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XX III.THE WITCHES' SONG— From Ben Jonson' s Masque of Queens, presented
at Whitehall, Feb.2, 1609 : (introduction omitted) : 1 WITCHA raven feeding upon a quarter: And, soone as she turn'd her beak to the south, I snatch'd this morsell of her mouth.
2 WITCHThe madd dogges foames, and adders eares; The spurging of a deadmans eye: And all since the evening starre did rise. 3 WITCHO' the ground, to heare the mandrake grone; And pluckt him up, though he grew full low: And, as I had done, the cocke did crow. 4 WITCHFrom charnell houses that were full; From private grots, and publike pits; And frighted a sexton out of his wits. 5 WITCHBy day; and, when the childe was a-sleepe At night, I suck'd the breath; and rose, And pluck'd the nodding nurse by the nose. 6 WITCHKilled an infant to have his fat. A piper it got at a church-ale. I bade him again blow wind i' the taile.
7 WITCHThe sunne and the wind had shrunke his veines: I bit off a sinew; I clipp'd his haire ; I brought off his ragges, that danc'd i' the ayre. 8 WITCHThe bloud of the brogge, and the bone in his backe I have been getting; and made of his skin A purset to keepe sir Cranion in. 9 WITCHHemlock, henbane, adders-tongue, Night-shade, moone-wort, libbards-bane ; And twise by the dogges was lke to be tane. 10 WITCHDid snatch these bones, and then leap'd the ditch : Yet went I back to the house agine, Kill'd the blacke cat, and here is the braine. 11 WITCHI charmed him out, and he came at my call; I scratch'd out the eyes of the owle before; I tore the batts wing: what would you have more?
DAMEHorned poppie, cypresse boughes, The fig-tree wild, that grows on tombes, And juice, that from the larch-tree comes, The basiliskes bloud, and the vipers skin : And now our orgies let's begin. |