless Macdonwald — 10 Worthy to be a rebel, for, to that,3 The multiplying villanies of nature Do swarm upon him — from the Western Isles Of4 kerns and gallowglasses is supplied; 1 " The newest state " is the latest condition. ! Sergeants, in ancient times, were not the petty officers now so called; but men performing one kind of feudal military service, in rank next to esquires. 3 To that end, or for that purpose; namely, to make him a rebel. 4 Of, here, has the force of with, the two words being often used indiscriminately.—Touching the men here referred to, Holinshed has the following : " Out of Ireland in hope of the spoile came no small number of Kernes and Galloglasses, offering gladlie to serve under him, whither it should please him to lead them." Barnabe Rich thus describes them in his New Irish Prognostication : " The Galloglas succeedeth the Horseman, and he is commonly armed with a scull, a shirt of maile, and a galloglas- axe. The Kernes of Ireland are next in request, the very drosse and scum of the countrey, a generation of villaines not worthy to live." And Fortune, on his damned quarrel5 smiling, Show'd like a rebel's trull: but all's too weak ;6 For brave Macbeth, — well he deserves that name, — Disdaining fortu...« less