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I lov'd you ever: But it is no matter;

Let Hercules himself do what he may,

The cat will mew, and dog will have his day.

[Exit.

King. I pray thee, good Horatio, wait upon him.—

[Exit HORATIO.

Strengthen your patience in our last night's speech;

[TO LAERTES.

We'll put the matter to the present push.
Good Gertrude, set some watch over your son. —
This grave shall have a living monument:
An hour of quiet shortly shall we see;
Till then, in patience our proceeding be.

SCENE II.

A Hall in the Castle.

Enter HAMLET and HORATIO.

[Exeunt.

Ham. So much for this, sir: now shall you see the other;

You do remember all the circumstance?

Hor. Remember it, my lord!

Ham. Sir, in my heart there was a kind of fighting, That would not let me sleep: methought, I lay Worse than the mutines in the bilboes. "

6

Rashly,

mutines in the bilboes] Mutines, the French word for seditious or disobedient fellows in the army or fleet.

The bilboes is a bar of iron with fetters annexed to it, by which mutinous or disorderly sailors were anciently linked together. The word is derived from Bilboa, a place in Spain where instruments of steel were fabricated in the utmost perfection. To understand Shakspeare's allusion completely, it should be known, that as these fetters connect the legs of the offenders very close together, their attempts to rest must be as fruitless as those of Hamlet, in whose mind there was a kind of fighting that would not let him sleep. Every motion of one must disturb his partner in confinement. The bilboes are still shown in the Tower of London, among the other spoils of the Spanish armada.

And prais'd be rashness for it,- Let us know,
Our indiscretion sometimes serves us well,

When our deep plots do pall7; and that should

teach us,

There's a divinity that shapes our ends,

Rough-hew them how we will.

Hor.

Ham. Up from my cabin,

That is most certain.

My sea-gown scarf'd about me, in the dark
Grop'd I to find out them: had my desire;
Finger'd their packet; and, in fine, withdrew
To mine own room again: making so bold,
My fears forgetting manners, to unseal

Their grand commission; where I found, Horatio,
A royal knavery; an exact command,

Larded with many several sorts of reasons,
Importing Denmark's health, and England's too,
With, ho! such bugs and goblins in my life, - 8
That, on the supervise, no leisure bated, "
No, not to stay the grinding of the axe,

My head should be struck off.

Hor.

9

Is't possible?

7

Rashly,

And prais'd be rashness for it, - Let us know,

Our indiscretion sometimes serves us well,

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When, &c.] Hamlet, delivering an account of his escape, begins with saying-That he rashly and then is carried into a reflection upon the weakness of human wisdom. I rashly praised be rashness for it. Let us not think these events casual, but let us know, that is, take notice and remember, that we sometimes succeed by indiscretion when we fail by deep plots, and infer the perpetual superintendance and agency of the Divinity. The observation is just, and will be allowed by every human being, who shall reflect on the course of his own life. JOHNSON.

8 With, ho! such bugs and goblins in my life,] With such causes of terror, rising from my character and designs.

9

of time.

no leisure bated,] Without any abatement or intermission

Ham. Here's the commission; read it at more leisure. But wilt thou hear now how I did proceed?

Hor. Ay, 'beseech you.

Ham. Being thus benetted round with villainies,
Or I could make 1 a prologue to my brains,

They had begun the play; - I sat me down ;
Devis'd a new commission; wrote it fair:

I once did hold it, as our statists do,

2

A baseness to write fair, and labour'd much
How to forget that learning; but, sir, now
It did me yeoman's service3: Wilt thou know
The effect of what I wrote?

Hor.

Ay, good my lord. Ham. An earnest conjuration from the king,

As England was his faithful tributary;

As love between them like the palm might flourish ;
As peace should still her wheaten garland wear,
And stand a comma 'tween their amities;1
And many such like as's of great charge,-
That on the view and knowing of these contents,

1 Or I could make - Or in old English signified before.

2 ———— as our statists do,] A statist is a statesman. Most of the great men of Shakspeare's times, whose autographs have been preserved, wrote very bad hands; their secretaries very neat ones.

3 - yeoman's service:] The meaning is, this yeomarly qualification was a most useful servant, or yeoman, to me; i. e. did me eminent service. The ancient yeomen were famous for their military valour.

4 As peace should still her wheaten garland wear,

And stand a comma 'tween their amities;] The expression of our author is, like many of his phrases, sufficiently constrained and affected, but it is not incapable of explanation. The comma is the note of connection and continuity of sentences; the period is the note of abruption and disjunction. Shakspeare had it perhaps in his mind to write, That unless England complied with the mandate, war should put a period to their amity; he altered his mode of diction, and thought that, in an opposite sense, he might put, that peace should stand a comma between their amities. This is not an easy style; but is it not the style of Shakspeare? JOHNSON.

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Without debatement further, more, or less,
He should the bearers put to sudden death,
Not shriving-time allow'd.5

Hor.

How was this seal'd?

Ham. Why, even in that was heaven ordinant;

I had my father's signet in my purse,

Which was the model of that Danish seal: 6
Folded the writ up in form of the other;

Subscrib'd it; gave't the impression; plac'd it safely,
The changeling never known: Now, the next day
Was our sea-fight: and what to this was sequent
Thou know'st already.

Hor. So Guildenstern and Rosencrantz go to't.
Ham. Why, man, they did make love to this em-
ployment;

They are not near my conscience; their defeat
Does by their own insinuation grow:

'Tis dangerous, when the baser nature comes
Between the pass and fell incensed points

Of mighty opposites.

Hor.

Why, what a king is this!

Ham. Does it not, think thee, stand me now upon He that hath kill'd my king, and whor'd my mother; Popp'd in between the election and my hopes: Thrown out his angle for my proper life,

8

?

And with such cozenage; is't not perfect conscience,
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 issue of the business there.

3 Not shriving-time allow'd.] i. e. without time for confession of their sins: another proof of Hamlet's christian-like disposition. the model of that Danish seal;] The model is in old language the copy.

6

7

by their own insinuation] By their having insinuated or thrust themselves into the employment.

8 To quit him-] To requite him; to pay him his due.

Ham. It will be short: the interim is mine;
And a man's life's no more than to say, one.
But I am very sorry, good Horatio,
That to Laertes I forgot myself;

For by the image of my cause, I see

The portraiture of his: I'll count his favours: 9
But, sure, the bravery of his grief did put me
Into a towering passion.

Hor.

Peace;

who comes here?

Enter OSRIC.

Osr. Your lordship is right welcome back to Denmark. Ham. I humbly thank you, sir. - Dost know this water-fly?1

Hor. No, my good lord.

Ham. Thy state is the more gracious; for 'tis a vice to know him: He hath much land, and fertile: let a beast be lord of beasts, and his crib shall stand at the king's mess: 'Tis a chough2; but, as I say, spacious in the possession of dirt.

Osr. Sweet lord, if your lordship were at leisure, I should impart a thing to you from his majesty.

Ham. I will receive it, sir, with all diligence of spirit: Your bonnet to his right use; 'tis for the head.

Osr. I thank your lordship, 'tis very hot.

Ham. No, believe me, 'tis very cold; the wind is northerly.

Osr. It is indifferent cold, my lord, indeed.

Ham. But yet, methinks, it is very sultry and hot; or my complexion

Osr. Exceedingly, my lord; it is very sultry, -as

9 -I'll count his favours:] I will make account of them, i. e. reckon upon them, value them.

1

Dost know this water-fly?] A water-fly skips up and down upon the surface of the water, without any apparent purpose or reason, and is thence the proper emblem of a busy trifler.

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