* Th' extravagant and erring Spirit hies To his Confine: And of the truth herein This present object made probation.

Mer. It faded on the crowing of the cock, Some say, that ever 'gainst chat seafon comes Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated, The bird of Dawning fingech all night long: 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 charm; So hallow'd and so gracious 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 eastern hill. Break we our watch up; and, by my advice, Let us impart what we have seen to night Unto young Hamlet; for, upon my life, This Spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him : Do you consent, we shall acquaint him with it, As needful in our loves, fitting our duty ? Mar. Let's do't, I pray; and I this morning

know Where we shall find him most conveniently. [Exeunt.

out of their element, whether ae- neceffary, and being unnecessary, rial spirits visiting earth, or earthly should not be nrade against auspirits ranging the air, return to thority. their station, to their proper li- :: ' extravagant -] ise, mits in which they are confined. got out of its bounds.

WARB. We might read,

2 Dares ftir abroad. Quarto. - And at his warning

3 No fairy takes - No Tb' extravagant and erring Spi- fairy strikes, with lameness or rit bies

diseases. This sense of take is To bis Eonfine, whether in fea frequent in this authour. or air,

4-bigb eastern bill-] The Or earth, or fire. And of, &c. old quarto has it better eaftward. But this change, tho' it would

WARBURTON. smooth the construction, is not

SCENE

THough yes of Hamlet

Enter Claudius King of Denmark, Gertrude the Queen,

Hamlet, Polonius, Laertes, Volcimand, Cornelius,

Lords and Altendants.
King.

Hough yet of Hamlet our dear brother's
The memory be green, and that it us be fitted
To bear our hearts in grief, and our whole Kingdom
To be contracted in one brow of woe;
Yet so far hath Discretion fought with Nature,
That we with wiseft forrow think on him,
Together with remembrance of our felves.
Therefore our sometime sister, now our Queen,
T'imperial jointress of this warlike State,
Have we, as 'twere, with a defeated joy,
With one auspicious, and one dropping eye,
Wich mirth in funeral, and with dirge in marriage,
In equal scale weighing delight and dole,
Taken to wife. Nor have we herein barr'd
Your better wisdoms, which have freely gone
With this affair along. For all, our thanks.
Now follows, that you know, young Fortinbras,
Holding a weak supposal of our worth ;
Or thinking by our late dear brother's death
Our State to be disjoint and out of frame;
s Colleagued with this dream of his advantage,
He hath not fail'd to pefter us with message

5 Colleagued with this dream that he has no allies to support

of his advantage,] The him but a Dream, with which he meaning is, He goes to war so is colleagued or confederated. indiscreetly, and unprepared,

WARBURTON.

Importing

Importing the surrender of those Lands
Lort 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 business is. We have here wric
To Norway, uncle of young Fortinbras,
Who, impotent and bed-rid, scarcely hears
Of this his nephew's purpose, to suppress
His further gate herein ; in that the Levies,
The Lists, 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 personal power
To business with the King, more than the scope
Of these dilated articles allows.
Farewel; and let you haste commend your duty.

Vol. In that, and all things, will we shew 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 some suit. What is't, Laertes?
You cannot speak of Reason to the Dane,
And lose your voice. What would'st thou beg,

Laertes,
That shall not be my offer, not thy asking?
• 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 would it thou have, Laertes ?

Laer. My

6 The HEAD is not more native a fagtant instance of the first to the beart,

Editor's stupidity, in preferring The hand more inftrumental to found to sense. But head, beart tbe mouth,

and hand, he thought must needs Tban is the Throne of Denmark go together where an honest man to ?by father,) This is was the subject of the encomi

um;

1

L E T

,
Laer. My dread lord,
Your leave and favour to return to France ;
From whence, though willingly I came to Denmark
To Thew my duty in your Coronation,
Yet now I must confess, that duty done,
My thoughts and wishes bend again tow’rd France :
And bow them to your gracious leave and pardon.
King. Have you your father's leave? what says

Polonius?
Pol. He hach, my lord, by laboursome petition,
Wrung from me my siw leave; and, at the last,
Upon his will I seald 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

um; tho' what he could mean . ratory where that vital liquor is by the head's being NATIVE 10 digelied, distributed, and (when the heart, I cannot conceive.' weakened and debilitated) again The mouth indeed of an honest relored to the vigour necessary man might, perhaps, in some for the discharge of its functions. fenre, be said to be native, that

WARBURTON. is, allied to the heart. But the Part of this emendation I have speaker is here talking not of a received, but cannot discern why moral, but a pbysical alliance. the bead is not as much nalive to And the force of what is said is the heart, as the blood, that is, supported only by that distinc- natural and congenial to it, born tion. I fuppcle, then, that with it, and co-operating with Shakespear wrote,

it. The relation is likewise by The Blood is not more native this reading better preserved, to the heart,

the Counsellor being to the King Than to the Throne of Den as the bead to the beart, mark is by father.

7 Take thy fair bour, Laertes, This makes the sentiment just time be thine, and pertinent. As the blood is And thy fair graces; spend it formed and sustained by the la at thy will.] This is the bour of the heart, the mouth pointing in both Mr. Pope's edifupplied by the office of the tions; but the Poet's meaning is hand, fo is the throne of Den. loft by it, and the close of the mark by your father, &c. The sentence miserably fattend. The expresion too of the blood's being pointing, I have restored, is that nitive of the heart, is extremely of the best copies; and the sense, fine. For the heart is the 0- this: “ You have my leave to

But now, my cousin Hamlet, and my fon-
Ham. : A little more than kin, and less than kind.

[ Afide. King. How is it, that the clouds still hang on you? Ham. Not so, my lord, I am o too much i'th' 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 veiled lids, Seek for thy noble father in the dust; Thou know'st, 'cis common: all, that live, must die; Passing through nature to eternicy.

Ham. Ay, Madam, it is common.

was

“ go, Laertes; make the fairest cousin Hamlet. Kind my Son, (or “ use you please of your time, as we now say, Good my son) lay “ and spend it at your will with aside this clouded look. For thus “ the faireft graces you are masa he was going to expostulate gen. “ ter of." THEOBALD. tly with him for his melancholy,

I rather think this line is in when Hamlet cut him short by rewant of emendation. I read, flecting on the titles he gave him; Time is thine,

A little more than kin, and lefs And my best graces; Spend it at than kind, thy will.

which we now see is a pertinent 8 Ham. A little more than kin, reply.

WARBURTON. and lefs than kind.) The A little more than kin, and less King had called him, cousin Ham than kn?.] It is not unlet, therefore Hamlet replies, reasonable to suppose that this A little more than kin,

a proverbial expression, i. e. A little more than cousin; known in former cimes for a rebecause, by marrying his mo lation so confused and blended, ther, he was become the King's that it was hard to define it. son-in-law ; So far is easy. But

HANMER. what means the latter part, Kind is the Teutonick word for -and less than kind?

Child. Hamlet therefore answers The King, in the present read- with propriety, to the titles of ing, gives no occasion for this cousin and fin, which the King reflection, which is sufficient to had given him, that he was Thew it to be faulty, and that we somewhat more than coufin, and should read and point the first less than fon, line thus,

9_tro much i' th' Sun.] He But now, my cousin Hamlet.- perhaps alludes to the proverb, KIND my fon

Out of heaven's blessing into ibe i... But now let us turn to you, warın fun.

Queen.