Come hither, gentlemen,

And lay your hands again upon my sword:
Never to speak of this that you have heard,
Swear by my sword'.

Ghost. [Beneath.] Swear.

Ham. Well said, old mole! can'st work i'the earth so fast?

A worthy pioneer!-Once more remove, good friends.
Hor. O day and night, but this is wondrous strange!
Ham. And therefore as a stranger give it welcome.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy 2. But come;—
Here, as before, never, so help you mercy,
How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself,-
As I, perchance, hereafter shall think meet
To put an antic disposition on,-

That you, at such times seeing me, never shall,
With arms encumber'd thus, or this head-shake,
Or by pronouncing of some doubtful phrase,

As, "Well, well, we know ;"-or, "We could, an if we would;"

Or, "If we list to speak;" - or, "There be, an if they might;"

Or such ambiguous giving out, to note

That you know aught of me:-this not to do,

So grace and mercy at your most need help you,
Swear.

Ghost. [Beneath.] Swear.

Ham. Rest, rest, perturbed spirit !-So, gentlemen,

1 Never to speak of this that you have heard,

Swear by my sword.] In the quartos, 1604, &c. "Swear by my sword" precedes the line "Never to speak," &c. In the quarto, 1603, and in the folio, the order is reversed, and the passage stands as in our text. In the later quartos also the Ghost afterwards says, "Swear by his sword," and not merely "Swear," as in the two previous instances. In the next line, the folio has ground, for "earth" of every anterior copy.

2

– in YOUR philosophy.] So every quarto, that of 1603 included: the folio, 1623, first introduced our.

3 this not to do,] So the folio, and so the quarto, 1603: the other quartos, "this do swear."

With all my love I do commend me to you:
And what so poor a man as Hamlet is

May do, t' express his love and friending to you,
God willing, shall not lack. Let us go in together;
And still your fingers on your lips, I pray.
The time is out of joint;-O cursed spite!
That ever I was born to set it right.
Nay, come; let's go together.

[Exeunt.

ACT II. SCENE I.

A Room in POLONIUS'S House.

Enter POLONIUS and REYNALDO1.

Pol. Give him this money, and these notes, Reynaldo.

Rey. I will, my lord.

Pol. You shall do marvellous wisely, good Reynaldo, Before you visit him, to make inquiry

Of his behaviour.

Rey.

My lord, I did intend it.

Pol. Marry, well said: very well said. Look you,

sir,

Inquire me first what Danskers are in Paris;

And how, and who, what means, and where they keep,
What company, at what expense; and finding,
By this encompassment and drift of question,
That they do know my son, come you more nearer
Than your particular demands will touch it.
Take you, as 'twere, some distant knowledge of him;
As thus,-"I know his father, and his friends,
And, in part, him:"-do you mark this, Reynaldo?

4 Enter Polonius and Reynaldo.] The later quartos read, "Enter old Polonius with his man or two." The quarto, 1603, “ Enter Corambis and Montano."

Rey. Ay, very well, my lord.

Pol. "And, in part, him; but," you may say, "not well:

But, if't be he I mean, he's very wild,

Addicted so and so;"-and there put on him
What forgeries you please; marry, none so rank
As may dishonour him: take heed of that;
But, sir, such wanton, wild, and usual slips,
As are companions noted and most known
To youth and liberty.

Rey.

As gaming, my lord. Pol. Ay, or drinking, fencing, swearing, quarrelling, Drabbing :-you may go so far.

Rey. My lord, that would dishonour him.

Pol. 'Faith, no; as you may season it in the charge. You must not put another scandal on him,

That he is open to incontinency:

That's not my meaning; but breathe his faults so quaintly,

That they may seem the taints of liberty;

The flash and out-break of a fiery mind;

A savageness in unreclaimed blood,

Of general assault.

Marry, sir, here's my drift;

And, I believe, it is a fetch of warrant.

You laying these slight sullies on my son,
As 'twere a thing a little soil'd i'the working,
Mark you,

Your party in converse, him you would sound,
Having ever seen in the prenominate crimes

'Faith, No;] The quartos, 1604, &c. omit the negative.

And, I believe, it is a fetch of WARRANT.] So the folio. The quarto, 1604, reads, "a fetch of wit." Either may be right.

The youth you breathe of guilty, be assur'd,
He closes with you in this consequence:

"Good sir," or so; or "friend," or "gentleman,"According to the phrase, or the addition,

Of man, and country.

Rey.

Very good, my lord.

Pol. And then, sir, does he this, he does— What was I about to say?-By the mass', I was About to say something-where did I leave? Rey. At closes in the consequence,

As "friend or so," and "gentleman."

Pol. At, closes in the consequence,-ay, marry; He closes thus:-"I know the gentleman;

I saw him yesterday, or t'other day,

Or then, or then; with such, or such; and, as you say,
There was he gaming; there o'ertook in's rouse;
There falling out at tennis: or perchance,

I saw him enter such a house of sale,

Videlicet, a brothel" or so forth.

See you now;

Your bait of falsehood takes this carp of truth":

And thus do we of wisdom and of reach,

With windlaces, and with assays of bias,
By indirections find directions out:
So, by my former lecture and advice,

Shall you my son. You have me, have you not?

Rey. My lord, I have.

Pol.

Rey. Good my lord.

God be wi' you; fare

Pol. Observe his inclination in yourself.

Rey. I shall, my lord.

7 By the mass,] In the folio, 1623, this exclamation is omitted as an oath. We have often seen that it is far from consistent in this particular.

8 As "friend or so," and "gentleman."] These words are only in the folio impressions. In the next line but one, the folio needlessly inserts with you after "closes," not found in any of the older copies.

9

this CARP of truth:] All the folios have "

cape

of truth."

Pol. And let him ply his music.

Rey.

Well, my lord. [Exit.

Enter OPHELIA.

Pol. Farewell!-How now, Ophelia? what's the

matter?

Oph. Alas, my lord 10! I have been so affrighted!
Pol. With what, in the name of God?

Oph. My lord, as I was sewing in my chamber,
Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbrac'd;
No hat upon his head; his stockings foul'd,
Ungarter'd, and down-gyved to his ancle;
Pale as his shirt; his knees knocking each other;
And with a look so piteous in purport,

As if he had been loosed out of hell,

To speak of horrors, he comes before me.

Pol. Mad for thy love?

Oph.

But, truly, I do fear it.

Pol.

My lord, I do not know;

What said he?

Oph. He took me by the wrist, and held me hard;

Then goes he to the length of all his arm,

And, with his other hand thus o'er his brow,

He falls to such perusal of my face,

As he would draw it. Long stay'd he so:

At last, a little shaking of mine arm,

And thrice his head thus waving up and down,-
He rais'd a sigh so piteous and profound,

That 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.

10 Alas, my lord !] The quartos, "O my lord, my lord," and in the next line but one, closet for "chamber:" the quarto, 1603, has not the passage, but begins "O, my dear father! such a change in nature."