But this eternal blazon muft not be To ears of flesh and blood; lift, lift, oh lift! If thou didst ever thy dear father love Ham. Oh heav'n! Ghoft. Revenge his foul and moft unnatural murther. Ham. Murther? Ghoft. Murther moft foul, as in the best it is; But this moft foul, ftrange, and unnatural. Ham. Hafte me to know it, that I, with wings as fwift As meditation or the thoughts of love, May fweep to my revenge. Ghoft. I find thee apt; And duller shouldst thou be, than the fat weed Wouldst thou not ftir in this. Now, Hamlet, hear: 'Tis given out, that, fleeping in my orchard, A ferpent ftung me. So the whole ear of Denmark Rankly abus'd: but know, thou noble Youth, Ham. Oh, my prophetick foul! my uncle? Ghoft. Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beaft, The will of my most seeming-virtuous Queen. But virtue, as it never will be mov'd, Though lewdness court it in a fhape of heav'n; But, foft! methinks, I fcent the morning air F 4 Brief Brief let me be; Sleeping within mine orchard, Moft lazar-like, with vile and loathsome cruft Thus was I fleeping, by a brother's hand, Of life, of Crown, of Queen, at once dispatcht; No (11) Unhouzzled, unanointed, unaneal'd;] The Ghost, having recounted the Procefs of his Murther, proceeds to exaggerate the Inhumanity and Unnaturalnefs of the Fact, from the Circumftances in which he was furpriz'd. But thefe, I find, have been ftumbling Blocks to our Editors; and therefore I muft amend and explain these compound Adjectives in their Order. Inftead of unhouzzel'd, we must restore, unhouseľd, i. e. without the Sacrament taken; from the old Saxon Word for the Sacrament, houfel. In the next place, unanointed, is a Sophiftication of the Text: the old Copies concur in reading, difappointed. I correct, Unhoufeld, unappointed, i. e. no Confeffion of Sins made, no Reconciliation to Heaven, no Appointment of Penance by the Church. Unaneal'd I agree to be the Poet's genuine Word; but I must take the Liberty to dispute Mr. Pope's Explication of it, viz. No Knell rung. The Adjective form'd from Knell, must have been unknell'd, or unknoll'd. There is no Rule in Orthography for finking the k in the Deflection of any Verb or Compound form'd from Knell, and melting it into a Vowel. What Senfe does un aneal'd then beart SKINNER, in his Lexicon of old and obfolete English No reck'ning made, but fent to my account Taint not thy mind, nor let thy foul contrive [Exit. Ham. Oh, all you host of heav'n! oh earth! what elfe? And fhall I couple hell? oh, hold my heart And you, my finews, grow not instant old; Ay, thou poor Ghost, while memory holds a feat I'll wipe away all trivial fond records, English Terms, tells us, that Aneal'd is unctus; from the Tex-tonick Prepofition an, and Ole, i, e. Oil: fo that unaneal'd muft confequently fignify, unanointed, not having the extream Unction. The Poet's Reading and Explication being ascertain'd, he very finely makes his Ghoft complain of these four dreadful Hardhips; That he had been dispatch'd out of Life without receiving the Hofte, or Sacrament; without being reconcil'd to Heaven and abfolv'd; without the Benefit of extream Unition; or without so much as a Confession made of his Sins. The having no Knell rung, I think, is not a Point of equal Confequence to any of these; especially, if we confider, that the Romish Church. admits the Efficacy of praying for the Dead. F. 5. Oh moft pernicious woman! Oh villain, villain, fmiling damned villain! meet it is, I fet it down, That one may fmile, and fmile, and be a villain; It is; Adieu, adieu, remember me : I've fworn it Enter Horatio and Marcellus. Hor. My lord, my lord; Mar. Lord Hamlet, Hor. Heav'n fecure him! Mar. So be it. Hor. Illo, ho, ho, my lord! Ham. Hillo, ho, ho, boy; come, bird, come. Mar. How is't, my noble lord? Hor. What news, my lord? Ham. Oh, wonderful! Hor. Good my lord, tell it. Ham. No, you'll reveal it. Hor. Not I, my lord, by heav'n.` Mar. Nor I, my lord. Ham. How fay you then, would heart of man once think it ? But you'll be fecret Both. Ay, by heav'n, my lord. Ham. There's ne'er a villain, dwelling in all Denmark, But he's an arrant knave. Hor. There needs no Ghoft, my lord, come from the Grave To tell us this. Ham. Why, right, you are i'th' right; And fo without more circumstance at all, I hold it fit that we shake hands, and part; You, as your bufinefs and defires fhall point you; (For every man has bufinefs and defire, Such as it is) and, for my own poor part, I will go pray. Hor. These are but wild and whirling words, my lord. Ham. Ham. I'm forry they offend you, heartily ; Yes, heartily. Hor. There's no offence, my lord. Ham. Yes, by St. Patrick, but there is, my lord, Give me one poor request. Hor. What is't, my lord? Ham. Never make known what you have feen to night. Both. My lord, we will not. Ham. Nay, but swear't. Hor. In faith, my lord, not I. Mar. Nor I, my lord, in faith.. Ham. Upon my fword. Mar. We have fworn, my lord, already. Ham. Indeed, upon my fword, indeed. Ghoft. Swear. [Ghoft cries under the Stage. Ham. Ah ha, boy, fay'ft thou fo? art thou there, true-penny? Come on, you hear this fellow in the cellaridge. Confent to fwear. Hor. Propofe the oath, my lord. Ham. Never to speak of this that you have feen, Swear by my fword.. Ghoft. Swear. Ham. Hic & ubique? then we'll fhift our ground. Come hither, gentlemen, And lay your hands again upon my fword. Never to fpeak of this which you have heard, Ghoft. Swear by his fword. Ham. Well faid, old mole, can't work i'th' ground fo faft? A worthy pioneer! Once more remove, good friends. Hor. Oh day and night, but this is wondrous ftrange. Ham. And therefore as a ftranger give it welcome. There |