but they withered all when my father died. They fay he

made a good end.

For bonny fweet Robin is all my joy

f

Laer. Thought, and affliction, paffion, hell itself, She turns to favour and to prettiness.

h

Oph. And will be not come again?
And will be not come again?

No, no, he is dead,

Go to thy death bed.

He never will come again,
His beard was white as fnow,
Flaxen was his pole :
He is gone, he is gone,
And we caft away moan,

* God a 'mercy on his foul!

And of all chriftian fouls!
Laer. Do you " fee this?

e Qu's, a for be.

m

God b' w' ye. [Exit Ophelia.
O God!

is fuppofed to be in the play. This ve

The 3d q. reads thoughts. S. does ry paffage has been made ufe of to prove

not give this reading.

The qu's read affitions.

Qu's, a for be.

that Shakespeare fometimes forgot his characters. And it is furprising that none of the modern editors fhould, in

i All but the qu's read All before paffing over this place, have confulted

Baxen.

the qu's; or, if they did confult them,

k So the qu's; all the rest Gramercy. that none of them fhould prefer the 1 J. on. reading of the qu's to that of the fo's. After fouls the fo's and R. infert I Do you fee this? is spoken to the king

pray God.

n The qu's omit see.

So the qu's. All the reft read You Gods; and fo make Laertes talk like a

heathen in ead of a chriftian, which he

and queen; and O God! is only an exclamation expreffing the anguish of Laertes's mind on the fight of his fifter's phrenfy.

King. Laertes, I muft P commune with your grief, Or you deny me right. Go but apart.

Make choice of whom your wifeft friends you will, and me.

And they fhall hear and judge 'twixt you

If by direct or by collateral hand

They find us touch'd, we will our kingdom give,
Our crown, our life, and all that we call ours,
in fatisfaction. But if not,

Το

you

Be you content to lend your patience to us;
And we fhall jointly labour with your foul,
To give it due content.

Laer. Let this be fo.

His means of death, his obfcure funeral,
No trophy, fword, nor hatchment o'er his bones,
No noble rite, nor formal oftentation,

Cry to be heard, as 'twere from heav'n to earth,
That I muft call 't in queftion.

King. So you fhall:

And where th' offence is, let the great ax fall.
I pray you go with me.

[Exeunt.

"Enter Horatio, with an attendant.

Hor. What are they, that would speak with me?

Serv. Sea-faring men, Sir. They fay they have letters for you.

Hor. Let them come in.

I do not know from what part of the world
I fhould be greeted, if not from lord Hamlet,
Enter Sailors.

Sail. God bless you, fir.

Hor. Let him bless thee too.

Sail. He fhall, fir, an 't pleafe him.-There's a letter for you, fir. It z comes from th' a embalador that was bound for England, if your name be Horatio, as I am let to know it is.

Horatio reads the letter.

Horatio, when thou shalt have over-look'd this, give these fellows fome means to the king: they have letters for him. Ere we were two days old at fea, a pirate of very warlike arpointment gave us chafe. Finding ourselves too flow of fail, we fut on a compelled valour, and in the grapple I boarded them: On the inflant they got clear of our ship, so I alone became their

prifoner. They have dealt with me like thieves of mercy; but

e

good turn for them. and repair thou to me

they knew what they did: I am to do a Let the king have the letters I have fent, with as much hafle as thou wouldst fly death. I have words to speak in thine ear, will make thee dumb; yet are they much too light for the bore of the matter. Thefe good fellows will bring thee where I am. Rofencraus and Guildenstern hold their courfe for England. Of them I have much to tell thee. Farewel.

i

* He that thou knoweft thine,

Come, I will make you way for thefe letters;
And do 't the fpeedier that you may direct me
To him from whom you brought them.

Hamlet.

[Exeunt.

SCENE IX.

Enter King and Laertes.

King. Now muft your confcience my acquittance feal,

And you must put me in your heart for friend;
Sith you have heard, and with a knowing ear,
That he, which hath your noble father flain,
Purfu'd my life.

i The 3d and 4th fo's and R. before way; ft q. omits make.

Laer.

Laer. It well appears. But tell me,

Why you proceeded not against these feats,

So criminal and fo capital in nature,

As by your safety, P greatness, wifdom, all things elfe,
You mainly were stirr'd up?

King. O, for two fpecial reafons,

Which may to you perhaps feem much unfinew'd,

t

queen,

And yet to me they are ftrong. The
Lives almost by his looks; and for myself,
My virtue or my plague, be 't either which,
"She's fo conjunctive to my life and foul,
That, as the ftar moves not but in his sphere,
I could not but by her. The other motive,
Why to a public count I might not go,
Is the great love the general gender bear him;
Who dipping all his faults in their affection,
Work like the fpring that turneth wood to ftone,
Convert his gyves to graces. So that my arrows,
Too flightly timber'd for fo loved, arın'd,

• The qu's read proceede.

n So the qu's; all the reft, crimeful. Third q. omits fo.

All but the qu's omit greatness. 9 The words 0, for are left out by P.

and all after, except C. and J.

Qu's and ift and 2d fo's, unfinnow'd.
Qu's, But for And.

P. and all after except C. omit they. u The qu's read, She is fo conclive to my life, &c.

W

his mother,

wind; but the idea of a loud wind reverberating an arrow back to its bow, is fo unnatural and impoffible that it cannot pafs: therefore the reading of the 1ft q. is to be preferred, is flightly timber'd for one fo loved, and arm'd with the affections and veneration of the peopl, &c. or that of the 28 and 3d, where the arms or armour are put for the perfou armed and the love applied to them which is meant of him. In both these

So the qu's; all the reft read, readings we have the idea of a fuit of Would like the Spring, &c. armour reverberating an arrow back to its bow, which is not only poffible, but just.

* So the ftq; the 2d and 3d read fo koed armes; all the reft read jo loud a

Would