Most willingly! And here I have a flask,
From which I've sipp'd myself ere now;
What's more, it doth no longer stink;
To you a glass I joyfully will give.
(Aside.)

If unprepar'd, however, this man drink,
He hath not, as you know, an hour to live.

MEPHISTOPHELES

He's my good friend, with whom 'twill prosper well;
I grudge him not the choicest of thy store.
Now draw thy circle, speak thy spell,
And straight a bumper for him pour!

(The WITCH, with extraordinary gestures, describes a circle, and
places strange things within it. The glasses meanwhile begin to
ring, the caldron to sound, and to make music. Lastly, she brings a
great book; places the MONKEYS in the circle to serve her as a
desk, and to hold the torches. She beckons FAUST to approach.)

FAUST (to MEPHISTOPHELES)

Tell me, to what doth all this tend?
Where will these frantic gestures end?
This loathsome cheat, this senseless stuff
I've known and hated long enough.

MEPHISTOPHELES