Conjures the wandring ftars, and makes them ftand
Like wonder-wounded hearers? this is I,

Hamlet the Dane.

[Hamlet leaps into the Grave.

Laer. The Devil take thy foul! [Grappling with him.
Ham. Thou pray't not well.

I pr'ythee, take thy fingers from my throat
For though I am not fplenitive and rash;
Yet have I in me fomething dangerous,
Which let thy wisdom fear.
King. Pluck them asunder
Queen. Hamlet, Hamlet
Hor. Good my lord, be quiet.

Hold off thy hand.

[The attendants part them. upon this theme,

Ham. Why, I will fight with him Until my eye lids will no longer wag. Queen. Oh my fon! what theme?

Ham. I lov'd Ophelia; forty thousand brothers
Could not with all their quantity of love

Make up my fum. What wilt thou do for her?
King. O, he is mad, Laertes.

Queen. For love of God, forbear him.

Ham. Come, fhew me what thou'lt do.

Woo't weep? woo't fight? woo't faft? woo't tear

thy felf?

Woo't drink up Eifel, eat a crocodile? (29)

I'll

(29) Would drink up Efill, eat a Crocodile?] This Word has thro' all the Editions been distinguish'd by Italick Characters, as if it were the proper Name of fome River: and fo, I dare fay, all the Editors have from time to time understood it to be. But then this must be fome River in Denmark; and there is none there fo call'd; nor is there any near it in Name, that I know of, but rel, from which the Province of Overyffel derives its Title in the German Flanders. Befides, Hamlet is not propofing any Impoffibilities to Laertes, as the drinking up a River would be: but he rather feems to mean, Wilt thou refolve to do things the moft fhocking and diftafteful to human Nature? and, behold, I am as refolute. I am persuaded,

the Poet wrote;

I'll do't. Do'st thou come hither but to whine?
To out-face me with leaping in her Grave?
Be buried quick with her; and fo will I ;
And if thou prate of mountains, let them throw
Millions of acres on us, 'till our ground,
Singeing his pate against the burning Zone,
Make Offa like a wart! nay, an thou'lt mouth,
I'll rant as well as thou.

Queen. This is meer madness;

And thus a while the Fit will work on him:
Anon, as patient as the female dove,
When that her golden couplets are disclos'd,
His filence will fit drooping.

Ham. Hear you, Sir

What is the reason that you use me thus?
I lov'd you ever; but it is no matter
Let Hercules himself do what he may,

The cat will mew, the dog will have his day. [Exit.
King. I pray you, good Horatio, wait upon him.

[Exit Hor. Strengthen your patience in our laft night's speech.

[To Laertes.

We'll put the matter to the present push.
Good Gertrude, fet fome watch over your fon:
This Grave shall have a living Monument.
An hour of quiet shortly shall we see ;
'Till then, in patience our proceeding be..

[Exeunt.

Wilt drink up Eifel, eat a Crocodile ? i. e. Wilt thou fwallow down large Draughts of Vinegar? The Propofition, indeed, is not very grand; but the doing it might be as diftasteful and unfavoury, as eating the Flesh of a Crocodile. And now there is neither an Impoffibility, nor an Anticlimax and the Lownefs of the Idea is in fome measure remov'd by the uncommon Term.

:

SCENE

SCENE changes to a HALL, in the Palace.

Ham.

S°

Enter Hamlet and Horatio.

much for this, now fhall you fee the other.

You do remember all the circumftance ?

Hor. Remember it, my lord?

Ham. Sir, in my heart there was a kind of fighting, That would not let me fleep; methought, I lay

Worfe than the mutines in the Bilboes; Rafhnefs (And prais'd be rafhnefs for it) lets us know,

Our indifcretion fometimes ferves us well,

When our deep plots do fail; and that should teach us,
There's a Divinity that shapes our ends,
Rough-hew them how we will.

Hor. That is moft certain.
Ham. Up from my cabin,

My fea-gown fcarft about me, in the dark
Grop'd I to find out them; had my defire,
Finger'd their packet, and in fine withdrew
To mine own room again; making fo bold
(My fears forgetting manners) to unfeal
Their grand Commiffion, where I found, Horatio,
A royal knavery; an exact Command,
Larded with many feveral forts of reafons,
Importing Denmark's health, and England's too,
With, ho! fuch buggs and goblins in my life;)
That on the fupervize, no leifure, bated,

No, not to lay the grinding of the ax,
My head fhould be ftruck off.

Har. Is't poffible?

Ham. Here's the commiffion, read it at more leisure;

But wilt thou hear now how I did proceed?

Hor. I beseech you.

Ham. Being thus benetted round with villany,

(Ere I could make a prologue, to my Bane (30)

(30) Being thus benetted round with villains,

E'er I could make a Prologue to my Brains,
They had begun the Play. I fate me down, &c.]

They

They had begun the Play :) I fate me down,
Devis'd a new commiffion, wrote it fair :
(I once did hold it, as our Statifts do,

A baseness to write fair; and labour'd much
How to forget that Learning; but, Sir, now.
It did me yeoman's fervice;) wilt thou know
Th' effect of what I wrote ?

Hor. Ay, good my lord.

Ham. An earneft conjuration from the King,
As England was his faithful tributary,

As love between them, like the palm, might flourish,
As peace fhould ftill her wheaten garland wear, (31)

a

This Paffage is certainly corrupt both in the Text and Pointing. Making Prologue to his Brains is fuch a Phrafe as SHAKESPEARE would never have us'd, to mean, e're I could form my Thoughts in making a Prologue. I communicated my Doubts to my two ingenious Friends Mr. Warburton and Mr. Bishop, and by their Affiftance, I hope, I have reform'd the whole to the Author's Intention. The Senfe is, plainly, this " Being thus in their Snares, e're I could make a Prologue (take the leaft previous Step) to ward off Danger, "they had begun the Play (put their Schemes in Action) "which was to terminate in my Deftruction. "

(31) As Peace should still her wheaten Garland wear,

And fand a Comma 'tween their Amities, &c.] Peace is finely and properly perfonaliz'd here, as the God defs of good League and Friendship: but what Ideas can we form of her ftanding as a Comma, or Stop, betwixt their Amities? I am sure, fhe ftands rather like a Cypher, in this Reading. I have no Doubt, but the Poer wrote;

And ftand a Commere: 'tween their Amities;

i. e, a Guarantee, a Common Mother. Nothing can be more picturefque than this Image of Peace's standing dreft in her wheaten Garland between the two Princes, and extending a Hand to each. In this Equipage and Office we frequently fee her on Roman Coins: particularly, on two exhibited by Baron Spanheim; one of Auguftus, and the other of Vespafan. The Poets likewife image to us Peace holding an Ear of Corn, as an Emblem of Plenty, Tibull. lib. I. Eleg. x. At nobis, Pax alma, veni, spicamq; teneto.

Mr.Warburton.

And

And ftand a Commere 'tween their amities
And many fuch like As's of great charge;
That on the view and knowing these contents,
Without debatement further, more or less,
He fhould the bearers put to fudden death,
Not fhriving-time allow'd.

Hor. How was this feal'd?

Hor. Why, ev'n in that was heaven ordinant;
I had my father's Signet in my purse,
Which was the model of that Danish feal:
I folded the Writ up in form of th' other,
Subfcrib'd it, gave th' impreffion, plac'd it fafely,
The changeling never known; now, the next day
Was our fea-fight, and what to this was fequent
Thou know't already.

Hor. So, Guildenftern and Rofincrantz go to't.
Ham. Why, man, they did make love to this employ-

ment.

They are not near my confcience; their defeat

Doth by their own infinuation grow:

'Tis dangerous when the bafer nature comes Between the pafs, and fell incenfed points, Of mighty oppofites.

Hor. Why, what a King is this!

Ham. Does it not, think't thou, ftand me now upon? He that hath kill'd my King, and whor'd my mother, Popt in between th' election and my hopes,

Thrown out his angle for my proper life,

And with fuch cozenage; is't not perfect confcience, To quit him with this arm? and is't not to be damn'd, To let this canker of our nature come

In further evil?

Hor. It must be shortly known to him from England, What is the iffue of the bufinefs there.

Ham. It will be short.

The Interim's mine; and a man's life's no more

Than to fay, one.

But I am very forry, good Horatio,
That to Laertes I forgot my felf;

For by the image of my cause I fee

The