But not yet for no maner of daunger. Euery ma. Gramercy knowlege with all my herte Howe they that I loued best do forsake me Good dedes. All erthly thynges is but vanyte Euery ma. Haue mercy on me god moste myghty And stande by me thou moder and mayde holy mary. Good dedes. Fere not I wyll speke for the. Euery ma. Here I crye god mercy. Good dedes. Shorte oure ende and mynysshe our payne and neuer come agayne. Lete vs go Euery ma. In to thy handes lordes my soule I comende Receyue it lorde that it be not loste As thou me broughtest so me defende And saue me fro the fendes boste That I may appere with that blessyd hoste That shall be saued at the dome In manus tuas of myghtes moste For euer comendo spiritum meum. knowlege. Nowe hath he suffered that we shall endure The good dedes shall make all sure Nowe hath he made endynge Me thynke that I here aungels synge And maketh grete ioye and melodye Where euery mannes soule shall receyued be. Unto the whiche all ye shall come That lyueth well after the daye of dome. Doctoure. This memory all men may haue in mynde Ye herers take it a worthe olde and yonge And forsake pryde for he deceyues you in the ende Saue his good deedes there do he take None excuse may be there for Alas howe shall he do than euery man For after deth amendes may no man make Unto whiche please god brynge us all thether Amen saye ye for saynt charyte.' a FINIS. a Imprynted at London in Fletestrete at the 'The variations between this and the later copies by Skot are sometimes important—more than mere literal changes. The old non-punctuation is exactly observed in what precedes. ART. XVIII.-Remarks on the conduct of Hamlet towards Ophelia. The conduct of Hamlet towards Ophelia has been so generally condemned by the readers of Shakespeare as useless and wanton cruelty, that to attempt any extenuation of it may appear presumptuous; yet the hope of success in such a cause will, I trust, afford an excuse for the following remarks, even should the reasons adduced not be deemed sufficient to warrant the conclusion. The idea originally suggested itself while reading an old history of Denmark, abridged from Saxo Grammaticus; and the story, as there related, tends to prove, if proof were wanting, how the basest materials were purified and turned to gold by the poet's magic touch. In referring to the play, act ii., scene 2, we shall find the first arrangement for this interview between Hamlet and Ophelia made by Polonius, and proposed by him to the King, who has scarcely acceded to it before Hamlet enters, reading, the Queen and Polonius even continuing their discourse after he has made his appearance, probably concluding, from his apparent insanity, that their words will pass unnoted. But let us remember that Hamlet was more than a match for the crafty and crooked policy of the court of Denmark, as we find more particularly in the latter part of the play, when Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are "hoist with their own petar"Hamlet having declared that "he would delve a yard below their mines, and blow them at the moon "-may he not, therefore, on the present occasion, have assumed a studious aspect, in order to seem as if he heeded them not, when, in reality, he had overheard that part of the conversation which immediately preceded his appearance? This conclusion gains strength when we read what immediately follows; for, on Polonius saying, "Do you know me?" he replies, "Excellent well; you are a fishmonger." And that this word was used in a figurative sense, perhaps somewhat as we should now apply the word ferret, or as a dealer in baits, is evident from Johnson's quotation from Carew, a writer contemporary with our author—“ I could well play the fishmonger," which seems to indicate that Hamlet was aware of Polonius's being engaged in some underhand policy; and that he knew Ophelia was to play her part in it is evident from the caution which follows respecting her, which the old man loses sight of in his joy at hearing his daughter alluded to. At the conclusion of this scene, we find Polonius speaking, apparently not aside, but openly, of “suddenly contriving the means of meeting between Hamlet and his daughter," still under the common, but very erroneous impression that deranged persons neither hear nor understand what is uttered in their presence. In the next scene, when Polonius, in a pompous speech, announces the arrival of the players, Hamlet exclaims, quoting the old song, "O, Jephthah, Judge of Israel,' what a treasure hadst thou! "Pol. What a treasure had he, my lord? "Ham. Why, 'One fair daughter and no more; The which he loved passing well.' "Pol. Still on my daughter. "Ham. Am I not i' the right, old Jephthah? "Pol. If you call me Jephthah, my lord, I have a daughter that I love passing well. "Ham. Nay, that follows not." Is not the interpretation of this passage, that it follows not that you are like Jephthah, in loving your daughter- but in your shameful sacrifice of her; and afterwards Hamlet, by saying that "the first row of the pious chanson will show further," makes us anxiously turn to it for an explanation of his meaning it has been preserved, and is thus given by Bishop Percy; "Great wars there should be, And who should be the chief but he." Is this intended to point to Polonius as a great cause of mischief, while he receives all these allusions with the same blindness as before? Then follows the scene in question, in which the King is so great a bungler, that one far less acute than Hamlet would immediately perceive that some secret design was at work; for when Hamlet arrives at the place appointed by the King, there is no one present but Ophelia. It is remarkable that in the two quarto editions I have had an opportunity of referring to, (those of 1605 and 1611) Hamlet enters before Polonius says, "I hear him coming, let's withdraw, my lord," instead of entering after it, as in the usually received text. This appears to me to have escaped the notice of the commentators. May not Hamlet be supposed to have seen them on his entrance? This circumstance, added to his previous knowledge of their schemes, was sufficient to convince him that it was the prearranged meeting; and when we recall all the foregoing circumstances, we should rather have been amazed had he treated her with any show of affection, than at the apparently coldhearted and cruel manner in which he addresses her. First, let us suppose him aware that the King and Polonius were listening behind the arras-but this is by no means all he has found that Ophelia, who had been to him as a bright green spot in the desert of his existence, whom he had regarded as pure and innocent amid the surrounding corruptions of the court, that she too has lent herself to play a part in this scheme, and has submitted to become a tool and a bait in the hands of his enemies; for he could neither be aware how far |