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* Th' extravagant and erring Spirit hies To his Confine: And of the truth herein sem on les2. This present object made probation.oos, von ed arody 4

Mer. It faded on the crowing of the cock.vom 164T
Some fay, that ever 'gainst that feafon comes or ALONE
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated ou
The bird of Dawning fingeth all night longer dad of
And then, they say, no Spirit can walk abroad,
The nights are wholecome, then no planets strike,
3 No fairy takes,no witch hath power to charms
So hallow'd and fotgracious is the time.

Hor. So have I heard, and do in part believe it.
But look, the morn, in ruffet mantle clad,
Walks o'er the dew of yon+ high eaftern hill..
Break we our watch up; and, by my advice,
Let us impart what we have feen to night
Unto young Hamlet; for, upon my life,
This Spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him:
Do you confent, we fhall acquaint him with it,
As needful in our loves, fitting our duty?

Mar. Let's do't, I pray, and I this morning

know

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Where we fhall find him moft conveniently. [Exeunt.

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Enter Claudius King of Denmark, Gertrude the Queen, Hamlet, Polonius, Laertes, Voltimand, Cornelius Lords and Attendants. 99sil zang Terbiu) alta

King.

Hough yet of Hamlet our dear brother's

•TH

death

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The memory be green, and that it us be fitted o
To bear our hearts in grief, and our whole Kingdom
To be contracted in one brow of woe;

Yet fo far hath Difcretion fought with Nature,
That we with wifeft forrow think on him,
Together with remembrance of our felves.
Therefore our fometime fifter, now our Queen,
T'imperial jointress of this warlike State,
Have we, as 'twere, with a defeated joy,
With one aufpicious, and one dropping eye,
With mirth in funeral, and with dirge in marriage,
In equal fcale weighing delight and dole,
Taken to wife.- -Nor have we herein barr'd
Your better wisdoms, which have freely gone 161 !
With this affair along. For all, our thanks.
Now follows, that you know, young Fortinbras,
Holding a weak fuppofal of our worth;
Or thinking by our late dear brother's death
Our State to be disjoint and out of frame;

5

Colleagued with this dream of his advantage, He hath not fail'd to pefter us with meffage

5 Colleagued with this dream of his advantage,] The meaning is, He goes to war fo indifcreetly, and unprepared,

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that he has no allies to fupport him but a Dream, with which he is colleagued or confederated..

WARBURTON.

Importing

Importing the furrender of those Lands

Loft by his father, by all bands of law,

To our most valiant brother.So much for him.
Now for ourself, and for this time of meeting:
Thus much the bufinefs is. We have here writ

To Norway, uncle of young Fortinbras,
Who, impotent and bed-rid, fcarcely hears
Of this his nephew's purpose, to suppress
His further gate herein; in that the Levies,
The Lifts, and full Proportions are all made
Out of his Subjects; and we here dispatch
You, good Cornelius, and you Voltimand,
For bearers of this Greeting to old Norway;
Giving to you no further perfonal power
To business with the King, more than the scope
Of thefe dilated articles allows.

Farewel, and let you hafte commend your duty.
Vol. In that, and all things, will we fhew our duty.
King. We doubt in nothing. Heartily farewel.
[Exeunt Voltimand and Cornelius.
And now, Laertes, what's the news with you?
You told us of fome fuit. What is't, Laertes?
You cannot speak of Reafon to the Dane,

And lofe your voice. What would't thou beg,
Laertes,

That fhall not be my offer, not thy afking?
6 The head is not more native to the heart,
The hand more inftrumental to the mouth,
Than to the throne of Denmark is thy father.
What wouldst thou have, Laertes ?

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Laer, My

a flagrant inftance of the firft Editor's ftupidity, in preferring found to fenfe. But head, heart and hand, he thought must needs go together where an honeft man was the fubject of the encomi

um;

Laer. My dread lord, atwas ver won tud Your leave and favour to return to France; H From whence, though willingly I came to Denmark To fhew my duty in your Coronation, wo pú Yet now I must confefs, that duty done, My thoughts and wilhes bend again tow'rd France: And bow them to your gracious leave and pardon. King. Have you your father's leave? what fays Polonius sin siden en tot 39? ba? Pol. He hath, my lord, by labour some petition, ! Wrung from me my flow leave; and, at the last, £! Upon his will I Teal'd my hard confent! NA WA I do befeech you, give him leave to go.

King. 7 Take thy fair hour, Laertes, time be thine; And thy beft Graces fpend it at thy Will.

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But now, my coufin Hamlet, and my fon

8

Ham. A little more than kin, and lefs than kind.
wdopod

fromma et smso !
[Afide.
King. How is it, that the clouds ftill hang on you?
Ham. Not fo, my lord, I am too much i' th' Sun.
Queen. Good Hamlet, caft thy nighted colour off,
And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark.
Do not, for ever, with thy veiled lids,
Seek for thy noble father in the duft;

Thou know't, tis common: all, that live, muft die;
Paffing through nature to eternity.
Ham. Ay, Madam, it is common.

og of av
Laertes; make the fairest
"use you please of your time,
"and spend it at your
your will with
Bad the faireft graces you are maf-
THEOBALD.
10 rather think this line is in
want of emendation. I read,
2626 Time is thine,

66 ter of."

And my best graces; spend it at Canolfangby will. 20 Ham. A little more than kin, arsd I and less than kind.] The ydyKing had called him, coufin Ham*1ler, therefore Hamlet replies, zida Derle more than kin, *. A little more than coufin; dbecause,acbyc marrying his moyd ther? he was become the King's boTon-in-law So far is eafy. But

gwhat means the latter part, and less than kind?

The King, in the prefent reading, gives no occafion for this reflection, which is fufficient to thewit to be faulty, and that we bshould read and point the firft

* line thus,so de tod

ady to But now, my cousin Hamlet.

GAT KIND my fon

de. But now let us turn to you,

stnet ad: bas,zalyon flad walkin

02 aves! yo evoi lof”*

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coufin Hamlet. Kind my fon, (or
as we now fay, Good my fon) lay
afide this clouded look. For thus
he was going to expoftulate gen-
tly with him for his melancholy,
when Hamlet cut him short by re-
flecting on the titles he gave him;
A little more than kin, and less
than kind,
which we now fee is a pertinent
reply....
WARBURTON.

A little more than kin, and lefs

than kind.] It is not unreasonable to fuppose that this was a proverbial expreffion, known in former times for a relation fo confufed and blended, that it was hard to define it.

HANMER.

Kind is the Teutonick word for Child. Hamlet therefore answers with propriety, to the titles of cousin and fen, which the King had given him, that he was fomewhat more than coufin, and less than fon.

9too much i' th' Sun.] He perhaps alludes to the proverb, Out of heaven's bleffing into the warm fun

Queen,

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