He rais'd a sigh so piteous and profound,
As it did seem to shatter all his bulk,
And end his being: That done, he lets me go:
And, with his head over his shoulder turn'd,
He seem'd to find his way without his eyes;
For out o'doors he went without their help,
And, to the last, bended their light on me.
Pol. Come, go with me; I will go seek the king.
This is the very ecstasy of love;

Whose violent property foredoes itself,
And leads the will to desperate undertakings,
As oft as any passion under heaven,

That does afflict our natures. I am sorry,

What, have you given him any hard words of late? Oph. No, my good lord; but, as you did com

mand,

I did repel his letters, and denied

His access to me.

Pol.

That hath made him mad. I am sorry, that with better heed and judgment, I had not quoted 10 him: I fear'd, he did but trifle,

8 i. e. his breast. The bulke or breast of a man, Thorax, la poitrine.'-Baret. Thus in King Richard III. Act i. Sc. 4, Clarence says:

but still the envious flood

Kept in my soul, and would not let it forth,

But smothered it within my panting bulk.'

Malone cites this and the following passage, and yet explains it all his body!

her heart

Beating her bulk, that his hand shakes withal.'

Rape of Lucrece.

9 To foredo and to undo were synonymous. Thus in Othello :That either makes me or fordoes me quite.'

10 To quote is to note, to mark. Thus in The Rape of Lu

crece:

'Yea, the illiterate

Will quote my loathed trespass in my looks.'

This word in the quarto is written coted, which was the old orthography of quoted.

And meant to wreck thee; but, beshrew my jealousy!
It seems, it is as proper to our age

To cast beyond ourselves in our opinions,
As it is common for the younger sort

To lack discretion 11. Come, go we to the king:
This must be known; which, being kept close, might

move

More grief to hide, than hate to utter love 12.

Come 13

[Exeunt.

SCENE II. A Room in the Castle.

Enter King, Queen, ROSENCRANTZ, GUILDENSTERN, and Attendants.

King. Welcome, dear Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern!

Moreover that we much did long to see you,
The need, we have to use you, did provoke
Our hasty sending. Something have you heard
Of Hamlet's transformation; so I call it,
Since not1 the exterior nor the inward man
Resembles that it was: What it should be,
More than his father's death, that thus hath put him
So much from the understanding of himself,

2

I cannot dream of: I entreat you both,

11 This is not the remark of a weak man. It is always the fault of a little mind made artful by long commerce with the world. The quartos read, ‹ By heaven it is as proper,' &c.

12 This must be made known to the king, for (being kept secret) the hiding Hamlet's love might occasion more mischief to us from him and the queen, than the uttering or revealing it will occasion hate and resentment from Hamlet.' Johnson, whose explanation this is, attributes the obscurity to the poet's affectation of concluding the scene with a couplet.' There would surely have been more affectation in deviating from the universally established custom.

13 Folio omits come.

1 Quarto-sith n

nor.

2 Folio-deem.

That,-being of so young days brought up with him: And, since, so neighbour'd to his youth and humour3,

That you vouchsafe your rest here in our court
Some little time: so by your companies
To draw him on to pleasures; and to gather,
So much as from occasion you may glean,
Whether 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, sure I am, two men there are not living,
To whom he more adheres. If it will please you
To show us so much gentry 5, and good will,
As to expend your time with us awhile,
For the supply and profit of our hope,
Your visitation shall receive such thanks
As fits a king's remembrance.

Both your majesties

Ros.
Might, by the sovereign power you have of us7,
Put your dread pleasures more into command
Than to entreaty.

Guil.

But we both obey;

And here give up ourselves, in the full bent9,
To lay our service freely at your feet,

To be commanded.

King. Thanks, Rosencrantz, and gentle Guilden

stern:

3 Quarto-haviour.

4 This line is omitted in the folio.

5 Gentry for gentle courtesy. 'Gentlemanlinesse or gentry, kindness, or natural goodness. Generositas.'-Baret.

6 Supply and profit is aid and advantage.

7 i. e. over us.

8 Folio omits but.

9 There is no ground for the assertion that this metaphorical expression is derived from bending a bow. See Much Ado About Nothing, Act ii. Sc. 3. Hamlet in a future scene says:They fool me to the very top of my bent.' i. e. to the utmost of my inclination or disposition.

Queen. Thanks, Guildenstern, and gentle Rosen

crantz ;

And I beseech you instantly to visit

My too much changed son.-Go, some of you,
And bring these gentlemen where Hamlet is.
Guil. Heavens make our presence, and our prac-
tices,

Pleasant and helpful to him!

Queen.

Ay, Amen!

[Exeunt Ros. GUIL. and some Attendants.

Enter POLONIUS.

Pol.The embassadors from Norway, my good lord, Are joyfully return'd.

King: Thou still hast been the father of good news. Pol. Have I, my lord? Assure you, my good liege, I hold my duty, as I hold my soul,

Both to my God, and to my gracious king;
And I do think (or else this brain of mine
Hunts not the trail 10 of policy so sure
As it hath 11 us'd to do) that I have found
The very cause of Hamlet's lunacy.

King. O, speak of that; that do I long to hear.
Pol. Give first admittance to the embassadors;
My news shall be the fruit 12 to that great feast.
King. Thyself do grace to them, and bring them
[Exit POLONIUS.
He tells me, my dear Gertrude, he hath found
The head and source of all your son's distemper.
Queen. I doubt, it is no other but the main ;
His father's death, and our o'erhasty marriage.

in.

10 i. e. the trace or track. Vestigium. It is that vestige, whether of footmarks or scent, which enables the hunter to follow the game.

Folio-as I have.

12 Folio-news. By fruit dessert is meant.

VOL. X.

U

Re-enter POLONIUS, with VOLTIMAND and
CORNELIUS.

King. Well, we shall sift him.-Welcome, my good friends!

Say, Voltimand, what from our brother Norway?

Vol. Most fair return of greetings and desires.
Upon our first, he sent out to suppress
His nephew's levies; which to him appear'd
To be a preparation 'gainst the Polack;
But, better look'd into, he truly found

It was against your highness: Whereat griev'd,-
That so his sickness, age, and impotence,
Was falsely borne in hand 13,-sends out arrests
On Fortinbras; which he, in brief, obeys;
Receives rebuke from Norway; and, in fine,
Makes vow before his uncle, never more

To give the assay 14 of arms against your majesty.
Whereon old Norway, overcome with joy,

Gives him three thousand crowns in annual fee 15;
And his commission, to employ those soldiers,
So levied as before, against the Polack :
With an entreaty, herein further shown,

[Gives a Paper. That it might please you to give quiet pass

13 i. e. deluded, imposed on, deceived by false appearances. It is used several times by Shakspeare, Macbeth, Act iii. Sc. 1; Much Ado about Nothing, Act iv. Sc. 1; Cymbeline, Sc. ult.

14 Malone refers to the custom of taking the assay of wine, &c. before it was drunk by princes and other great persons, to ascertain that it was not poisoned. But the expression in the text has nothing to do with that custom. To give the assay of arms is to attempt or essay any thing in arms, or by force. Accingi armis.' I have to request the reader's patience for this superfluous note, but it is really sometimes impossible to resist exposing such mistakes.

15 That is, the king gave his nephew a feud or fee in land of that annual value. The quartos read three score thousand.