Pol. He hath, my lord, wrung from me my slow leave, By laboursome petition; and, at last, Upon his will I seal'd my hard consent: I do beseech you, give him leave to go. King. Take thy fair hour, Laertes; time be thine, And thy best graces: spend it at thy will. But now, my cousin Hamlet, and my son, Ham. A little more than kin, and less than kind.* [Aside. King. How is it that the clouds still hang on you? Ham. Not so, my lord, I am too much i'the sun. Queen. Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour off, And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark. Do not, for ever, with thy vailed lids,* Seek for thy noble father in the dust : Thou know'st, 'tis common; all, that live, must die Ham. Ay, madam, it is common. Queen. If it be, Why seems it so particular with thee? Ham. Seems, madam! nay, it is; I know not seems. 'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, Nor customary suits of solemn black, Nor windy suspiration of forc'd breath, King.'Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, Hamlet, That father lost, lost his; and the survivor bound In filial obligation, for some term To do obsequious sorrow: But to perséver In obstinate condolement, is a course Of impious stubbornness; 'tis unmanly grief: It shows a will most incorrect to heaven; [4] Kind is the Teutonick word for child. If we understand kind in its ancient sense, then the meaning will be,---I am more than thy kinsman, for I am tky step-son; being such, I am less near to thee than thy natural offspring, and therefore not entitled to the appellation of son, which you have now given me. With lowering eyes, cast down eyes. JOHNSON. MALONE. JOHNSON. A heart unfortified, or mind impatient; Than that which dearest father bears his son, And, we beseech you, bend you to remain Our chiefest courtier, cousin, and our son. I Queen. Let not thy mother lose her prayers, Hamlet; pray thee, stay with us, go not to Wittenberg. Ham. I shall in all my best obey you, madam. King. Why, 'tis a loving and a fair reply ; Be as ourself in Denmark.-Madam, come; This gentle and unforc'd accord of Hamlet Sits smiling to my heart; in grace whereof, No jocund health, that Denmark drinks to-day, But the great cannon to the clouds shall tell; And the king's rouse the heaven shall bruit again, Re-speaking earthly thunder. Come away. [Exeunt King, Queen, Lords, &c. POLONIUS, and LAERTES. Ham. O, that this too too solid flesh would melt, Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew!! Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! O God! How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable [8] The king's intemperance is very strongly impressed; every thing that happens to him gives him occasion to drink. JOHNSON. The king's draught of jollity. See Othello, act 2. sc. 3. STEEVENS. Resolve means the same as dissolve. The word is so used by Ben Jonson. STEEVENS. Seem to me all the uses of this world! Fye on't! O fye! 'tis an unweeded garden, That grows to seed; things rank, and gross in nature, Hyperion to a satyr: so loving to my mother, By what it fed on: And yet, within a month,- : O heaven! a beast, that wants discourse of reason, Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears But break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue! Ham. I am glad to see you well: Horatio, or I do forget myself. Hor. The same, my lord, and your poor servant ever. Hum. Sir, my good friend; I'll change that name with you. And what make you from Wittenberg, Horatio ?— Mar. My good lord, Ham. I am very glad to see you ;-good even, sir.— [2] This similitude at first sight seems to be a little far-fetched; but it has an exquisite beauty. By the Satyr is meant Pan, as by Hyperion, Apollo. Pan and Apollo were brothers, and the allusion is to the contention between those gods for the preference in music. WARBURTON. [3] Beteem occurs in the tenth book of Arthur Golding's version of Ovid's Metamorphosis, 1587, and from the corresponding Latin, must necessarily signify, to vouchsafe, deign, permit, or suffer : Yet could he not beteeme "The shape of anie other bird than egle for to seeme." Sign. R. 1. p. "nulla tamen alite verti "Dignatur, nisi quæ possit sua fulmina fere." V. 157. STEEVENS. But what, in faith, make you from Wittenberg ? We'll teach you to drink deep, ere you depart. Ham. Thrift, thrift, Horatio! the funeral bak'd meats* Or ever I had seen that day, Horatio !— My lord? Ham. In my mind's eye, Horatio. Hor. I saw him once, he was a goodly king. I shall not look upon his like again. Hor. My lord, I think I saw him yesternight. Hor. My lord, the king your father. Ham. The king my father! Hor. Season your admiration for a while With an attent ear; till I may deliver, Upon the witness of these gentlemen, This marvel to you. Ham. For God's love, let me hear. Hor. Two nights together had these gentlemen, Marcellus and Bernardo, on their watch, In the dead waist and middle of the night, Been thus encounter'd. A figure like your father, Appears before them, and, with solemn march, By their oppress'd and fear-surprized eyes, [4] It was anciently the general custom to give a cold entertainment to mourners at a funeral. In distant counties this practice is still continued among the yeomanSee Romeo and Juliet, p. 381. ry. COLLINS. [5] Dearest, for direst, most dreadful, most dangerous. JOHNSON. Dearest signifies, most consequential, important. See Timon of Athens, act 5. se ii. STEEVENS. Within his truncheon's length; whilst they, distill'd Stand dumb, and speak not to him. This to me And I with them, the third night kept the watch: Form of the thing, each word made true and good, These hands are not more like. Ham. But where was this? Mar. My lord, upon the platform where we watch'd. Ham. Did you not speak to it? Hor. My lord, I did ; But answer made it none: yet once, methought, It lifted up its head, and did address Itself to motion, like as it would speak : But, even then, the morning cock crew loud; And vanish'd from our sight. Ham. 'Tis very strange. Hor. As I do live, my honour'd lord, 'tis true; And we did think it writ down in our duty, To let you know of it. Ham. Indeed, indeed, sirs, but this troubles me. Hold you the watch to-night? All. We do, my lord. Ham. Arm'd, say you? All. Arm'd, my lord. Ham. From top to toe? All. My lord, from head to foot. Ham. Then saw you not His face? Hor. O, yes, my lord; he wore his beaver up. Hor. A countenance more In sorrow than in anger. Ham. Pale, or red? Hor. Nay, very pale. Ham. And fix'd his eyes upon you? Hor. Most constantly. Ham. I would, I had been there. Hor. It would have much amaz'd you. Very like Staid it long? : [dred. Hor. While one with moderate haste might tell a hun |