At laft, a little fhaking of mine arm,
And thrice his head thus waving up and down,
He rais'd a figh fo piteous and profound,
That it did feem to fhatter all his bulk,
And end his Being. Then he lets me go,
And, with his head over his fhoulder turn'd,
He feem'd to find his way without his eyes;
For out o' doors he went without their help,
And, to the laft, bended their light on me.

Pol. Come, go with me, I will go feek the King. This is the very ecftacy of love,

Whofe violent property foredoes itself,

And leads the Will to defp'rate undertakings,
As oft as any paffion under heav'n,

That does afflict our natures.

I am forry;

What, have you giv'n him any hard words of late? Oph. No, my good lord; but, as you did command, I did repel his letters, and deny'd

His access to me.

Pol. That hath made him mad.

I'm forry, that with better speed and judgment
7 I had not quoted him. I fear'd, he trifl'd,
And meant to wreck thee; but befhrew my jealoufy;
It seems, it is as proper to our age

To caft beyond ourselves in our opinions,
As it is common for the younger fort

To lack difcretion. Come; go we to the King.

7 I had not QUOTED him.-] The old quarto reads coted. It appears Shakespear wrote NOTED. Quoted is nonfenfe. WARB.

To quote is, I believe, to reckon, to take an account of, to take the quotient or refult of a computation.

8 it is as proper to our age
To caft beyond ourselves in our
opinions,

As it is common for the younger
Sort

VOL. VIII.

To lack difcretion.--] This is not the remark of a weak man. The vice of age is too much fufpicion. Men long accustomed to the wiles of life caft commonly beyond then filves, let their cunning go further than reafon can attend it. This is always the fault of a little mind, made artful by long commerce with the world.

This must be known; which, being kept clofe,

might move

More grief to hide, than hate to utter, love. [Exeunt.

Enter King, Queen, Rofincrantz, Guildenstern, Lords, and other Attendants.

King.WELCOME, dear Rofincrantz, and Guild

enftern!

put

him

Moreover that we much did long to see you,
The need, we have to ufe you did provoke
Our hafty sending. Something you have heard
Of Hamlet's transformation; so I call it,
Since not th' exterior nor the inward man
'Resembles that it was. What it should be
More than his father's death, that thus hath
So much from th'understanding of himself,
I cannot dream of. I entreat you both,
That being of fo young days brought up with him,
And fince fo neighbour'd to his youth and humour,
That you vouchfafe your Reft here in our Court
Some little time; fo by your companies
To draw him on to pleafures, and to gather,

This must be known; which, being kept clofe, might me More grief to hide, than hate to utter, love. i. e. This must be made known to the King, for (being kept fecret) the hiding Hamlet's love might occafion more mifchief to us from him and the Queen, than the uttering or revealing of it

will occafion hate and refentment
from Hamlet. The poet's ill
and obfcure expreffion feems to
have been caufed by his affecta-
tion of concluding the frene with
a couplet.
WARE.

Hanmer reads,
More grief to hide hate, than
to utter love.

So

So much as from occafions you may glean,
If aught, to us unknown, afflicts him thus,
That open'd lies within our remedy.

Queen. Good gentlemen, he hath much talk'd of

you;

And, fure I am, two men there are not living,
To whom he more adheres. If it will please you
To fhew us so much gentry and good-will,
As to expend your time with us a while,
For the fupply and profit of our hope,
Your visitation fhall receive fuch thanks,
As fits a King's remembrance.

Rof. Both your majesties

Might, by the fov'reign pow'r you have of us,
Put your dread pleasures more into command
Than to entreaty.

Guil. But we both obey,

And here give up ourselves, ' in the full bent,
To lay our fervice freely at your feet.

King. Thanks, Rofincrantz, and gentle Guildenstern.
Queen. Thanks, Guildenstern, and gentle Rofin-

crantz.

And, I befeech you, inftantly to vifit

My too much changed fon. Go, some of ye,
And bring these gentlemen where Hamlet is.

Guil. Heav'ns make our prefence and our practices Pleafant and helpful to him! [Exeunt Rof. and Guil. Queen. Amen.

Enter Polonius.

Pol. Th' ambaffadors from Norway, my good Lord,

Are joyfully return'd.

• To shew us so much gen-
try- - Gentry, for com-
WARBURTON.

plaifance.
2 For the fup: ly, &c.] That the
hope which your arrival has
N 2

raifed may be completed by the defired effect.

3in the fu'l bent,] Bent, for endeavour, application.

WARBURTON.
King,

King. Thou still haft been the father of good news. Pol. Have I, my Lord? affure you, my good Liege,

I hold my duty, as I hold my foul,

Both to my God, and to my gracious King;
And I do think, or else this brain of mine
Hunts not the trail of policy fo fure

4

As I have us'd to do, that I have found
The very caufe of Hamlet's lunacy.

King. Oh, fpeak of that, that I do long to hear.
Pol. Give firft admittance to th' ambaffadors.
My news fhall be the fruit of that great feast.
King. Thyfelf do grace to them, and bring them
in.
[Exit Pol.
He tells me, my fweet Queen, that he hath found
The head and fource of all your fon's diftemper.

Queen. I doubt, it is no other but the main, Flis father's death, and our o'er-hafty marriage.

Re-enter Polonius, with Voltimand, and Cornelius.

King. Well, we fhall fift him.-Welcome, my good friends!

Say, Voltimand, what from our brother Norway?
Volt. Moft fair return of Greetings, and Defires:
Upon our firft, he fent out to fupprefs

His Nephew's levies, which to him appear'd
To be a preparation 'gainst the Polack,
But, better look'd into, he truly found

4- the trail of policy---] The 5

the fruit] The def

trail is the curfe of an animal fert after the meat. purfued by the fent.

It was against your Highnefs: Whereat griev'd,
That fo his ficknefs, age, and impotence
Was falfely borne in hand, fends out Arrests
On Fontinbras; which he, in brief, obeys;
Receives rebuke from Norway; and, in fine,
Makes vow before his uncle, never more
To give th' affay of arms against your Majesty.
Whereon old Norway, overcome with joy,
"Gives him threefcore thousand crowns in annual fee;
And his Commiffion to employ thofe foldiers,
So levied as before, against the Polack :
With an entreaty, herein further shewn,
That it might please you to give quiet Pafs
Through your Dominions for this enterprize,
On fuch regards of fafety and allowance,
As therein are fet down.

King. It likes us well;

And at our more confider'd time we'll read,
Anfwer, and think upon this bufinefs.

Mean time, we thank you for your well-took labour.
Go to your Reft; at night we'll feaf together.

Most welcome home!

Pol. This business is well ended.

[Exeunt Ambaf.